Posts by year
2020
ESMO provides first recommendations on use of next-generation sequencing in metastatic cancer
Patients with metastatic non-squamous non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), prostate cancers, ovarian cancers and cholangiocarcinoma should be offered next-generation sequencing (NGS) for profiling tumour samples, concludes an expert panel from the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) in their review (Mosele…
Will artificial intelligence revolutionise cancer therapeutics and care?
The first machine learning application in healthcare was approved by the FDA as recently as 2019 to analyse MRI images of the heart. In oncology, applications that make use of artificial intelligence (AI) are appearing thick and fast, from improving…
COVID-19 diagnostic delays predicted to increase cancer deaths
Substantial increases in the number of avoidable cancer deaths in England are predicted as a result of diagnostic delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic, report two modeling studies published in the August issue of Lancet Oncology. Both studies underline the…
Prognostic biomarkers: could they help doctors, patients and families to better navigate the end of life?
“We had to explain that the reason she had broken her hip was because she was getting weaker and essentially dying… At that stage knowing whether Mum had days or months left would have been an important factor.” Helen Waddell,…
20-year WHI follow-up study finds oestrogen selectively protects against breast cancer in women who have undergone hysterectomy
A 20-year follow-up of the two Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) hormone replacement studies found that, among postmenopausal women with prior hysterectomy, use of oestrogen in comparison to placebo was associated with lower breast cancer incidence and mortality, while among those…
Rare cancer care: Are European Reference Networks delivering on the promise?
What value can collaboration between EU member states add to the quality of care accessible to all EU citizens? It’s a question that has become urgent and topical with the coronavirus pandemic, and one that EU4Health, the EU’s new funding…
Workload doubled, resources halved: cancer patient groups need help to survive the pandemic
COVID-19 is creating significant challenges for millions of cancer patients around the world, including delays in diagnosis and treatment ‒ all made worse by an underlying concern about the essential safety of cancer patients during a pandemic. Since the outset…
Dietary counseling remains cornerstone of cachexia management, say new ASCO guidelines
For cancer cachexia, dietary counseling should be offered with the goal of providing patients and caregivers with management advice, conclude the first guidelines on cachexia ever published by the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO). In the absence of evidence,…
Dietary guidelines need reform to meet global health and environmental goals
National dietary guidelines in most countries need to be reformed to take into account health and environmental targets, concludes a study published in the BMJ (published online July 15). The international study, by UK, US and Australian investigators, found around…
On a mission to beat cancer
One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind – the words Neil Armstrong pronounced as he completed humankind’s first mission to the moon, will – if the European Commission gets its way – soon be pronounced for other…