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Oncology
Gauteng Health expands HPV jabs to private schools
Vaccination against the human papillomavirus (HPV) will now be available to girls aged nine to 15 at private schools in the province, Gauteng Health...
Combination treatment slashes cervical cancer deaths by 40%
British researchers are hailing a new cervical cancer treatment as the biggest improvement in 20 years, cutting the risk of death by 40% and...
UK launches major study of personalised cancer therapies
A large-scale collaborative study of personalised cancer therapies could offer clinicians a real-time view of how well treatments are working, say scientists, and decide...
SAHPRA rejects woman’s bid for cancer drug not yet registered in SA
An Umhlanga woman (53) is battling cancer and bureaucracy in attempts to acquire medication that might save her life.
Ina Requilet has an aggressive mutation...
Colon cancer therapy fails late-stage trial
A combination of Merck’s experimental drug and blockbuster therapy Keytruda had failed a late-stage trial testing it in previously treated patients with a type...
Alcohol consumption linked to rising cancer cases – US study
Adults under 50 have been developing breast cancer and colorectal cancer at increasingly higher rates over the past few decades, and alcohol use may...
Breastfeeding after breast cancer a safe option – Italian studies
Two international studies presented at last week’s ESMO Congress 2024 in Barcelona showed no increase in recurrence or new breast cancers in women who...
US researchers identify new, rare small cell lung cancer
A team of doctors and researchers say they have found a new, rare type of small cell lung cancer that worryingly, primarily affects younger...
mRNA cancer vaccine shows promise in trial
Scientists say they are pleased with the interim data from the phase I dose escalation part of the mRNA cancer jab (mRNA-4359) trial, which,...
Common trait excludes African, Middle-Eastern patients from trials
Researchers have recently discovered that clinical trials, including those of new cancer drugs, may inappropriately exclude some people with a common benign trait (Duffy-null...
Why kidney cancer research has doctors excited
Kidney cancer patients are now living longer and better, thanks to developments over the past 20 years, and the fact that many are being...
Blind women help detect possible breast cancers in India
In an extraordinary programme, blind women in India are assisting in the diagnosis of possible breast cancers, in a country where mammograms are in...
Prostate cancer ‘over-diagnosed’ across Europe – global experts
Rates of prostate cancer across Europe – since 1980 – are “indicative of over-diagnosis”, say researchers, who suggest this “may be inflated by unregulated...
Major WHO review finds no link between phones and brain cancer
A WHO-commissioned review of all available published evidence worldwide has concluded that there is no connection between mobile phone use and an increased risk...
Cancer jab using immune system’s ‘killer’ cells on the cards – UK study
Scientists are working on a “breakthrough” cancer vaccine after discovering how the body’s immune system targets cells devastated by the disease, according to the researchers from the University...
Lung cancer vaccine trial launches in UK
A new vaccine that fights lung cancer is being tested for the first time on patients in the UK, with researchers saying it could...
TIME ‘Kid of the Year’ teen invents skin cancer soap
An American teenager is making waves in the oncological research world, having invented a soap which he hopes will, in the future, be used...
FDA approves chemo-free treatment for lung cancer
The US Food and Drug Administration has approved Johnson & Johnson’s chemotherapy-free combination treatment for a type of non-small cell lung cancer, setting up...
Colon cancer blood test needs healthcare sector buy-in
Experts are hoping that FDA approval of the first colon cancer screening blood test – which has several opponents – will boost low screening...
Fallopian tube removal in sterilisation is safe – Swedish experts
The removal of fallopian tubes during sterilisation is about as safe as sterilisation procedures that damage the tubes but leave them intact, a recent...
Higher cancer risk with heavy cannabis use – US study
People who are regular and heavy cannabis users have a three to five times greater risk of developing some head and neck cancers, according...
How the provinces stack up in state oncology treatment
Depending upon where you live, the wait for cancer treatment at a public facility can be more of a death sentence than the disease...
Cervical cancer treatment success with heat therapy – Wits study
Researchers at Wits University have successfully enhanced the effectiveness of heat therapy to help treat cervical cancer – the second most common cancer among...
UK approves ‘take-home’ blood cancer drug
Blood cancer patients in England are to be offered the first ever ‘take-at-home’ tablet to be approved for treatment, and recommended by the National...
Millennials and Gen Xers have higher risk of 17 cancers – US study
US and Canadian researchers have identified 17 cancer types that appear to be more common in Generation X and millennials than in older age...
FDA green light for colon cancer blood test
The US Food and Drug Administration has approved a blood test to be used for colorectal cancer screening among average-risk adults 45 and older...
WHO upgrades carcinogenicity of talc
The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), part of the World Health Organisation, has reclassified talc from “possibly” to “probably” carcinogenic, and reclassified...
Double mastectomy no guarantee against cancer – Canadian cohort study
Women who had a lumpectomy or a mastectomy and kept their other breast did just as well as women who had a double mastectomy,...
Gene may be key to treating pancreatic cancer – UK study
Scientists may have pinpointed a gene they suggest could could be key to taming one of the world’s deadliest cancers – giving fresh hope...
Aspirin may lower colorectal cancer death risk – Italian study
A growing body of evidence has shown that people who regularly take aspirin have a lower risk for colorectal cancer (CRC) and are less...
FDA stalls again on ban proposal for hair product chemicals
The US Food and Drug Administration’s proposal to ban formaldehyde in haircare products has been pushed back once again, from July to September, and...
Gauteng Health sued over unspent cancer millions
The Cancer Alliance, represented by SECTION27, has filed a court application against the Gauteng Department of Health (GDoH) after it failed to spend the...
Cancer patient third US person to have larynx transplant
American Marty Kedian, who had been without a voice for years and unable to swallow and breathe normally after dozens of surgeries for a...
Ultrasound cancer screening less accurate in black women – US study
Experts suggest that a common screening technique used to assess the risk of endometrial cancer may be less effective in black women, and that...
Drugs may boost radiotherapy efficiency in meningiomas – UK study
Drugs developed to fight blood and other cancers could also help improve the efficiency of radiotherapy in the most commonly diagnosed low-grade brain tumour...
WHO suggests therapeutic HPV jabs to scale up vaccination
While a vaccine already exists to prevent human papillomavirus (HPV), the main cause of cervical cancer, more than 20 therapeutic HPV vaccine candidates are...
HPV one-dose jab campaign to now include private schools
The Department of Health has announced that it is moving from a two-dose to a single-dose HPV (human papilloma virus) vaccine regimen and that...
Pre-surgery chemo ups pancreatic cancer survival – Yale study
Patients with pancreatic cancer who received chemotherapy both before and after surgery experienced longer survival rates than would be expected from surgery followed by...
Gen-Xers have higher cancer risk than Boomers – US cohort study
A recent study of data from nearly 4m people has showed that Gen-Xers have a greater chance of being diagnosed with cancer than the...
Why SA urgently needs a National Cancer Act
With cancer numbers continuing to rise in South Africa, and with health systems in a perilous state, Cancer Alliance SA and concerned stakeholders are...