Triple-negative breast cancer is characterized by the absence of estrogen and progesterone receptors and the HER2/neu protein in breast cancer cells. That in itself presents a challenge in treating the disease, as it does not respond to hormonal- or HER2-targeted therapies that provide for positive outcomes in other subtypes of breast cancer. …
More than 30 years ago, a groundbreaking analysis by famed British researchers, Richard Doll and Richard Peto, calculated that 30 percent of all cancer deaths in the United States were caused by smoking. Since that time, no new estimate of this percentage has been published in the scientific literature. …
An analysis of randomized trials demonstrated that patients with early-stage breast cancer who are treated with breast-conserving surgery and adjuvant whole-breast irradiation have improved survival and a lower risk of tumor recurrence compared to patients who are not treated with radiation therapy. Patients are commonly treated with CF-WBI; however, several recent randomized trials[2-5] have confirmed that patients treated with HF-WBI have similar disease-free and overall survival rates as those treated with CF-WBI. CF-WBI delivers a total dose of 45-50 Gy in 25-28 daily fractions of 1.8-2.0 Gy over five to six weeks, while HF-WBI uses a shorter treatment course and a lower total dose and number of fractions, delivering a total dose of 39-42.5 Gy in 13-16 daily fractions of 2.5-3.2 Gy over three to five weeks. …
The variation in ERAP1 can be detected by genetic testing which, if available, could lead to people becoming aware of the risk of the condition earlier. Ankylosing Spondylitis is a chronic inflammatory disease which mainly affects joints in the spine. In severe cases, it can eventually cause complete fusion and rigidity of the spine, called “Bamboo spine.” It tends to first develop in teenagers and young adults with most cases first starting in people aged 20-30…
Medulloblastoma is the most common brain tumor in children, and its treatment remains inefficient. The work of a team of researchers led by Luca Tiberi and Pierre Vanderhaeghen (Universit� libre de Bruxelles (ULB), WELBIO, IRIBHM and ULB Neuroscience Institute (UNI)) opens new perspectives on the diagnosis and treatment of these brain tumors…
The data, presented at the 56th annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology, suggest that it may be possible to genomically screen ALL patients for their risk of long-term treatment-related effects on memory, attention and learning and to study potential interventions. …
In a world-first the researchers were able to show that changes in the isotopic composition of zinc, which can be detected in a person’s breast tissue, could make it possible to identify a ‘biomarker’ (a measurable indicator) of early breast cancer. …
Targeted therapy with radiopharmaceuticals–radioactive compounds used in nuclear medicine for diagnosis or treatment–has great potential for the treatment of cancer, especially for cancer cells that have migrated from primary tumors to lymph nodes and secondary organs such as bone marrow. These disseminated tumor cells can be difficult to treat with a single targeting agent because there are dramatic differences in the number of targetable receptors on each cell. …
Radiotherapy uses X-rays to destroy cancer cells but this can often lead to a severe skin reaction involving redness, pain and blistering similar to sunburn. The trial of this cream — mometasone furoate–was so successful that the patients in the research will now be offered this instead of the existing treatment. Breast cancer patients were recruited from hospitals all over the North West for the trial, based at the Rosemere Cancer Centre at the Royal Preston Hospital. Dr Andrew Hindley of Rosemere Cancer Centre: “We believe that this treatment should be considered the standard of care when a radiation therapy schedule is administered to an anatomical site where severe dermatitis would be predicted.” The patients were offered either diprobase cream or mometasone furoate to be administered daily from the start of radiation therapy for 5 weeks and for at least a fortnight afterwards. …
Researchers behind a study at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center believe they may have found a molecule-based approach to halting 3q26.2’s destructive nature. …