2015

Primary surgery is associated with survival benefit in patients with advanced cancers of the throat

Vienna, Austria: Patients with cancers of the mid- and lower throat may have higher survival rates if their initial treatment includes surgery, according to new research presented to the 2015 European Cancer Congress [1]. Researchers told the Congress that a nationwide study in Taiwan found that, five years after diagnosis, radical surgery was associated with […]

Cabozantinib improves survival in patients with advanced kidney cancer: results from the METEOR trial

Vienna, Austria: Patients with advanced kidney cancer live for nearly twice as long without their disease progressing if they are treated with cabozantinib, a drug that inhibits the action of tyrosine kinases – enzymes that function as an “on” or “off” switch in many cellular processes, including cancer. In the second of two late-breaking presentations […]

Nivolumab improves overall survival in patients with advanced kidney cancer: results from the CheckMate 025 trial

Vienna, Austria: The targeted drug nivolumab significantly prolongs survival in patients with advanced kidney cancer, whose disease has progressed after their first treatment, according to results to be presented at the 2015 European Cancer Congress [1] and published simultaneously in the New England Journal of Medicine [2]. The CheckMate 025 phase III clinical trial, which […]

EUROCARE results show large variations in survival from blood cancers between European countries

Vienna, Austria: Comparisons of cancer patients’ survival and care in Europe up to 2007 show that although more patients are surviving for at least five years after diagnosis, there are large variations between countries, which are particularly significant in cancers of the blood. Dr Milena Sant, from the Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori in […]

Discovery of significant genetic differences between breast cancers that relapse and those that do not will lead to better treatment

Vienna, Austria: Although most patients with breast cancer are cured after treatment, in about one in five the cancer will recur, returning either to the same place as the original tumour or spreading to other parts of the body (metastasis). Now, researchers have taken an important step towards understanding why some primary breast cancers return […]

New research suggests not all trans fatty acids are bad for you

New evidence suggests that low levels of trans fatty acids (TFAs) may not be as harmful to human health as previously thought, even if industrially produced, and may even be beneficial if they occur naturally in foods such as dairy and meat products, according to a study published in the European Heart Journal [1]. Artificial […]

New cardiovascular disease death rates show stark inequalities between European countries

Diseases of the heart and blood vessels are the most common cause of death in Europe, resulting in over four million deaths a year (45% of all deaths) according to the latest available figures published in the European Heart Journal [1]. Although deaths from cardiovascular disease (CVD) are declining in most of Europe, there are […]

Get up for your heart health and move for your waistline

More time spent standing rather than sitting could improve your blood sugar, fats in the blood and cholesterol levels, according to a new study published in the European Heart Journal [1]. The study also shows that replacing time spent sitting with time walking could have additional benefits for your waistline and body mass index (BMI). […]

Experts call for ‘all hands on deck’ to tackle global burden of non-communicable disease

A group of some of the world’s top doctors and scientists working in cardiology and preventive medicine have issued a call to action to tackle the global problem of deaths from non-communicable diseases (NCDs), such as heart problems, diabetes and cancer, through healthy lifestyle initiatives. They say that identifying the enormous burden caused by NCDs […]

First live birth after transplantation of ovarian tissue removed and frozen during childhood

A young woman has become the first in the world to give birth to a healthy child after doctors restored her fertility by transplanting ovarian tissue that had been removed and frozen while she was a child. A report of the case is published in Human Reproduction [1], one of the world’s leading reproductive medicine […]