FDA approves first use of novel immune system drug for cancer

Don’t fight cancer, heal it by attending to body, mind and spirit, says surgical oncologist Dr Vishal Rao. A child developing from an embryo in a mother’s womb is, in reality, a set of rapidly multiplying cells. But they are controlled and regulated. So, we choose to ‘love’ those cells. But when another set of cells multiply rapidly within our body, albeit haphazardly, we call it ‘Cancerous’! These cells are not foreign cells that have made an appearance from outside,…

Geoffrey Boycott describes how counting off his radiotherapy sessions like runs in cricket and Feng Shui helped him survive cancer http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/cricket/11080199/Geoffrey-Boycott-reve…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Cologuard, the first stool-based colorectal screening test that detects the presence of red blood cells and DNA mutations that may indicate the presence of certain kinds of abnormal growths that may be cancers such as colon cancer or precursors to cancer. Cologuard offers people 50 and older at average risk for colorectal cancer an easy-to-use screening test they can do in the privacy of their own home. Colorectal cancer was the third most…

Mayo Clinic unveiled today a partnership with IBM to harness the power of its Watson supercomputer to match patients with the right clinical trials. Starting early next year, Watson will initially enroll patients with breast, colorectal and lung cancers based on eligibility. There are 170,000 ongoing clinical trials around the world, however, according to the Center for Information and Study on Clinical Research Participation, only 6% are completed on time. Enrolling patients in the…

This new class of drugs unleashes the body's immune system to fight tumors. This seems to solve a century-old mystery of how cancerous cells manage to evade the body's immune system. The drug which Merck will sell under the name of Keytruda was approved by patients with advanced melanoma who have exhausted other therapies.  http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/05/business/merck-wins-approval-of-novel-immune-system-drug-for-cancer.html?emc=eta1

Clinical depression was much more prevalent among cancer patients than in the general population, where around 2% of people suffer from the mental illness at any point in time. Among cancer patients, clinical depression ranged from 13% in people with lung cancer to 6% in people with genitourinary cancer. The study's lead author Michael Sharpe, from Oxford University, said: "Major depression is really quite common in people with cancer and the perhaps surprising finding is that most of it goes…

 Excess weight linked to 10 different cancers Cancers have many causes – some of them genetic and some environmental. But the researchers, from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) and the Farr Institute of Health Informatics, have taken account of all the other factors involved in order to come up with a good estimate of the actual number of cancers that could be prevented if people kept to a normal weight. http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/aug/14/excess-weight…

There are no early stage diagnostics for ovarian cancer and by the time they are discovered, they may not respond to standard cancer treatments.  But a new research from A*STAR's Institute of Medical Biology (IMB) and the Bioinformatics Institute (BII) have found new clues to early detection and personalized treatments of ovarian cancer, thus offering hope to millions of women who might be susceptible to it. Their findings were published online in Nature Cell Biology in July…

Abnormally dry skin? Change in hair colour or shape of your nails? Even simple changes in the body may signify an underlying problem that you need to get checked out. By Dr Gita Mathai, paediatrician and family practitioner, shares tips to help you stay vigilant. The Skin should be a healthy colour.  • If it turns yellow, you may have jaundice.  • If it looks pale, get checked for anaemia. Here's how to manage iron-deficient anaemia. • Excessively cracked and…

Cancer survivor Lam Yi-ning is only 12 years old. She was diagnosed with cancer when she was just seven. She underwent brain surgery, four chemotherapy sessions and 30 radiotherapy sessions. Despite frequent headaches and impaired vision, Lam spends a lot of time helping others through volunteer work. She is one of the top 10 "warriors" named by the Regeneration Society - and the youngest to be honoured in the group's 17-year history  http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/…