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Oncology
Covid link to aggressive rare cancers, suggest scientists
Increasingly, scientists are suggesting that the proliferation of aggressive cancers – including previously very rare forms of the disease – since the Covid-19 pandemic...
Tattoos may boost lymphatic cancer risk – Swedish study
Swedish scientists have called for urgent in-depth research after their recent study, the first of its kind, suggested that tattoo ink might increase the...
US launches 30-year study on black women and cancer
A long-term population study – which will track 100 000 women for three decades – has been started by the American Cancer Society (ACS),...
Judge green-lights 700 000 Zantac lawsuits
In a blow to British pharmaceutical company GSK, a Delaware judge has given the go-ahead for more than 70 000 lawsuits alleging that its...
World scientists unveil slew of new cancer treatments
An encouraging – and exciting – slew of results and progress in the quest to bolster the arsenal against cancer were presented at the...
Durban experts flag breast cancer genetic trends for different race groups
Precise tracking of breast cancer trends in Sub-Saharan Africa is difficult because of a lack of population-specific data, but in KwaZulu-Natal, researchers were able...
Zantac did not cause cancer, jury says in first trial over drug
An elderly American woman’s claim that the new discontinued heartburn drug Zantac was the cause of her colon cancer has been rejected by a...
Scientists uncover cause of severe Covid lung disease
A recent study has shed light on the mystery of why, in some severe Covid-19 cases, the lungs undergo extreme damage, resulting in various...
HPV jab effective for men against cancer, large analysis finds
A recent large analysis showed that vaccination of boys and men against the human papillomavirus (HPV) reduces their risk of head and neck cancers...
Chemo tied to infection in joint replacement patients – US analysis
Researchers have found a possible relationship between receiving chemotherapy within a year of a total joint replacement surgery and an increased incidence of infection...
Young adults missing colorectal cancer symptoms – US review of 25m adults
In a worrying trend, not only are colorectal cancer rates rapidly rising among adults in their 20s, 30s and 40s, but the early warning...
FDA approves drug for deadly lung cancer
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved an innovative new treatment for patients with a form of lung cancer – to be...
Updated guidelines for prostate cancer screening in South Africa
The SA Urological Association and the Prostate Cancer Foundation of SA have developed evidence-based recommendations to guide clinicians on screening and early diagnosis of...
Proteins in blood could give early cancer warning
British scientists have suggested that proteins in the blood could warn people of cancer more than seven years before diagnosis, according to their research.
The...
Professor cancer-free after applying own research
An Australian pathologist who was diagnosed with brain cancer a year ago says his latest scans show no sign of his glioblastoma, which he...
EMA suspends preterm birth drugs over possible cancer risk
The European Medicine Agency’s safety committee has recommended the suspension of the marketing authorisations for medicines containing 17-hydroxyprogesterone caproate (17-OHPC) in the European Union, after reviews...
mRNA cancer jab shows promise for brain cancer treatment – US study
Researchers have developed an mRNA cancer vaccine they suggest could help treat the common but deadly brain cancer glioblastoma, which affects about three in...
New breast cancer genes identified in African women
The identification of a dozen breast cancer genes only recently discovered in women of African ancestry might help improve predictions for their chances of...
Hormones safe for menopause – US study dispels old flawed findings
The benefits of hormone therapy for the treatment of menopause symptoms outweigh the risks, and what is available now is very different from two...
FDA aims to reduce toxicity, boost efficiency, of cancer drugs
With evidence that thousands of cancer patients become so ill from their treatment that they skip their dosage or stop taking it altogether –...
How old is too old for colonoscopy?
A large observational study in the US has suggested the risks of surveillance colonoscopy might outweigh the benefits for some older patients, in whom...
Breast cancer screenings from 40, advises US panel
Women are now advised to have a mammogram every second year from 40 until 74, according to new recommendations from the US Preventive Services...
NICE approves drug combo for young brain cancer patients
British children and teenagers with an aggressive form of brain cancer may benefit after a new life-extending drug combination was recommended for NHS use...
Activists march for unused R784m to be spent on cancer patients
Despite R784m being set aside by the provincial treasury in March last year for the outsourcing of radiation treatment in Gauteng, the money has...
Unequal burden of prostate cancer for Africa
Prostate cancer is one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers among men, with a rising global incidence, but a landscape differing vastly between developed...
Personalised mRNA jab a 'game-changer' for cancer patients
The launch of patient trials involving the world’s first personalised mRNA cancer vaccine for melanoma has been welcomed by experts for its “game-changing” potential...
Drug breakthrough offers hope for deadly blood cancer – UK study
After a recent discovery, British scientists believe existing drugs could be repurposed to treat rare leukaemia and herald a “new era” for how an...
Higher risk for second breast cancer in some women – US cohort study
A recent study suggests that younger breast cancer survivors with a germline pathogenic variant or those with an initial diagnosis of in situ vs...
The missing link between junk food diets and cancer
Scientists believe they have uncovered a missing link between how eating junk food increases the risk of cancer, after a study looked at the effect of methylglyoxal...
Prostate cancer cases could double by 2040 – global analysis
A recent analysis – the largest of its kind – suggests the number of men diagnosed with prostate cancer worldwide could double to 2.9m...
Breastfeeding may lower paediatric cancer risk – Danish cohort study
Exclusive breastfeeding for longer than three months has been linked to a smaller risk of childhood leukaemia, a recent population-based cohort study showing a...
Test could save thousands from chemo overdose, experts argue
Chemotherapy treatment can be deadly for enzyme-deficient patients and yet, hardly any oncologists call for simple pre-emptive testing that could save thousands of lives...
New UK institute seeks to detect early cell changes before cancer
In research that should help design radically new ways to treat cancer, British scientists at a recently opened cancer institute at Cambridge University have...
Cancer diagnoses among younger people rising
Worldwide, cancer diagnoses are growing more common among people under 50, and it’s been estimated that by 2030, the number of these early-onset cancer...
‘Store acne cream in fridge to cut cancer risk – US experts
Some dermatologists are now recommending people refrigerate benzoyl peroxide products like Proactiv and Clearasil, after an independent lab in the United States found they...
Pros and cons of one-test cancer screenings
At least two multi-cancer detection (MCD) blood tests – one blood test that can detect 50 cancers or more before symptoms appear – are...
Cardiotoxicity risks after chemo treatment
With advances in cancer treatments, comes the risk of long-term health effects, including "cardiotoxicity".
Steven Petrow, writing in The Washington Post, says in 1984, he...
Genetic markers hold clue to meat-eating link to colon cancer
In one of the largest ever gene-environment interaction studies of red meat and colorectal cancer, researchers have identified two genetic markers that may help...
Cancer risks rise with metabolic syndrome – Chinese study
Recent research has suggested that people with worsening metabolic syndrome face a higher risk of developing all types of cancer, particularly kidney cancer.
Metabolic syndrome is...
Global study to determine why black people have worse cancers
A global five-year, multimillion-pound investigation has been launched into why black people are more likely to develop more aggressive forms of prostate, breast and pancreatic...