News
Body weight influences breast cancer risk in women with BRCA1 and 2 mutations
Obesity may be a factor contributing to DNA damage in the breast tissue of women with BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations. The study, published in Science Translational Medicine, February 22, suggests maintaining a healthy body weight or pharmacologically targeting oestrogen or…
Improving outcomes in elderly patients taking multiple medications
For older patients with cancer, taking multiple medications can result in toxic chemotherapy side effects and even the need to stop cancer treatment. The cohort study, published in Cancer, 24th January, found cancer patients with one or more potential drug…
Localised prostate cancer: active monitoring offers valid option
Active monitoring of localised prostate cancer has the same high rates of survival after 15 years as radiotherapy or surgery. The ProtecT trial, presented at the European Association of Urology (EAU) meeting in Milan, March 10–13, and published simultaneously in…
Radiotherapy can be safely omitted in older women with low-risk breast cancer
Leaving out radiotherapy does not affect survival after breast-conserving surgery in older women with low-risk hormone-receptor-positive early breast cancer. Ten-year outcomes for the PRIME II trial, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, February 16, found that, although omission…
Plant-based diets cut risk of prostate cancer progression and recurrence by over 50%
Prostate cancer patients who consume the highest intakes of plant-based foods lower their risk of progression and recurrence. The study, abstract 392 presented at the 2023 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Genitourinary Cancer Symposium, held in San Francisco, February…
New prostate cancer blood test combining PSA with epigenetic test could reduce biopsies
A non-invasive prostate cancer combination test has been shown to have a positive predictive value of 93%*, meaning that out of 100 patients testing positive for prostate cancer 93 will truly have the condition. The study, published in the journal…
Telomere shortening mediates tumour suppression
Shortening of telomeres, as occurs naturally with ageing, works through a pathway that involves mitochondria-activated immune responses to ultimately eliminate precancerous cells. The US study, published in Nature (8 February 2022), suggests that telomere shortening has evolved as a tumour-suppressive…
Epidemiological study sheds light on complex link between ovarian cancer and ovulation
Women who ovulate for longer over the course of their lifetimes may have a higher risk of developing ovarian cancer. The international epidemiological study, published in Journal of the National Cancer Institute, 23 January, found that each additional year of…
Cancer could overtake cardiovascular disease as leading cause of death in type 2 diabetes
Mortality from cancer has increased among older people with type 2 diabetes. The UK cohort study, published in Diabetologica, 24 January, found people with type 2 diabetes were at particular risk of mortality from colorectal, pancreatic, liver and endometrial cancers.…
Study highlights need to reanalyse genomics and genetics of metastatic tumours
Around one third of breast cancer patients showed molecular subtype shifts (especially involving luminal cancers) between their primary and metastatic tumours. The study, published in Nature Cancer, on December 30th, also revealed the presence of fewer immune cells in triple-negative…