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 […]
Category: Cancer
Pattern of hospital visits offers clue to spotting people at risk of myeloma
Glasgow, UK: A condition that can progress to myeloma could be identified in patients by their unusually frequent hospital visits, according to research presented at the 2019 NCRI Cancer Conference. The study found that people with a pre-cancerous blood condition called monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS) made around twice as many visits to hospital […]
Researchers identify certain gut bacteria that may be involved in causing bowel cancer
Glasgow, UK: People who have a certain type of bacteria in their guts may be at greater risk of developing bowel cancer. In the first study to use a technique called Mendelian randomisation to investigate the causal role played by bacteria in the development of bowel cancer, Dr Kaitlin Wade, from the University of Bristol […]
Simple blood test for early detection of breast cancer
Glasgow, UK: Breast cancer could be detected up to five years before there are any clinical signs of it, using a blood test that identifies the body’s immune response to substances produced by tumour cells, according to new research presented at the 2019 NCRI Cancer Conference. Cancer cells produce proteins called antigens that trigger the […]
High levels of two hormones in the blood raise prostate cancer risk
Glasgow, UK: Men with higher levels of ‘free’ testosterone and a growth hormone in their blood are more likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer, according to research presented at the 2019 NCRI Cancer Conference. Other factors such as older age, ethnicity and a family history of the disease are already known to increase a […]
Deaths from liver cancer have tripled in past 20 years in England
Glasgow, UK: More people are being diagnosed with and dying from liver cancer in England than ever before, according to new research presented at the 2019 NCRI Cancer Conference. In 20 years, from 1997 to 2016, incidence and deaths from the most common form of the disease, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), have tripled and it is […]
Electronic nose can sniff out which lung cancer patients will respond to immunotherapy
An electronic nose that detects chemicals in the breath of lung cancer patients can identify with 85% accuracy those who will or will not respond to immunotherapy, according to new research published in the leading cancer journal Annals of Oncology [1]. The results of the first study to investigate this show that the eNose is […]
Antibodies against HPV16 can develop up to 40 years before throat cancer is diagnosed and mark a 100-fold increase in risk in white people
An international group of researchers has found that antibodies to the human papilloma virus type 16 (HPV16) develop in the body between six to 40 years prior to a clinical diagnosis of throat cancer, and their presence indicates a strong increased risk of the disease. The study, which is published in the leading cancer journal […]
Memory and thinking could be better protected in children with brain tumours if they are treated with proton therapy
Milan, Italy: A comparison of three types of radiotherapy for children’s brain tumours suggests that a type of proton therapy called pencil beam scanning offers the best hope of preserving cognitive functions. The study, presented at the ESTRO 38 conference, shows that this new form of radiotherapy delivers the lowest doses of radiation to the […]
Researchers identify ways to predict and avoid radiotherapy side effects: results from REQUITE study
Milan, Italy: Latest results from a project to discover what makes a cancer patient more likely to suffer adverse side-effects after radiotherapy have shown that a combination of biological markers and certain genetic changes can predict radiation sensitivity. In addition, the international team of researchers in the REQUITE project found further evidence to support an […]