A kinder cut: Advances in surgery for head and neck cancer

Before the development of chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and targeted treatments for cancer, there was surgery. And today, the physical removal of cancerous tissue remains a cornerstone of treatment for most tumor types. more  

Biomarkers linked to DCIS outcomes

Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), where abnormal cells are found in the lining of a breast duct, is usually treated with surgical lumpectomy, followed by radiation, chemotherapy, a combination of the two, or surveillance. Most women undergoing these treatments will not experience a recurrence, but in 15 to 30 percent of women, a new tumor will develop within 10 years, and about half of these will be invasive breast cancers. more

Cancer doctors may need training on empathy skills

Cancer specialists (oncologists) may need additional training to encourage patients to express their concerns and negative emotions and to respond empathically to these concerns, researchers recommended in a study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. more  

Sunitinib linked to heart failure and hypertension

Patients taking sunitinib (Sutent) should be monitored for cardiovascular side effects such as hypertension and signs of heart failure, especially those patients with a history of coronary artery disease or cardiac risk factors, a team of oncologists and cardiologists said last month in The Lancet. The recommendation is based on evidence of cardiac side effects among some patients taking sunitinib to treat gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST). Sunitinib is approved to treat advanced renal cell carcinoma and metastatic GIST after resistance to imatinib (Gleevec) develops. more

Trial shows some benefit of adjuvant chemo for early colorectal cancer  

A large European trial designed to determine the value of adjuvant chemotherapy after surgery for stage II colorectal cancer has found that patients receive "small but definite benefit" in both survival and risk of recurrence, say researchers at the University of Birmingham in England. more

Genome scans for cancer: What's next? 

Scanning the human genome for genetic variants involved in common cancers began to pay dividends in 2007, and the trend is likely to continue as more large studies involving new types of cancer report their results in the coming year. more

Gene variant may identify cirrhosis patients at high risk of liver cancer

Researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital have found that a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) - a change in a single unit of DNA - in the epidermal growth factor (EGF) gene may significantly increase the likelihood that a patient with cirrhosis will develop hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). more

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