High BMI may improve cancer survival

Above average or high BMI—often linked to cancers, diabetes, cardiovascular and other diseases—may in some cases improve the chance of survival among certain cancers, new research from Flinders University indicates. Focusing on clinical trials of atezolizumab, a common immunotherapy treatment for non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the Australian cancer researchers found improved responsiveness to the drug in those with a high […]

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Overall survival worse with multiple primary melanomas

(HealthDay)—Patients with multiple primary melanomas have worse overall survival than those with a single primary melanoma, according to a study published online June 26 in JAMA Dermatology. Mary-Ann El Sharouni, M.D., from the University Medical Center Utrecht in the Netherlands, and colleagues described the epidemiologic features of multiple primary melanoma in a retrospective population-based cohort study. Adults with histologically proven, […]

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New study reveals an unexpected survival mechanism of a subset of cancer cells

Embedded at the ends of chromosomes are structures called telomeres, which in normal cells become shorter as cells divide. Progressive shortening triggers cell proliferation arrest or death. Cancer cells adopt different strategies to overcome this control mechanism that keeps track of the number of times that a cell has divided. One of these strategies is the alternative lengthening of telomeres […]

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Lung cancer survival signal

Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) represents up to 25 percent of lung cancer cell deaths and is associated with early metastasis and poor patient survival. Thus, SCLC is in need of better therapeutics and more efficient targeted treatments. Jonathan Lehman, MD, PhD, Pierre Massion, MD,and colleagues have demonstrated that somatostatin receptor 2 (SSTR2), considered to be a cell growth inhibitor, […]

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Suppression of DKK3 protein thwarts pancreatic tumor progression and prolongs survival

Researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have shed new light on why pancreatic tumors are so resistant to therapy. The answer may lie in treating a protein found in the scar-type tissue called stroma which often surrounds the tumors. The tumor-associated stroma is comprised mostly of pancreatic stellate cells (PSCs) and its density and possibly the […]

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Duvelisib has marked response, survival benefit in difficult-to-treat leukemia and lymphoma

For some patients with difficult-to-treat leukemia and lymphoma, the investigational oral medicine duvelisib may significantly improve disease outcomes, according to phase III trial data published today in the journal Blood. The DUO trial studied the head-to-head comparison of duvelisib versus ofatumumab, an approved standard-of-care chemotherapy for relapsed or treatment-resistant chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL). According to […]

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Laser therapy increases survival in grim cancer diagnosis

People diagnosed with the aggressive brain cancer glioblastoma face a grim prognosis. Half die within 14 months of diagnosis. Even if initial treatment with surgery, radiation and chemotherapy is successful, such brain tumors typically recur, leaving patients with few options. Now, a research team at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has found that laser treatment designed to […]

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Socioeconomic status may explain racial and ethnic disparities in childhood cancer survival

A new study provides insights into the degree to which socioeconomic status explains racial and ethnic disparities in childhood cancer survival. Published early online in Cancer, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, the findings may inform where to allocate resources to best reduce racial and ethnic survival disparities for each of the major types of childhood cancer. For […]

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