Cancer Currents: An NCI Cancer Research Blog
A blog featuring news and research updates from the National Cancer Institute. Learn more about Cancer Currents.
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High-Fat Diet or Diabetes Drug May Enhance Response to Targeted Cancer DrugA study in mice may have identified a way to help overcome resistance to targeted cancer drugs known as PI3K inhibitors. The approach appears to work by reducing insulin levels in patients receiving these drugs.
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Combination of Immunotherapy Drugs Approved for Metastatic Colorectal CancerThe FDA has approved the combination of the immune checkpoint inhibitors ipilimumab (Yervoy) and nivolumab (Opdivo) for the treatment of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer whose tumor cells have defects that affect their ability to repair DNA.
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New Immunotherapy Option Approved for Cervical Cancer, Rare LymphomaFDA has approved pembrolizumab (Keytruda) for some women with advanced cervical cancer and some patients with primary mediastinal large B-cell lymphoma (PMBCL), a rare type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
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Aggressive Prostate Cancer Subtype More Common Than ExpectedResearchers have found that men with advanced prostate cancer may be more likely than previously thought to develop a more aggressive form of the disease. The subtype, called t-SCNC, was linked with shorter survival than other subtypes.
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Developing Biomarkers for Immunotherapy: A Conversation with Drs. Magdalena Thurin and Helen ChenNCI is supporting a new research network to develop biomarkers for cancer immunotherapy. In this interview, NCI’s Dr. Helen Chen and Magdalena Thurin explain the networks’ structure and its goals.
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FDA Alters Approved Use of Two Checkpoint Inhibitors for Bladder CancerFDA has changed the approved uses of the immunotherapy drugs pembrolizumab (Keytruda) and atezolizumab (Tecentriq) to treat the most common form of bladder cancer. The change is based on whether patients’ tumors have a specific biomarker.
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Mouse Study Links Immune Cells to Diarrhea Caused by ChemotherapyA study in mice sheds light onto how some chemotherapies cause diarrhea. The findings could be the basis for developing new treatments for patients with cancer who develop gastrointestinal side effects from chemotherapy.
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The Opioid Epidemic and Cancer Pain Management: A Conversation with Dr. Judith PaiceDr. Judith Paice, of the Cancer Pain Program at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, discusses the impacts of the opioid epidemic on cancer patients and how providers can address concerns about opioid misuse when managing cancer pain.
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Sodium Thiosulfate Prevents Cisplatin-Induced Hearing Loss in Some ChildrenThe drug sodium thiosulfate can protect the hearing of children with cancer undergoing treatment with the chemotherapy drug cisplatin, results from a new clinical trial show. The trial involved children with a form of liver cancer called hepatoblastoma.
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Cancer Prevention Message Is Key for HPV Vaccination Discussions with ParentsHealth care providers should emphasize cancer prevention when discussing HPV vaccination with the parents of preteens who are due to receive the vaccine, results from a new study show.
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Can Age Affect Response to Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors?A new study has linked age with how well patients with melanoma responded to treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors. Experiments in mice suggested that the response pattern may be due to an age-related shift in the kinds of immune cells in tumors.
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Dr. Alan S. Rabson, Long-Time NCI Deputy Director and Cancer Research Stalwart, DiesMany in the cancer research and NIH community are mourning the loss of long-time NCI senior leader Alan Rabson, M.D., who passed away on July 4, at the age of 92. His career spanned 6 decades, including research on tumor virology and cancer pathology and senior NCI leadership roles.
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NExT: Advancing Promising Cancer Therapies from the Lab to Clinical TrialsThe NCI Experimental Therapeutics (NExT) program works with researchers and top scientific experts to advance promising or novel cancer therapies from the earliest stages of research to human clinical trials.
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Altering Chemotherapy Improves Outcomes in Early-Stage Pancreatic CancerResults from two clinical trials are expected to improve the outlook for some people with early-stage pancreatic cancer. Altering the chemotherapy drugs used and the timing of treatment substantially improved survival.
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New on NCI Websites for June 2018NCI periodically provides updates on new websites and other online content of interest to the cancer community. See selected content that has been added as of June 2018.
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Approval Expanded for Venetoclax in Chronic Lymphocytic LeukemiaFDA expanded the approval of venetoclax (Venclexta) for people with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) to include those whose cancer has progressed after previous treatment, regardless of whether their cancer cells have the deletion 17p gene alteration.
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Do Frequent Follow-Up Tests Benefit Colorectal Cancer Survivors?Two studies examined the impact of more frequent follow-up testing for cancer recurrence in colorectal cancer survivors. Learn whether the studies showed that frequent testing improved survival.
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Biosimilars for Cancer Emerge as Patents on Widely Used Biological Drugs ExpireAs the patents on some widely used drugs to treat cancer expire in the coming years, biosimilar drugs are being developed for the treatment of patients with cancer. Are biosimilars effective and will they expand treatment options for patients?
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Trial Produces Practice-Changing Findings for Some Children, Young Adults with LeukemiaThis NCI-funded Children’s Oncology Group trial tested the addition of nelarabine (Arranon) to standard treatment for children and young adults with T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL).
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OncoArray Links Dozens of DNA Variants to Risk for Common CancersResearchers with the NCI-supported GAME-ON initiative and OncoArray Network are publishing studies identifying dozens of new genetic variants associated with the risk for developing some of the most common cancers.