States vary widely in obesity-related cancers

CANCER DIGEST – Dec. 31, 2018 – Obesity-related cancer varies widely by state with the highest rate of 8.3 percent in the District of Columbia and the lowest rate of 5.9 percent in Hawaii according to a new American Cancer Society study.

Published in Dec. 27, 2018 JAMA Oncology, researchers led by Farhad Islami, MD, PhD, scientific director for Surveillance Research looked at cancer attributed to excess body weight among adults aged 30 and over between 2011 and 2015 in all 50 states and D.C.

Maintenance therapy prolongs remission, survival times for myeloma

CANCER DIGEST – Dec. 26, 2018 – A new study shows that patients with newly diagnosed myeloma have extended remissions and better survival when given ongoing therapy with the drug lenalidomide (Revlimid®) according to researchers. 

Myeloma is a bone marrow cancer that results in over production of plasma cells resulting in a weakened immune system and interferes with normal production and function of red and white blood cells.

Using artificial Intelligence to improve breast mammograms

The 3CB artificial analysis identified the areas of suspected
cancer on the mammogram outlined in solid and dashed
lines. Photo courtesy RSNA.

CANCER DIGEST – Dec. 15, 2018 – Artificial intelligence often conjures images of machines outwitting humans and taking away human control  ala HAL the computer that takes control in 2001: A Space Odyssey.

In reality researchers are using artificial intelligence to see patterns that are not readily visible to the radiologist looking for tumors, for example, or to a research scientist looking for genetic patterns that spell a likelihood of XYZ disease.

Inflammatory bowel disease increases risk of prostate cancer

CANCER DIGEST – Dec. 8, 2018 – Men with inflammatory bowel disease have four to five times higher risk of being diagnosed with prostate cancer a 20-year study has found.

This is the first study to show such a link to prostate cancer in men with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), an umbrella term that describes chronic inflammation of the digestive tract, such as ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease. Symptoms include fever, fatigue, diarrhea, blood in the stool and unintended weight loss.

New approach to a blood test for cancer

CANCER DIGEST – Dec. 1, 2018 – By looking at changes in the product of genes rather than changes in the gene itself researchers in Toronto, Canada have developed a test for cancer that one day might allow your doctor to tell not only whether you have cancer, but what type of cancer you have from a blood sample.

The research published in the journal Nature holds promise of being able to find cancer earlier when it is more easily treated and long before symptoms ever appear.