New Boon for Pancreatic Cancer Patients
A new drug therapy that annihilates the blood vessels that grow to feed malignant tumors is showing considerable promise in increasing the longevity of patients with inoperable pancreatic cancer. Recent research, led by Matthias Löhr of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, shows that a drug called EndoTAG-1 (chemical name: cationic lipid complexed paclitaxel), when infused with gemcitabine, can substantially extend life. In his study involving 200 subjects with pancreatic adenocarcinoma, Löhr treated half of them, the control group, with gemcitabine alone.
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Expert Commentary: Dr. Tauseef Ahmed, M.D., April 30, 2009
I think a better term for the therapies recently reported in Cancer Research would be targeted small molecules. Nanoparticles are formulations of various chemotherapeutic drugs that improve the delivery of chemotherapy. The most commonly used nanoparticle medication is nanoparticle bound paclitaxel, sold as Abraxane. This allows this particular chemotherapy to be dissolved in water. This could not be achieved without having tiny particles attached to the molecule.
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Cancer Patients In Need of Psychological and Social Support
A recent report from the Institute of Medicine addresses the toll that cancer therapies have on patients' mental and emotional state that may potentially cause other health problems. Cancer treatments save and prolong many people's lives; however, care that focuses solely on eradicating tumors without acknowledging a patient's well-being can increase the patient's suffering and affect their ability to follow through on treatment. The report proposes that oncology care providers use a new standard of care that accomplishes three goals: screen patients for distress and other problems, coordinate and connect patients with health care or service providers who can treat these problems, and periodically re-evaluate patients to determine if patient care needs adjustment.
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Prostate Cancer Detection
There is a brand new tool for detecting prostate cancer that could make a huge difference in reducing the chances a cancer will be missed. The bottom line here is not only will cancers be detected more accurately and be less likely to be missed, but it could make it easier to avoid a complete prostate removal, a big, aggressive surgery. Instead, doctors could use targeted therapies that will just destroy the cancer spots, leaving the rest of the prostate intact. Jan winston had been followed by his doctor for a suspicious psa test, the blood test that is a marker for prostate cancer. That number kept rising. “He had done a previous biopsy that was negative. And then he talked about using this machine, and he found it with the biopsy using this mapping capability,” says Jan. Target scan helps minimize the problem of missed diagnosis on biopsy, particularly as a result of inadequate, inaccurate sampling of prostate tissue. Dr. Samir Taneja, Director of Urologic Oncology at NYU Cancer Center, says, “We’re probably missing about a third of cancers on the first biopsy go round so we believe this machine reduces that miss rate and that is something we would like to test in our upcoming clinical trial.”
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Your First Visit
By Tauseef Ahmed, MD, FACP Professor of Medicine and Chief of the Division of Oncology / Hematology at New York Medical College Your tests have come back. The news is not good and your doctor refers you to a specialist. Oncologist, Orthopedist, Neurologist, each one trusted by your doctor, each one trained to help you, whatever your problem might be. Each one can and should be helped by you. Here are a few tips to help your caregiver help you:
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