Conditions

A novel genetic test could help identify people with multiple myeloma who are at highest risk of aggressive disease and unlikely to respond to standard treatment with Revlimid (lenalidomide), a new study shows. The study, “Predicting ultrahigh risk multiple myeloma by molecular profiling: an analysis of newly diagnosed transplant eligible myeloma XI trial patients,” was…

Disrupting genes essential for the cellular recycling process known as autophagy increases the frequency of mutations during cell division and promotes the formation of ovarian cancer tumors, a study in mice has found. These findings support further investigation into the process of autophagy, which is often abnormal in ovarian cancer patients, as a potential target…

Combining two methods of prostate biopsy — using one guided by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) along with conventional ultrasound-guided biopsy — results in a more accurate detection of clinically significant prostate cancers than either method alone, a study shows. The researchers hope this combined method will improve clinicians’ current confidence levels in prostate cancer diagnosis…

To help minimize the threat of COVID-19 to themselves and others, healthy women at average risk should postpone breast cancer screening until later this year, Susan G. Komen recommends. However, the nonprofit organization emphasized that those experiencing breast cancer warning signs should alert their healthcare providers to assess the need for diagnostic imaging. Komen’s recommendation…

Adding IO Biotech’s lead candidate, IO102, to first-line treatment with Keytruda (pembrolizumab) is likely to result in better response rates in people with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), an interim analysis of a Phase 2 trial showed. The analysis, with predetermined requirements and called a futility analysis, determines whether a trial will likely meet its goals,…

Finding the energy to write about the experience of being an immunocompromised person at the time of the coronavirus pandemic is a struggle. I’m exhausted, even though I’ve been confined to the perimeters of a 6-foot-wide, 8-foot-long couch for the entirety of the day. Well, for the week actually. But I’ve been working full days…

First-line treatment with Imfinzi (durvalumab) combined with standard chemotherapy significantly prolongs the life of people with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer (SCLC), final results of the CASPIAN Phase 3 trial show. Approval of the combination for this type of aggressive lung cancer is under review by regulatory authorities in the U.S., E.U., and Japan. In…

The immunotherapy candidate GEN-1 has shown encouraging results in patients newly diagnosed with advanced ovarian cancer, according to initial results of the OVATION 2 study. Adding GEN-1 to neoadjuvant chemotherapy (given before surgery to shrink tumors) increased the proportion of patients with complete removal of their tumors through surgery. GEN-1, developed by Celsion Corporation, consists of…

A tumor suppressor protein called neurofibromin, known to block the cancer-inducing Ras pathway, also was found to interact directly with the estrogen receptor (ER) with mutations in this protein leading to treatment resistance in ER-positive breast cancers, a study has revealed. Specifically, cancers lacking a functional neurofibromin protein are resistant to a class of breast…

New guidelines for radiation oncologists suggest that, during the COVID-19 pandemic, interactions with healthcare professionals should be done remotely where possible, and treatments should be avoided or delayed to minimize strains on the system and risks to the patient. The guidelines, “Prostate Cancer Radiotherapy Recommendations in Response to COVID-19,” were published in the journal Advances in Radiation…