Common type of starch may reduce certain cancers

Resistant starch as found in unripe bananas may protect against some
types of cancers

CANCER DIGEST – July 30, 2022 – A type of starch found in oats, breakfast cereal, rice, beans and other common foods may reduce the risk of a range of cancers by 60 percent, a new study shows. 

Led by researchers at the Universities of Newcastle and Leeds in the the UK, the 20-year study called CAPP2 involved following 1000 people with Lynch Syndrome, a hereditary condition associated with an increased risk of colorectal cancer in particular, as well as a broad range of other cancers, including endometrial, ovarian, stomach, liver and brain cancers. 

Adding an immunotherapy drug may boost survival in Hodgkin Lymphoma patients

Hodgkin lymphoma cells. Image Credit – Seagen (formerly Seattle Genetics)

CANCER DIGEST – July 16, 2022 – Almost 94 percent of Hodgkin Lymphoma patients given the drug brentuximab vedotin in addition to standard chemotherapy survived 6 years compared to 89.4 percent of those given the standard therapy, a new Mayo Clinic study shows.

New research shows higher colorectal cancer deaths among young in NE Great Lakes region

New research from the Cleveland Clinic shows newly identified hotspots (red circles)
young-onset colorectal cancer – Image credit Cleveland Clinic

CANCER DIGEST – July 9, 2022 – Young people are dying of colorectal cancer in greater numbers in the Midwest and northeastern Great Lakes region of the US, according to a new study by the Lerner Research Institute and the Center for Young-Onset Colorectal Cancer at the Cleveland Clinic.

Blood test can predict liver cancer in NAFLD patients

CANCER DIGEST – June 25, 2022 – Researchers have identified a panel of four proteins that can be used to predict liver cancer risk in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) that might be used to track how well medications are working to reduce that risk. The results were published in the June 22, 2022 journal Science Translational Medicine.

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) increases the risk of developing hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the most common form of liver cancer. An estimated one-quarter of US adults have NAFLD. Knowing which of their NAFLD patients were mostly likely to develop cancer would help doctors prescribe treatments that could reduce their patients’ risk.

HIFU shown to offer effective control of intermediate prostate cancer

Using ultrasound wand inserted in the rectum, the doctor directs HIFU energy
to the prostate tumor to ablate or kill it. Image credit – SonaCare Sonablate

CANCER DIGEST – June 19, 2022 – High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) guided by MRI can effectively control intermediate risk prostate cancer without surgery, chemotherapy, or radiation, and few adverse side effects, according to results of a new phase 2 clinical trial. The trial results were published in the June 14, 2022 Lancet Oncology.