Category: cancer

It's clear why direct-to-consumer tests for genetic cancer risk are a booming market. At-home tests are relatively affordable, and they offer the appealing possibility of a better understanding of one’s cancer risk on one's own time, in one's own space. But despite their allure, experts warn that many direct-to-consumer genetic cancer risk tests promise more… Continue reading Genetic Testing for Cancer Risk: What to Know Before You Buy an At-Home Test

If you have cancer, you might benefit from palliative care — a type of treatment that focuses on improving quality of life. This type of supportive care is considered a whole-body approach. It addresses a person’s physical, psychological, social, and spiritual needs. Some people choose to have palliative care when their standard treatments stop working,… Continue reading Cancer: What Does It Mean to Get Palliative Care?

Adults with obesity who undergo bariatric surgery to lose weight may roughly halve their risk of dying of cancer, a new study suggests. For the study, researchers compared the risk of cancer diagnosis and death for more than 30,000 people with obesity, including more than 5,000 individuals who had bariatric surgery. Surgery was associated with… Continue reading Weight Loss Surgery Tied to Lower Risk of Obesity-Related Cancers

While cancer death rates continue to decline in the United States, research suggests that many long-standing racial disparities in survival odds aren’t going away. First, the good news. Cancer mortality rates have dropped 33 percent since 1991, according to a new study from the American Cancer Society, published in January 2023 in CA: Cancer Journal… Continue reading Cancer Deaths Are Higher in Black Americans

Unilever United States issued a voluntary recall of 19 dry shampoo products because of potentially elevated levels of benzene, a known carcinogen, according to a release issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Dry shampoo aerosol products produced prior to October 2021 from brands including Dove, Nexxus, Suave, TIGI (Rockaholic and Bed Head),… Continue reading Unilever Recalls 19 Dry Shampoos Due to High Levels of Benzene, a Carcinogen

Two large studies that followed participants for decades have provided further evidence that the foods we eat — and don’t eat — can have significant health consequences. The research, published August 31 in the BMJ, found that people who consumed higher amounts of “ultra-processed” foods were at greater risk of cardiovascular disease, bowel (colorectal) cancer,… Continue reading Ultra-Processed Foods and Drinks Linked to Colorectal Cancer and Early Death

The promise of so-called immune checkpoint inhibitors and other targeted immunotherapies for cancer is that they can destroy some hard-to-treat tumors much more effectively than old-school chemotherapy. But there’s a big problem with immunotherapies, too. These drugs, which train the immune system to find and kill cancer cells, work only in a small subset of… Continue reading 2-Step Gene Sequencing Shows Who May Respond to Cancer Immunotherapy

People with neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) that affect the pancreas or gastrointestinal tract typically have few treatment options if the standard therapies fail to control their symptoms. In January, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a new radioactive drug that could extend the lives of this group of patients. The drug, called Lutathera (lutetium Lu… Continue reading FDA Approves New Neuroendocrine Tumor Treatment

A new study, published in the April 2018 issue of Science Translational Medicine, explores a long-standing question in the oncology field — how the wound-healing process following cancer surgery may influence the growth and spread of residual cancer cells. Studies show that breast cancer metastasis (cancer that has spread from the site of the original tumor)… Continue reading Does Surgery for Cancer Spread the Disease?

It’s never easy to be living with a cancer diagnosis, but for the millions of Americans being treated for cancer right now, these are particularly trying times. Cancer can compromise the immune system — sometimes the cancer itself does this, and sometimes it's the therapies used to treat it. And what we know so far… Continue reading Should You Delay Cancer Treatments During the COVID-19 Pandemic?