Category Archives: Cancer

Immune booster combined with checkpoint blocker improves survival in metastatic melanoma

Patients in the clinical trial who got the combined therapies also had fewer serious adverse side effects than those who received only ipilimumab, the researchers report in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The group treated with both ipilimumab and the immune stimulant, called sargramostim, had a one-year survival rate of 68.9 percent vs. 52.9 percent in the ipilimumab-only group. In both groups, however, the median progression-free survival (the length of time before the cancer began to grow) was similar – 3.1 months…

Trial results reveal first targeted treatment to boost survival for esophageal cancer

Up to one in six patients with esophageal cancer were found to have EGFR duplication in their tumor cells and taking the drug gefitinib, which targets this fault, boosted their survival by up to six months, and sometimes beyond. This is the first treatment for advanced esophageal cancer shown to improve survival in patients whose initial course of chemotherapy treatment has failed. It is also the first time a targeted treatment of any kind has proved effective in this disease, although chemotherapy and some targeted drugs have shown benefit in the second line treatment of other cancers of the digestive system including stomach cancer…

Scientists uncover potential drug to tackle ‘undruggable’ fault in third of cancers

A team of scientists at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Physiology in Germany has uncovered a new strategy and new potential drug to target an important signalling protein in cells called Ras, which is faulty in a third of cancers. When the Ras protein travels from the centre of a cell to the cell membrane, it becomes ‘switched on’ and sends signals which tell cells to grow and divide. …

Breast cancer recurrence: Study provides insight

Around 5,000 cases of DCIS, a condition where cancerous cells are contained within the milk ducts of the breast, are diagnosed each year in the UK, with two thirds diagnosed through breast screening. If left untreated, up to half of DCIS cases could progress into invasive breast cancer, but it is not possible to say which ones, so all women are offered treatment. This usually involves breast-conserving surgery (lumpectomy) and, to reduce the risk of the cancer returning, radiotherapy to kill any remaining cancer cells. However, even with treatment up to one in five patients will see their DCIS come back, either as DCIS or as invasive breast cancer. …

Radiation a risk factor for brain tumors in young people, study finds

Researchers analyzed records of 35 patients who were diagnosed with meningiomas before age 30. Five had been exposed to ionizing radiation earlier in their lives. They include two patients who received radiation for leukemia at ages 5 and 6; one who received radiation at age 3 for a brain tumor known as a medulloblastoma; and one who received radiation for an earlier skull base tumor that appeared to be a meningioma. …

Gene ‘switches’ could predict when breast cancers will spread to the brain

The researchers, based at the University of Wolverhampton, studied 24 breast cancers that had spread to the brain, along with samples from the original breast tumour, and found a handful of genes with faulty switches. Crucially, two of the genetic switches became faulty early on in the development of breast cancer, suggesting they may be an early warning signal for tumours that will spread to the brain. The scientists are now working to develop a blood test that might be able to detect these signals at an early stage, before the disease has spread. Up to 30 per cent of breast cancers will eventually spread to the brain, often many years after the first tumour was treated…

Synthetic lethality offers new approach to kill tumor cells, explains researcher — ScienceDaily

“Genetic alterations in cancer in humans may involve gene inactivation, amplification or inactivation,” said List.These changes are not present in nonmalignant cells. Common chemotherapeutic agents aggressively kill tumor cells irrespective of genetic alterations.They also have a negative impact on normal cells and can cause significant side effects. …

Sea sponge drug could boost advanced breast cancer survival by five extra months — ScienceDaily

Researchers led by Professor Chris Twelves, based at the University of Leeds and Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, looked at two major clinical trials of more than 1,800 women with breast cancer that had started to spread to other parts of the body. The phase III trials — the final stage of testing before deciding whether a drug can be prescribed to patients — compared the survival of women treated with eribulin to those given standard treatment…

Comprehensive breast center improves quality of care for breast reconstruction — ScienceDaily

Centralized breast cancer care at CBCs can lead to more timely breast reconstruction for women undergoing breast cancer surgery, suggests the study by ASPS Member Surgeon Albert H. Chao, MD, and colleagues of The Ohio State University, Columbus. They write, “Access to breast reconstruction at our institution improved significantly after our CBC opened, with significant increases in internal referral rates and immediate reconstruction rates.” Transition to CBC Improves Processes of Care The researchers assessed “process of care” outcomes related to breast reconstruction before and after their hospital transitioned to a CBC approach. Comprehensive breast centers seek to improve patient care and outcomes by assembling a group of highly specialized practitioners — oncologists, plastic and reconstructive surgeons, and other professionals — to provide coordinated breast cancer care…