Evidence Based Guidelines for Management of Head & Neck Cancer & Surgical Workshop

This three-day  workshop  on  Head  & Neck Oncology  organized  by Mazumdar-Shaw Cancer  Center  will focus on providing update on Evidence  Based  Guidelines  in  the  Management of  Head  & Neck Tumors. To ensure that  the participants  receive practical knowledge, senior  faculty  with  audience   participation   will lead  a  case-based discussion on each of the sub-sites.

The first day will be  designated for live surgical  demonstration of routine   head   and  neck  surgery  procedures.   The  format   of  the remaining   workshop   includes  structured   lectures   moderated  by experienced faculty members.  Ample time has been allotted for case based discussion.

The  course  will be  valuable  to  residents,   advanced  trainees  and practicing  surgeons  and  physicians in the  fields of otolaryngology, maxillofacial and  general  surgery,  radiation  oncology  and  medical oncology with interest in Head & Neck Oncology. Read more…

ZALTRAP™, CTNNB1 improve survival.

Two colorectal cancer studies released results on a new drug and a new biomarker. ZALTRAP™ shows promise as a second-line treatment of late stage disease. Examination of CTNNB1, a biomarker, revealed insights into a protein interaction that may explain increased survival in some obese colorectal cancer patients.

VELOUR trial evaluating the investigational agent ZALTRAP™ (aflibercept) in combination FOLFIRI [folinic acid (leucovorin), 5-fluorouracil, and irinotecan] versus a regimen of FOLFIRI plus placebo showed improvement in overall survival (OS.) OS was the study’s primary endpoint, aimed at the second-line treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). ZALTRAP™ is also known as VEGF Trap. Read more…

Stemming an unhealthy tide

Bengalureans are thinking ahead. Many are planning for the future health of their children, banking on stem cells that are today viewed as a wonder cure for a host of diseases. The recent government approval for clinical trials in stem cell therapy has only increased their willingness to see it as a medical cure of the future.

Currently stem cell therapy holds out hope only for diseases like thalassemia, leukaemia and a few other immuno-deficiency disorders. So should people opt for stem cell banking when it can burn a hole in their pockets, requiring around Rs75,000 and more for a storing period of around 21 years?

“We usually suggest that parents opt for the banking only if they have a family history of thalassemia, leukaemia or some such blood-related disorder,” says Dr Sharat Damodar, consultant haematologist, Narayana Hrudayalaya Hospital and Mazumdar Shaw Cancer Center. Read more…

New GP Test Gives Hope Over Ovarian Cancer

Symptoms of ovarian cancer are often vague and dismissed asirritable bowel syndrome. But Nice says women with persistent abdominal pain or bloating, who feel full quickly when eating, or who need the toilet frequently should be tested.  

New health guidelines mean a simple blood test is to be made available to GPs and thousands of lives could be saved from ovarian cancer. Read more…

Beer drinking ups gastric cancer risk

A new study has found that heavy beer drinkers who have a specific genetic variant in the cluster of three genes that metabolize alcohol are at significantly higher risk of developing non-cardia gastric cancer.

The researchers evaluated the type of alcohol consumed (i.e. wine, beer or liquor) and the location and grade of cancer. Total consumption of 60 grams of pure ethanol/alcohol from all beverage types combined carried a 65 per cent increased risk. (One 12 ounce beer contains about 13 grams of pure alcohol/ethanol.) . Read more…

Prostate cancer detection gets easier.

It’s the second most common form of cancer in men, yet diagnosing it still presents a challenge to physicians. Now, new software being used at some hospitals should help detect prostate cancer earlier, eliminate unnecessary testing procedures and help form a treatment plan. VividLook, a new program used with magnetic resonance imaging exams, makes test results much easier to read and enables physicians to pinpoint where a malignancy may be located in the prostate. Screening for prostate cancer begins with a digital rectal exam and a blood test that gauges the level of a protein, prostate specific antigen.

Nearly 218,000 men nationwide are diagnosed with prostate cancer each year and more than 32,000 men die from the disease. About one in six men will be diagnosed with the disease in their lifetime, and it trails lung cancer as the second leading cause of death in men.But more than 2 million men are alive who were diagnosed with the disease at some point in their lives. Read more…

Molecule able to fight brain cancer found

Extending the hope to live longer than expected for patients suffering from brain cancer, a team of scientists has found a molecule that is able to induce death of brain cancer cells, stated the journal PLoS One released recently.  The molecule Nutlin-3 activates a protein called p53 that kills the cells and prevents the return of glioblastoma multiforme, the most common and most aggressive type of primary brain tumour among humans, Prensa Latina reported.

Despite current treatments to stop it as well as innovation in neurosurgery, radiation therapy and clinical trials of therapeutic agents, most patients die within two years of diagnosis. Scientists, with this new discovery, hope to improve the treatment of glioblastoma and increase years of survival of patients. With therapy based on the Nutlin-3a, it may be possible that cancer cells do not have the ability to recover after radiation. Refer…

‘Electronic Nose’ that can sniff out cancer from patient’s breath

Scientists have successfully developed a breath test that can detect cancer with an “electronic nose”. The highly sophisticated device can detect even malignant head and neck cancer tumours, which are often hard to diagnose. The ‘Nano Artificial Nose’ or Na-Nose has been tested on a small sample group, but there are hopes it could one day be used as a routine test on the cancers.

The device is designed to pick up on microscopic chemical changes that are emitted in the breath of people with the two cancers, compared to those without the disease. It also distinguished between lung cancer patients and those free of the disease and between head and neck cancer and lung cancer patients. Read more…

Soon, tailor-made cancer care.

In what could soon improvecancer survival rates, scientists have achieved success in whole-genome sequencing, a high-tech process which has opened the way for personalised treatments for patients.

Whole-genome sequencing, which maps a person’s DNA and analyses it for mutations, enables us to screen a much larger number of tumours and correlate them with the outcome of the patient. Read more…

Endometrial cancer gene identified

Endometrial (uterine) cancer is the most common gynaecological cancers in the women of developed countries. This is the first endometrial cancer gene identified using the genome-wide association study approach, and involved comparing more than 1,200 endometrial cancer patients to more than 5,000 unaffected people for more than 500,000 genetic markers across the genome. Read more…