Mayo Clinic Cancer Center scientists, in collaboration with Chinese researchers, have isolated an enzyme that could be used to predict survival and recurrence rates for nasopharyngeal cancer — a common cancer affecting people from Southeast Asia.
A more intensive postoperative chemotherapy regimen for high-risk gastric cancer patients did not improve their survival, according to a randomized controlled trial in the April 18 Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
Most attempts to create therapeutic cancer vaccines are based on custom-made approaches that use a patient’s own tumor cells to generate a strong immune response against cancer.
A new study from the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute suggests that a commonly used herbal supplement, triphala, has cancer-fighting properties that prevent or slow the growth of pancreatic cancer tumors implanted in mice.
Chemicals in cruciferous vegetables, such as broccoli, watercress, cabbage and cauliflower, appear to not only stop human prostate cancer cells from growing in mice but also may cut off the formation of blood vessels that “feed” tumors, says a University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute study.
Chemotherapy is frequently given to women with breast cancer after surgery to remove the main bulk of the tumor. A new Cochrane Systematic Review of existing data shows, however, that using chemotherapy to reduce the size of tumors before surgery does not compromise survival rates and enables women to retain better self-image and overall health because of the reduced impact of the surgery.
A cancer-suppressing gene has been successfully delivered into the tumors of stage four lung cancer patients via an intravenously administered lipid nanoparticle in a phase I clinical trial at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center. The gene, FUS1, also was found to be active in the metastatic nonsmall cell lung cancer tumors.
Researchers concluded that the synergistic combination of Reolysin and gemcitabine is a promising therapeutic regimen for study in clinical trials.
A review of previous studies indicates that the benefits of antidepressants for children and teens with depression or anxiety disorders may outweigh their risks, and that the increased risk for suicidal thoughts and attempts from using these medications is not statistically significant, according to an article in the April 18 issue of JAMA.
The controversial drug dipyrone can treat acute headaches, but patients should be warned of the risk of potentially serious blood disorders (or “dyscrasias”), concluded a Cochrane Review team.