Amsterdam, The Netherlands: By 2050 the death rates from malignant melanoma will have decreased from their current levels but the numbers of people dying from the disease will have increased due to the aging of populations. However, if new treatments for the deadly skin cancer prove to be effective, the numbers of deaths could fall […]
Category: Cancer
The immunotherapy, pembrolizumab, is active against mucosal melanoma tumours and prolongs survival for patients with bladder cancer
Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Clinical trials of a new immunotherapy, pembrolizumab, have shown that it prolongs life significantly for patients with bladder cancer and is active against a rare sub-type of melanoma, called mucosal melanoma. The findings were presented in two presentations at the European Cancer Congress 2017 [1]. Until now, mucosal melanoma has often been […]
Delays in access to new cancer medicines and unjustifiable price rises for old ones disadvantage patients unnecessarily
Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Cancer patients are living longer and in many cases the disease is becoming chronic rather than acute. Access to drugs that help extend life and improve quality of life, and fair prices for those drugs are therefore essential for more and more people. But patients are badly served in this respect, with […]
Women treated for precursor of breast cancer can expect to live as long as other women
Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Women over 50 who have been treated for ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) are more likely to be alive ten years later than women in the general population, according to new research presented at the European Cancer Congress 2017 [1]. DCIS differs from breast cancer because it is non-invasive, meaning it cannot […]
Twice-daily radiation therapy cuts deaths from head and neck cancer
Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Treating head and neck cancer patients with a twice-daily radiation therapy combined with chemotherapy could save more lives, according to new research presented at the European Cancer Congress 2017 [1]. The study, led by Dr Claire Petit, a resident in radiation oncology from Gustave Roussy cancer centre in Paris, included patients with […]
Phase I trial shows that a drug that inhibits the Notch signalling process is active in a range of advanced cancers
Munich, Germany: A new anti-cancer drug that inhibits a key cell signalling process involved in many different cancers has shown that it is capable of stopping the progression of cancer and shrinking tumours. Importantly, it has been able to do this in rare cancers that are less well-studied such as adenoid cystic carcinoma. Dr Christophe […]
Advanced soft tissue sarcomas respond to a combination of a new and an existing anti-cancer drug
Munich, Germany: Researchers working to find effective treatments for soft tissue sarcomas have discovered that combining a new anti-cancer drug with an existing one kills cancer cells not only in the laboratory but also in the first two patients treated with it, leading to unusually long-lasting periods without the disease progressing. Soft tissue sarcomas – […]
‘Revolution in our understanding of cancer’ sees dramatic responses to targeted treatments in advanced cancers
Results from three ground-breaking studies show early benefit to patients Munich, Germany: The “revolution in the understanding of cancer at the molecular level” has led to dramatic responses in cancer patients to new therapies that are targeted precisely at their particular type of tumours, according to an expert. Dr Kapil Dhingra, a member of the […]
How highs and lows in testosterone levels ‘shock’ prostate cancer cells to death
Munich, Germany: A strategy of alternately flooding and starving the body of testosterone is producing good results in patients who have metastatic prostate cancer that is resistant to treatment by chemical or surgical castration, according to new findings. In a presentation at the 28th EORTC-NCI-AACR [1] Symposium on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics in Munich, […]
Promising results from new drug combination in patients with advanced solid tumours
Munich, Germany: An experimental drug called TAS-114, which has the potential to increase the anti-cancer effects of chemotherapy without increasing adverse side effects, has shown promising results in patients with hard-to-treat cancers in a phase I clinical trial. In a presentation at the 28th EORTC-NCI-AACR [1] Symposium on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics in Munich, […]