LungBlog

Researchers at UCLA’s Jonsson Cancer Center have discovered biomarkers that predict which patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer will respond to a combination treatment of the anti-inflammatory drug Celebrex and the growth factor receptor blocker Tarceva.

While I will acknowledge that smoking isn’t exactly the healthiest thing a person could choose to do, air pollution and genetic predisposition are by far the greater factors in determining cancer risk.

Breast cancer, colorectal cancer and lung cancer are the most common and deadliest types, together accounting for 45 percent of cases and 52 percent of deaths.

“The good news is that we can do something about those three types of cancer,” Tucker said.

He said early detection through screening — and bringing down Kentucky’s high smoking rates — would greatly reduce the toll of these diseases. Currently, many patients find these cancers after they have spread, which is costly in lives and money.

Surgery for lung cancer can have a substantial impact on long-term, health-related quality of life, the results of a study published in the current issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology suggest.

Today, Lung Cancer Alliance (LCA) urged leadership of the United States Senate to include funding for biomedical research in an economic stimulus package currently under consideration. In letters hand carried to Capitol Hill, LCA Board Chairman Rear Admiral Phil Coady, USN (Ret.) and LCA President & CEO Laurie Fenton Ambrose pointed out that every family in America is paying an increasing proportion of income on health care costs — a de facto tax increase that is falling disproportionately on low and middle income families.

The grandfather of Seaham, County Durham, has launched legal action against City Hospitals Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust as he believes that had doctors acted sooner, he would not be living a death sentence with inoperable lung cancer.

Jennifer is proof. She was just 19 when she developed a stubborn cough. She eventually went to the doctor, who discovered she had adenoid carcinoma. As she visited doctors, the response was surprise that she had developed cancer at such an early age. But there was also one stock response. How long had you smoked?

That is the attitude toward lung cancer, DeSelm says. “If you get lung cancer, you deserve it. You shouldn’t have smoked.”

Never mind that Jennifer never smoked and never hung around people who did. There seemed to be this obliviousness to the fact that the disease can strike all kinds of people, and the cause sometimes isn’t known.

 Smoking marijuana is far more dangerous than smoking cigarettes, according to a group of scientists in New Zealand.The researchers found that smoking one joint is equivalent to 20 cigarettes in terms of lung cancer.

Quest PharmaTech Inc.(“Quest” or the “Company”) today announced that it has signed a collaborative research agreement with the BC Cancer Agency (the “BCCA”) to develop a combination therapy for the treatment of lung cancer. The potential treatment will utilize the Company’s lead oncology product, SL052, with various immunotherapeutic agents. Research has shown that photodynamic therapy (PDT) can augment the therapeutic effects of immunomodulators such as antibodies, antigens, cytokines and immunoadjuvants in cancer patients.

Several recent studies show that lifestyle has a strong impact on the life expectancy of people with cancer. Here is a quick look at the eight recommendations the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) issued to improve quality of life and reduce the risk of relapse of cancer survivors.