Tag Archives: assistant

Older breast cancer patients still get radiation despite limited benefit

The study suggests that doctors and patients may find it difficult to withhold treatment previously considered standard of care, even in the setting of high quality data demonstrating that the advantages are small. “The onus is on physicians to critically analyze data to shape our treatment recommendations for patients, weighing the potential toxicities of treatment against clinical benefit,” said Rachel Blitzblau, M.D., Ph.D., the Butler Harris Assistant Professor of Radiation Oncology at Duke University Medical Center. Blitzblau was the senior author of a study published online Dec. 8, 2014, in the journal Cancer. …

Killing cancer by protecting normal cells

“It was a stroke of luck that the drug that most effectively protected normal cells and tissues against radiation also has anti-cancer properties, thus potentially increasing the therapeutic index of radiation therapy,” says Ulrich Rodeck, M.D., Ph.D., Professor of Dermatology and Cutaneous Biology and Radiation Oncology at Thomas Jefferson University, and senior author on the study. Together with first author Vitali Alexeev, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Dermatology and Cutaneous Biology, Dr. …

Genomic analysis of prostate cancer indicates best course of action after surgery — ScienceDaily

“We are moving away from treating everyone the same,” says first author Robert Den, M.D., Assistant Professor of Radiation Oncology and Cancer Biology at Thomas Jefferson University. “Genomic tools are letting us gauge which cancers are more aggressive and should be treated earlier with radiation, and which ones are unlikely to benefit from additional therapy.” Although surgery for prostate cancer is meant to be curative, in some men, the cancer can regrow. Doctors have developed high risk criteria based on clinical factors, but these criteria are imperfect predictors of cancer returning, or recurrence. Only about 50 percent of high risk patients ever go on to develop metastases, raising the question of whether those who receive additional therapy are being overtreated. …

Potential therapeutic target for incurable, rare type of soft-tissue cancer

In the study, published online in Cell Reports, scientists found that inhibiting the action of a protein called BRD4 caused cancer cells to die in a mouse model of malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors (MPNSTs). "This study identifies a potential new therapeutic target to combat MPNST, an incurable type of cancer that is typically fatal," said Dr. …