News
Preclinical model identifies predictors of checkpoint inhibitor response
A study published in PNAS (Chen IX, et al. PNAS 2020) of a new mouse model has enabled the identification of distinct gene signatures that distinguish responders from non-responders to immune checkpoint blockade (ICB). “Our findings provide a general approach…
New transatlantic partnership to regain the momentum of cancer research
Building on the existing Cancer Research UK (CRUK) Grand Challenges initiative, a broader international collaboration has now been forged in partnership with the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in the US. This new Cancer Grand Challenges has been launched to seek…
ESMO provides first recommendations on use of next-generation sequencing in metastatic cancer
Patients with metastatic non-squamous non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), prostate cancers, ovarian cancers and cholangiocarcinoma should be offered next-generation sequencing (NGS) for profiling tumour samples, concludes an expert panel from the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) in their review (Mosele…
COVID-19 diagnostic delays predicted to increase cancer deaths
Substantial increases in the number of avoidable cancer deaths in England are predicted as a result of diagnostic delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic, report two modeling studies published in the August issue of Lancet Oncology. Both studies underline the…
20-year WHI follow-up study finds oestrogen selectively protects against breast cancer in women who have undergone hysterectomy
A 20-year follow-up of the two Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) hormone replacement studies found that, among postmenopausal women with prior hysterectomy, use of oestrogen in comparison to placebo was associated with lower breast cancer incidence and mortality, while among those…
Dietary counseling remains cornerstone of cachexia management, say new ASCO guidelines
For cancer cachexia, dietary counseling should be offered with the goal of providing patients and caregivers with management advice, conclude the first guidelines on cachexia ever published by the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO). In the absence of evidence,…
Dietary guidelines need reform to meet global health and environmental goals
National dietary guidelines in most countries need to be reformed to take into account health and environmental targets, concludes a study published in the BMJ (published online July 15). The international study, by UK, US and Australian investigators, found around…
Link between COVID-19 and prostate cancer raises possibility of new treatments
The overlapping biology identified between the molecular pathogenesis of COVID-19 and prostate cancer raises the possibility of repurposing drugs, including androgen deprivation therapy, for treating COVID-19, suggests a review in Nature Communications Biology, published 8 July. In the review 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…
The burden of thyroid cancer increases worldwide
The global burden of thyroid cancer is increasing worldwide, according to a cross-sectional study with data from 195 countries just published in Jama Network Open. The study, by Jun Lyu and colleagues from the Jinan University in Guangzhou, China, evaluated…