Women with asthma who suffer severe symptoms while they are pregnant face higher risks of health problems both for themselves and their babies compared to women with well-controlled asthma, according to research published in the European Respiratory Journal [1]. The study, which included data on more than 100,000 pregnancies, showed that women with asthma who […]
November 2019
Cancer patients are at higher risk of dying from heart disease and stroke
More than one in ten cancer patients do not die from their cancer but from heart and blood vessel problems instead, according to new research published in the European Heart Journal [1]. For some cancers, like breast, prostate, endometrial, and thyroid cancer, around half will die from cardiovascular disease (CVD). Dr Nicholas Zaorsky, a radiation […]
Treatment with anti-cancer drug T-DM1 after pertuzumab is ‘good option’. Results from largest group of advanced breast cancer patients answers questions about efficacy of T-DM1 when cancer returns following treatment with pertuzumab
Lisbon, Portugal: Patients with HER2-positive breast cancer [1], whose disease has progressed after being treated initially with pertuzumab in combination with trastuzumab and a taxane, can respond well to treatment with T-DM1 – a drug that combines trastuzumab with an anti-cancer drug called DM1. Dr Benedetta Conte, a medical oncology resident from the University of […]
Complementary therapies can do more harm than good when breast cancer becomes visible
Lisbon, Portugal: Patients with advanced breast cancer that has spread to the skin are likely to cause more harm than good if they use complementary therapies to treat their skin lesions. Professor Maria João Cardoso, head breast surgeon at the Champalimaud Cancer Centre and a teacher at the Nova Medical School in Lisbon, Portugal, told […]
Giving breast cancer patients an average survival time is more often wrong than right
Lisbon, Portugal: Doctors who give advanced breast cancer patients just one estimate, such as 12 months, for the average amount of time they are expected to live are only accurate 20-30% of the time, according to Dr Belinda Kiely, medical oncologist and senior research fellow at the University of Sydney, Australia. Speaking at the Advanced […]
Cardiologists establish how e-cigarettes damage the brain, blood vessels and lungs
Cardiologists have issued a stark warning about the dangers of e-cigarettes, particularly for young people, as results of new research show the damage they cause to the brain, heart, blood vessels and lungs. The study, which is published in the European Heart Journal [1], also identifies some of the mechanisms involved, for which there has […]
Increased exercise over the age of 60 reduces risk of heart disease and stroke. Decreasing your physical activity is linked to increased cardiovascular risk
People over the age of 60 should do more exercise not less in order to prevent heart disease and stroke, according to findings from a study of over 1.1 million elderly people published in the European Heart Journal [1]. The researchers in South Korea found that people who did less moderate or vigorous physical activity […]
Blood test can help GPs spot ovarian cancer in women with suspicious symptoms
Glasgow, UK: Testing for levels of CA125 in the blood is a useful tool for gauging the likelihood of ovarian cancer and could help detect other types of cancer among patients in primary care, according to research presented at the 2019 NCRI Cancer Conference. Although the CA125 test is already in use in countries around […]
Cervical pre-cancer can be detected in self-collected urine or vaginal samples
Glasgow, UK: Researchers have developed a non-invasive test to detect cervical pre-cancer by analysing urine and vaginal samples collected by the women themselves. In a presentation at the 2019 NCRI Cancer Conference, Dr Belinda Nedjai said that the self-sampling test had proved popular with women taking part in the study and this meant that it […]
AI blood test can spot signs of brain tumour to speed up diagnosis
Glasgow, UK: Chemical analysis of blood samples, combined with an artificial intelligence program, could speed up the diagnosis of brain tumours, according to research presented at the 2019 NCRI Cancer Conference. Brain tumours tend to have ambiguous symptoms, such as headache or memory problems, and a brain scan is currently the only reliable way of […]