IASLC Welcomes Publication Of CT Screening Results From National Lung Screening Trial
7/01/2011
The NLST study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, showed that lung cancer deaths fell by 20% and all-cause mortality fell by 7% when heavy smokers were screened regularly using low-dose spiral computed tomography (CT) compared with standard chest x-ray. The NLST study followed more than 53,000 current and former smokers ages 55-74...
Medicare Expands Treatment Options For Patients With Advanced Prostate Cancer
7/01/2011
Medicare patients with metastatic prostate cancer can get a first-of-its kind treatment just approved by the Food and Drug Administration, under a final coverage decision issued today by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)...
Method Developed To Determine Order Of Mutations That Lead To Cancer
7/01/2011
Discovery underscores how understanding the abnormalities that develop in the beginning stages of cancer can identify the root causes of the disease. Zeroing in on the early cell mutations that enable a cancer to grow is one of the best ways to find a personalized therapy to stop it...
Benefits Of Two Breast Cancer Drugs Still Unproven, Says Latest Draft Guidance
7/01/2011
The clinical and cost effectiveness of two breast cancer drugs that may be offered alongside hormone therapy to some postmenopausal women who have a particular type of the disease has not been clearly demonstrated. Draft guidance from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) therefore recommends against their use in the NHS for this condition...
ANA Applauds The Release Of Environmental Safety Report
7/01/2011
The American Nurses Association (ANA) commends the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on the release of the 12th Report on Carcinogens (ROC). The ROC is a congressionally mandated science-based, public health document that identifies agents, substances mixtures, and exposure circumstances that are known or reasonably anticipated to cause cancer in humans...
Archimedes Pharma Ltd., and its subsidiary, Archimedes Pharma U.S. Inc., announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Lazanda® (fentanyl) nasal spray for the management of breakthrough pain in cancer patients 18 years of age and older who are already receiving and who are tolerant to opioid therapy for their underlying persistent cancer pain...
Older Breast Cancer Patients With Other Health Problems Have Worse Outcomes
7/01/2011
Older breast cancer patients with certain other health problems have higher mortality rates than patients without these problems according to a study published online June 30 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. The other health problems, or 'comorbidities', include heart attack and other heart-related problems, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes, and others...
Two Genes Linked To Why Telomeres Stretch In Cancer Cells
7/01/2011
Scientists at Johns Hopkins have provided more clues to one of the least understood phenomena in some cancers: why the "ends caps" of cellular DNA, called telomeres, lengthen instead of shorten. In a study published online June 30 in Science Express, the Johns Hopkins researchers say they have identified two genes that, when defective, may cause these telomere elongations...
Worse Outcomes For Older Breast Cancer Patients With Comorbidities
7/01/2011
A recent study led by Jennifer L. Patnaik, Ph.D., of the University of Colorado Denver, Aurora that was published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute shows higher rates of mortality in older breast cancer patients with other health problems ('comorbidities') in contrast to patients without these problems...
Targeted Contrast Agent Reveals Colon Cancer
7/01/2011
Colon cancer could become easier to detect, thanks to a newly developed medical contrast agent and advanced optics that illuminate dangerous, invisible polyps. The Norwegian subsidiary of international medical giant GE Healthcare is conducting pioneering research on new medical procedures based on targeted contrast agents...