Adding a personalized vaccine to immunotherapy reduces recurrence in melanoma

Treatment vaccines can help the immune system learn to 

recognize and react to antigens and destroy cancer cells 

that contain them. Credit: NCI and Victor Segura Ibarra and Rita Serda

CANCER DIGEST– Dec. 17, 2022 – Early results of a preliminary clinical trial shows that a combination therapy for stage 3/4 melanoma that has spread to lymph tissues in the body reduced recurrence and death by 44 percent.

Chemo before and after surgery boosts survival in pancreatic cancer patients

Image credit University of Colorado news

CANCER DIGEST – Dec. 10, 2022 – A new study of pancreatic cancer treatments showed that patients who received chemotherapy before and after surgery survived longer compared to patients who didn't have the chemo. The findings were published in the Dec. 8, 2022 American Medical Association Association’s JAMA Oncology 

Parkinson's drug may substantially reduce chemo side effects

Left shows mouse kidney cells and the right shows
these same kidney cells after cisplatin treatment
revealing they are full of adenosine (red).
Image credit: Geoffroy Laumet

CANCER DIGEST – Dec. 3, 2022 – Researchers have found that a drug already FDA-approved for treatment of Parkinson’s disease may reduce some of the severe side effects of cisplatin, the gold standard chemotherapy drug for cancer.

The international research study conducted in mice was published in The Journal of Clinical Investigation published online Nov. 15, 2022. It showed that the drug istradefylline can reduce the side effects of cisplatin while preserving its cancer-fighting properties.