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Monthly Archives: October 2020

Inhibitor of KRAS gene mutation shows promise in lung, bowel and other solid tumours. Latest results from KRYSTAL-1 early clinical trial of adagrasib (MRTX849)

New results from early clinical trials of a drug that targets a cancer-causing mutation in the KRAS gene have shown that it can shrink tumours and is well-tolerated by patients. In two presentations at the 32nd EORTC-NCI-AACR [1] Symposium on … Continue reading →

Published Sunday, October 25th, 2020 at 2:45 pm
Posted in Cancer

Next generation BRAF inhibitor cancer drug shows promise in early patient trial

A new drug designed to work on cancers with an altered BRAF gene has shown promise in an early patient trial presented at the 32nd EORTC-NCI-AACR [1] Symposium on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics, which is taking place online. The … Continue reading →

Published Sunday, October 25th, 2020 at 12:01 am
Posted in Cancer

Achieving high concentrations of sunitinib in tumours is linked to improved survival. Intermittent high dosing regimen for patients with advanced cancers is safe and results in very high concentrations of the drug in the tumour

A strategy for giving intermittent, high doses of the anti-cancer drug sunitinib is well-tolerated by patients with advanced cancer and increases concentrations of the drug in tumours, which is associated with improved survival, according to research to be presented at … Continue reading →

Published Saturday, October 24th, 2020 at 12:01 am
Posted in Cancer

Nobel Prize winner says scientific research has to be ‘passion-driven’

Scientists cannot be expected to drop everything they’re working on to turn their attention to beating COVID-19, according to the winner of the 2019 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, Professor Sir Peter Ratcliffe. Speaking before he delivered the prestigious … Continue reading →

Published Friday, October 23rd, 2020 at 12:05 am
Posted in Cancer, Genetics

Vaccine designed to treat and prevent lung, bowel and pancreatic cancer shows promise in the lab

An experimental vaccine, designed to enlist the body’s own immune system to target cancer cells, has shown promise for treating and preventing cancer in mice. The vaccine was created to target a gene called KRAS that is involved in the … Continue reading →

Published Friday, October 23rd, 2020 at 12:01 am
Posted in Cancer

One mouse at a time: new approach to testing potential drugs for children’s cancers. Drugs can be tested against many more genetic variants of the same cancer

A team of researchers in the US and Australia have developed a way of testing potential drugs for children’s cancers so as to take account of the wide genetic diversity of these diseases. In new research to be presented at … Continue reading →

Published Thursday, October 22nd, 2020 at 12:01 am
Posted in Cancer

Researchers identify genetic variants linked to toxic side effects from bevacizumab

In the largest study of its kind, researchers have found two common genetic variants that can be used to predict whether or not cancer patients might suffer severe adverse side-effects, such as high blood pressure, from the drug bevacizumab. The … Continue reading →

Published Thursday, October 22nd, 2020 at 12:01 am
Posted in Cancer, Cardiology

Existing heart drugs may help cancer patients respond better to PD(L)1 immunotherapy

Researchers have found that a class of commonly-used heart drugs may also improve patients’ responses to anti-cancer immunotherapies called PD(L)1 inhibitors, according to preliminary findings to be presented at the 32nd EORTC-NCI-AACR [1] Symposium on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics, … Continue reading →

Published Thursday, October 22nd, 2020 at 12:01 am
Posted in Cancer, Cardiology

Young women who suffer a heart attack have worse outcomes than men

Women aged 50 or younger who suffer a heart attack are more likely than men to die over the following 11 years, according to a new study published in the European Heart Journal [1]. The study found that, compared to … Continue reading →

Published Wednesday, October 14th, 2020 at 12:05 am
Posted in Cardiology

Drug combination proves effective in rare peripheral nerve sheath tumours: research in cancer cells and mice has ‘immediate translational implications’

Malignant tumours of the peripheral nerve are rare but aggressive and very difficult to treat successfully. Now, researchers in the US have shown that a combination of two types of anti-cancer drugs, MEK and SHP2 inhibitors, is effective in targeting … Continue reading →

Published Friday, October 9th, 2020 at 12:01 am
Posted in Cancer