Researchers from the Department of Public Health at the University of Oxford sought evidence of a decline in population-based breast cancer mortality that could be attributed to the implementation of mammographic screening programmes. They concluded that population-based mortality statistics for England do not show a past benefit of breast cancer screening…
"I’m a crazy sports fan," says the patient. "I go 30 days a season. I may be the oldest guy snowboarding on the mountain, but I’m not the slowest!" When he lost a few pounds from what eventually proved to be undiagnosed cancer, the patient was initially pleased. …
In a trial involving patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) whose tumor cells harbored an abnormal ALK gene, those who received the oral drug crizotinib, which acts directly on ALK, went a median time of 7.7 months before their disease began to worsen, compared to 3 months for patients who received traditional chemotherapy. Patients treated with crizotinib also had a better quality of life than those treated with standard chemotherapy. The findings will be released as an advanced online publication by the New England Journal of Medicine on June 1. …
An experimental drug being developed by Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Sanofi SA showed promising results during a small, mid-stage clinical trial in treating a subset of patients with moderate to severe asthma, but some physicians cautioned that it was too early to say how effective the treatment may ultimately be. The drug, dupilumab, is considered one of Regeneron's most promising pipeline drugs and could eventually reach $750 million in annual U.S. sales if it gains U.S. approval to treat asthma, according to Barclays. Regeneron and Sanofi, which have a partnership to co-develop certain experimental drug programs, are also testing the drug to treat a type of eczema, the itchy skin condition, and have said dupilumab could eventually be applied to other allergic conditions. Results from the trial, published online Tuesday in the New England Journal of Medicine, showed that dupilumab reduced asthma attacks by 87 percent in patients taking the drug compared to those receiving a placebo. Side effects of the drug appeared to be relatively consistent with those of patients taking placebos. “It really raises the possibility that we've hit upon a fundamental pathway that's driving the allergic reaction in asthma,” said George D. Yancopoulos, Regeneron's chief scientific officer, in an interview. However, the trial was relatively small, enrolling 52 patients in each of the study's two treatment groups. An editorial accompanying the study results said the trial design, in which patients were gradually weaned off of standard therapies for asthma, did not reflect a “real world” environment. It's also unclear how large a swath of asthma patients will benefit from the drug, because only those with higher-than-normal disease-fighting white blood cells were admitted to the study, Michael E. Wechsler, director of the asthma program at National Jewish Health, a Denver-based research hospital that specializes in respiratory conditions, wrote in the editorial. Just 21 percent of patients screened for the trial met the inclusion criteria, Dr. Wechsler wrote. Asthma affects more than 24 million people in the U.S., but existing therapies are unable to control the condition for as many as 10 percent to 20 percent of patients, according to the study's authors. Click for more from The Wall Street Journal.source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/05/22/new-drug-could-reduce-asthma-attacks-by-87-percent/
After the recent loss of their 16-year-old son from testicular cancer, one family is urging other young men to get checked regularly, Gazette Live reported. Michael Rushby from Grangetown, England waited eight long months before telling his brother John on April 17 that he had found a lump on one of his testicles.   “He said he had a problem and showed me one of his testicles,” John told Gazette Live. “The lump was obvious so I took him straight to (the emergency room). The doctor said just by looking at it there was an 80 percent chance it was cancer.” The next day, Michael – known as Mikey by friends and family – was diagnosed with testicular cancer, and doctors discovered that the cancer had also spread to his abdomen and chest. Despite his late diagnosis, Mikey was given a 75 percent chance of survival.  He underwent a week of chemotherapy at Middlesbrough’s James Cook University Hospital and returned home on Friday, April 26.   The following Monday, he was set to return to the hospital for another round of treatments.  But as he was heading downstairs, he lost his strength and collapsed.  He was taken to James Cook, where he died later that day.  It had only been two weeks since he had told his brother about his lump. Now Mikey’s family is speaking out about their son’s death, urging others to get regular health checkups and to not feel ashamed about their medical issues. “I want to say to anyone who ever thinks they might have a problem, go to your mum, go to your dad, go to someone,” Patricia Rushby, Mike’s mom, told Gazette Live. “Mikey could have come to his mum - I wouldn’t have been embarrassed.” “He was my baby. I loved him to pieces,” Patricia said. “I want other young people to know what we have gone through. I wouldn’t want any family to go through what we have.” Click for more from Gazette Live.source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/05/21/after-16-year-old-son-dies-testicular-cancer-mom-urges-others-to-get-checked/
The study, published in the May 9 edition of the New England Journal of Medicine, isolated the molecular mutation that causes chronic neutrophilic leukemia (CNL) and atypical chronic myeloid leukemia (aCML) in some patients. That mutation, occurring in a gene called colony stimulating factor 3 receptor (CSF3R), initiates a chain reaction involving other gene families known as SRC, JAK, and TNK2, which subsequently drives these diseases. This discovery is promising for patients as it will aid in diagnosing these cancers, which are currently difficult for physicians to distinguish from other leukemias…