News archive
100 topics in this forum
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Giving Advice re Medications
by PCUK Nurse Dianne- 0 replies
- 11.1k views
Dear Forum Users, We are slightly concerned by information provided re dosages of medication, especially of pain medication. People should be directed in their pain medication/management primarily by their Macmillan Nurse or Primary Care person in the first instance. We suggest caution in providing doses as each individual is different and prescribing needs should account for the whole medical history of a patient. As we are aware all patients are individual and will have different care needs and co-morbidities that may affect dosing requirements. This is just a reminder so as to protect yourselves from issues arising out of prescribing advice and in line with …
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Negative outcome of pancreatic cancer study announced
by PCUK Nurse Jeni- 0 replies
- 12k views
Clovis Oncology, a biopharmaceutical company, has announced the results from its LEAP (Low hENT1 and Adenocarcinoma of the Pancreas) study of CO-101 versus gemcitabine in metastatic pancreatic cancer. The study was based on previous research suggesting that patients with low levels of a protein, which is involved in moving molecules including some drugs into cells, called tumour cell hENT1 (human equilibrative nucleoside transporter-1), benefit less from gemcitabine than patients with high levels. The trial was testing the theory that pancreatic tumours expressing low levels of hENT1 will respond better to CO-101 (a derivative of gemcitabine called gemcitabine elaid…
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- 18 replies
- 37.2k views
Hello I wonder how many people that come to this site know of the treatment Irreversible Electroporation? ( also called nanoknife) It is a new procedure ( 2 years) with very good promise for pancreatic and liver cancer. May i suggest you put it into your google search and read up on it fully. The procedure is becoming common in USA and if you google correctly you will find one or two very good videos by several clinics. The reason you may not heard of it yet is because. unfortunately it is only performed privately in the UK and is not available on the NHS owing to the high cost ( I believe about £10,000 to £15,000) It would be good to hear from anyone, once you have…
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Special issue of Nature Reviews focused on pancreatic cancer
by Support Team- 0 replies
- 12.4k views
The journal 'Nature Reviews' has brought out a specific issues focusing on pancreatic cancer. The issue contains five specially commissioned review articles on hot topics within the field of pancreatic cancer. The review articles look at new biomarkers and targets in pancreatic cancer, the diagnostic and therapeutic implications of the role of stroma, current knowledge of familial pancreatic cancer, the technique of robotic pancreatic surgery and the potential of next-generation sequencing. The articles can be read free of charge on the nature website http://bit.ly/OtXVWI Anna
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My visit to Israel to ascertain research into PC
by Trevor F- 5 replies
- 15.8k views
I spent 2 days in Israel last week visiting three medical faculties to look at current research on pancreatic cancer, purely from an academic point of view. My first visit was to the Sourasky Medical Centre in Tel Aviv where I was given a presentation on macrophages and the growth of pancreatic cancer cells by infiltration into the nervous system. What triggers neural invasion is unknown and their research sets out to find the trigger. Pancreatic cancer invasion along nerves is regulated by a paracrine pathway that involves GDNF or glial cell-derived neurotrophic factor. This pathway may be a target for preventing nerve invasion in pancreatic cancer. Experiments with m…
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BC-819 to treat advanced pancreatic cancer
by Trevor F- 0 replies
- 11.5k views
BC-819 has been developed by Biocancell to treat pancreatic and other cancers by injecting plasmid DNA into the tumour or peritoneal cavity. http://www.biocancell.com/bc-819 And for clinical trials results read here : http://www.biocancell.com/clinical-trials
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Early stage US trial shows promise for new treatment
by Support Team- 2 replies
- 13k views
An early stage trial in the US has shown promising results for a new treatment TH-302 for advanced pancreatic cancer patients. The trial found that the combination of TH-302 with gemcitabine caused tumour shrinkage and prolonged life compared to gemcitabine alone. It is likely that further trials of the treatment will be needed to confirm these results. http://www.thestreet.com/story/11425936/1/threshold-drug-delays-pancreatic-cancer.html?cm_ven=GOOGLEN
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Promising new treatment studied for pancreatic cancer
by Support Team- 0 replies
- 11.6k views
Scientists from Cancer Research UK's Cambridge Research Institute and the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute have shown, in human cancer cells and mice, that a gene called USP9x is switched off through chemical tags on the DNA's surface. They believe the gene could be faulty in some pancreatic cancers, raising the prospect that existing drugs, which strip away these chemical tags, could be an effective way of treating some pancreatic cancers. For the full story visit http://bit.ly/IoKZwn
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Metformin may improve survival in pancreatic cancer patients
by Support Team- 0 replies
- 11.6k views
Metformin use may improve survival in pancreatic cancer patients with diabetes Pancreatic Cancer UK is excited by research findings suggesting that taking metformin may improve survival in pancreatic cancer patients who have diabetes. The findings were from a small scale retrospective study carried out in the US which found that metformin use was associated with improved survival in patients with pancreatic cancer that had not spread to other parts of the body. Survival rates for pancreatic cancer patients are poor and the discovery of any treatment that may help improve survival is significant and positive news for patients. We would like to see further research to in…
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- 0 replies
- 11.2k views
I am doing some research into discrimination against cancer patients as and when they are able to return to work, if they want to. I am self-employed so I may not have noticed this so much personally. I have contacted a number of relevant university departments in England and Scotland doing such research and have offered to help them. I have met with a favourable response. If anyone has experience of such discrimination please contact me via this Forum. Thanks.
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Scotland Against Cancer conference
by Trevor F- 0 replies
- 11.1k views
Will anyone be going to the Scotland Against Cancer conference in Edinburgh on 30 April ? http://www.scotlandagainstcancer.org.uk/ I may go... let me know
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New research on improving effectiveness of treatment
by Support Team- 0 replies
- 11.1k views
Research teams in UK and USA both make significant breakthrough in improving the effectiveness of treatment for pancreatic cancer Research teams in the UK and USA have both just shown that an enzyme called PEGPH20 or hyaluronidase acts to allow higher concentrations of drugs into pancreatic cancer tumours resulting in more effective treatment. Pancreatic cancer tumours produce a complex extracellular matrix, which protects them against treatments. One major component of this matrix is a substance called hyaluronan, or hyaluronic acid (HA). HA is a complex sugar (a glycosaminoglycan) that occurs naturally in the body and is secreted at extremely high levels by pancreati…
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Aspirin: possible uses for cancer prevention?
by Support Team- 0 replies
- 11.8k views
Three new studies published by The Lancet today suggest fresh evidence that an aspirin a day may help prevent cancer. Alex Ford, Chief Executive says: "Pancreatic Cancer UK is very interested in the new research into the benefits of taking aspirin in terms of preventing cancer and reducing the risk of it spreading to other organs. The charity would welcome more research into the benefits of aspirin - we would also strongly encourage anyone who is considering taking aspirin on a daily basis to first seek advice from their GP." To read the article regarding research into the potential benefits of taking aspirin, please click through to the Lancet article http://www…
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Research reveals how combination therapy is more effective
by Support Team- 0 replies
- 11.2k views
New research reveals how combination therapy is more effective in treatment of pancreatic cancer Research published online on 28 February in the journal Cancer Discovery led by Professor David Tuveson at the University of Cambridge has identified in a laboratory model how when used together nab-Paclitaxel makes Gemcitabine more effective in killing tumour cells. They discovered that paclitaxel reduces the level of the enzyme that breaks down gemcitabine in tumour cells and so increases the level of gemcitabine in tumours. This finding will help researchers optimise how the two drugs are used together to treat loaclly advanced and metastatic pancreatic cancer. Other res…
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US Pancreas Cancer Vaccine shows promise
by Support Team- 0 replies
- 11.8k views
Researchers from Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore USA, presented findings at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium in January 2012 in San Franciso from a early phase (Phase 1b) trial of BioSante Pharmaceuticals' pancreatic cancer vaccine GVAX used in combination with an anticancer immunotherapy (Bristol Myers Squib's ipilimumab) in 30 patients who had previously-treated locally advanced or metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma. The combined therapy showed improved survival in addition to both therapies being be safe to use (the main purpose of the trial), which has led to the setting up of a larger muilti-centre study to st…
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European expert panel views on pancreatic cancer research
by Support Team- 0 replies
- 11.4k views
Hi, An article has been published in the Annals of Oncology on a European expert panels views about future direction of pancreatic cancer research. The article can be accessed free from http://annonc.oxfordjournals.org/content/23/3/570.full?etoc Best wishes, Anna
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Metal stents superior to Plastic?
by PressWatch- 1 reply
- 11.5k views
Heres a new piece of work which seems to confirm that Metal Stents are Superior to Plastic for PC patients in some circumstances. Any patient/carer want to comment? Decker C, Christein JD, Phadnis MA, Mel Wilcox C, Varadarajulu S. Related Articles Biliary metal stents are superior to plastic stents for preoperative biliary decompression in pancreatic cancer. Surg Endosc. 2011 Mar 4;. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 21373939 Presswatch
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- 5 replies
- 14k views
http://m.birminghammail.net/ms/p/tmg/bhammail/sJDTKQ3eiPs50XkxrBkdEvQ/view.m?id=4131428&tid=638956&cat=News
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Pancreatic cancer in children-brief mention on bbc east mids
by AnthonysDaughter- 3 replies
- 13.5k views
Just thought I'd post on here, my mum sister and I are completely stunned ny a mention on BBC east midlands today of a news piece about a charity called wishes 4 kids, the kids all have different medical conditions, this one little girl who looked about 6years old it was mentioned that she was suffering from a rare childhood disease, pancreatic cancer! The poor little thing! Didn't even know it had affected any1 so young. Just thought id mention it xxx
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New Technology to Tackle Treatment resistant cancers
by Support Team- 0 replies
- 11.2k views
A research study has shown positive results for a new test used to pick up free flowing cancer cells in the blood stream. It is hoped that this technology could be used in the future to assess and control cancer, in particular predicting response and resistance to treatment. For more information http://www.fiercebiotech.com/press-releases/new-technology-tackle-treatment-resistant-cancers
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Interesting initial findings for CO-101 trial
by Support Team- 0 replies
- 11.5k views
A worldwide Phase II trial is currently being carried out to compare CO-1.01 with gemcitabine as first-line chemotherapy for advanced pancreatic cancer. Gemcitabine chemotherapy is the standard treatment for pancreatic cancer that has spread to other parts of the body but there is no way to tell in advance which patients will benefit from the treatment and which will not. Research suggests that patients with low levels of a protein, which is involved in moving molecules including some drugs into cells, called tumour cell hENT1 (human equilibrative nucleoside transporter-1), benefit less from gemcitabine than patients with high levels. This study is testing the t…
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Processed meat 'linked to pancreatic cancer'
by Support Team- 0 replies
- 10.9k views
Researchers in Sweden from the Karolinksa Instituet and Swedish Cancer Foundation have suggested a link between pancreatic cancer and the consumption of processed meat, such as bacon and sausages. Alex Ford, Chief Executive of Pancreatic Cancer UK said: "Pancreatic Cancer UK is keen to see more research like this that helps improve our understanding about which aspects of diet and lifestyle may have a bearing on the risk of developing pancreatic cancer. These findings, if confirmed by further studies, could help inform people on which lifestyle factors could play a role in limiting their chances of developing the disease." To read the full story please clic…
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Early stage trial of chemo and radiotherapy combination
by Support Team- 0 replies
- 11.2k views
An early stage trial of a combination of chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatment for locally advanced inoperable pancreatic cancer in Australia has shown some promising results. The small scale trial involved treating people with a combination of gemcitabine and oxaliplatin chemotherapy followed by 5FU and three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy. It found that this combination seemed to have a positive outcome on local control of the disease. The study authors feel that this treatment combination should now be investigated as part of a larger phase III trial. For more information see the British Journal of Cancer http://www.nature.com/bjc/journal/v106/n1/abs/bjc201152…
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Trace Element research
by PCUK Nurse Jeni- 0 replies
- 11k views
Recent research published in GUT on-line has shown that high levels of the trace elements selenium and nickel may lower the risk of developing the most common form of pancreatic cancer. It also showed that high levels of lead, arsenic and cadmium could boost the chance of getting the disease. Selenium can be found in brazil nuts, bread, fish, meat and eggs. Nickel can be found in lentils, oats and nuts. Comment from PCUK states :"With 7,600 people being newly diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in the UK every year, Pancreatic Cancer UK welcomes the publication of these findings, which show that these trace elements might play an important role in the development of p…
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Early stage trial of Reolysin
by Support Team- 0 replies
- 11.5k views
An early stage II clinical trial from Calgary of a treatment called REOLYSIN® in combination with gemcitabine in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer has found that the drug appears to be active. Further trials are needed to find out if REOLYSIN® could have a role in the treatment of pancreatic cancer http://www.fiercebiotech.com/press-releases/oncolytics-biotech-inc-announces-phase-2-clinical-trial-reolysin-combinatio?utm_medium=nl&utm_source=internal