First large clinical trial shows benefit for melanoma

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CANCER DIGEST – May 26, 2015 – For the first time a large clinical trial comparing a viral immunotherapy to a standard treatment has definitively shown to increase cancer-free survival for patients with cancer.

Led by British researchers at the Institute of Cancer Research, London, 436 patients at 64 centers worldwide with aggressive, inoperable malignant melanoma

Imaging technique identifies early metastasis in lymph nodes

Upper left: A sPA signal cannot
be obtained if the gold nano-
particles have no targeting anti-
body -- and thus cannot be
captured by metastatic cells
(drawing bottom left).

Upper right: A strong sPA signal
is obtained from gold nanoparticles
with a targeting antibody that are
captured by the metastatic cells
(drawing bottom right).²

CANCER DIGEST – May 22, 2015 – Researchers at the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Engineering have developed a highly sensitive and accurate imaging technique for visualizing cancer cells in the lymph nodes. 

The non-invasive screening method could one day reduce the need for the current practice of surgically removing lymph nodes to determine whether metastatic cancer cells have invaded the lymph nodes. 

The new imaging technique – so far tested only in mice – offers a rapid and effective tool to non-invasively identify very small numbers of these cells, known as micrometastases, thus detecting cancer’s spread at its earliest stages, which is critical for timely treatment. 

Chemo before surgery shortened hospital stay for advanced ovarian cancer

CANCER DIGEST – May 20, 2015 – Women with advanced ovarian cancer have fewer side effects and tend to have a better quality of life if given chemotherapy before surgery, according to a Cancer Research UK study published today in The Lancet.

The CHORUS trial, conducted at the Medical Research Council Clinical Trials Unit at University College London, challenged the international standard for treating advanced ovarian cancer.

A type of vitamin B3 cuts risk of recurring non-melanoma skin cancers

CANCER DIGEST – May 14, 2015 – Taking a form of vitamin B3 called nicotinamide twice a day reduced the rates of new skin cancers in people who had previously been treated for non-melanoma skin by 23 percent, a new study shows.

Drug combination extends survival in advanced colorectal cancer

CANCER DIGEST – May 13, 2015 – A drug developed 50 years ago and abandoned because it was considered to be too toxic, extended survival for colorectal cancer patients whose standard treatments were no longer working. 

Scientists at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston led the clinical trial involving 800 patients worldwide. Results showed the drug in combination with another agent lengthened the lives of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer by an average of almost two months. All participants had metastatic colorectal cancer that was progressing despite previous treatment.

Compliance and follow-up boosts head and neck cancer survival

CANCER DIGEST – May 8, 2015 – Treatment compliance and post-treatment follow up care makes a big difference in five-year survival of people with a form of head and neck cancer, a new study shows.

Researchers led by Michael W. Deutschmann, MD of the University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, followed 332 patients for an average of 45 months after treatment for head and neck squamous cell cancer. The five-year survival rate for this cancer is a little above 50 percent.

Diet swap has dramatic effects on colon cancer risk

CANCER DIGEST – May 5, 2015 – The relationship between dietary fiber and colorectal cancer has been confirmed in many research studies, however a new study suggests the role of fiber in preventing cancer may be even greater than had been thought.