Study reveals pancreatic cancer is 4 diseases

Copyright : Naveen Kalwa

CANCER DIGEST – Feb. 24, 2016 – An international team led by Australian researchers has found that pancreatic cancer is actually four separate diseases, each with different genetic triggers and survival rates.

In a first of its kind research study, the team performed an integrated genomic analysis of 456 pancreatic tumors, which combines the results of several techniques to examine  the genetic code, together with variations in structure and gene activity to determine the core processes that are damaged when normal pancreatic tissues change into aggressive cancers.

Genetically modified immunotherapy shows ‘unprecedented’ success

Scanning electron micrograph
of a human T cell Credit: NIAID

CANCER DIGEST – Feb. 16, 2016 – Immune system cells engineered to attack cancer cells raised optimistic “alerts” in the mainstream media this week, as a researcher reported 94 percent of patients with advanced acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) saw their symptoms disappear.

The results were reported at the just concluded American Association for the Advancement of Science conference in Washington, DC, by Dr. Stan Ridell, of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, WA.

Overactive thyroid increases breast cancer risk

CANCER DIGEST – Feb. 12, 2016 – Women with overactive thyroids have an 11 percent increased risk of breast cancer according to a study of Danish health registry records. 

The study led by Mette Søgaard, MD, of Aarhus University Hospital in Denmark, analyzed the records of 61,873 Danish women diagnosed with below normal levels of the hormone thyroxine (hypothyroidism) and 80,343 women diagnosed with higher than normal

Cancer drug receives FDA Priority Review for kidney cancer

CANCER DIGEST – Feb. 10, 2016 – Patients with a type of kidney cancer that has spread to other parts of the body despite surgery and chemotherapy may soon have a new treatment option. 

The FDA granted Priority Review for a drug called lenvatinib (Lenvima®) for treatment in combination with the drug everolimus for kidney cancer that has failed to respond to surgery and prior chemotherapy.

New advice for evaluating blood in the urine for signs of cancer

Copyright: luchschen 123RF Photo

CANCER DIGEST – Feb. 2, 2016 – Physicians are being advised to take a second look at blood in the urine, or hematuria, for signs of cancer, by a new report from the American College of Physicians’ High Value Care Task Force.

The Task Force issues advice for physicians on how to detect and evaluate hematuria. The report stems from research at the University of North Carolina Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center.