Synthesised sponge chemical shows promise for cancer
A promising compound for cancer treatment has been synthesised in a laboratory by an RMIT University researcher during his PhD research.
A Pill "Melts Away" Common Form of Leukemia
Use of a twice-daily pill could turn a deadly blood cancer into a highly treatable disease, according to scientists at Weill Cornell Medical College who led a multinational research team. Their findings on the therapy for chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), reported in the Jan. 22 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, suggest that patients may be able to avoid having to take debilitating chemotherapy.
Kidney Cancer Patients Save Function with Robotic Partial Nephrectomy
Patients with chronic kidney disease who received robot-assisted partial nephrectomy to treat kidney cancer have minimal loss of kidney function -- a smaller amount even than patients with normal kidney function, according to researchers at Henry Ford Hospital’s Vattikuti Urology Institute.
The study, which includes patient data from five U.S. medical centers, is the largest of its kind.
The study is published online ahead of print in European Urology, the journal of the European Association of Urology.
Two Behavioral Interventions Help Cancer Patients Struggling with Sleep Issues, Penn Medicine Study Finds
Cancer patients who are struggling with sleep troubles, due in part to pain or side effects of treatment, can count on two behavioral interventions for relief – cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) and mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), Penn Medicine researchers report in a new study published online in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. While CBT-I is the gold standard of care, MBSR is an additional treatment approach that can also help improve sleep for cancer patients, the study found.
“Insomnia and disturbed sleep are significant problems that can affect approximately half of all cancer patients,” said lead study author Sheila Garland, PhD, a Clinical Psychology Post-Doctoral Fellow at Penn’s Abramson Cancer Center in Integrative Oncology and Behavioral Sleep Medicine. “If not properly addressed, sleep disturbances can negatively influence therapeutic and supportive care measures for these patients, so it’s critical that clinicians can offer patients reliable, effective, and tailored interventions.”
HPV home tests could identify cancer risk
HPV self-testing is as effective as tests done by doctors, according to a Lund University study. Simple HPV home tests could therefore complement existing screening programmes, and identify more women at risk for cervical cancer.
Sweden has a system of regular gynaecological smear tests, which has halved the number of cases of cervical cancer. Most of the patients who die from the disease are therefore either above the screening age, or part of the 20% who fail to attend their screenings. The figures are similar in other countries with equivalent screening programmes.