Cancer treatments can work in lots of different ways, aiming to kill tumor cells or keep them under control. Ideally they cause tumors to shrink, but drugs can also be considered successful if they stop tumors growing. But unfortunately, the effects don’t always last forever. Sometimes a drug can have an initial effect on a cancer’s size or growth, but …

Offering patients the choice between home screening or in-office colonoscopy does not increase participation in colorectal cancer screening, according to a new Penn Medicine study. However, the framing of choice did impact patient decision-making, as the proportion of colonoscopies—the gold standard for colorectal cancer screening—fell when the home screening option was presented as an available option. This study was published …

Although comprising only one eighth of the global population, Europe has a quarter of the total number of cancer cases worldwide. Each year, there are around 3.7 million new cancer cases on the continent, and this figure is expected to increase by at least 65 percent in the next 2 decades. The anticipated rise in the number of patients means …

Overall mortality rates continue to decline, according to the most recent Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer. Cancer mortality has declined, but certain demographic groups are more at risk than others. This report, which appears in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, was a joint effort among the National Cancer Institute, the Centers for Disease Control …

Researchers may have found a way to stop cancer cells from defending themselves against chemotherapy. In a new mouse study, blocking a DNA repair pathway prevented cancer cells from surviving or becoming resistant to treatment. Researchers screened 10,000 drugs and found a compound that boosts cisplatin. Graham Walker, the American Cancer Society Research Professor of Biology at the Massachusetts Institute …

A new modeling study estimates the number, proportion, and type of specific cancers associated with the under or overconsumption of foods and sugar-sweetened beverages among American adults. The analysis is one of the few to focus on the modifiable risk factors for cancer connected to food intake in the United States. The study, published today in JNCI Cancer Spectrum, estimates that …

Precision cancer drugs called PARP inhibitors have a previously unknown ability to boost the immune system, and could help many more patients benefit from immunotherapy, a new study reveals. Scientists found that PARP inhibitors sparked a powerful immune response when used against cancer cells with weaknesses in repairing their DNA. The study changes our understanding of how PARP inhibitors work—and suggests they …

MyPART is the My Pediatric and Adult Rare Tumor network. It is a group of scientists, patients, family members, advocates, and healthcare providers who want to help find treatments for rare cancers. We are working on childhood, teen, and young adult solid rare tumors that have no cures. We think that working as a team will help us find treatments …

What is a natural history study? The purpose of a natural history study is to collect information, tissue and tumor samples, and data from patients to better understand how cancer develops and grows. When researchers don’t know how cancer grows it is much harder to design trials to test new treatments. Natural history studies help researchers understand cancer better.   …

ITV News covered new research showing that melanoma patients with a history of smoking are 40% less likely to survive their cancer than people who have never smoked. Cancer Research UK scientists who led the study said that cigarettes could be reducing the immune system’s ability to fight cancer. But while the study found a link between smoking and survival, the …