Posts by author
Elena Riboldi
Artificial intelligence for skin cancer diagnosis, from science-fiction to reality
Artificial intelligence (AI) is a hot topic in many sciences, including medicine. A machine capable of making a medical diagnosis in full autonomy is fascinating and highly attractive. “Many years ago, in the movie Star Trek, the spaceship’s doctor diagnosed…
Cancer drugs, costs and clinical benefits are not aligned
According to an international study just published in Lancet Oncology, the cost of new cancer drugs is not associated to the clinical value of the therapy: “In the USA and European countries, prices of cancer drugs should be better aligned…
Hormone therapy for prostate cancer may shield from COVID-19
[caption id="attachment_9949" align="alignright" width="324"] Abnormal Lipid Metabolism in Prostate Cancer (Source: National Cancer Institute Purdue University Center for Cancer Research. Image by Ji-Xin Cheng)[/caption] Prostate cancer patients treated with androgen-deprivation therapies (ADTs) seem to have a lower risk of SARS-CoV-2…
The misuse of “noninferiority” in presenting trials is often misleading
When researchers have the opportunity to present their trials at medical meetings, they tend to use not-negative conclusions to discuss formally negative results. A research published in JAMA Oncology by a group of Italian oncologists from the University of Turin…
The prevalence of vaping among cancer survivors is worrying
The use of electronic cigarettes, or vaping, seems to be particularly common among young cancer survivors: according to a survey on a sample of nearly 1,500 young adult (YA) cancer survivors, just published as a research letter in JAMA Oncology,…
Parity and breast cancer risk are not so strictly linked
The reduction in birth rate has been blamed in the past for the increase in breast cancer in young women, but now a study just published in JAMA Network Open (JAMA Netw Open. 2020;3(3):e200929. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.0929) offers evidence refuting this hypothesis:…
COVID-19 and cancer, still more questions than answers
COVID-19 outbreak poses a severe threat to the health of millions of people worldwide, including cancer patients. What do we know about SARS-CoV-2 infection in this specific population? The analysis of data coming from a prospective cohort established by the…
A step forward in prostate cancer screening optimisation
A single prostate-specific antigen (PSA) measurement in midlife may help to personalise prostate cancer screening, resulting in a reduced risk of overdiagnosis and overtreatment of indolent cancers. The authors of the study just published in JAMA Network Open came to this…
The unique toxicities of CAR-T cell therapy
The advent of chimeric antigen receptor T cell (CAR T cell) therapy generated great excitement in the field of onco-haematology. Clinical trials have shown remarkable results in patients with relapsed/refractory B cell malignancies, and two CAR T cell products…
Genetics of breast cancer: much more than a BRCA story
Over 450 departments and institutions worldwide have contributed to the most comprehensive study conducted so far on breast cancer risk variants whose results have been published in Nature Genetics. The fine mapping of 150 breast cancer risk regions identified nearly…