The official MedZine Blog

British scientists from the Institute of Cancer Research discovered four novel genetic markers that are associated with an elevated risk of testicular cancer. That is written in Nature Communications. Including these four, a total of 25 markers have been discovered, allowing for an easier identification of men with an elevated risk of testicular cancer. Continue reading

The results from a Dutch cohort study with 13,715 gastro-intestinal (GI) cancer patients show that the use of aspirin after diagnosis increases the five-year survival rate from 42 to 75 percent. Martine Frouws, research physician at the Leiden University Medical Centre, presented her findings at the European Cancer Congress (ECC) in Vienna on the 28th of September 2015. Continue reading

In theory, the prescription of medication compensating the deregulation of molecular pathways should lead to better treatment of cancer. However, in a multicentre phase II study in France, this approach did not render longer periods of progression-free survival. The results, published in The Lancet, raise concerns about the implementation of personalised medicine in cancer. Continue reading

Apart from leukaemia and lymphoma, T cell therapy has now proven to be effective in multiple myelomas. In a phase I/II clinical trial, sixteen of the twenty patients responded to the treatment, US scientists write in Nature Medicine. Continue reading

In practice, oesophageal cancer is diagnosed by taking a biopsy, but according to scientists of the University of Cambridge this method does not detect all aberrant cell populations. In Nature Genetics they describe their new method with a sponge that scrapes cells of the whole oesophageal wall. Continue reading

In cooperation with researchers from the US, Israel and Europe, the Netherlands Cancer Institute (Antoni van Leeuwenhoek) has developed a new immune therapy for metastasised melanoma. During the next four years, the therapy will be available in research context and covered by health insurance. Continue reading

With the theme Illumination & Innovation this year’s congress of the American Society of Clinical Oncology promises a lot of new developments and insights in the field of cancer. One of the progresses to keep an eye on is immunotherapy. This treatment strategy is rapidly gaining ground and will be discussed in numerous sessions at the 2015 Annual ASCO Meeting. Continue reading

Consumption of fish oil and fatty fish could have negative effects on cancer treatment using chemotherapy. That is written by researchers of Antoni van Leeuwenhoek, Amsterdam, in JAMA Oncology. Led by Emile Voest, PhD, professor of medical oncology, researchers have shown earlier that the effects of chemotherapy in mice with cancer were abolished by certain fatty acids present in fish oil. New research now demonstrates that these compounds are detectable in the blood of healthy volunteers after consumption of fish oil supplements or fatty fish. Continue reading

In advanced melanoma patients who do not benefit from existing therapies, personalised anti-cancer vaccines may help in the future. The first test of individual immunotherapie in three melanoma patients achieved good results. The American scientists measured an increase in number and diversity of cancer-fighting T cells, the publication in Science Express shows. Continue reading

The non-profit organisation Global Oncology (GO) has launched a website showing which cancer-related research projects and programs exist around the world. The individual registrations are shown on the Global Cancer Project Map that visualises cancer research is not restricted to western countries. Continue reading