November 21st 2024
Currently, chemotherapy remains a common treatment for biliary tract cancers, which have a limited survival rate.
Spanish Team Identifies Gene Variant Responsible for Susceptibility to Peripheral Neuropathy
January 15th 2015The authors of the research say that this information could be especially valuable for the Spanish population: "Even though these variants are rare or not frequent in the population, their frequency is greater in Spain than in other countries."
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Patients With Metastatic Colorectal Cancer Having Less Surgery, Yet Survival Rates Improving
January 15th 2015With the dawn of the modern era of new chemotherapeutic and biologic agents available for managing their disease, patients with metastatic colorectal cancer are undergoing less surgery for the removal of their primary tumors.
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Cancer Treatments the Next Big Area for Cost Saving Opportunities
January 14th 2015Involving the pharmacy benefits manager earlier in the decision-making process could lead to cost savings on cancer treatments, Express Scripts Chief Executive Officer George Paz said at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco, California.
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Express Scripts Wants Early Discussions to Help Lower Treatment Costs
January 14th 2015After their decision to include Abbvie's triple combination for hepatitis C on their formulary, over Gilead's more expensive regimens, Express Scripts indicated at the J. P. Morgan Healthcare Conference that they'll continue the stance of choosing treatments that are equally effective but save costs, especially in cancer.
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"Choose Wisely" in Rectal Cancer a Retrospective Study Indicates
January 13th 2015The retrospective analysis of 145 patients with stage 2-3 rectal cancer found that the "wait and watch" approach, instead of surgery, in patients treated with chemotherapy might work just as well when measuring survival as an outcome.
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Pharma Giants to Collaborate on Immuno-oncology Regimens
January 13th 2015Merck and Eli Lilly have entered an agreement to collaborate on clinical trials to evaluate the former's recently approved PD-1 inhibitor, Keytruda (pembrolizumab) in combination with Lilly's oncology agents in several clinical trials targeting multiple tumor types.
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Study Highlights Need to Reduce Global Teen Exposure to Second-hand Smoke
January 13th 2015The study evaluated data collected through a global collaboration between research institutes in the United States, India, and Africa. Study results pointed to a high rate of exposure of non-smoking teenagers to second-hand smoke, both at home and outside.
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Nivolumab Phase 3 Trial in NSCLC Stopped Early; Superior OS
January 12th 2015Mid-trial evaluation by an independent Data Monitoring Committee found overall survival with Opdivo (nivolumab) in the Checkmate-017 trial was significantly better than the control arm. BMS now plans to submit results to the FDA for approval of the PD-1 inhibitor in lung cancer.
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Nanotechnology, Hailed in Biomedicine, Could Have Cardiac Effects, Study Finds
January 9th 2015While nanotechnology has led to countless advancements, a group of Israeli researchers are now raising a flag of caution about its effects on our health. They say exposure to tiny silica-based particles can play a big role in increasing heart attack and stroke risks.
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Controlling Cancer Metastases To Prevent Disease Progression
January 9th 2015Research at Heildelberg University is targeting the production of tumor-promoting growth factors in endothelial cells to prevent metastasis. Pre-clinical results using this strategy in a mouse model reduced lung and bone metastases in treated mice and also improved survival over the control chemotherapy-treated animals.
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Leading Cancer Research Groups Call for US Regulation of E-Cigarettes
January 8th 2015ASCO and AACR called on the FDA to regulate e-cigarettes and other electronic nicotine delivery systems and for more research to occur to find out how long-term use affects health. Leaders of these groups said that e-cigarettes could cause nicotine addiction among teens, and CDC data show rising use of the products among middle- and high-schoolers.
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A paper published in Science Magazine this month, co-authored by a mathematician and a biologist, suggests that heredity and environmental factors account for only one-third of the risk for developing cancer. A majority of risk is associated with random mutations, a result of mistakes during normal cellular replication.
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Cancer Patients Not Too Distressed by Advanced Directives
January 6th 2015A study conducted at the humanities and medicine departments at Penn State College of Medicine in Hershey, Pennsylvania, found that there's never an ideal time to talk to cancer patients about end-of-life decisions, and most patients are not too disturbed by these discussions.
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