In a nutshell The authors aimed to determine if there was a link between patient age, tumor type and the spread of cancer. Some background Breast cancer metastasis is the spread of the cancer to other parts of the body; following original cancer of the breast. Age at original diagnosis and the area affected by the tumor are just two of the...
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In a nutshell This article looked at the influence of calpain-9 on breast cancer survival following endocrine therapy. Some background Calpain-9 is a protein that is important in the processes of cell signalling (communication between cells). Irregular expression of these proteins can be seen in breast cancer and some of these proteins can even...
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In a nutshell The authors aimed to determine the negative effects of hormone therapy and ways to avoid these effects in prostate cancer patients. Some background Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) is a form of hormone therapy that targets the male sex hormones, such as testosterone, active in prostate cancer. Though it is a common and successful...
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In a nutshell The authors aimed to evaluate the use of Gleason scores in predicting the outlook of metastatic prostate cancer. Some background The Gleason grading system is from 2-10. It describes how different the cancer cells look from normal cells and predicts the likelihood of the tumor spreading. The lower the score, the less likely it...
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In a nutshell This study examined health-related quality of life (HRQL) in patients receiving degarelix (Firmagon) or leuprorelin (Eligard) for advanced prostate cancer. Some background In some cases prostate cancer has spread through the wall of the prostate (locally advanced) or has spread to distant organs (metastatic prostate cancer). Research...
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In a nutshell The study investigated the effects of androgen deprivation therapy on diabetes control in men with prostate cancer. Some background Androgens (male sex hormones such as testosterone) are vital for the survival of the cells of the prostate gland. Therefore in prostate cancer, which is in fact uncontrolled growth and multiplication of...
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In a nutshell The authors evaluated 1-year differences in outcome between 4 different treatments for bone mass loss associated with androgen deprivation therapy. Some background Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) is the cornerstone of treatment for metastatic prostate cancer (cancer that has spread beyond the prostate), high-risk early-stage...
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In a nutshell This study explored the use of metformin (Glucophage) in prostate cancer patients undergoing androgen-deprivation therapy. Some background Prostate cancer is often dependent on androgens, or male hormones such as testosterone, for growth. Therefore, a standard treatment in advanced or metastatic (spread of disease to...
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In a nutshell This paper looks at the use of a system called EPclin that gives patients a risk score according to the clinical and genetic characteristics of their tumor. This score is used to predict if patients are at high or low risk of distant reccurrence of the tumor and if they would benefit from chemotherapy. Some background...
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In a nutshell This article presents the results from the first human trial of PD 0332991, a new anti-cancer drug. The main objective of the study was to determine the safety and recommended dose for further testing. Results warrant further studies and revealed that neutropenia (low white cell count) was the main side effect. Some background Cells...
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In a nutshell This study compared the efficacy of Eribulin (Halaven) versus other treatments in women with previously treated stage IV breast cancer. Eribulin extended overall survival more than the other treatment options. Some background Late stage breast cancer offers limited treatment options. At this point in the disease,...
Read MoreDue to the increase in life expectancy, there exists an increasing number of patients with prostate cancer (PCA) in many populations. However, there is no consensus on screening and treatment of PCA in the medical fraternity. This paper investigated the oncological outcomes of radical prostatectomy (RP) in older men (> 70) compared to RP outcomes in...
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