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Even a little exercise may ward off polyps in the colon, which are sometimes precursors to cancer. In fact, just an hour a week of low-intensity exercise -- even such seemingly trivial activities as walking on the street or climbing stairs -- reduced risk, especially among individuals who are obese or overweight, according to new research slated to be presented Sunday at Digestive Disease Week in Chicago.
Medline Plus (Oncology) - Tue, 10 May 2011
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus
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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Afinitor (everolimus) to treat patients with progressive neuroendocrine tumors located in the pancreas (PNET) that cannot be removed by surgery or that have spread to other parts of the body (metastatic).
Food and Drug Administration (Oncology) - Tue, 10 May 2011
http://www.fda.gov
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In 2007, the American Cancer Society recommended the performance of a breast magnetic resonance in those women where cancer risk was over 20%, since previous trials had shown that NMR is more sensitive but less specific than mammography in these patients. Now, in Germany, NMR, mammography and ultrasonography have been compared in 687 high-risk women: 10% had a BRCA mutation, 27% had a personal history of breast cancer and 63% had a family history of cancer; all of them presented then a cancer risk over 20%.
MedNews (Oncology) - Mon, 9 May 2011
http://mn.medsurfnews.com/
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The patient had been well until approximately 3 months earlier, when he noted blood in his stools, without pain. Ten weeks before this evaluation, he saw his primary physician; the physical examination was normal, but the stool was guaiac-positive. During the next 6 weeks, the patient noted a decreasing caliber of stools, and 1 month before presentation, blood and mucus admixed with stools.
New England Journal of Medicine (Oncology) - Tue, 3 May 2011
http://www.nejm.org
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NICE has today published an update to its clinical guideline on diagnosing and treating lung cancer. The new recommendations replace those previously published in 2005. "This updated guideline contains a number of new recommendations reflecting up-to-date developments since the original guideline was published which include: the diagnosis and staging of the disease, different approaches to treatment - including offering surgery to those patients who are medically fit and suitable - and a new emphasis on follow-up."
National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Oncology) - Tue, 3 May 2011
http://www.nice.org.uk
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The Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial, published in 2003, has shown that finasteride decreases the incidence of prostate cancer in 7 years of 6% compared to placebo, but the use of this substance is associated with the presence of tumours with a greater malignancy. In practice, in patients preventively treated with finasteride there are less tumours, but with a greater aggressiveness. Now, some researchers sponsored by pharmaceutical industry have performed a similar trial using dutasteride, another 5α-reductase inhibitor. About 7000 males between 50 and 75 years of age, with PSA levels between 2.5 and 10.0 ng/ml and negative prostate biopsies have been examined.
MedNews (Oncology) - Mon, 2 May 2011
http://mn.medsurfnews.com/
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High levels of heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids in the blood may be associated with an increased risk for developing aggressive prostate cancer, while elevated levels of unhealthy trans-fatty acids may lower the risk, a new study suggests. Researchers examined data from a U.S.-wide study of more than 3,400 men, and found that those with the highest blood percentages of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) were two-and-a-half times more likely to develop aggressive prostate cancer than those with the lowest DHA levels. DHA is an inflammation-reducing omega-3 fatty acid commonly found in fatty fish. In the study, the men consumed the DHA primarily from fish rather than fish oil supplements. The study also found that the risk of aggresive prostate cancer was 50 percent lower in men with the highest blood levels of trans-fatty acids, which are abundant in processed foods and associated with inflammation and heart disease.
Medline Plus (Oncology) - Tue, 26 April 2011
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus
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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently approved a new device to treat adults with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) that recurs or progresses after receiving chemotherapy and radiation therapy. GBM is the most common primary brain cancer. The brain tumor is highly resistant to standard treatments such as surgery, radiation and chemotherapy. When using the device, a health care professional places electrodes on the surface of the patient’s scalp to deliver low-intensity, changing electrical fields called “tumor treatment fields” (TTFs) to the tumor site. The unique shape and electrical characteristics of dividing tumor cells make them susceptible to damage when exposed to TTF, which could stop tumor growth.
Food and Drug Administration (Oncology) - Mon, 18 April 2011
http://www.fda.gov
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Too many patients are getting a thyroid cancer treatment that kills thyroid tissue but can also harm other tissues in the process, according to a new study. The research, published in Cancer, finds that doctors are treating patients with early-stage, low-risk thyroid cancer using radioactive iodine, which doesn't increase their chances of surviving but may put them at risk for a secondary cancer.
Medline Plus (Oncology) - Mon, 18 April 2011
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus
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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved vandetanib to treat adult patients with late-stage (metastatic) medullary thyroid cancer who are ineligible for surgery and who have disease that is growing or causing symptoms. Vandetanib targets medullary thyroid cancer’s ability to grow and expand. There are currently no FDA-approved treatments for this type of cancer. Vandetanib is administered orally on a daily basis. Vandetanib’s safety and effectiveness were established in a single, randomized international study of 331 patients with late-stage medullary thyroid cancer. Patients in the study were selected to receive vandetanib or placebo (sugar pill). The study was designed to measure the length of time a patient lived without the individual’s cancer progressing (progression-free survival). Patients who received vandetanib had a longer period of time without disease progression when compared to patients receiving placebo. Median progression-free survival was 16.4 months in the placebo arm and at least 22.6 months in the vandetanib arm. It is too early to determine the median progression-free survival in patients treated with vandetanib or to tell whether they will live longer (overall survival) compared to patients treated with placebo.
Food and Drug Administration (Oncology) - Tue, 12 April 2011
http://www.fda.gov