FDA approves first use of novel immune system drug for cancer

More than half of bladder cancers in the US are the result of smoking, and 90 per cent of smokers with the disease are aware of the connection, according to a new study. "Bladder cancer is actually the second most common smoking-related cancer, second only to lung," said lead author Dr. Jeffrey C. Bassett of Kaiser Permanente Southern California in Anaheim. Although previous studies had suggested that few people understood the connection between bladder cancer and tobacco, this new study found…

Brittany Maynard, the terminally ill cancer patient whose viral YouTube video reignited the debate on assisted-suicide, ended her life on Saturday. Bioethicist Arthur L Caplan says that Ms Maynard's story has the potential to change the way many people - particularly younger Americans - view the issue. "I am terrified to think that my children will grow up in a culture that openly venerates suicide with this much unyielding passion” "A whole new generation is now looking at Brittany…

Inflammation has been linked to a slew of diseases – from allergies to cancer, heart trouble, bowel problems and diabetes. What is it and how can we protect ourselves. - By paediatrician and family practitioner Dr Gita Mathai. What is inflammation? The word is derived from the Latin “inflammo” meaning ignite or set alight. It conjures up visions of fire, and it is the body’s response to an injury, like a broken bone, a scrape in the skin or an infection by an organism (…

Cancer Institute chairperson Dr V Shanta expressed concern over underreporting of cancer among children, especially in rural areas. Advances in oncology over the past six decades have ensured that up to 75 % of all paediatric cancers can be cured. While it is possible to treat all pediatric cases in the country, there is a need to increase affordability and accessibility for the same," she said. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/City/Chennai/Parents-deny-girls-cancer-treatment-say-doctors…

Do not fear Chemotherapy ! Understand Chemotherapy and how to deal with it. A great video in Hindi by SanjeevaniLifeBeyondCancer  

Women with breast cancer tumors that overexpress human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) may benefit from a novel vaccine to prevent recurrence A new breast cancer vaccine candidate, (GP2), provides further evidence of the potential of immunotherapy in preventing disease recurrence. One of only a few vaccines of its kind in development, GP2 has been shown to be safe and effective for breast cancer patients, reducing recurrence rates by 57%. Further, women with the highest overexpression…

"I was originally diagnosed with locally advanced cancer, so that means it's advanced within in the chest. Mine was triple negative. It's the most aggressive form of cancer," she said. Her breast cancer diagnosis came in 2008. She found out about her metastatic breast cancer in January 2011, at 33 years old. "Two and half years after my original diagnosis, I found another lump," she said as she held back tears. "It varies from person to person. But my experience has been a bit of a roller…

Don’t fight cancer, heal it by attending to body, mind and spirit, says surgical oncologist Dr Vishal Rao. A child developing from an embryo in a mother’s womb is, in reality, a set of rapidly multiplying cells. But they are controlled and regulated. So, we choose to ‘love’ those cells. But when another set of cells multiply rapidly within our body, albeit haphazardly, we call it ‘Cancerous’! These cells are not foreign cells that have made an appearance from outside,…

Mayo Clinic unveiled today a partnership with IBM to harness the power of its Watson supercomputer to match patients with the right clinical trials. Starting early next year, Watson will initially enroll patients with breast, colorectal and lung cancers based on eligibility. There are 170,000 ongoing clinical trials around the world, however, according to the Center for Information and Study on Clinical Research Participation, only 6% are completed on time. Enrolling patients in the…

This new class of drugs unleashes the body's immune system to fight tumors. This seems to solve a century-old mystery of how cancerous cells manage to evade the body's immune system. The drug which Merck will sell under the name of Keytruda was approved by patients with advanced melanoma who have exhausted other therapies.  http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/05/business/merck-wins-approval-of-novel-immune-system-drug-for-cancer.html?emc=eta1