New prostate cancer test targets sugar molecules

Image credit– University of Birmingham, UK

CANCER DIGEST – May 29, 2020 – Researchers have developed a new type of test that identifies a specific complex of sugars attached to PSA to detect prostate cancer earlier and with greater accuracy.

The test works by identifying sugars, known as glycans, in blood. These sugars are attached to the prostate specific antigen, or PSA and are known to undergo distinct but subtle changes when cancer is present in the body. The research appeared May 28, 2020 in the journal Advanced Functional Materials.

Pancreatic cancer patients with certain mutations benefit from platinum chemo

Image credit Cancer Research UK via Wikipedia

CANCER DIGEST – May 22, 2020 – Patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer who have certain genetic mutations that can be passed on to offspring had better clinical outcomes after treatment with platinum-based chemotherapy, compared to patients without such mutations, a new study shows.

Say AAAH for oral cancer test

Image courtesy QUT 

CANCER DIGEST – May 15, 2020 – A simple saliva test developed by Queensland University of Technology (QUT) has detected early throat cancer in a person who had no symptom and no clinical signs of cancer, QUT scientists report.

It is believed to be world's first non-invasive test to pick up HPV-DNA in a saliva sample from an infected healthy person. 

Drug may help control nausea unrelated to chemo in patients with advanced cancer

Image courtesy Mayo News Network

CANCER DIGEST – May 8, 2020 – A drug used to treat nervous, emotional and mental conditions, such as schizophrenia, has been shown to be effective in easing nausea and vomiting unrelated to chemotherapy or radiation therapy in cancer patients.

The drug olanzapine was tested by Mayo Clinic researchers in 30 patients with advanced cancer who had not recently undergone chemotherapy or radiation but did have substantial trouble with nausea and vomiting.

Breast cancer drug may be effective for certain prostate cancers

CANCER DIGEST – May 4, 2020 – A breast cancer drug may be more effective than

targeted hormone therapy for advanced prostate cancer, a new study shows.

The drug olaparib, Lynparza™, is a targeted chemotherapy pill used to treat both ovarian cancer and an aggressive form of metastatic breast cancer, that generally has few side effects. The study appears in the April 28, 2020 New England Journal of Medicine.

In the new study, called the PROfound trial, researchers from The Institute of Cancer Research in London, UK, in collaboration with Northwestern University in Chicago, tested 387 men with advanced prostate cancer for tumors with specific genetic alterations. The men were treated in two groups.