Cancer News
Stage and grade dominate RCC outcomes
Tumor grade and stage have emerged as the most important predictors of mortality in a competing risks analysis of patients undergoing nephrectomy for renal cell carcinoma (RCC).
BRCA1/2 mutations may alter endometrial, ovarian function
Scientists have detected significant differences in endometrial thickness and hormone levels in women with and without BRCA1/2 mutations that may play a role in cancer susceptibility or development.
Obesity raises death risk in pancreatic cancer
Obese patients with pancreatic cancer were more than twice as likely to die over an 18-to-20-year period than healthy-weight patients, researchers found.
Golden age of prostate cancer drug discovery and development as NICE draft guidance recommends new prostate cancer drug
Professor Alan Ashworth, Chief Executive of The Institute of Cancer Research, London, said: "Advanced prostate cancer is very difficult to treat, and it’s taken a coordinated effort to finally bring new drugs into the pipeline, after decades where there were no options once old-style hormone treatment stopped working."
No link between depression and cancer risk: study
Doctors can reassure patients that being depressed does not increase one's risk of cancer, French researchers say.
HIV drugs may get new role in fighting cancer
A type of HIV medicine that stops the AIDS virus from entering immune system cells could in future be put to work against cancer in new combination therapies being developed by drug companies.
After breast cancer surgery, patient assistance programs can help
(HealthDay News) -- Patient assistance programs make it more likely that breast cancer patients will get additional treatments after they have surgery, and receive other kinds of support, a new study finds.
Radiation can pose bigger cancer risk for children
Infants and children can be at higher risk than adults of developing some cancers when exposed to radiation, for example from nuclear accidents, a U.N. scientific report said on Friday.
Low HPV vaccination among autoimmune disease patients
Few children and young adults with autoimmune diseases receive the HPV vaccination, despite studies showing the vaccine to be safe and effective.
ASCO highlights five cancer treatments routinely performed despite lack of evidence
The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) announced its second “Top Five” list of opportunities to improve the quality and value of cancer care. Published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology (JCO), ASCO’s second Top Five list was released as part of the Choosing Wisely® campaign, sponsored by the ABIM Foundation, to encourage conversations between physicians and patients aimed at curbing the use of certain tests and procedures that are not supported by clinical research. One of the first nine medical societies to join the Choosing Wisely campaign, ASCO issued its first Top Five list in April 2012.
Women with abnormal cancer screening may receive delayed care due to social barriers
Social barriers (including housing and income) cause delays in cancer screening follow-up for some women, according to a recent study.
Weight at time of diagnosis linked to prostate cancer mortality
Men who are overweight or obese when they are diagnosed with prostate cancer are more likely to die from the disease than men who are of healthy weight, according to a Kaiser Permanente study published in the journal Obesity Research & Clinical Practice. In patients with more aggressive forms of prostate cancer, the researchers also found an even stronger correlation between obesity and mortality.
Breast cancer 'rising in under-40s' across Europe
Cases of breast cancer in women under 40 are rising across Europe, research suggests.
Oncologists improve quality of care for cancer patients
A pilot initiative conducted at Mount Sinai Hospital offers compelling evidence that establishing standardized criteria for calling a palliative care consultation improves the quality of care for patients hospitalized with advanced cancer. The investigators saw improvements in the use of hospice services, inpatient mortality, and hospital readmissions among patients offered the intervention.
New strategies for relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma explored
Newer targeted therapies and genomic analysis are moving the management of relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma forward.
'Master protocol' could revolutionalize trials in lung cancer, and eventually other cancers
The ambitious “Master Protocol” is a collaboration among the lung cancer research community, the National Cancer Institute, the Foundation of the National Institutes of Health, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Friends of Cancer Research, and industry.
FDA approves Roche leukemia drug Gazyva
U.S. regulators on Friday approved Roche Holding AG's new drug for patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) who have not previously been treated for one of the most common forms of blood cancer.
Double-pronged attack could treat common children’s cancer
A dual-pronged strategy using two experimental cancer drugs together could successfully treat a childhood cancer by inhibiting tumour growth and blocking off the escape routes it uses to become resistant to treatment, finds a new study.
Prostate cancer deaths fall by a fifth in 20 years, says Cancer Research UK
Prostate cancer is second most common cause of cancer death among men, but progress has been made in treatment.
Screening for HPV may be better than Pap Test, study suggests
Screening for the human papillomavirus (HPV) is more effective than Pap tests for protecting women against invasive cervical cancer, a new study suggests.
Primary HPV screening provides 60–70% greater protection against invasive cervical cancer than cytology-based screening
Primary screening for HPV (Human Papilloma Virus) provides 60–70% greater protection against invasive cervical cancer than the cytology-based (‘smear-test’) screening currently used in most countries where cervical screening is available, according to new results published in The Lancet.
Chemo agents equal in treating gastric cancer
Weekly paclitaxel was as effective as biweekly irinotecan (Camptosar) as second-line therapy for advanced gastric cancer, researchers found.
One dose of HPV vaccine may be enough
A single dose of human papillomavirus vaccine (HPV) achieved stable antibody levels at 48 months, suggesting that one dose of vaccine might afford adequate protection, according to a study from Central America.
Implantable sensor may monitor cancer and diabetes
New research details how a sensor that can be implanted under the skin for over 1 year is able to monitor inflammation and detect nitric oxide - a molecule that has been found to show disturbed levels in the presence of some cancers. This is according to a study published in the journal Nature Nanotechnology.
NCRI 2013: Prostate cancer test can spot the difference between aggressive and slow-growing tumours
A new test may overcome one of the biggest problems in prostate cancer treatment – telling slow-growing tumours from aggressive ones – according to research presented at the National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) Cancer Conference in Liverpool.
Next-generation sequencing test identified potential targets for paediatric cancer treatments
A comprehensive genomic profiling test using next-generation sequencing has identified genomic alterations in more than half of paediatric cancer samples tested that would give clinicians potential targets on which to base individualized treatment decisions.
Colon cancer test rates lag
Although screening rates for colorectal cancer rose from 2002 to 2010, more than a third of at-risk patients were not up to date with screening in 2012, according to a CDC report.
Genotyping lung cancer linked to better survival
Genetic testing for personalized treatment of lung cancer was associated with improved survival, likely due to getting targeted kinase inhibitors to the right patients, a study showed.
Low-risk women screening rates by female doctors are higher
Many criteria affect HPV screening rates among low-risk women. The most important may be whether their doctor is male or female.
A variety of cancers destroyed by drug combination therapy
Results from a recent preclinical study have shown that a new drug combination therapy being developed effectively killed colon, liver, lung, kidney, breast and brain cancer cells while having little effect on noncancerous cells. The results lay the foundation for researchers to plan a future phase 1 clinical trial to test the safety of the therapy in a small group of patients.