Oncologists and their patients are increasingly challenged with making difficult decisions about screening, prevention, and treatment. Unfortunately, most patients are neither armed with adequate knowledge nor the means of interpreting the information they do have in a qualitatively and quantitatively useful way.
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An NHS Tayside employee says staff are struggling to do more than one job as positions go unfilled in a bid to slash the budget.
READ (...) Cancer patients ignoring alarm signs for months People with alarm signs of cancers frequently put off seeing the doctor for months, according to a report by the Royal College of GPs. It found an eighth of cancer patients are waiting two months or more before seeing a family doctor. Sadly, the audit discovered almost half of cancers have already spread beyond the original tumour by the time they are diagnosed, reducing the likelihood of long-term survival. The report, led by Greg Rubin, professor of general practice and primary care at Durham University, found almost three-quarters of cancer patients (73.2 per cent) were referred to a specialist after one or two consultations. »Click here to read the full story in The Telegraph The metabolism of lung cancer patients is different than the metabolism of healthy people. And so the molecules that make up cancer patients' exhaled breath are different too. A new device pioneered at the University of Colorado Cancer Center and Nobel-Prize-winning Technion University in Haifa, Israel uses gold nanoparticles to trap and define these molecules in exhaled breath. By comparing these molecular signatures to control groups, the device can tell not only if a lung is cancerous, but if the cancer is small-cell or non- small-cell, adenocarcinoma or squamous cell carcinoma. "The perspective here is the development of a non-traumatic, easy, cheap approach to early detection of lung cancer." The proof of concept, recently published in the journal Nanomedicine, showed that in a preliminary study the device clearly distinguished between the volatile organic compounds in cancer patients' exhaled breath compared to the breath of a control group. Subjects simply exhale into a bag, which separates superficial exhaled breath from breath that originated deeper in the lungs. Then this deep breath is analyzed by an array of gold nanoparticle sensors.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/237913.php The ‘Explaining Variations in Lung Cancer in Scotland’ report, which was commissioned by The Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation, was launched at Holyrood yesterday (Tues Nov 15th).
READ MORE- http://www.roycastle.org/news-and-campaigning/Media-Centre/Latest-News-and-Developments/News-Articles/Lung+cancer+in+Scotland The Department of Health has decided to change the vaccine it uses to protect girls against cervical cancer throughout the UK. From September next year it will use the Gardasil jab, which also offers protection against genital warts - one of the most common sexually transmitted infections. Some sexual health experts criticised the decision in 2008 when the Department of Health opted for the cheaper of the two vaccines on offer - Cervarix. Both vaccines protect against human papilloma virus (HPV) types 16 and 18, which cause more than 70% of cervical cancer.
READ MORE http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-15879222 Air pollution tied to lung cancer in non-smokers Reuters Health) - People who have never smoked, but who live in areas with higher air pollution levels, are roughly 20 percent more likely to die from lung cancer than people who live with cleaner air, researchers conclude in a new study. Though smoking is the number one cause of lung cancer, about one in 10 people who develop lung cancer have never smoked. "Lung cancer in 'never smokers' is an important cancer. Previous estimates of how many non-smokers get lung cancer range from 14 to 21 out of every 100,000 women and five to 14 out of every 100,000 men. The fine particles in air pollution, which can irritate the lungs and cause inflammation, are thought to be a risk factor for lung cancer, but researchers had not clearly teased apart their impact from that of smoking. In this study, more than 180,000 non-smokers were followed for 26 years. Throughout the study period, 1,100 people died from lung cancer. After taking account of other cancer risk factors, such as second-hand smoke and radon exposure, they found that for every 10 extra units of air pollution exposure, a person's risk of lung cancer rose by 15 to 27 percent. http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/28/us-air-pollution-idUSTRE79R5NM20111028 I don’t know which of us was more excited, my consultant or I, to learn that I have a rare, misbehaving gene. For the consultant, Rohit Lal at Guy’s Hospital, London, it was his ticket to observe one of the most exciting developments in oncology. “We’ve been searching for a patient like you for eight months,” he told me. For me, the news was thrilling. It provided an explanation of why I might have lung cancer. It also offered the prospect of a treatment that might control it, for a while. It is more than a year ago now since I first entered Dr Lal’s office to learn that I had adenocarcinoma of the lung, a cancer which commonly strikes smokers in their seventies, not 55-year-olds like myself who gave up a three-a-day habit (cigarettes, not packs) years ago. Some 20 per cent of patients with this variety of lung cancer have never smoked much, if at all. One faulty gene, EGFR (short for epidermal growth factor receptor), has already been identified in some of these cases; I don’t have it. But, earlier this year, Dr Lal, a consultant oncologist, suggested testing my tumour sample for another possible rogue gene – ALK (anaplastic lymphoma kinase). If positive, I learnt, it would be like winning the roll-over jackpot as a new, and apparently very effective treatment to block the gene was on trial.
»Please click here to read the full article in the Daily Telegraph The number of NHS job losses has doubled in the past year to more than 56,000, the Royal College of Nursing warns today. The posts have already been axed – or are marked to be so – as the NHS struggles to find £20bn in efficiency savings. In the worst cases, some trusts are cutting up to a quarter of their workforce. Dr Peter Carter, RCN's chief executive, said that 18 months ago there were fears about 5,000 NHS job cuts. "Now it is more than 10 times that figure." David Stout, the deputy chief executive of NHS Confederation, said: "The NHS faces major challenges at the moment with growing demands for health services and no real increase in funding."
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/royal-college-of-nursing-claims-nhs-has-shed-more-than-56000-jobs-this-year-6265078.html Cancer survival: Macmillan hails major improvement Overall, median cancer survival periods in England and Wales have increased from one year to nearly six years in the last four decades. But the Macmillan Cancer Support data highlights a "woeful" lack of progress for some types of the disease, such as lung and stomach cancer. It says the figures will help with the question: "How long have I got?" The Department of Health says it is giving high priority to cancers where survival rates have not improved. The charity says it would expect the figures to be similar for the whole of the UK. Survival is usually expressed as the number of people reaching a particular milestone, such as one, five or 10 years after diagnosis. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-15726810 THE number of Scots smoking has risen since it was banned in public places – and the vast majority live in our poorest housing estates. We can reveal today that people in our most deprived areas, are four times more likely to be hooked, than those living in the most affluent neighbourhoods.
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/health-news/2011/11/20/shock-figures-reveal-how-cigarette-ban-has-not-slowed-toll-on-scotland-s-most-deprived-estates-86908-23575578/ Scots in project to match cancer patients with drugs Scots are among the first to take part in a pioneering project aimed at matching cancer patients with the most appropriate treatment through genetics. Cancer Research UK wants to establish an NHS genetic testing service for people diagnosed with cancer. Doctors would then be able to access the tests when deciding which drugs were best. Patients from Glasgow and Edinburgh are among 9,000 participants who will supply tumour samples for testing. The hope is that eventually scientists could design personalised medicine for patients. The first phase of Cancer Research UK's Stratified Medicine Programme will cover breast, bowel, lung, prostate, ovary and melanoma skin cancer. The research body said patients would be recruited through a network of more than 20 hospitals around the country, including Glasgow Royal Infirmary, Glasgow Western Infirmary, Edinburgh's Western General Hospital and the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh. Continue reading the main story The NHS counter fraud team has saved the health service in Scotland £43m since it was formed 11 years ago, it has been revealed. Successes have included the conviction of a surgical theatre technician, who was jailed for stealing £23,000 worth of medical equipment to sell on eBay. A GP who was using false names to obtain prescriptions for opiate drugs for personal use was also caught.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-15804147 Rising PFI costs 'putting hospitals at risk' The rising cost of paying for hospitals built through the Private Finance Initiative is jeopardising the finances of some NHS Trusts, ministers say. If you smoke cigarettes, you have more in common with someone who has cystic fibrosis than you think. A new research report appearing online in the FASEB Journal shows that smoking cigarettes affects the lungs in a way that is very similar to cystic fibrosis, a life threatening disease affecting the lungs and other. The study shows that smoking negatively affects the lungs in a similar way, leading to mucus that causes dry cough, chronic bronchitis, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, among other problems.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/10/111012113355.htm Gene That Signals "Stop!”To Skin Cancer Found Scientists have found a gene whose absence may be an important driver for a common form of skin cancer known as squamous cell cancer (SCC), because its presence signals "Stop!" to cell proliferation. The international team found the gene, called Grhl3, is also virtually absent in SCC that arises in other tissues, including head and neck cancers, that often have a poor prognosis. Because drugs that are effective against SCC are already in development for treating other cancers, they hope treatments and prevention therapies for SCC could be offered to patients within five years. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/237716.php |
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