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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Interactive App Improves Colorectal Cancer Screening RatesColorectal cancer screening reduces deaths from the disease, yet about one-third of Americans aren’t up to date with screening. Learn what happened when people waiting for routine checkups used an app that allowed them to order their own screening test.
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Cancer Immunotherapy Drug Simultaneously Targets Two Proteins that Block Immune ResponseTwo independent groups of researchers have fused a TGF-beta receptor to a monoclonal antibody that targets a checkpoint protein. The result is a single hybrid molecule called a Y-trap that blocks two pathways used by tumors to evade the immune system.
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NCI Launches New Resource for Specimens and Data from Cancer Clinical TrialsNCI has launched Navigator, a new resource for researchers interested in using specimens and clinical data collected from large cancer clinical trials.
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Forging Military Partnerships to Empower the Cancer Research EnterprisePartnerships and collaborations are an important component of NCI’s success. NCI Director Dr. Norman Sharpless describes three efforts made possible by a memorandum of agreement with three US military institutions: the APOLLO network, NAVIGATE, and BD-STEP.
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Higher Risk of Heart Failure Seen in Some CancersSome people who have been treated for breast cancer or lymphoma have a higher risk of developing congestive heart failure than people who haven’t had cancer, results from a new study show.
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Many Men with Penile Cancer Do Not Get Recommended Treatments, Study FindsAn analysis of records from a national cancer treatment database has found that many men with penile cancer that has not spread beyond nearby lymph nodes did not undergo lymph node biopsy or receive chemotherapy, as recommended by widely used professional guidelines.
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Abemaciclib Approval Expands Initial Treatment Options for Advanced Breast CancerFDA has approved the CDK4/6 inhibitor abemaciclib (Verzenio) as a first-line treatment in some women with advanced or metastatic breast cancer. Under the approval, the drug must be used in combination with an aromatase inhibitor.
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The Imperative of Addressing Cancer Drug Costs and ValueThe President’s Cancer Panel has released its latest report, Promoting Value, Affordability, and Innovation in Cancer Drug Treatment. The report recommends six actions to maximize the value and affordability of cancer drug treatment.
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Drug Combination Reduces Number of Colorectal Polyps in Patients with Hereditary Cancer SyndromePeople with FAP, an inherited condition that greatly increases their risk of gastrointestinal cancer, who took the drugs erlotinib (Tarceva) and sulindac (Aflodac) saw a substantial decrease in the number of precancerous lesions in the colon and rectum.
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Drug May Help Prevent Resistance to Toxin-Based Leukemia TherapyA new study has identified a possible strategy for improving the efficacy of a toxin-based cancer treatment, moxetumomab pasudotox, in some patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).
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Targeted Therapy Larotrectinib Shows Promise in Early Trials, Regardless of Cancer TypeInitial results from a series of three small clinical trials of a targeted cancer therapy called larotrectinib suggest that it may be effective in patients—children and adults—with a wide variety of cancer types.
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FDA Approves Apalutamide for Some Men with Prostate CancerIn the trial that led to the approval, apalutamide (Erleada) delayed cancer metastasis for men with prostate cancer that is resistant to androgen deprivation therapy.
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Testing an Interactive Approach to Promote Exercise in Young Cancer SurvivorsAn interactive website designed to promote physical activity among children and adolescents who have completed treatment for cancer may indeed help encourage them to get regular exercise, according to preliminary results from a pilot study.
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New on NCI Websites, March 2018NCI periodically provides updates on new websites and other online content of interest to the cancer community.
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Lung Cancer Screening Most Beneficial for Those at Highest Risk, Analysis SuggestsAn analysis of data from a demonstration project led by the Veterans Health Administration may help to better define who is most likely to benefit from lung cancer screening.
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Cabozantinib Approval Expands Initial Treatment Options for Advanced Kidney CancerThe Food and Drug Administration has approved cabozantinib (Cabometyx®) as an initial treatment for patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma, the most common type of kidney cancer.
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Molecular Switch Links High-Fat Diet to Prostate Cancer MetastasisA new study in mice has revealed a molecular link between a high-fat diet and the growth and spread of prostate cancer. The findings, the study leaders believe, raise the possibility that changes in diet could potentially improve treatment outcomes in some men.
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Can Oxygen “Microbubbles” Make Radiation Therapy More Effective?A new study in mice raises the possibility that using microscopic, oxygen-carrying bubbles may improve the effectiveness of radiation therapy in the treatment of breast cancer.
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Retooling NCI MERIT Awards to Support Budding Cancer ResearchersNCI Director Dr. Norman Sharpless discusses how NCI is retooling a grant mechanism, called the MERIT R37 Award, to help early-stage investigators by extending the length of time they can receive funding under their first independent NIH grant.
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Abiraterone Approved for Earlier Use in Men with Metastatic Prostate CancerThe Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has expanded the approval of abiraterone (Zytiga®) for men with prostate cancer. The agency approved abiraterone, in combination with the steroid prednisone, for men with metastatic prostate cancer that is responsive to hormone-blocking treatments (also known as castration-sensitive) and is at high risk of progressing.