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Oncology
FDA approves new lung cancer pill
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted accelerated approval to a first-of-its-kind pill for non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
The medication, called sunvozertinib and...
Dirty air tied to brain tumours that can trigger other issues – Danish study
After following nearly 4m people over 21 years, Danish researchers have suggested that exposure to higher levels of air pollution over time was tied...
Weight gain tied to higher breast cancer risk – French cohort study
Obesity can cause various health issues – like type 2 diabetes and an increased risk of heart disease – and even lead to a...
Dementia risk may be lower in cancer survivors – Korean study
Findings from a large Korean study suggests that radiation therapy may reduce by up to 23% the risk of dementia for some cancer survivors,...
Contraceptive pills not linked to high liver cancer risk
There was little association, if any, between ever using oral contraceptives and the risk of liver cancer, a large population-based study showed, although risk...
Low screening, weak referrals, drive SA’s high cervical cancer rates
Compared with other countries, South Africa has a much higher global cervical cancer rate – between 22.8 and 27 per 100 000 women, with...
Planned C-sections tied to childhood cancer risk – Swedish cohort study
Researchers from the Swedish Karolinska Institutet have suggested that children born via planned Caesarean section procedures might have a heightened risk of developing certain childhood cancers,...
Africa bears brunt of substandard cancer drugs with 20% fail rate
In a landmark study by researchers at the University of Notre Dame, Indiana, USA, who analysed 189 samples of various vital cancer drugs, about...
Cancer ‘the new HIV in South Africa’
Cancer cases in South Africa are rising, with projections that numbers could reach 120 000 within the next five years – double what was...
Mother's anti-chemo stance blamed for British graduate's death
A Cambridge graduate’s brothers have claimed she died as a result of the anti-medicine conspiracy theories promoted by her mother, who was struck off...
Blood test IDs cancer three years before symptoms – US study
Fragments of tumour DNA can appear in the bloodstream up to three years before a cancer diagnosis, offering a potentially revolutionary window for early...
Promising Scottish scan technology for brain tumours
Scientists in Scotland who have developed a “pioneering” new scanner say it could significantly improve treatment for patients with glioblastoma, the most common and...
Testicular cancer not an old man’s problem, despite perceptions – US survey
Despite the common misconception that it is an older man's disease, testicular cancer is most prevalent among men aged between 20 and 40.
A survey,...
Cancer costs thwart treatment for SA patents
An Eastern Cape man with a rare cancer who was due to have his last immunotherapy session this week – after an expensive battle...
Chemo-free combo leukaemia treatment hailed – phase 3 UK trial
A combination of targeted drugs, offering a chemotherapy-free approach to leukaemia, has been hailed as a milestone in cancer care by scientists after a...
Cancer’s most promising treatments constrained by lack of action
Despite some extraordinary cancer treatment innovations, some experts are baffled and frustrated by the conservative approach of pharmaceutical companies and biotech investors in taking...
Appendix cancer spikes among Gen Xers, millennials – US review
Recent data show that cancer of the appendix, while rare, has been dramatically increasing among younger generations, making it part of a troubling trend...
Older breast cancer patients using oestrogen cream lived longer – US study
American researchers have suggested that oestrogen creams may improve survival rates, despite previous fears they could stimulate cancer cell growth.
This after their recent study...
US study supports lowering colon cancer screening age
Findings from a single-centre study in the United States has supported recommendations to lower the colorectal cancer screening age from 50 to 45, with...
Phase 3 stomach cancer treatment trial shows positive results
AstraZeneca’s immunotherapy Imfinzi can help certain patients with early-stage stomach cancer, the company has said, buoyed by the data from the results from its...
Family in battle with medical scheme to cover rare cancer drug
The family of an Eastern Cape man is squaring up to take on the Council for Medical Schemes (CMS), after an unsuccessful struggle to have...
New prostate cancer risk gene identified – US study
Scientists have recently identified MMS22L as a potential major gene associated with prostate cancer (PCa) susceptibility, with implications for both risk prediction and personalised treatment, they say.
Building on...
Exercise cuts cancer return by more than a third – CHALLENGE trial
For decades, doctors have recommended adopting a healthy lifestyle to lower the risk of developing cancer. But until now there has been little evidence...
Cancer researchers edge closer to cures, better treatment
Experts are confident that although it is unlikely that there will ever be a single cure for cancer, developments in medical science in recent...
Optimism over multiple myeloma, breast cancer breakthroughs
Two significant research developments, presented in the US last week, are being hailed as major breakthroughs in the search for cures for multiple myeloma...
Child cancer survivors have higher disease risk – US study
Although children are much more likely to survive cancer today than 50 years ago, as adults, unfortunately, many of them develop cardiovascular disease, secondary...
US cuts affect vital cervical cancer screening, research in SA
More than 1 400 cervical cancer patients in Gauteng will be transferred to already overstretched public hospitals after the abrupt closure of several cervical...
Common weed shows potential to fight cancer – SA study
South African researchers have discovered that a common weed – usually dismissed as an invasive plant – might have the potential to fight cancer,...
Donor with genetic mutation fathers 67 children; 10 have cancer
The sperm of a man carrying a rare genetic mutation linked to cancer was used to conceive scores of children across Europe, prompting calls...
US doctors’ concern over Biden's late cancer diagnosis
An announcement on Sunday that former US President Joe Biden (82) has aggressive incurable prostate cancer has raised concern among the medical fraternity, with...
FDA approves new drug for lung cancer
The US Food and Drug Administration has approved a new medication from biotech company AbbVie that treats adults with a type of lung cancer who...
Activists to oppose Gauteng Health's appeal on oncology ruling
SECTION27 and other health activists were disappointed that Gauteng Health had been granted leave to appeal a judgment in favour of the Cancer Alliance...
Late first birth and weight increases breast cancer risk – UK study
A British study has suggested a link between weight gain and having children later in life with a heightened risk of breast cancer, finding...
Wits study IDs breast cancer genes in black SA women
Genetic factors contribute to some 30% of breast cancer cases in SA, say leading scientists, necessitating investment in genomic research in African contexts.
Their seminal...
Weight-loss jabs could halve obesity-linked cancer risks – Israeli study
Weight-loss jabs could almost halve the risk of obesity-related cancers, a landmark study has suggested, with experts calling the findings “transformational”, and saying they...
Eating chicken may raise cancer risks – Italian study
Regularly eating chicken could double the risk of dying from gastrointestinal cancers, suggest scientists who followed the diets of nearly 5 000 people over...
More exercise advised for cancer patients – Chinese meta-analysis
Doctors should prescribe exercise to more patients who are being treated for cancer, suggest researchers who recently looked at the links between physical activity and treatments –...
Immunotherapy a safe alternative to surgery for early cancers – US trial
American researchers say their recent phase 2 trial has shown that PD-1 blockade (neoadjuvant programmed cell death 1) can safely replace surgery for many...
Gut E coli may have role in under-50s bowel cancer – global study
Researchers have suggested that childhood exposure to a toxin produced by bacteria in the bowel could be contributing to the worrying rise of colorectal...
UK radiological group calls for male nurses to do mammograms
Male health workers should be allowed to perform breast screening examinations to help relieve staff shortages, says Britain’s Society of Radiographers (SoR), which has...