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 study is unique because researchers found and analysed hundreds of thousands of genetic variations in […]
October 2020
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, which is taking place online. Angiotensin receptor II blockers (ARBs) are often prescribed for high […]
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 men, women were less likely to undergo therapeutic invasive procedures after admission to hospital with […]
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 the mechanism that drives the cancer’s growth. Although the work has been carried out in […]
Catheter ablation linked to reduced risk of dementia in patients with atrial fibrillation
People with atrial fibrillation have a reduced risk of dementia if they undergo a procedure called catheter ablation to restore the normal rhythm of their heart, according to a new study published in the European Heart Journal [1]. Previous work, published last year in the EHJ, by the same group of researchers showed that atrial […]
Treating abnormal breast tissue with surgery and radiotherapy reduces cancer risk but the benefits diminish with time
A major study of women with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) – a breast condition that can become invasive cancer – has shown that surgery to remove the tissue followed by radiotherapy offers better protection compared to surgery alone. The study, presented at the 12th European Breast Cancer Conference, followed patients for up to 27 […]
The mode of detection of high-risk breast cancers is linked to patient prognosis
Breast cancers that are detected in the interval between national screening programme mammograms have a worse prognosis than those detected at the time of a screening, even if they have the same biology, according to research presented at the 12th European Breast Cancer Conference. Analysis of results from over eight years’ follow-up of the international […]
Increased risk of cardiovascular disease in women treated for breast cancer can be predicted with computer analysis of routine scans
Automated analysis of breast cancer patients’ routine scans can predict which women have a greater than one in four risk of going on to develop cardiovascular disease, according to research presented at the 12th European Breast Cancer Conference. Women who have been treated for breast cancer may have a higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease […]
HER2 positive breast cancer patients live longer if drugs given before surgery eradicate tumour: final results of nine-year survival outcomes from NeoALTTO BIG-06 trial
Final analysis of results from a randomised clinical trial of lapatinib and trastuzumab given before surgery in patients with early HER2-positive breast cancer has found that women who had no signs of residual disease after treatment (known as a pathological complete response, pCR) survived longer without the cancer returning than patients who did not. This […]
Researchers reveal which benign breast disease is most likely to develop into cancer
Benign breast diseases (BBD), which are non-cancerous disorders of the breast, such as lumps, are known to increase the chances of subsequent breast cancer. Now a team of Spanish researchers have found that the way BBD is detected as part of a national screening programme is an indication of which are more likely to become […]