Vienna, Austria: Patients with a type of lung cancer called non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer (non-SQ NSCLC) have limited treatment options and a dismal prognosis once their disease has advanced and initial treatment with platinum-based chemotherapy has failed. Second-line treatment is usually with another chemotherapy drug, such as docetaxel or pemetrexed. Recent results have shown […]
Treatment of elderly patients with breast cancer varies between different countries throughout Europe
Vienna, Austria: First results from the largest international comparison of the treatment of elderly patients with breast cancer have shown there are substantial differences in the use of surgery, hormone therapy and chemotherapy between European countries. The European Registration of Cancer Care (EURECCA) study [1] compared the treatment patterns of 119,125 patients aged 70 and […]
Discovery of differences between tumours of younger and older colorectal cancer patients may lead to better treatments
Vienna, Austria: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is on the rise among younger patients. Although some of the younger-onset cases can be explained by hereditary factors, the majority arise spontaneously. Researchers have now found that tumours in younger colorectal cancer patients may be molecularly distinct from those of older patients, and that these differences are related to […]
Rare cancer responds unusually well to new treatment: results from the NETTER-1 trial
Vienna, Austria: Patients with advanced gastrointestinal neuroendocrine tumours (NETs) have limited treatment options and there are few oncologists who are specialised in this relatively rare disease. But now results from a multi-centre randomised international trial of an innovative treatment show a marked improvement in the length of time patients with mid-gut [1] NETs live without […]
Results of international trial show promise in rare, difficult to treat cancer: results from the RADIANT-4 trial
Vienna, Austria: Neuroendocrine tumours (NETs) develop in the neuroendocrine system, responsible for producing the hormones that regulate the working of different organs in the body. They are rare, incurable, and treatments for them are limited, especially once they have become advanced. Now an international team of researchers has shown that the use of the mTOR […]
Genetic screening of brain metastases could reveal new targets for treatment
Vienna, Austria: Unravelling the genetic sequences of cancer that has spread to the brain could offer unexpected targets for effective treatment, according to new research presented to the 2015 European Cancer Congress [1] and published simultaneously in Cancer Discovery [2]. Researchers told the Congress that they found that the original, or primary, cancer in a […]
Childhood cancers in Europe: progress has been made, but much remains to be done, says major report
Vienna, Austria: Each year in Europe, 6,000 young people die from cancer, and two-thirds of those who survive suffer from treatment-related side effects. Although there has been considerable progress in the treatment of childhood cancers over the past few decades, and cancer in childhood is rare, these are major problems that need to be overcome, […]
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 […]