Four dollar drug might be effective against most aggressive prostate cancers

The cell's mitochondria produce the energy that fuels the
cell. Metformin may be used to shut down mitochondria
in aggressive prostate cancer cells 

CANCER DIGEST – April 22, 2018 – New research shows how a common drug for diabetes may halt aggressive prostate cancer.

The drug metformin has long been linked with anti-cancer properties as numerous studies have shown lower rates of certain cancers among diabetic patients who take the drug, but just how the drug might work against cancer was unknown.

Double-drug strategy blocks escape route for most lung cancers

The tumors in the top three rows above were treated with
 current drugs, the bottom row tumors were treated with the
new combination. Image courtesy of UT Southwestern

CANCER DIGEST – April 14, 2018 – A combination of two, already FDA-approved drugs, appear to be effective in treating non-small lung cancer, at least in mice models that had human-derived tumors, researchers say. Because the two drugs are already approved, the researchers hope to have a clinical trial in humans approved within a year.

The two drugs include a class of drugs called EGFR inhibitors such as Erbitux®, Tarceva® and Iressa®, and the class of TNF inhibitors such as Humira®, Enbrel® and Remicade®.

New combination shows promise in advanced lung cancer

CANCER DIGEST – April 8, 2018 – A new combination therapy of using an immunotherapy drug, with a new and powerful immune stimulation drug, shows promise in patients whose advanced lung cancer has become resistant to other therapies, preliminary results of a clinical trial shows.

The study is the first time the immune stimulant has been combined with one of the new class of drugs, called checkpoint drugs such as nivolumab (OPDIVO®) and pembrolizumab (Keytruda) according to study leaders Drs. John Wrangle, and Mark Rubinstein, PhD., of the Hollings Cancer Center at the Medical University of South Carolina.

Medicare will cover genetic tests for cancer patients

CANCER DIGEST – Mar. 17, 2018 – The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced on Mar. 16 that Medicare will cover genetic testing needed to match cancer patients with targeted immunotherapies. Specifically Medicare will cover Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) for patients with advanced cancer that has spread or has relapsed or fails to respond to other therapies.

UK’s National Health Service to trial mpMRI for prostate cancer

Patient being positioned for an MRI – image used under
Creative Commons share alike license from Wikipedia

CANCER DIGEST – March 10, 2018 –In an effort to improve and speed up prostate cancer diagnosis, Britain’s National Health Service has launched a trial of a "one-stop" service in three west London hospitals. The goal is to complete all the tests needed to tell a man whether or not he has prostate cancer in one day.