_ Breast Cancer Immunotherapy in Early-Stage Breast Cancer By Sondra Forsyth article Yale Cancer Center researchers used a new molecular analysis tool to accurately detect the level of an important target for immunotherapy in early-stage breast cancers. The diagnostic test, using RNAScope, measures the amount of PD-L1 (programmed death ligand 1) mRNA in routine formalin-fixed cancer tissues and is devoid of many of the technical issues that plague antibody-based detection methods that have yielded conflicting results in the past. PD-L1 is the target of several novel immune stimulatory therapies in clinical trials.
_ Cancer Center 12 Things To Do after Your Cancer Diagnosis By Sondra Forsyth article By James Tamkin M.D. and Dave Visel This article originally appeared on DemosHealth.com. It is adapted from The Myeloma Survival Guide. As a newly diagnosed cancer patient, you are beginning a long, complicated, physically and mentally taxing journey. Here are twelve things to start doing now to make your journey a little easier.
A New Cancer Treatment for Dogs By Jane Farrell article A cancer therapy that was until now only available for humans has been developed for dogs. Scientists from the Messerli Research Institute of the Vetmeduni Vienna, the Medical University of Vienna, and the University of Vienna have developed a way to use cancer immunotherapy on dogs. Almost half of dogs ten years or older develop cancer.
Cancer Survivors: Dealing With Guilt When Others Don't Live On By blog At a dinner outing recently, I sat next to a young woman who had just been declared by her doctors to be in remission from her lymphoma. Over the course of the evening, we talked about many aspects of being a cancer survivor. We joked about her hair growing back curly when it had always been straight. We talked about chemotherapy and feeling horrible. She mentioned the tension of waiting for the next time she would have tests, and the continued status of remission. When I asked her what the hardest part was about being a cancer survivor, she said survival skills.
Breast Cancer Some Cancers Respond to Anti-Inflammatory Drugs By Sondra Forsyth article Research done at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis raises the possibility that some cancer patients with aggressive tumors may benefit from a class of anti-inflammatory drugs used to treat rheumatoid arthritis. The investigators published their findings in a 2014 issue of the journal Cell Reports.
_ Skin Skin Health Watch: Overcoming Skin Cancer By Jane Farrell article Here's another addition to the ThirdAge Video Collection. Press play to start learning.
_ The "New Normal": Life After Cancer Treatment By Jane Farrell article Cancer is a frightening and even traumatic experience not only for patients but for caregivers. But once diagnosis and treatment are over, people who cared for a loved one may expect to put it behind them and go back to their normal life. As the National Cancer Institute (NCI) explains, though, thatΓÇÖs not usually the case. Caregivers are faced with a ΓÇ£new normalΓÇ¥ that may make life seem more forbidding and uncertain. Here, experts from the NCI take a look at a situation thatΓÇÖs often neglected, and share some strategies for coping:
_ The Drug That Improves Anti-Cancer Viruses By Jane Farrell article Combining a widely used medication with a cancer-killing virus might improve the effectiveness of the virus in battling malignancies, according to a new study.
Breast Cancer A Possible Link Between Carbohydrates and Breast Cancer By Jane Farrell article Limiting carbohydrate intake could reduce the risk of one type of breast cancer, researchers have found. The findings, published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention, focused on the cancer whose tumor tissue has the IGF-1 receptor. "There is a growing body of research demonstrating associations between obesity, diabetes, and cancer risk," said lead author Jennifer A. Emond, an instructor in the Department of Community and Family Medicine at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College.
_ Caregiving Early Palliative Support Helps Cancer Caregivers By Sondra Forsyth article Dartmouth researchers have found that those caring for patients with advanced cancer experienced reduced depression and felt less burdened by caregiving tasks when palliative support services were offered soon after the patient's diagnosis. The team presented the findings at the American Society of Clinical Oncologist (ASCO) annual meeting in Chicago on June 3rd 2014.
_ Breast Cancer Breast Cancer and Malfunctioning Cells in Older Women By Jane Farrell article Scientists are a step closer to understanding why older women are more susceptible to breast cancer. Researchers from the Department of EnergyΓÇÖs Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) said their study shows that as women age, cells that that are responsible for maintaining healthy breast stop responding to cues that should prompt them to suppress nearby tumors. According to the National Cancer Institute, breast cancer is most frequently diagnosed among women aged 55 to 64.
_ Lung-Cancer Drug Can Prolong Life By Jane Farrell article Ramucirumab, a drug designed to combat solid tumors, has proven effective as a second-line treatment for patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer when itΓÇÖs combined with another drug, docetaxel. In a randomized phase III clinical trial, the two drugs showed greater effectiveness than docetaxel combined with a placebo. The findings were published in the British journal Lancet. A team of researchers, including corresponding study author Dr. Edward B. Garon, MD, of UCLA, looked at 1,253 patients.
_ Breakthrough in Fighting Skin & Lung Cancers By Sondra Forsyth article Researchers at UCLAΓÇÖs Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center are reporting promising treatment milestones for patients with deadly skin and lung cancers who are being treated with an experimental drug called MK-3475.
_ Prostate-Cancer Radiation Has Some Dangers By Jane Farrell article Prostate-cancer patients who have received radiation treatment appear more likely to develop bladder or rectal cancer, new research shows. And while the number of cases is relatively low, investigators said that patients should still be monitored for those illnesses. ΓÇ£Overall the incidence of these cancers is low. But when men have received radiation treatments, itΓÇÖs important to evaluate carefully any symptoms that could be a sign of bladder or rectal cancer,ΓÇ¥ says senior study author Kathleen A.
_ Delivering a Drug ΓÇ£CocktailΓÇ¥ to Cancer Cells By Jane Farrell article Biomedical engineering researchers at North Carolina State University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have developed daisy-shaped, nanoscale structures that are made predominantly of anti-cancer drugs and are capable of introducing a "cocktail" of multiple drugs into cancer cells.
Cancer Center Cancer Center Ads Emotional, Not Informative By Jane Farrell article Emotional reactions to cancer center consumer advertisements may lead to unrealistic expectations and inappropriate treatments, according to a study done at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health and published in May 2014 in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine. A release from the American College of Physicians notes that in response to a rapidly increasing demand for cancer care in the United States, a growing number of cancer centers are marketing their clinical services directly to patients through consumer advertising.
A New Understanding of the Anti-Cancer Drug Taxol By Jane Farrell article Scientists have discovered exactly how the anti-cancer drug Taxol works, and the discovery could lead to designing better medicines. Taxol, one of the most widely prescribed anti-cancer drugs globally, disrupts the workings of microtubules, part of the cellΓÇÖs skeleton.
_ Breast Cancer Hope for Beating HER2-Positive Breast Cancer By article Scientists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory on Lonf Island in New York report on May 18th 2014 a discovery that they hope will lead to the development of a powerful new way of treating an aggressive form of breast cancer commonly called "HER2-positive".