Posts by author
Adriana Albini
Natural killers: a new tactical unit joins the cancer immunotherapy brigade
There was a time when all that oncologists treating solid tumours needed to know about leukocytes was how to measure the damage that cytotoxic drugs inflicted on their patients’ white blood cell count and their capacity to fight off infections.…
Gordon McVie 1945–2021: a lifetime dedicated to defeating cancer
Gordon McVie passed away on January 20th after a lifetime of pioneering contributions to the cause of defeating cancer: as clinician, researcher, manager, advocate and educator. He was a formidable presence on the UK and European stage, driven by a…
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…
Adriana Albini, editor in chief, presents Cancer World issue 89
Editor Adriana Albini talks readers through the stories we’ve selected for our Winter print issue. They cover a wide range of topics, but are really interested only in one thing: how do we improve the quality of care we tailor…
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…
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 remained largely oblivious to the implications of a new virus…
Malignant: Insights into the process of metastasis and how we can stop it
Why and how do cancer cells travel from their original site to seed new tumours elsewhere in the body, and what can be done to stop them? A series of presentations at the virtual June 2020 annual meeting of the…
Night-shift work and breast cancer risk: potential biological mechanism identified
Is night-shift work a risk factor for breast cancer? Experimental research just published in Nature Communications gives the molecular basis for asserting that it may well be. Researchers at Paris-Saclay University, with colleagues from Inserm and Inrae, studied the association…
Contagion: a narrative approach to understanding the psychological and social impact of the pandemic
‘Contagion’ seems like an outdated word in medicine. Transmissible illnesses are no longer described as ‘contagious’, they are ‘infectious’, and we study ‘infective’ agents. Contagion is a term evocative of the medical past. Talking and writing about contagion evokes the…
Tackling cancer in interesting times
Being Venetian by birth, I am a keen visitor to the Biennale – the contemporary art exhibition that is hosted by the city every two years. In 2019, reflecting this period of tumultuous change, the Biennale adopted the theme: “May…