Articles
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…
Highlights of 2020 American Society of Hematology (ASH) meeting
Like most 2020 meetings the 62nd American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting and Exposition, held 5-8 December, was hosted virtually. Due to meticulous planning, the format did not prevent delegates attending the largest gathering of the professional haematology community…
Highlights of 2020 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium
In 2020, the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS) co-organised in association with the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) celebrated its 43rd year as the world’s premier annual breast oncology meeting. Like most conferences, due to the Covid-19 pandemic,…
The sunshine hormone: the many wonders of vitamin D
Vitamin D has drawn much scientific interest and media coverage in recent years, and increasingly so in 2020, when a link was found between vitamin D deficiency and Covid-19. This is a very unusual vitamin, in that it behaves both…
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…
Oncolytic viruses – a new wave of therapeutic possibilities
Going back to the nineteenth century there were reports that infectious diseases seemed to provide brief periods of remission for cancer patients. One case from 1896 reported that the enlarged spleen of a woman with “myelogenous leukemia” shrank to nearly…
Croatia’s cancer plan showcases the value of European cancer collaboration
Croatia has caught up with the rest of the EU in adopting a national cancer control plan. Sophie Fessl looks at how using EU guidance drawn from experiences of other member states helped them ensure it is relevant, patient-centred, and…
Cancer-associated thrombosis: awareness and action can save many lives
Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is the second most common cause of death in people with cancer, yet it has received far less attention than other possible complications, such as infection or neutropenic sepsis. This situation is beginning to change, with events…
Rapid palliation of bone mets: it’s effective and easy, so why aren’t we all doing it?
Bone metastases occur in around 7 out of every 10 people with advanced cancer, and are most frequently found in people with breast, prostate, lung or kidney cancers, and in most people with advanced multiple myeloma. They cause pain and…
Thank you virologists! – Nobel Prize spotlights virus-associated cancers
With the 2020 Nobel Prize going to three scientists who led on the discovery of the hepatitis C virus, Adriana Albini acknowledges the valuable contributions that these and other virologists have made over many decades to advancing our understanding of…