The rate of cancer-related death has fallen substantially over the past quarter century, with much of the decline attributable to a reduction in smoking and improvements in early detection and treatment, according to the latest annual report from the American Cancer Society (ACS). Despite this progress, however, cancer remains the second leading cause of death… Read More »
Although suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the United States, the incidence of suicidal death is higher among people with cancer than among the general population. Now, a new study published in the journal Cancer suggests that there is a greater risk of suicide following a cancer diagnosis, reports Wiley. For their… Read More »
Many modern drugs are derived from purified and concentrated plant compounds (although compared to 20 years ago, few drug companies expend time and money looking at medicinal plant chemistry these days). Rosy periwinkle (Catharanthus roseus), for example, a perennial plant native to Madagascar, is the basis for a number of commonly used cancer drugs that… Read More »
Back in November, Pfizer and Merck KGaA reported that immuno-oncology drug Bavencio had failed a late-stage ovarian cancer trial. And now the companies can make it two. Friday, the partners said they’d scrapped a phase 3 study examining Bavencio in combination with and/or after chemo in previously untreated patients after the drug showed it couldn’t… Read More »
An independent review of breast screening in England has found that confusion and misunderstanding were behind an announcement in May that hundreds of thousands of women had missed out on final scans. Jeremy Hunt, then health secretary, said that 450,000 women aged 68-71 were affected because of a computer error. But there was “no incident”,… Read More »