Tag Archives: oncology

Two-drug combination improves survival in pancreatic cancer

The new drug is set to become a reference in advanced pancreatic cancer treatment A multicentre phase III study, with centers participating from 11 countries in North America, Europe and Australia, shows that the drug combination nab-paclitaxel and gemcitabine is more effective in the treatment of patients with advanced pancreatic cancer than gemcitabine alone, which has been the standard treatment for these patients up until now. The clinical trial, sponsored by Celgene Corporation, involved 861 patients, half of whom were administered the nab-paclitaxel/gemcitabine combination, while the other half received gemcitabine alone. …

When more medicine isn’t always better: High costs of unnecessary radiation for terminal cancer patients

"Increased use of single fraction treatment would achieve the Holy Grail of health reform, which is real improvements in patient care at substantial cost savings," said the new study’s lead author, Justin E. Bekelman, MD, an assistant professor of Radiation Oncology in Penn Medicine’s Abramson Cancer Center…

What works for women doesn’t work for men

But unlike in women, neither soy protein nor a common antidepressant provides relief for men, according to researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center. Hot flashes occur in approximately 80 percent of men who are undergoing hormone manipulation as treatment for prostate cancer. Hormone therapy reduces the levels of male hormones, called androgens, to prevent them from reaching prostate cancer cells and stimulating their growth. "Changing hormone levels cause hot flashes in both women and men, so we hoped that using soy supplements and/or an antidepressant would help reduce them in men as it does in many women," said Mara Vitolins, Dr…

Chemotherapy before radiotherapy for testicular cancer could reduce long-term side-effects

The new pilot study, published in the August issue of the Annals of Oncology, tested a new treatment in a pilot study of men with stage IIA and IIB testicular seminoma — where the cancer has spread to the lymph nodes in the abdomen. The researchers showed that giving chemotherapy drug carboplatin before radiotherapy could reduce relapse rates compared with radiotherapy alone — cutting the numbers of men who would need follow-up treatment. It also allowed radiation doses to be reduced. …

Large study reveals increased cancer risks associated with family history of the disease

The research, published in the leading cancer journal Annals of Oncology today (Thursday), provides a comprehensive picture of the risk of developing various different types of cancer in families where there is a history of the disease, and is one of the few large studies of this kind that takes into account other important factors, such as individual characteristics and lifestyles, that could affect the degree of risk as well. Results from the study supported known associations, such as the increased risk of developing the same cancer as a close relative, and the 1.5-fold increased risk of breast cancer in women with a history of colorectal cancer in the family. However, the study also found a 3.3-fold increased risk of developing oral and pharyngeal cancer among people who had a first-degree relative with cancer of the larynx, and a four-fold increased risk of cancer of the gullet (esophageal cancer) where a first-degree relative had oral or pharyngeal cancer. If a first-degree relative had breast cancer, female family members had a 2.3-fold increased risk of ovarian cancer…

Nearly half of sarcoma surgeries done by nonsurgical oncology specialists

The remaining 48 percent of these sarcoma surgeries were conducted by general surgeons, plastic surgeons and orthopedic surgeons, whose post-medical degree fellowship training did not emphasize the multi-disciplinary evaluation and surgical management of sarcomas and other cancers located deep in the soft tissue of the arms and legs, said Robert J. Canter, associate professor of surgery at UC Davis and first author of the journal article. …