Tuesday 7 May 2013
Cancer Facts
Cells in the body normally divide (reproduce) only when new cells are needed. Sometimes, cells in a part of the body grow and divide out of control, which creates a mass of tissue called a tumor. If the cells that are growing out of control are normal cells, the tumor is called benign (not cancerous). If however, the cells that are growing out of control are abnormal and don't function like the body's normal cells, the tumor is called malignant (cancerous).
Stage 4 Cancer
Stage 4 Cancer Biography
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It seems to be a general thought that chemotherapy will rid the body of cancer. Even when a cancer is in the later stages - stage 4 - there seems to be a hope that perhaps in some people, chemotherapy will be curative. Kind of like the lottery.
But that's not the case. And sadly, too few stage 4 lung cancer patients (and stage 4 colon cancer patients) understand that.
I have to admit, it's not just patients. Just recently I held on to a feeling that chemotherapy would cure a friend with stage 4 lung cancer. Somehow I thought that she would beat the odds, and a treatment that was only designed to lengthen life, would save hers. But that's, unfortunately, not how chemotherapy usually works for stage 4 cancer.
When chemotherapy is given for stage 4 lung cancer it can extend survival. People may live a few weeks longer. Maybe months longer. (An exception may be people treated with some of the targeted therapies such as Tarceva (erlotinib) in people with EGFR mutations or Xalkori (crizotinib) in people with ALK mutations.) Chemotherapy can also be palliative. In other words, it may kill off a part of a tumor resulting in an improvement in symptoms such as shortness of breath or coughing. But, it doesn't cure cancer. In other words, with rare but wonderful exceptions, it doesn't work like a miracle and completely clear a tumor for some fortunate people.
Researchers decided to see if patients understood this concept. In other words, what percent of patients were carrying a false hope that chemotherapy may cure their disease? The results brought tears to my eyes. 69% of stage 4 lung cancer patients (and 81% of stage 4 colorectal cancer patients) didn't understand that chemotherapy was not at all likely to cure their cancer.
It was interesting that patients who said they had good communication with their physicians were more likely to carry false hope that chemotherapy could be curative. Why? One possibility is that sharing the bad news results in patients being less happy with their physicians. Yet that's only speculation. It is, however, a thought that oncologists may wish to consider. Are they allowing their patients to feel this false hope in order to be "liked" better by their patients? On the other hand, are oncologists afraid that sharing the truth will remove hope?
Pancreatic Cancer
Pancreatic Cancer Biography
Sourde(google.com.pk)
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Feb. 7, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Merrimack Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq:MACK) today announced that Peter Laivins, Vice President of Late Stage Clinical Development and Project Leader for MM-398, will serve as a panelist in the "Oncology: Pancreatic Cancer" panel at the BIO CEO & Investor Conference on Monday, February 11, 2013 at 10:30 a.m. (ET) at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York, New York.
About MM-398
MM-398 is a novel, stable nanoliposomal encapsulation of the conventional chemotherapy irinotecan. MM-398 is designed to optimize the delivery of irinotecan by extending the duration of circulation in the body and preferentially activating the drug within the tumor to achieve higher levels of the active drug, SN-38. NAPOLI-1 is a global, randomized, open label Phase 3 trial testing MM-398 as a monotherapy and MM-398 in combination with 5-FU/LV compared with the shared control arm of 5-FU/LV. The study is designed to enroll 405 patients at over 100 sites in North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Australia and South Africa. The Global Principal Investigator is Daniel von Hoff, M.D., F.A.C.P. of TGen, University of Arizona, Mayo Clinic and Scottsdale Healthcare. For a complete list of study sites, please visit www.clinicaltrials.gov.
About Merrimack
Merrimack is a biopharmaceutical company discovering, developing and preparing to commercialize innovative medicines paired with companion diagnostics for the treatment of serious diseases, with an initial focus on cancer. Merrimack applies Network Biology, its proprietary systems biology-based approach to biomedical research, throughout the research and development process. Merrimack currently has six targeted therapeutic oncology candidates in clinical development.
Forward-looking statements
Any statements in this press release about future expectations, plans and prospects for Merrimack constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements. Merrimack anticipates that subsequent events and developments will cause its views to change. However, while Merrimack may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, Merrimack specifically disclaims any obligation to do so.
lung cancer symptoms
lung cancer symptoms Biography
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Lung cancer is the uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells that start off in one or both lungs; usually in the cells that line the air passages. The abnormal cells do not develop into healthy lung tissue, they divide rapidly and form tumors. As tumors become larger and more numerous, they undermine the lung’s ability to provide the bloodstream with oxygen. Tumors that remain in one place and do not appear to spread are known as “benign tumors”.
Doctors viewing a lung x-ray for signs of lung cancer
Malignant tumors, the more dangerous ones, spread to other parts of the body either through the bloodstream or the lymphatic system. Metastasis refers to cancer spreading beyond its site of origin to other parts of the body. When cancer spreads it is much harder to treat successfully.
Primary lung cancer originates in the lungs, while secondary lung cancer starts somewhere else in the body, metastasizes, and reaches the lungs. They are considered different types of cancers and are not treated in the same way.
According to the National Cancer Institute, by the end of 2012 there will have been 226,160 new lung cancer diagnoses and 160,340 lung-cancer related deaths in the USA.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 7.6 million deaths globally each year are caused by cancer; cancer represents 13% of all global deaths. As seen below, lung cancer is by far the number one cancer killer.
Liver CancerTreatment
Liver Cancer Treatment Biography
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Liver Cancer can be an incredibly debilitating disease, but if you or a loved one is suffering from it, you should know that liver cancer alternative treatment options are out there — and some of them have been proven more effective than the doctors would care to admit. Some of these alternative liver cancer treatment options are commonly discussed, while others are rarely heard of. A quick Google search will give you plenty of information about various forms of traditional Chinese medicine, dietary advice, and stress-relief techniques. But there is more to the Alternative Liver Cancer Treatment than that. Let’s take a look at some of the less-well-known liver cancer alternative treatment techniques.
Alkalizing Your Body as Alternative Liver Cancer Treatment
Cancer cells are innately acidic, and cannot survive in a highly alkaline environment. By megadosing on calcium and magnesium, and avoiding acidic foods such as eggs, liver, wine, yogurt, corn, coffee, distilled water, and flesh of all kinds, the body can be converted into a more alkaline state which is highly resistant to cancer growth. The liver is an innately alkaline organ, so this treatment may have particular effect on liver cancers.
Cancell, aka Protocell as Alternative Liver Cancer Treatment
Developed way back in 1935, Cancell is a treatment that radically lowers the energy levels in the body. The patient is basically exhausted for an extended period of time, but during that time, the cancer starves, dies, and is cleaned up by the immune system. Once the treatment is ended, the patient is nursed back to his normal energy levels, and moves on cancer free.
Bio-Resonance as Alternative Liver Cancer Treatment
Much like the right note can crack fine crystal, the right radio frequency can shatter a cancer cell but pass right through healthy cells. Bio-resonance has been used in Europe as an anti-cancer treatment for years, but has never caught on in the USA.
Insulin Potentiation Therapy as Alternative Liver Cancer Treatment
IPT isn’t literally a liver cancer alternative treatment. It’s used in conjunction with chemotherapy, but it allows chemotherapy to be effective at a radically lower dose than traditional chemo. This neatly sidesteps almost all of the side effects of traditional chemotherapy without reducing its effectiveness.
Ozone Therapy as Alternative Liver Cancer Treatment
Another technique that has been in use in Europe for some time – Ozone Therapy floods the blood with ozone, which breaks down into oxygen as it passes into cells. Cancer cannot easily survive in a high-oxygen environment, so ozone therapy has a profound effect on cancer growth and may even send it into remission. The liver receives a large amount of direct blood flow, implying that ozone therapy may be particularly effective in fighting liver cancer.
714X as Alternative Liver Cancer Treatment
714X is an unusual but highly promising treatment developed by Gaston Naessens, a (metaphorically) ‘mad scientist’ who first created his own unique microscope which allowed him to examine live blood cells (which normal electron microscopes cannot do). From his observations through that microscope, he has theorized the existence of microorganisms in the blood, called somatids. He claims to have identified the point at which these somatids, which are responsible for releasing growth hormones, develop an aberrational life-cycle that causes them to excrete too much growth hormone — resulting in cancerous cell growth. 714X is a combination of compounds designed to revive the body’s ability to fight the cell growth. It is inexpensive, can be injected by the patient in their own home, and requires only a modified diet in order to be effective. According to Naessens, 714X has a 75% success rate at curing cancers of all kinds.
Plainly, liver cancer alternative treatments from the reasonable to the extreme are out there — it’s just up to you to talk to your doctor, do your own research, and decide which course is the best for you.
What Causes Cancer
What Causes Cancer Biography
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Cancer is a class of diseases characterized by out-of-control cell growth. There are over 100 different types of cancer, and each is classified by the type of cell that is initially affected.
Cancer harms the body when damaged cells divide uncontrollably to form lumps or masses of tissue called tumors (except in the case of leukemia where cancer prohibits normal blood function by abnormal cell division in the blood stream). Tumors can grow and interfere with the digestive, nervous, and circulatory systems, and they can release hormones that alter body function. Tumors that stay in one spot and demonstrate limited growth are generally considered to be benign.
Cancer cell
More dangerous, or malignant, tumors form when two things occur:
a cancerous cell manages to move throughout the body using the blood or lymph systems, destroying healthy tissue in a process called invasion
that cell manages to divide and grow, making new blood vessels to feed itself in a process called angiogenesis.
When a tumor successfully spreads to other parts of the body and grows, invading and destroying other healthy tissues, it is said to have metastasized. This process itself is called metastasis, and the result is a serious condition that is very difficult to treat.
How cancer spreads - scientists reported in Nature Communications (October 2012 issue) that they have discovered an important clue as to why cancer cells spread. It has something to do with their adhesion (stickiness) properties. Certain molecular interactions between cells and the scaffolding that holds them in place (extracellular matrix) cause them to become unstuck at the original tumor site, they become dislodged, move on and then reattach themselves at a new site.
The researchers say this discovery is important because cancer mortality is mainly due to metastatic tumors, those that grow from cells that have traveled from their original site to another part of the body. Only 10% of cancer deaths are caused by the primary tumors.
The scientists, from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, say that finding a way to stop cancer cells from sticking to new sites could interfere with metastatic disease, and halt the growth of secondary tumors.
In 2007, cancer claimed the lives of about 7.6 million people in the world. Physicians and researchers who specialize in the study, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of cancer are called oncologists.
Malignant cells are more agile than non-malignant ones - scientists from the Physical Sciences-Oncology Centers, USA, reported in the journal Scientific Reports (April 2013 issue) that malignant cells are much “nimbler” than non-malignant ones. Malignant cells can pass more easily through smaller gaps, as well as applying a much greater force on their environment compared to other cells.
Professor Robert Austin and team created a new catalogue of the physical and chemical features of cancerous cells with over 100 scientists from 20 different centers across the United States.
The authors believe their catalogue will help oncologists detect cancerous cells in patients early on, thus preventing the spread of the disease to other parts of the body
Prof. Austin said "By bringing together different types of experimental expertise to systematically compare metastatic and non-metastatic cells, we have advanced our knowledge of how metastasis occurs.
Lung Cancer Treatment
Lung Cancer Treatment Biography
Source(google.com.pk)
PURPOSE A multicenter phase II study to determine the activity and toxicity of Caelyx (Doxil; Sequus Pharmaceuticals Inc, Menlo Park, CA) in patients with metastatic breast cancer.
PATIENTS AND METHODS Seventy-one patients with stage IV breast cancer were treated with Caelyx at doses of 45 to 60 mg/m2 every 3 to 4 weeks for a maximum of six cycles. Twenty-eight patients had received prior chemotherapy with a nonanthracycline regimen. Fifty-two patients had disease at multiple sites. Hepatic and pulmonary disease were the predominant metastatic site in 50 patients. Response was assessable in 64 cases.
RESULTS Sixteen patients achieved a partial response and a complete response (overall response rate, 31%; (95% confidence interval, 20% to 43%). Twenty patients (31%) had stable disease on treatment. Neutropenia > or = grade 3 occurred in 10% of cycles (27% of patients) and mucositis > or = grade 3 in 10% of cycles (32% of patients). Significant alopecia was rare and routine prophylactic antiemetics were not required. At doses of 60 mg/m2 every 3 weeks, seven of 13 patients had > or = grade 3 skin toxicity; overall, this toxicity complicated 25% of treatment cycles. The incidence of > or = grade 3 skin toxicity was greatly reduced at doses of 45 mg/m2 every 4 weeks, occurring in five of 32 patients and affecting only 5% of 126 treatment cycles.
CONCLUSION Caelyx is an active agent in advanced breast cancer with a safety profile that differs markedly from nonliposomal doxorubicin. A regimen of 45 mg/m2 every 4 weeks was well tolerated in this cohort of women with advanced poor-prognosis breast cancer. The mild myelosuppression seen with this regimen would favor its use in combination chemotherapy
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