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Testicular Cancer Blog

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Blog (15)

Research Sheds Light on Gene Mutation's Role in Rare Tumors

Posted 21 Dec 2011 by Drugs.com

WEDNESDAY, Dec. 21 – Mutations in a gene called DICER are associated with rare, seemingly unrelated ovarian, uterine and testicular cancers, a new study finds. The Canadian researchers said they were surprised to discover that the same fundamental mutation in the DICER gene was the common process underlying all these different cancers. The study was published in the Dec. 21 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. "DICER is of great interest to cancer researchers," team leader Dr. David Huntsman, a genetic pathologist and director of the Ovarian Cancer Program of B.C. at the British Columbia Cancer Agency and Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute, said in a University of British Columbia news release. "There have been nearly 1,300 published studies about it in the last 10 years, but until now, it has not been known how the gene functions in relation to cancer," said ... Read more

Related support groups: Ovarian Cancer, Endometrial Cancer, Testicular Cancer

Cancer Patients Should Ask Doctors to Use Simple Terms

Posted 28 Sep 2011 by Drugs.com

WEDNESDAY, Sept. 28 – Cancer patients are often faced with many difficult-to-understand treatment choices that can have serious side effects and even mean the difference between life and death. That's why it's crucial that patients insist doctors use plain language in explaining the options, advised Angela Fagerlin, an associate professor of internal medicine at the University of Michigan Medical School and a researcher at the U-M Comprehensive Cancer Center. "People are making life and death decisions that may affect their survival and they need to know what they're getting themselves into. Cancer treatments and tests can be serious. Patients need to know what kind of side effects they might experience as a result of the treatment they undergo," Fagerlin said in a university news release. She and her colleagues outlined a number of tips to help patients get the information they need ... Read more

'Journaling' Might Ease Depression in Testicular Cancer Patients

Posted 19 Sep 2011 by Drugs.com

MONDAY, Sept. 19 – Keeping a daily journal with a positive slant may ease the effects of psychological trauma and depression among men with testicular cancer, according to a small new pilot study. Researchers from Baylor University noted that men who wrote negatively about their condition, or simply chronicled unrelated topics, did not experience the same benefit. The findings, the investigators concluded, could help treat men with the disease seeking mental and emotional therapy. "We think writing about the experience could add to the therapy and can help with recovery and quality-of-life issues after treatment, as the men try to get on with their lives," Dr. Mark T. Morman, a professor of communication studies and graduate program director at Baylor University, said in a university news release. In the study, published in the current issue of Healthymagination, researchers divided 48 ... Read more

Related support groups: Testicular Cancer

Fewer Cancer Patients May Be Depressed Than Thought

Posted 20 Jan 2011 by Drugs.com

THURSDAY, Jan. 20 – The rate of depression among cancer patients may be lower than previously believed, a new study indicates. An international team of researchers analyzed 94 studies involving more than 14,000 patients and found that about one-sixth of cancer patients suffer depression and about one-third have a more widely defined mood disorder. Only modest rates of depression and anxiety occurred in cancer patients in the first five years after diagnosis, which suggests that depression is not inevitable in these patients, the researchers said. Only when it was combined with other mood disorders was depression common, occurring in 30 percent of hospitalized cancer patients. The study is published online Jan. 19 in The Lancet Oncology. Rates of depression and anxiety were not significantly different between patients receiving palliative care (care designed to ease pain and increase ... Read more

1 in 5 Cancer Survivors Suffers Chronic Pain, Study Finds

Posted 20 Jan 2011 by Drugs.com

WEDNESDAY, Jan. 19 – More than 40 percent of cancer survivors experience pain, and the risk is highest among black and female patients, finds a new study. Researchers at the University of Michigan Health System surveyed nearly 200 U.S. cancer survivors and found that 43 percent had experienced pain since their diagnosis, and 20 percent suffered chronic cancer-related pain at least two years later. Among white patients, the most significant source of pain was cancer surgery (53.8 percent), and among black patients the greatest source of pain was cancer treatment (46.2 percent), according to the report. In addition, the study found that compared to men, women had more pain, more pain flare-ups, more disability due to pain and were more depressed because of pain. The authors also noted that black patients were more likely to report greater severity of pain and more pain-related ... Read more

Demand for Radiation Therapy Predicted to Exceed Supply

Posted 21 Oct 2010 by Drugs.com

THURSDAY, Oct. 21 – Over the next decade, the growth in demand for radiation therapy in the United States will be 10 times greater than the increase in new radiation oncologists, a difference that could affect cancer patients' access to treatment, according to a new study. Between 2010 and 2020, the number of patients requiring radiation therapy will increase 22 percent but the number of full-time radiation oncologists entering the workforce will increase just 2 percent, said researchers at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston and colleagues. They based their predictions on projections that this year 3,943 radiation oncologists will treat an estimated 470,000 patients in the United States. The large increase in demand for radiation therapy will be partly due to growing numbers of older adults and minorities, groups in which certain types of cancers are more ... Read more

Cancer Patients' Secondary Symptoms Need Attention: Study

Posted 11 Oct 2010 by Drugs.com

MONDAY, Oct. 11 – Many cancer patients with pain or depression also experience physical symptoms, such as fatigue, dry mouth and nausea, that can cause disability, a new study shows. Doctors need to recognize and treat these symptoms in order to improve quality of life for cancer patients, said Dr. Kurt Kroenke, of the Richard Roudebush VA Medical Center, Indiana University, and Regenstrief Institute Inc. in Indianapolis, and colleagues. They analyzed data from 405 cancer patients who had either pain or depression and found that all the patients had at least one of 22 physical symptoms examined in the study. More than half of patients reported 15 of the 22 symptoms. The most common symptoms were fatigue (97.5 percent), difficulty sleeping (about 79 percent), pain in limbs or joints (78 percent), back pain (nearly 75 percent) and memory problems (72 percent). The patients also reported ... Read more

Many Docs Deliver Cancer Diagnosis Badly: Study

Posted 7 Jul 2010 by Drugs.com

WEDNESDAY, July 7 – One patient found out he had cancer by reading his radiology report. Another got the news when her neurologist called to say he had arranged for her to see a neurosurgeon. When she asked why, the doctor told her she had a brain tumor and hung up. A third learned she had breast cancer listening to her answering machine with her grandson sitting on her lap. A new study about how people learn of cancer diagnoses finds that many doctors have poor communication skills and often leave patients stranded with devastating information about a deadly illness, sometimes in a public setting. One-third of the cancer patients in the U.S. National Cancer Institute study recalled being told on the phone, in an emergency room, radiology department or other public hospital setting that they had cancer, most often leukemia, lymphoma or brain tumors. "It's really dismaying to think that ... Read more

Cost-Conscious Cancer Survivors Skip Care

Posted 14 Jun 2010 by Drugs.com

MONDAY, June 14 – Millions of Americans with a history of cancer, particularly people under age 65, are delaying or skimping on medical care because of worries about the cost of treatment, a new study suggests. The finding raises troubling questions about the long-term survival and quality of life of the 12 million adults in the United States whose lives have been forever changed by a diagnosis of cancer. "I think it's concerning because we recognize that cancer survivors have many medical needs that persist for years after their diagnosis and treatment," said study lead author Kathryn E. Weaver, an assistant professor in the Department of Social Sciences & Health Policy at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, N.C. The report was published online June 14 in Cancer, a journal of the American Cancer Society. Cost concerns have posed a threat to cancer ... Read more

Pain Relief Often Delayed for Cancer Patients

Posted 16 Mar 2010 by Drugs.com

TUESDAY, March 16 – Palliative care services, which help people who are seriously ill relieve symptoms such as pain, are now found at most U.S. cancer centers, but many programs don't interact with patients until it's too late, study findings show. Dr. David Hui, of the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, and his colleagues surveyed 71 U.S. National Cancer Institute-designated cancer centers and randomly surveyed 71 other cancer centers. They received responses from 71 percent of 142 executives and 82 percent of 120 program leaders. The researchers also found that the NCI cancer centers were more likely to have palliative care programs and physicians. A report on the survey was published in the March 17 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. "Palliative care outpatient clinics, inpatient consultation teams, palliative care units and hospices ... Read more

Testicular Cancer Survivors May Have Hormone Deficiency

Posted 22 Feb 2010 by Drugs.com

MONDAY, Feb. 22 – Testosterone deficiency in young male cancer survivors often causes low energy levels and reduced quality of life, and these patients may benefit from testosterone replacement therapy, a new study suggests. About 15 percent of male cancer survivors experience testosterone deficiency, which is a late side effect of chemotherapy or radiation therapy. In this study of 176 young male cancer survivors and 213 young men without cancer, English researchers looked at the association between testosterone levels, quality of life, self-esteem, fatigue and sexual function. The young male cancer survivors reported reduced energy levels, impaired sexual function and a markedly reduced quality of life. These problems were most severe in those with testosterone deficiency. However, the cancer survivors had no problems with self-esteem, sexual relationships or mental health. "This is ... Read more

Related support groups: Testicular Cancer

U.S. Cancer Cases, Deaths Continue to Drop

Posted 8 Dec 2009 by Drugs.com

MONDAY, Dec. 7 – Better screening, healthier living and new treatments have all continued to help cut the annual number of cancer cases and deaths in the United States, a new report says. The findings showed that new cancer cases and deaths from cancer have declined significantly for both men and women and for most racial/ethnic populations. These decreases were largely due to decreased incidence and death from lung, prostate and colon cancer among men and a drop in two of the three leading cancers in women (breast and colon cancers). New diagnoses for all types of cancer in the United States declined almost 1 percent per year from 1999 to 2006 and cancer deaths dropped 1.6 percent per year from 2001 to 2006. The report, which appears in the Dec. 7 online edition of Cancer, was compiled from data by the American Cancer Society, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the ... Read more

Testicular Cancer Survivors Face Other Ills

Posted 1 Dec 2009 by Drugs.com

WEDNESDAY, Oct. 28 – For men with testicular cancer, survival comes at a price: New research suggests that those who recover from the disease face higher risks of long-term illness unrelated to tumors. "Current patients with testicular cancer should be informed about the risk of short-term and particularly long-term side effects of their highly effective treatment," said Sophie D. Fossa, a professor at the University of Oslo in Norway and lead author of a study in the November issue of the journal BJUI. The study found that one in four survivors will develop long-term neurological, hearing and circulatory problems. They are also nearly twice as likely to develop another form of cancer. But there's good news, too. As many as four out of five survivors who try to become fathers are successful, the study authors noted. "Patients can suffer considerable mental distress after having one ... Read more

Related support groups: Testicular Cancer

Researchers Spot Genes Linked to Testicular Cancer

Posted 1 Jun 2009 by Drugs.com

MONDAY, June 1 – U.S. scientists say they've identified key gene variants tied to an increased risk of testicular cancer. They said the findings are an important step toward understanding which men are at high risk for the disease. "Despite being quite heritable, there really have not been any clear genetic risk factors that can account for most cases of testicular cancer. These variants are the first striking genetic risk factors found for this disease to date," Dr. Katherine L. Nathanson, an assistant professor of medicine at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and a specialist in medical genetics at the Abramson Cancer Center, said in a news release. Nathanson and colleagues found that men with two copies of the common version of the c-KIT ligand (KITLG) gene are 4.5 times more likely to develop testicular cancer than men with two copies of the less common versions of ... Read more

Related support groups: Testicular Cancer

Marijuana Linked to Aggressive Testicular Cancer

Posted 9 Feb 2009 by Drugs.com

MONDAY, Feb. 9 – Smoking marijuana over an extended period of time appears to greatly boost a young man's risk for developing a particularly aggressive form of testicular cancer, a new study reveals. In fact, researchers found that men who smoked marijuana once a week or began to use the substance on a long-term basis while adolescents incurred double the risk for developing the fastest-spreading version of testicular cancer – nonseminoma, which accounts for about 40 percent of all cases. "Since we know that the incidence of testicular cancer has been rising in our country and in Europe over the last 40 years and that marijuana use has also risen over the same time, it seemed logical that there might be an association between the two," said study co-author Janet Daling, an epidemiologist and member of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center's public health sciences division in ... Read more

Related support groups: Testicular Cancer

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