Delivery of Care
Our pathways: advocates provide roadmaps for patients, clinicians and managers
Patient advocates have a collective understanding of the patient pathway, from the first suspicious symptoms to the realities of life as a survivor, that is unrivalled by any professionals. They also understand better than anyone how valuable that knowledge and…
Immunotherapy toxicities demand a joined up approach from oncologists and organ specialists
Adverse effects of cancer therapies have long been at the root of decision making for interventions in all modalities – surgery, radiotherapy and medical – and especially in the latter category of anti-cancer drugs. Most people have heard of some…
Who wouldn’t want to cure 100% of childhood cancers?
More than eight in ten children and young adults diagnosed with cancer now survive their disease, often going on to live long and fulfilling lives. But the serious life-long damage that is inflicted by many treatments is still a bit…
Berlin pilot project brings precision care to the peripheries
A decade ago, men with metastatic prostate cancer could typically expect to live two to three years. The arrival of new hormone drugs such as abiraterone radically changed the odds, and the equation is now changing every day, as trials…
EMA at 25: learning more from cancer patients
Responsibility for scientific evaluation, supervision and safety monitoring of medicines was done at the national level until 1995, when EU member states agreed to coordinate that work within the European Medicines Agency (EMA). A quarter of a century on, and…
Their fingers on the button: why neglecting radiation therapists is no longer an option
The job of a radiation therapist may sound straightforward: deliver the right dose of radiation to the right location. But it’s not. These are complex tasks that involve working with data, high-tech equipment and patients. Moreover, by doing each task…
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 about suspending treatment, how the risk/benefit equation adds up, whether…
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 Pathology (ESP), is an internationalist but also a proud Syrian.…
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…
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,…