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New Drug May Help Immune System Fight Cancer
Posted 2 days 21 hours ago by Drugs.com
THURSDAY, May 16 – An experimental drug that taps the power of the body's immune system to fight cancer is shrinking tumors in patients for whom other treatments have failed, an early study shows. The drug binds to a protein called PD-L1 that sits on the surface of cancer cells and makes them invisible to the immune system, almost like a cloaking device. "That [the protein] allows the tumor cell to grow unchecked and cause harm to the patient," said study author Dr. Roy Herbst, chief of medical oncology at Yale University. But with the protein blocked, the immune system can see and destroy cancer cells. Of 140 patients in the pilot safety study, 29 (or 21 percent) initially saw significant tumor shrinkage after at least three months on the medication. Researchers say 26 patients have continued to respond over time, including some who have been on the drug for more than a year. One ... Read more
Related support groups: Cancer, Colorectal Cancer, Renal Cell Carcinoma, Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer, Melanoma, Gastric Cancer
Scientists Use Cloning Technique to Produce Human Stem Cells
Posted 4 days ago by Drugs.com
WEDNESDAY, May 15 – Scientists report they've used a cloning technique to reprogram an ordinary human skin cell to become an embryonic stem cell. In turn, the new stem cell has the potential to transform into any type of cell in the body. Besides marking a breakthrough in stem cell technology, which has the potential to one day cure a myriad of illnesses, the achievement has some concerned that scientists are moving a step closer to human cloning. That's because the new stem cell is genetically identical to cells from the person from whom it was derived. Stem cells can differentiate into cells for all of the tissue types that the body needs, such as nerves, muscle and bone. While Dolly the Sheep was cloned in 1996, and other species have been cloned since, researchers have been unable to clone a primate such as a monkey, chimpanzee or human. However, the technological advances ... Read more
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Creative Arts May Help Cancer Patients Cope
Posted 6 days ago by Drugs.com
MONDAY, May 13 – Cancer patients who participate in the creative arts – such as music therapy, dance, art therapy and writing – may be helping to reduce the anxiety, depression and pain that can be associated with their diagnosis, according to a new report. Taking part in these creative arts "is an opportunity for these patients to complement the healing process above and beyond the physical," said Timothy Puetz, presidential management fellow at the U.S. National Institutes of Health's Office of the Director. With his colleagues, Puetz reviewed 27 published studies that included more than 1,500 patients. The review was published online May 13 in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine. The researchers looked at the effects of the creative arts on common problems linked with cancer, including anxiety, depression, pain, fatigue and quality of life, and found that the arts did indeed have ... Read more
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At-Home Drug Errors Common for Kids With Cancer, Research Shows
Posted 16 days ago by Drugs.com
FRIDAY, May 3 – Children with cancer often have complex medication regimens – sometimes as many as 20 drugs a day – that they take at home, and mistakes are common, a new study finds. Errors often occur when parents don't understand how to give the drugs, but mislabeled bottles and wrong prescriptions are also to blame, researchers say. "Parents of children with cancer make many mistakes giving their children critical medicines, including chemotherapy at home," said lead researcher Dr. Kathleen Walsh, of the departments of pediatrics and medicine at the University of Massachusetts School of Medicine in Worcester. Injuries were often related to under-dosing pain medication, which was causing pain for the children, she said. "Sometimes parents wouldn't fill prescriptions, or give the proper dose," Walsh said. "One thing that was surprising was the high rate of errors that go on," she ... Read more
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Minorities Less Prone to Think They'll Get Cancer: Study
Posted 21 Apr 2013 by Drugs.com
FRIDAY, April 19 – Black, Asian and Hispanic Americans are less likely than whites to believe they will get cancer, even though they are actually more likely to develop cancer and die from it, according to a new study. The findings suggest that minority groups need to be given more culturally relevant information about cancer risk and prevention, said the researchers from the Moffitt Cancer Center. They asked people their opinions about their risk of getting cancer, severity of cancer and the benefits of early cancer detection. The participants also were asked about their ability to prevent cancer and their understanding of cancer screening and detection. "We found that blacks, Asians and Hispanics were all more likely to believe that they had a lower chance of getting cancer than did whites," study senior author B. Lee Green, senior member of the health outcomes and behavior program ... Read more
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Strides Made in Preventing Cancer, But Challenges Remain: Report
Posted 11 Apr 2013 by Drugs.com
THURSDAY, April 11 – When it comes to cancer prevention, the latest report from the American Cancer Society offers mostly good news but some bad news as well. Cigarette smoking rates continue to drop, with significant declines seen in high school-aged smoking. But, in response to the now ubiquitous smoke-free areas in most public spaces, cigarette companies upped their marketing for smokeless tobacco products by nearly 120 percent, according to the report released Thursday. "We're making progress, but we need to keep an eye on the needle to see where the whole front of risk factors is, and how we can put out the best policy to face the ongoing challenges," said Vilma Cokkinides, strategic director of risk factors and screening for the American Cancer Society. The annual report focused on tobacco use, obesity, nutrition and physical inactivity, ultraviolet radiation and skin cancer, the ... Read more
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Smog Exposure During Pregnancy Might Raise Child's Cancer Risk: Study
Posted 9 Apr 2013 by Drugs.com
TUESDAY, April 9 – Exposure to air pollution during pregnancy and the first year of life might increase the likelihood of developing certain childhood cancers, California researchers say. Researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles School of Public Health collected data on children diagnosed with cancer before the age of 6 and local traffic exposure. The greater the traffic pollution, the higher the odds for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (white blood cell cancer), germ cell tumors (cancers of the testicles, ovaries and other organs) and eye cancer, they found. These findings do not mean pollution actually causes these cancers, said lead researcher Julia Heck, an assistant researcher in the department of epidemiology. "This finding is an association, because nothing is proven yet," she said. But the results do suggest that exposure to traffic pollution might increase risk ... Read more
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Child's Cancer Often Causes Parents Severe Distress: Study
Posted 2 Apr 2013 by Drugs.com
TUESDAY, April 2 – Many parents of children with advanced cancer have high to severe levels of psychological distress, a new study finds. The study included 81 parents of children treated for advanced cancer at Boston Children's Hospital, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and Seattle Children's Hospital between December 2004 and June 2009. Assessments revealed that more than half of the parents had high levels of psychological distress and 16 percent had severe levels. Parents' levels of psychological distress were associated with their child's symptoms and suffering, financial problems, goals of cancer care and understanding of their child's prognosis. Psychological distress was much lower among parents whose understanding of their child's prognosis matched the specific goals of cancer care, according to the study, which was published online April 1 in the journal JAMA Pediatrics. ... Read more
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Nearly 14 Million Cancer Survivors in U.S.: Report
Posted 27 Mar 2013 by Drugs.com
WEDNESDAY, March 27 – There are currently 13.7 million cancer survivors in the United States and the number is expected to rise by 31 percent to 18 million by 2022, according to a new report. "Cancer is often not the immediately fatal diagnosis it often was in the past," said one expert, Dr. William Oh, chief of the division of hematology/oncology at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City. He was not involved in the new report, which comes from the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR). As the American population gets older, more cancer survivors can be expected, added Julia Rowland, director of the Office of Cancer Survivorship at the U.S. National Cancer Institute. "By 2020, we expect that two-thirds of cancer survivors are going to be aged 65 or older," she said in an AACR news release. The report, based on an analysis of national data, also found that patients with ... Read more
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More Genetic Insights Into 3 Types of Cancer
Posted 27 Mar 2013 by Drugs.com
WEDNESDAY, March 27 – Critical clues to understanding who is at the greatest risk for particular types of cancer may be found in "spelling mistakes" contained in a person's DNA. In a step toward personalized medicine and the ability to better understand individual risk factors for three common hormone-related cancers, a large team of international researchers have unveiled what might be the clearest picture to date of the genetic alterations associated with some forms of the disease. Although more research is needed, the study authors predict that genetic testing to help determine a person's risk for some of the most potentially deadly cancers may be available within five to 10 years. "We think the most immediately practical application will be in people already at risk for the disease and going through the genetic counseling process," said Douglas Easton, a professor of genetic ... Read more
Related support groups: Cancer, Breast Cancer, Prostate Cancer, Ovarian Cancer
Too Few Americans Pass Last Days in Hospice Care: CDC
Posted 27 Mar 2013 by Drugs.com
WEDNESDAY, March 27 – Many people are still dying in hospitals, despite the fact that there has been a decrease in the number of patients who spend their final days in a setting that most would rather avoid, a new government report shows. While the number of people admitted to U.S. hospitals increased 11 percent between 2000 and 2010, going from 31.7 million to 35.1 million, the number of people who died in hospitals dropped 8 percent, from 776,000 to 715,000, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The drop in hospital deaths occurred largely among women, the researchers found. "That could just be that there were more older women who were able to be placed in alternative settings, because women live longer. That's just a hypothesis," said report author Margaret Jean Hall, from the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). The report was released ... Read more
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What's Good for the Heart May Also Prevent Cancer
Posted 18 Mar 2013 by Drugs.com
MONDAY, March 18 – Seven healthy lifestyle tips recommended by heart experts reduce not only the risk of heart disease but also cancer, a new study finds. Adopting all seven of the factors from the American Heart Association can reduce the risk of developing cancer by more than 50 percent. Moreover, the benefits are cumulative, with cancer risk declining with each additional recommendation followed, the researchers said. "These findings aren't surprising, given that many elements, like having a healthy diet, exercising and not smoking, are known to reduce the risk of cancer," said lead researcher Laura Rasmussen-Torvik, an assistant professor in the department of preventive medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, in Chicago. "We thought it was important to demonstrate that adherence to these goals as a whole is significantly associated with a lower risk of ... Read more
Related support groups: Cancer, Heart Disease, Cardiovascular Risk Reduction
Scientists ID Antibody That Might Boost Cancer Therapy
Posted 14 Mar 2013 by Drugs.com
THURSDAY, March 14 – A new monoclonal antibody that can target proteins inside cancer cells has been developed by researchers and tested in the laboratory and in mice. Monoclonal antibodies are naturally occurring human antibodies that are genetically altered in a laboratory, cloned in large numbers and introduced into the patient to target disease sites. In the new study, a monoclonal antibody, called ESK1, targets a protein associated with many types of cancer. The targeted protein, called WT1, is over-produced in a range of leukemias and other cancers, including myeloma and breast, ovarian and colorectal cancers. WT1 is an oncogenic protein, which means it supports the formation of cancer. Because WT1 is found in few healthy cells, patients are less likely to suffer side effects from drugs that would potentially target the protein, the researchers said. "This is a new approach for ... Read more
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FDA Approves Lymphoseek to Help Locate Lymph Nodes in Patients with Certain Cancers
Posted 13 Mar 2013 by Drugs.com
March 13, 2013 – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Lymphoseek (technetium Tc 99m tilmanocept) Injection, a radioactive diagnostic imaging agent that helps doctors locate lymph nodes in patients with breast cancer or melanoma who are undergoing surgery to remove tumor-draining lymph nodes. Lymph nodes filter lymphatic fluid that flows from the body’s tissues. This fluid may contain cancer cells, especially if the fluid drains a part of the body containing a tumor. By surgically removing and examining the lymph nodes that drain a tumor, doctors can sometimes determine if a cancer has spread. Lymphoseek is an imaging drug that helps locate lymph nodes; it is not a cancer imaging drug. Lymphoseek is the first new drug used for lymph node mapping to be approved in more than 30 years. Other FDA-approved drugs used for lymph node mapping include sulfur colloid (1974) and i ... Read more
Related support groups: Cancer, Breast Cancer, Breast Cancer, Metastatic, Melanoma, Melanoma - Metastatic, Diagnosis and Investigation
Medicare Spending Not Linked to Longer Cancer Survival
Posted 12 Mar 2013 by Drugs.com
TUESDAY, March 12 – Significant regional variations in Medicare spending for U.S. patients with advanced cancer are not linked to differences in survival, according to new research. For the study, which was published March 12 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, researchers examined Medicare data on patients who had advanced lung, colorectal, pancreas, breast and prostate cancers between 2002 and 2007 and were in 80 different regions of the country. Average Medicare spending on the patients varied by up to 41 percent between high- and low-spending regions. Despite this large difference, there was no direct link between regional spending and patient survival. Higher spending was, however, strongly associated with longer and more frequent hospital visits, according to a journal news release. "The identification of inpatient hospitalization as a key driver of regional ... Read more
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