Implantable beads produce cancer-killing drug to eradicate tumors

Rice University bioengineers Amanda Nash (left) and Omid Veiseh with vials of
bead-like “drug factories.” Photo credit – Rice University Media

CANCER DIGEST – March 5, 2022 – Implantable 'mini drug factories' have been shown to eliminate tumors in animal models. However, because the materials and the drug used are already FDA approved, the Rice University researchers hope to be able to begin human clinical trials later this year.

Vegan diet appears to lower cancer risk

CANCER DIGEST – Feb. 25, 2022 – Vegetarians who eat no meat have a 14 percent lower risk of cancer compared to people who eat meat more than five times per week, according to a large observational study published Feb. 24, 2022 in the journal BMC Medicine.

Led by Cody Watling, a team of Oxford University researchers surveyed 472,377 British adults were participants in the UK Biobank, a large long-term study in the United Kingdom that is investigating genetic and environmental factors in the development of disease.

Participants who were between 40 and 70 years old were asked about their diets, specifically their consumption of meat and fish. After accounting for health conditions like diabetes, lifestyle, and socioeconomic factors the researchers calculated the incidence of cancer over an 11 year period.

New combination therapy shows promise for advanced ovarian cancer

CANCER DIGEST – Feb. 19, 2022 – Ovarian cancer patients whose tumors have recurred or resisted standard chemotherapy treatments showed promising response to a new combination regimen using ixabepilone (Ixempra®) and bevicizumab (Avastin®), results of an early clinical trial show.

Ovarian cancer continues to be one of the most lethal gynecologic cancers with 5-year survival rates ranging from 31 percent to 93 percent depending on type and stage of the disease, according to the American Cancer Society. However, the cancer often recurs and becomes resistant to current taxane-based treatments. Such drugs like Paclitaxil block cell growth by interfering with cell division.

Cancer patients under treatment more susceptible to Covid misinformation

Photo credit – Virginia Commonwealth University

CANCER DIGEST – Feb. 12, 2022 – Cancer patients actively undergoing treatment were more likely to believe misinformation related to Covid-19 than cancer survivors or people with no cancer history, a new study shows.

Researchers at the Virginia Commonwealth University led by Jeanine Guidry, PhD, director of the Media and Health Lab in the Cancer Prevention and Control research program conducted an online survey of 897 adults between June 1 and June 15, 2020.

Melanoma drug shows promise for treating rare form of ovarian cancer

Photo credit – MD Anderson Cancer Center

CANCER DIGEST – Feb. 4, 2022 – A drug used to treat skin and lung cancers reduced the risk of disease progression or death by 52 percent compared to current therapies for a rare form of ovarian cancer, a new study shows.