Hormone therapy for prostate cancer linked to increased risk of dementia

CANCER DIGEST – Oct. 30, 2016 – A new analysis of the electronic medical records of prostate cancer patients shows a link between hormone blockade therapy and the future risk of dementia.

The researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine and the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, looked at deidentified records from Stanford Medicine’s clinical-research data warehouse culled from nearly 10,000 patients with prostate cancer.

Swedish men chose active surveillance

CANCER DIGEST – Oct. 21, 2016 – When offered the treatment option of active surveillance, the number of Swedish men with low-risk, slow growing prostate cancer who chose that option increased by one third, a new report shows. The question is, would American men make a similar choice if offered active surveillance?

Blood tests can cut time between diagnosis and treatment

CANCER DIGEST – Oct. 17, 2016 – Patients at high risk for lung cancer who have a blood test to identify certain genetic mutations known to play a role in development different types of lung cancer can sharply reduce the time needed to decide on a treatment and start treatment once they are diagnosed with lung cancer, a new study suggests.

Early results of the study will be presented at the 2016 annual meeting of the American College of Chest Physicians, in Los Angeles Oct. 26, ahead of publication in the journal CHEST. 

Drug targeting hormone receptor boosts progression-free survival

A drug that targets hormone receptors of cancer cells boosts the time patients with advanced breast survive without the cancer progressing, a new study shows.

The study showed that fulvestrant, sold as Faslodex by AstraZeneca, women with advanced hormone receptor positive breast cancer had significantly longer progression-free survival, particularly those with less aggressive lower-volume disease, and was reported at the ESMO 2016 Congress in Copenhagen.

First new drug for bladder cancer approved

CANCER DIGEST – Oct. 4, 2016 – The FDA approval of Tecentriq ushers in the first new treatment for advanced bladder cancer in 30 years.

The drug works by blocking a protein tumor cells produce on their cell surfaces that prevents the immune system’s T cells from attacking the cancer cells. The protein tumors produce is known as an "immune checkpoint," that prevents T cells from recognizing and binding to the cancer cell, thus evading the T cell attack. This "checkpoint" protein is called  PD-L1 and Tecentriq binds to it allowing T cells to land and establish a beachhead to attack the cancer cell.