Treatment for severe heartburn prevents cancer

CANCER DIGEST – Aug. 25, 2018 – Medication or surgery to treat severe heartburn prevents cancer of the esophagus, say Swedish researchers at the Karolinska Institute.

In the study, researchers analyzed data from more than 940,000 patients treated for acid reflux between 1964 and 2014 in five Scandinavian countries. Of the those with reflux in the study, about 895,000 received medical treatment. A total of 2,370 of those treated (0.3 per cent) developed cancer of the esophagus during the follow-up period. The study findings are published online Aug. 23, 2018 by the journal JAMA Oncology.

Fast-tracked breast cancer drug boosts progression-free survival

Image courtesy of the Talazoparib 
Beyond BRCA (TBB) Trial

CANCER DIGEST – Aug. 18, 2018 – Just a month after the FDA granted it a priority review, the breast cancer drug Talazoparib has shown that it significantly extends progression free survival and improved quality of life compared to similar patients treated with current standard therapies.

Talazoparib is an investigational anticancer drug called a PARP (poly ADP ribose polymerase) inhibitor, which is being evaluated in breast cancer patients with BRCA gene mutations, as well as other cancer types. The international study was led by Jennifer Litton, MD at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center and published in the Aug. 15, 2018 New England Journal of Medicine.

CLL patients need to be monitored for developing melanoma

CANCER DIGEST – Aug. 11, 2018 – People with a form of leukemia called chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) have a substantially higher risk of melanoma, the deadly form of skin cancer, researcher report.

Although the higher risk of melanoma for CLL patients had been known, a full analysis of the relationship has never been done before researchers led by Clive Zent, MD of the Wilmot cancer Institute reported findings in the August 2018 journal Leukemia Research.

Healthy diet cuts cancer risk

CANCER DIGEST – Aug. 4, 2018 – A diet that encourages both healthy eating and physical activity and discourages alcohol consumption was associated with a reduced overall cancer risk, as well as lower breast, prostate, and colorectal cancer risks.

The World Cancer Research Fund/American Institute for Cancer Research (WCRF/AICR) estimated that in developed countries, around 35 percent of breast cancers and 45 percent of colorectal cancers could be avoided by better adherence to nutritional recommendations.

Many organizations have issued dietary recommendations, but this study evaluated three previously validated nutritional recommendations: The World Cancer Research Fund/American Institute for Cancer Research