Intermittent high dosing regimen for patients with advanced cancers is safe and results in very high concentrations of the drug in the tumour A strategy for giving intermittent, high doses of the anti-cancer drug sunitinib is well-tolerated by patients with advanced cancer and increases concentrations of the drug in tumours, which is associated with improved […]
Category: Cancer
Nobel Prize winner says scientific research has to be ‘passion-driven’
Scientists cannot be expected to drop everything they’re working on to turn their attention to beating COVID-19, according to the winner of the 2019 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, Professor Sir Peter Ratcliffe. Speaking before he delivered the prestigious Michel Clavel lecture to the 32nd EORTC-NCI-AACR [1] Symposium on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics, […]
Vaccine designed to treat and prevent lung, bowel and pancreatic cancer shows promise in the lab
An experimental vaccine, designed to enlist the body’s own immune system to target cancer cells, has shown promise for treating and preventing cancer in mice. The vaccine was created to target a gene called KRAS that is involved in the development of many types of cancer, including lung, bowel and pancreatic cancer. Researchers from the […]
One mouse at a time: new approach to testing potential drugs for children’s cancers
Drugs can be tested against many more genetic variants of the same cancer A team of researchers in the US and Australia have developed a way of testing potential drugs for children’s cancers so as to take account of the wide genetic diversity of these diseases. In new research to be presented at the 32nd […]
Researchers identify genetic variants linked to toxic side effects from bevacizumab
In the largest study of its kind, researchers have found two common genetic variants that can be used to predict whether or not cancer patients might suffer severe adverse side-effects, such as high blood pressure, from the drug bevacizumab. The study is unique because researchers found and analysed hundreds of thousands of genetic variations in […]
Existing heart drugs may help cancer patients respond better to PD(L)1 immunotherapy
Researchers have found that a class of commonly-used heart drugs may also improve patients’ responses to anti-cancer immunotherapies called PD(L)1 inhibitors, according to preliminary findings to be presented at the 32nd EORTC-NCI-AACR [1] Symposium on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics, which is taking place online. Angiotensin receptor II blockers (ARBs) are often prescribed for high […]
Drug combination proves effective in rare peripheral nerve sheath tumours: research in cancer cells and mice has ‘immediate translational implications’
Malignant tumours of the peripheral nerve are rare but aggressive and very difficult to treat successfully. Now, researchers in the US have shown that a combination of two types of anti-cancer drugs, MEK and SHP2 inhibitors, is effective in targeting the mechanism that drives the cancer’s growth. Although the work has been carried out in […]
Treating abnormal breast tissue with surgery and radiotherapy reduces cancer risk but the benefits diminish with time
A major study of women with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) – a breast condition that can become invasive cancer – has shown that surgery to remove the tissue followed by radiotherapy offers better protection compared to surgery alone. The study, presented at the 12th European Breast Cancer Conference, followed patients for up to 27 […]
The mode of detection of high-risk breast cancers is linked to patient prognosis
Breast cancers that are detected in the interval between national screening programme mammograms have a worse prognosis than those detected at the time of a screening, even if they have the same biology, according to research presented at the 12th European Breast Cancer Conference. Analysis of results from over eight years’ follow-up of the international […]
Increased risk of cardiovascular disease in women treated for breast cancer can be predicted with computer analysis of routine scans
Automated analysis of breast cancer patients’ routine scans can predict which women have a greater than one in four risk of going on to develop cardiovascular disease, according to research presented at the 12th European Breast Cancer Conference. Women who have been treated for breast cancer may have a higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease […]