Cancer News
Young breast cancer patients often undergo unnecessary procedures
More than 1 in 3 younger, early stage breast cancer patients undergo unnecessary imaging procedures -including position emission tomography (PET), computed tomography (CT), nuclear medicine bone scans (NMBS) and tumor markers (TM)- at the time of staging and diagnosis, according to new research.
Chemoresistant breast cancer outcomes not improved by bisphosphonate treatment
Chemoresistant breast cancer patients treated with bisphosphonate zoledronate did not benefit, according to initial results of a phase 3 clinical trial presented at the 2013 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.
AbbVie drug in regimen against difficult type of breast cancer shows promise
Triple-negative breast cancer patients who received treatment containing an experimental AbbVie drug prior to surgery may have a significantly better response, compared to those who get a standard chemotherapy regimen, according to clinical trial data.
Possible new Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) treatments
Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) is especially common among children and very difficult to treat. Researchers have now discovered completely new targets for potential treatment of such blood cancers.
Chemotherapy combination before surgery for triple-negative breast cancer shows promise
Adding the chemotherapy drug carboplatin and/or the antibody therapy bevacizumab to standard presurgery chemotherapy resulted in more triple-negative breast cancer patients with no residual cancer detected at surgery, in a phase II clinical trial.
Hair loss from chemotherapy may be better prevented with new cooling cap
Hair loss due to chemotherapy can be one of the most emotionally distressing side effects. An "improved" cooling cap may prevent patients undergoing cancer treatment from losing their hair.
HER2 breast cancer treatment shows resistance for specific mutations
A common mutation in HER2-positive breast cancer reduced the odds of pathologic complete response to neoadjuvant therapy by 50%, according to an analysis of 2 large clinical trials.
Metastatic breast cancer: metabolite of tamoxifen appears promising
Aromatase inhibitor-resistant metastatic breast cancer patients showed promising results with a main metabolite of the tamoxifen drug.
Lung cancer death rates continue to fall
Statistics covering the period 1975-2010 showed death rates for lung cancer, which accounts for more than 1 in 4 cancer deaths, dropping at a faster pace than in previous years. This is likely the result of decreased cigarette smoking over many years, and is now being reflected in mortality trends.
Chest wall resection effective for recurrent mesothelioma
Patients with isolated chest wall recurrence of malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) have improved outcomes with salvage chest wall resection, research indicates.
Pancreatic cancer cell growth found due to retinoblastoma dysfunction
Cancer researchers have discovered that a protein actually promotes the growth and spread of pancreatic cancer, although it normally suppresses tumors.
Childhood cancer survivors suffer symptoms in adulthood
More children are surviving cancer than ever before thanks to advances in treatment and technology. However, for about 70% of childhood cancer survivors, the effect of the disease and treatment 30 years later is sufficient to significantly affect their quality of life.
Endocrine treatment for breast cancer finds potential support from leukemia drug
Metastatic breast cancer patients starting endocrine therapy had delayed disease progression after taking the leukemia drug dasatinib (Sprycel), however, the drug failed to affect clinical response.
Surgery no help in metastatic breast cancer
Breast cancer found metastatic at diagnosis had similar outcome even if the primary tumor and axillary lymph nodes were removed, two clinical trials showed.
Smoking changes our genes
New research findings from Uppsala University and Uppsala Clinical Research Center show that smoking actually alters several genes. These alterations can be associated with health problems for smokers, such as increased risk for cancer and diabetes.
Radiation therapy against endometrial cancer linked to increased risk of bladder cancer later in life
Radiation therapy for uterine (endometrial) cancer may increase a patient's risk of developing bladder cancer.
Lung cancer oncogenes also drive colorectal cancer, study shows
A study shows that specific gene rearrangements known to drive subsets of lung cancer are also present in some colorectal cancers.
Prostate cancer benefit from exercise questionable
Structured exercise programs benefit prostate cancer patients treated with androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) in many ways (but have no measurable effects on cardiometabolic risk factors or bone density), a literature review showed.
Early stage breast cancer outcomes not improved by adding fluorouracil
Fluorouracil, a widely used chemotherapy drug, offers no benefit when added to standard treatment for early-stage, node-positive breast cancer.
Surgery for ovarian cancer risk reduction finds support in research
Women carrying a fault in any of the BRCA1 or BRCA2 high-risk genes have an increased risk of dying from breast and/or ovarian cancer. Many, including Angelina Jolie, choose to undergo surgery to remove their healthy breasts, ovaries or both before the disease affects them.
Skin cancer: new molecular targets identified
Two newly identified molecular targets in some forms of skin cancer could lead to new treatment options for the disease.
Drugs used in prostate gland removal linked to cancer outcome, study finds
Opioids (painkillers commonly given during and after surgery) may suppress the immune system's ability to fight cancer cells, leading to a suggestion that supplementing general anesthesia with a spinal or epidural painkiller before a radical prostatectomy reduces a patient's need for opioids after surgery, and this finding was associated with a lower risk of cancer recurrence.
Cancer death risk increases with chronic kidney disease
In a new study, chronic kidney disease has been found to increase risk of dying of cancer.
Fatigue after breast cancer treatment in study focus
A new research study will focus on which women are at highest risk for fatigue after treatment for breast cancer, and why.
Breast cancer risk and sugar uptake may be related
A leading authority on breast cancer, has shown that aerobic glycolysis (glucose metabolism in the presence of oxygen) is not the consequence of the cancerous activity of malignant cells but is itself a cancerous event.
E-cigarettes: too soon to judge
Don't dogmatically reject e-cigarettes for fear of "renormalization" of cigarettes, one group of public health experts argued.
Cervical cancer risk could be identified by HPV self-tests
HPV self-testing is as effective as tests done by doctors, according to a Lund University study. Simple HPV home tests could therefore complement existing screening programs, and identify more women at risk for cervical cancer.
Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia drug potential confirmed in study
A new study helps confirm that a molecule targeted by the experimental drug ibrutinib is critical for the development of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), the most common form of adult leukemia.
Personalized brain tumor vaccine shows promise in trial
An experimental vaccine could improve the survival of patients with a lethal brain tumor called glioblastoma multiforme, compared with standard care alone. This research was published in the journal Neuro-Oncology.
Breast cancer surgeons report improved visualization of radiation therapy treatment area
The BioZorb™ three-dimensional surgical marker dramatically improves visualization of the treatment area for radiation planning and therapy, according to a presentation at the prestigious San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium 2013.