Tag Archives: national

New study reveals how to improve chemotherapy use in prostate cancer

“It was surprising to find that cabazitaxel functions differently than docetaxel in killing cancer cells, even though they’re both taxanes,” says senior author Karen Knudsen, Ph.D., Interim Director of the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center and a professor of cancer biology at the Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University. “It shows that we may not be taking full advantage of this next generation taxane in the clinic.” For years, docetaxel has been the only effective chemotherapy for men whose cancer was no longer responding to hormone treatments…

Molecular alterations in head and neck cancers uncovered by study

The researchers also uncovered new smoking-related cancer subtypes and potential new drug targets, and found numerous genomic similarities with other cancer types. Taken together, this study’s findings may provide more detailed explanations of how HPV infection and smoking play roles in head and neck cancer risk and disease development, and offer potential novel diagnostic and treatment directions. The study is the most comprehensive examination to date of genomic alterations in head and neck cancers…

More than 1.5 million cancer deaths averted during 2 decades of dropping mortality — ScienceDaily

Each year, the American Cancer Society compiles the most recent data on cancer incidence, mortality, and survival based on incidence data from the National Cancer Institute and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and mortality data from the National Center for Health Statistics. The data are disseminated in two reports: Cancer Statistics 2015, published in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, and its companion, consumer-friendly publication, Cancer Facts & Figures 2015. The reports also estimate the number of new cancer cases and deaths expected in the United States in the current year. …

Risk for leukemia after treatment for early-stage breast cancer higher than reported — ScienceDaily

The study team reviewed data on 20,063 breast cancer patients treated at eight U.S. cancer centers between 1998 and 2007 whose cancer recurrence and secondary cancer rates were recorded in a database kept by the National Comprehensive Cancer Network. …

This Endoscope Zaps Tumors

It may soon serve another purpose: zapping tumors. The biomedical advancement, which is under development at the University at Buffalo, could make chemotherapy more efficient, reduce its side effects and improve how doctors treat some of the most deadly forms of cancer. “We are developing a novel endoscopic device that will improve our ability to detect and destroy cancer cells,” says Ulas Sunar, PhD, a research assistant professor in UB’s Department of Biomedical Engineering and the principal investigator of a National Institutes of Health grant that supports the research. Conventional endoscopic imaging has limitations. …

GPs should be more open when referring patients for cancer investigations, study says

They found that patients were rarely involved in the decision to be referred for investigation and that reasons for referral tended to be couched in non-specific terms rather than ‘cancer investigation’, even when the patient was on a cancer-specific pathway. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) referral guidelines emphasise that the patient should be involved in the decision-making process and be informed of the reasons for referral…

Increased use of hypofractionated whole-breast irradiation for patients with early-stage breast cancer — ScienceDaily

An analysis of randomized trials demonstrated that patients with early-stage breast cancer who are treated with breast-conserving surgery and adjuvant whole-breast irradiation have improved survival and a lower risk of tumor recurrence compared to patients who are not treated with radiation therapy. Patients are commonly treated with CF-WBI; however, several recent randomized trials[2-5] have confirmed that patients treated with HF-WBI have similar disease-free and overall survival rates as those treated with CF-WBI. CF-WBI delivers a total dose of 45-50 Gy in 25-28 daily fractions of 1.8-2.0 Gy over five to six weeks, while HF-WBI uses a shorter treatment course and a lower total dose and number of fractions, delivering a total dose of 39-42.5 Gy in 13-16 daily fractions of 2.5-3.2 Gy over three to five weeks. This study, “Adoption of Hypofractionated Whole-Breast Irradiation for Early-Stage Breast Cancer: A National Cancer Data Base Analysis,” is a retrospective review of 113,267 early-stage breast cancer patients in the National Cancer Data Base (NCDB) from 2004 to 2011 who were treated with radiation therapy and were eligible to receive HF-WBI, and examines the use of HF-WBI compared to CF-WBI and the factors, including facility type and patient’s distance from the radiation treatment center, that influenced which type of WBI the patient received. …

Approved breast cancer drug offers hope for the treatment of blood disorders

“Our study demonstrates that targeting estrogen signaling with a clinically approved drug, at doses with an acceptable toxicity profile in humans, provides a novel potential therapeutic strategy for a set of neoplasms currently without a definitive cure,” said senior study author Sim�n M�ndez-Ferrer of the National Center for Cardiovascular Research (CNIC) in Madrid, Spain. Myeloproliferative neoplasms cause large numbers of abnormal white blood cells to be produced and enter the bloodstream, potentially causing life-threatening symptoms. These diseases can lead to cancer and arise from blood cells called hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells (HSPCs), which give rise to all of the other blood cells. …

New molecules to burst malaria’s bubble

A new paper in PNAS is the third published recently by a group at the Australian National University (ANU). The group has collaborated with scientists from around the globe to uncover potential ammunition in the fight against malaria. Over 200 million people contract malaria each year, and the parasite that causes the disease has become resistant to most of the drugs currently available…