Posts by year
2020
These COVID days
‘Tackling cancer in interesting times’ was the theme of my first Editorial for Cancer World. I wrote that at the start of February this year, at a time when Europe…
Delivering cancer care during the pandemic: lessons from the ‘first wave’
“My partner had to be admitted to hospital with neutropenia earlier on in her treatment cycle, and she and I are constantly discussing what to do: whether we should ask…
Smoke without fire? Should cancer of unknown primary be treated as a separate disease?
Metastases, but no primary tumour – the diagnosis ‘cancer of unknown primary’ still presents great challenges, even in this age of precision oncology. Cancer of unknown primary (CUP) is an…
Cancer deaths fall, health disparities persist, cancer research affected, reports AACR
The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) annual Cancer Progress Report for 2020, published 23 September, portrays a mixed picture. On a positive note, the report features advances in cancer…
Metastatic prostate cancer: cabazitaxel shows quality of life benefits over both abiraterone and enzalutamide
In addition to previously reported survival benefits, the taxane cabazitaxel improved quality of life in patients with advanced metastatic prostate cancer compared to the androgen signalling targeted inhibitors abiraterone and…
Combined therapies offer the key to drug-resistant cancer
ed the combination of the PARP inhibitor olaparib, and the AKT inhibitor capivasertib, and showed this combination was well tolerated…
New European Code of Cancer Practice defines patient rights along the cancer pathway
The European Code of Cancer Practice was launched on 23rd September in Brussels by the European Cancer Organisation to empower citizens with 10 key ‘overarching’ rights and reduce cancer care…
Preclinical model identifies predictors of checkpoint inhibitor response
A study published in PNAS (Chen IX, et al. PNAS 2020) of a new mouse model has enabled the identification of distinct gene signatures that distinguish responders from non-responders to…
Raed Al Dieri: Taking pathology from bit part to key player on the European oncology scene
The man steering the organisation dubbed “the leading force in European pathology” is not one to dwell on the negative. Raed Al Dieri, Director General of the European Society of…
Could covid-19 boost interest in drug repurposing in oncology?
Could the frantic search for drugs to treat patients severely affected by the covid-19 virus be a shot in the arm for new cancer treatments? There have been many headlines…