News
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…
A global registry for children with cancer and COVID-19
While a deeper knowledge about the impact of COVID-19 disease on cancer patients is essential, sharing information is likewise important. For these purposes, a number of registries, which gather different data including patients’ outcomes or treatment, are being set up around…
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…
Artificial intelligence might help improve the classification of colorectal polyps
Deep neural networks are as good as practicing pathologists in classifying colorectal polyps, according to an experiment by a computer science and clinical research team led by Saeed Hassanpour, from the Dartmouth Cancer Center in Lebanon (New Hampshire). The team…
Gender equality in cancer research is still far away
Despite a positive trend toward equality in the past 3 decades, a substantial gendered difference is now persisting in oncology publications, favouring male first and last authors. “The academic medicine pipeline poses a significant challenge for workforce development, with disproportionately…
European heavy weights share their wisdom on how to deal with COVID-19 and cancer
The consortium Cancer Core Europe has collected, elaborated and shared the steps top experts have taken, while scientific evidence is still in the making Several top cancer centres from all around Europe have just published the results of their in-depth…
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,…
What we know, and ignore, of pediatric palliative care
In discussing palliative care, it has often been asked whether quality of time was important like quantity of life, if not more. And, when patients are children, the answer can become very complex. «If the goal of palliative care is…
Trends in liver cancer: is it time to change prevention strategies?
Between 1990 and 2017 the incidence of primary liver cancer (PLC) globally decreased in younger (<30 years) and middle-aged (30-50 years), while increasing in older people (>60 years). Primary prevention strategies and changes in the lifestyle could be mentioned as…