Tag Archives: american

Research shows early promise of new drug for cancers caused by viruses

The research team focuses on primary effusion lymphoma (PEL), an aggressive and deadly variant of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma that frequently occurs in people infected with HIV. Though scientists have known that the Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) causes PEL, development of effective therapies has proven difficult. PEL tumors arise within body cavities and progress rapidly with an average survival of around 6 months. Combination chemotherapy represents the current standard of care for PEL, but side effects (including bone marrow suppression) and drug resistance (generated through virus-associated mechanisms) continue to limit the effectiveness of standard therapy…

Eight million lives saved since Surgeon General’s tobacco warning 50 years ago

The study used mathematical models to calculate the long-term effect of the seminal report, and subsequent anti-smoking measures, over the past half-century. These cumulative efforts have significantly reshaped public attitudes and behaviors concerning cigarettes and other forms of tobacco, note the researchers. First author Theodore R…

Scientists make advance in cancer research

The most advanced version of vβ3-integrin antagonists failed clinical trials to treat aggressive forms of brain cancer. But research published today in the American Heart Association’s journal Circulation Research shows that targeting the protein in question could still be vital in stopping the growth of tumors. Not least because the drugs targeting it cause minimal side effects compared to other drugs — which can cause bleeding in the gut and high blood pressure. tumors must recruit their own blood supply to grow beyond a very small size…

New data for engineering immune cells shows promise in solid tumors

Chimeric antigen receptor T cells (CAR T cells) are a form of personalized cell therapy that uses immune cells called T cells from patients. After T cells are harvested from a patient, they are engineered to bear a molecule that allows them to attach to a specific protein carried by the patient’s cancer cells and to be triggered to kill the cancer cells when they do so. …

Younger, early breast cancer patients often undergo unnecessary staging, imaging procedures

Presented at a poster session at the 2013 CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium by Carlos Barcenas, M.D., assistant professor in MD Anderson’s Breast Medical Oncology, the study is the first to look at the issue of over-use of staging procedures, including imaging and tumor markers in the diagnosis setting, specifically in younger, early-stage breast cancer patients. Over-testing and unnecessary procedures extends beyond cancer care across the healthcare continuum. …