Fewer Americans dying of deadly form of skin cancer

CANCER DIGEST – March 28, 2020 – Death rates for metastatic melanoma, the aggressive form of skin cancer that spreads from the skin to other organs, such as the lung, liver, or brain dropped by nearly 18 percent between 2013 and 2016 a new population study shows.

Statins might starve cancer cells to death

Microscopic view of cells that stop moving –
Credit: xiaoguang Li

CANCER DIGEST – March 21, 2020 – A drug that 35 million Americans already take daily may be effective in halting cancer growth, a new study shows.

The findings by researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine confirm findings of population studies that have shown that people taking statin drugs to lower their cholesterol may gain a protective effect against cancer.

Are cancer patients more susceptible to COVID-19?

CANCER DIGEST – March 14, 2020 – A preliminary study of COVID-19 patients in China has found that cancer patients may be more vulnerable to the disease, but not from the cancer itself.

Chemo after surgery for rare kidney cancer extends survival

Cancer Digest – March 7, 2020 – Patients with a rare form of kidney cancer who received chemotherapy after surgery to remove tumors were more likely to survive three years or more compared to those treated with surgery alone, a new study has found.

Cancer of the urinary tube connecting the lower part of the kidney and the bladder is rare, with about 1,000 people diagnosed in the UK each year and about 10 percent of the 15,000 people diagnosed with kidney cancer in the US annually. However, it is one of the more lethal forms of cancer with less than half of those diagnosed surviving more than three years.