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☆ U.S. seeks new suppliers of highly used cancer drug methotrexate in short supply
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Friday it is seeking new suppliers to ease shortages of methotrexate, one of the most commonly used cancer drugs, building on its push to shore up two other scarce chemotherapy medicines. An FDA spokesperson told Reuters the agency is looking for temporary importation options for the drug, which has been in shortage since March. Methotrexate is an injected drug used to treat a wide variety of cancers ranging from acute lymphoblastic leukemia in children, breast cancer, lung cancer, bone cancers and certain types of head and neck cancers, according to the National Cancer Institute. Last week, the FDA said it was looking for additional temporary suppliers for two other cancer chemotherapies, cisplatin and carboplatin. According to the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, suppliers with methotrexate injections in shortage or on back order include Accord Healthcare, Fresenius Kabi, Pfizer , Teva and Hikma Pharmaceuticals .

Persons: Methotrexate, cisplatin, China's, Senators Gary Peters, Debbie Stabenow, Fresenius Kabi Organizations: . Food, Drug Administration, FDA, Reuters, National Cancer Institute, Pharmaceutical, U.S, Senators, Intas Pharmaceuticals, Healthcare, American Society of Health, System Pharmacists, Accord Healthcare, Pfizer, Teva, Hikma Pharmaceuticals Locations: United States, India, U.S

☆ Simpler hysterectomy may improve quality of life for some women with cervical cancer, study finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( Jen Christensen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Thanks to more effective screening, more women have been presenting with cervical cancer at a younger age and an earlier stage of the disease. “Simple hysterectomy can now be considered as a new standard of care for patients with low-risk early-stage cervical cancer,” Plante said. “This is a really big deal for women with cervical cancer,” said Moore, who wasn’t involved with the study. If the findings lead to a change in practice for surgeons, it could “change the trajectory of cervical cancer globally,” she said. Cervical cancer is not common in the US or Canada, Moore said, but it is endemic in low- and middle-income countries.

Persons: Dr, Marie Plante, Plante, ” Plante, ”, Kathleen Moore, Virginia Kerley Cade, Moore, Sanjay Gupta, ” Moore, Stephanie V, Blank, “ It’s Organizations: CNN, American Society of Clinical Oncology, National Cancer Institute, Obstetrics, Gynecology, Universite Laval, Studies, Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Canadian Cancer Society, Virginia, Developmental Therapeutics, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, World Health Organization, Get CNN, CNN Health, Mount Sinai Health Locations: Chicago, Quebec, Canada

☆ FDA considers temporary cancer drug imports from unapproved companies to ease U.S. shortage
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

She is one of hundreds of Ontario cancer patients who received diluted chemotherapy in the last year and who are still undergoing treatment to beat the disease. The FDA in the past has taken similar action to loosen restrictions on imports when faced with drug shortages. At least 14 cancer drugs are currently in short supply across the U.S. Up to 20% of cancer patients rely on platinum-based chemotherapy drugs such as cisplatin and carboplatin for treatment, according to the National Cancer Institute. Some cancer patients could die if the shortages are not quickly resolved, doctors said.

Persons: Dawn Deslippe, Diane Marley, Richard Lautens, Drug Administration –, Julie Gralow, We're, Gralow, —, Abdul Rafeh Naqash, Naqash, Philip Schwieterman, Schwieterman Organizations: Windsor Regional Hospital, Toronto Star, Getty, Drug Administration, CNBC, FDA, U.S, The American Society of Clinical Oncology, World Health, Pharmaceuticals, National Cancer Institute, American Society of Clinical Oncology, Stephenson Cancer Center, University of Oklahoma, University of Kentucky, kiwis Locations: WINDSOR, Ontario, United States, U.S, carboplatin

☆ How to Get Absolutely No Sun This Summer
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( Madeleine Aggeler | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

They worshiped the sun as a god and built temples for it. They danced for it and wrote poems about it. They devoted unfathomable amounts of time, money and effort into studying it, and even built probes that could fly out into space and get a closer look. And yet, the sun is tricky. We need sunlight for vitamin D, and to help regulate our sleep cycles, but it inspires people to go stand up paddle boarding, and then to tell you again and again about how you really have to try stand up paddle boarding.

Organizations: National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health

☆ Biden to nominate cancer surgeon Monica Bertagnolli to lead National Institutes of Health
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Dr. Monica Bertagnolli speaks during a visit from first lady Jill Biden to the University of California San Francisco Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center in San Francisco, Oct. 7, 2022. President Joe Biden will nominate Dr. Monica Bertagnolli, a cancer surgeon, to lead the National Institutes of Health, the White House announced Monday. Bertagnolli is currently the director of the National Cancer Institute and is the first woman to lead the organization. The NIH, which has a budget of about $45 billion, funds medical research across the U.S. and around the world. The agency played a pivotal role in developing the messenger RNA technology that underlies the Covid-19 vaccine made by Moderna.

CNN —President Joe Biden will nominate Dr. Monica Bertagnolli, who currently leads the National Cancer Institute, to be the next director of the National Institutes of Health, the White House announced on Monday. Biden called Bertagnolli “a world-class physician-scientist whose vision and leadership will ensure NIH continues to be an engine of innovation to improve the health of the American people,” in a statement Monday. She would lead the country’s medical research agency, overseeing 27 research institutes and centers focused on different areas of medical research, such as cancer, the human genome, as well as allergy and infectious diseases. The nomination to lead NIH marks a fast ascent within the Biden administration for Bertagnolli. In this August 2022 photo, Monica Bertagnolli, newly appointed director of the National Cancer Institute, stands for recognition during remarks by President Joe Biden.

☆ A Cancer Surgeon and Patient Is Biden’s Pick to Lead N.I.H.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Sheryl Gay Stolberg | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON — President Biden will announce on Monday that he will nominate Dr. Monica M. Bertagnolli, a cancer surgeon who became the director of the National Cancer Institute in October, to be the next director of the National Institutes of Health, filling a position that has been vacant for more than a year. Dr. Bertagnolli is also a cancer patient. She announced late last year that she had she received a diagnosis of early breast cancer. She is the first female director of the National Cancer Institute, which is part of the National Institutes of Health. She would be only the second woman to lead the N.I.H.

☆ Biden taps Bertagnolli to lead National Institutes of Health
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON, May 15 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden will appoint Monica Bertagnolli, director of the National Cancer Institute, to lead the National Institutes of Health, the White House said on Monday. Bertagnolli will become the second woman to serve as a permanent director of the NIH after a yearlong search to find a permanent replacement for the agency's long-serving leader, Francis Collins. "Dr. Bertagnolli is a world-class physician-scientist whose vision and leadership will ensure NIH continues to be an engine of innovation to improve the health of the American people," Biden said in a statement. Bertagnolli was appointed in October to head the National Cancer Institute, which is a part of NIH, and also served as head of surgical oncology at the Dana-Farber Brigham Cancer Center, one of the nation's top cancer research facilities. Lawrence Tabak has been performing the director duties since December of that year after previously holding the roles of principal deputy director and deputy ethics counselor since 2010 at NIH.

☆ Breast cancer screenings should start at age 40 instead of 50, U.S. panel says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Breast cancer screenings typically involve a mammogram, which is an X-ray of the breast. It does not apply to people at high risk of breast cancer, including those who have a family history of the disease. The rate of breast cancer among women ages 40 to 49 increased by 2% each year on average from 2015 to 2019, according to the National Cancer Institute. The panel said the new guidance also aims to ease the disparities in breast cancer death rates between Black women and white women. Other medical groups, including the American College of Radiology and the American Cancer Society, already recommend annual breast cancer screenings before age 50.

☆ White House Close to Nominating Monica Bertagnolli for Top NIH Job
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Liz Essley Whyte | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The NIH’s $47 billion budget gives it a powerful role in investigating diseases and exploring new treatments. Photo: Eric Lee for The Wall Street JournalThe White House is nearing a decision to nominate Monica Bertagnolli to run the federal government’s National Institutes of Health life-sciences research agency, people familiar with the matter said. Since October, Dr. Bertagnolli has been running the National Cancer Institute, the largest of the 27 research institutes that make up the NIH.

☆ New study suggests Black women should be screened earlier for breast cancer
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Jacqueline Howard | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

CNN —A new study on breast cancer deaths raises questions around whether Black women should screen at earlier ages. Even though Black women have a 4% lower incidence rate of breast cancer than White women, they have a 40% higher breast cancer death rate. “When the breast cancer mortality rate for Black women in their 40s is 27 deaths per 100,000 person-years, this means 27 out of every 100,000 Black women aged 40-49 in the US die of breast cancer during one year of follow-up. They also wrote that health policy makers should pursue equity, not just equality, when it comes to breast cancer screening as a tool to help reduce breast cancer death rates. Having dense tissue in the breast can make it more difficult for radiologists to identify breast cancer on a mammogram, and women with dense breast tissue have a higher risk of breast cancer.

☆ The US military set off its largest nuclear explosion in testing 69 years ago, but scientists had no idea the blast would be that big
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Dozens of nuclear tests were carried out by the US in the Pacific between 1946 and 1958. The largest of these was the detonation of the Castle Bravo device on March 1, 1954. It was 1,000 times more powerful than the atomic bomb that leveled Hiroshima during World War II. Castle Bravo was a real 'eyeopener'Despite the devastation caused by Castle Bravo, the US military continued to conducting nuclear weapons testing in the Pacific. The US, UK, and Soviet Union signed the Limited Test Ban Treaty in 1963, which barred nuclear weapons testing in the atmosphere, in outer space, and underwater.

☆ Fact Check-Antineoplastons not a proven ‘cancer cure’ and not an approved treatment
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Online claims that the drugs are a cancer “cure” and that any of them has been FDA-approved are misleading, a cancer expert and an FDA official told Reuters. A video viewed more than 135,000 times on Facebook begins with: “THIS CURE FOR CANCER WAS DISCOVERED 42 YEARS AGO…” (here). A search of the database also shows no reported Phase 3 or randomized controlled studies on any antineoplastons as a cancer treatment. To approve a drug, FDA requires phase 3 studies to demonstrate “whether or not a product offers a treatment benefit to a specific population” (here). Cancer Research UK and the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center also caution about the lack of evidence for antineoplastons in treating cancer (here), (here).

☆ Biden will take aim at smoking in his State of the Union speech as part of his 'cancer moonshot'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Nicole Gaudiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Biden will announce plans to accelerate progress in lowering cancer deaths. Biden will announce plans tonight to accelerate progress in the fight against cancer deaths, and that includes fighting the biggest, preventable driver: smoking. "We're going to continue to focus on prevention," Danielle Carnival, the White House "Cancer Moonshot" coordinator, told reporters during a Tuesday morning call. He launched his "Cancer Moonshot" program while serving as vice president after losing his son Beau to a brain tumor in 2015. Also as part of his plan to tackle cancer, Biden will call on Congress to reauthorize the National Cancer Act to update cancer research and care systems and the administration will take steps to ensure patient navigation services are covered benefits.

☆ A Peloton instructor was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 35. Here's how common the disease is at every age.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Yeji Jesse Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A 35-year-old Peloton instructor recently said she had been diagnosed with breast cancer. Peloton instructor Leanne Hainsby, who is 35, announced in a recent Instagram post that she was diagnosed with breast cancer in August and has been undergoing treatments since then. The risk for getting breast cancer increases with age. The American Cancer Society recommends that women at average risk for breast cancer start getting screened at age 45, and considers screenings beginning at age 40. While treatments for breast cancer vary depending on the stage of the disease, they can include chemotherapy, surgery, and hormonal therapy.

☆ Brazilian soccer legend Pelé died of colon cancer. Here are the cutting-edge clinical trials trying to find new treatments for the disease.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( Sarah Braner | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The Brazilian soccer legend Pelé died of colon cancer Thursday at 82. Colon cancer is the third most common cancer, affecting almost 2 million people each year. Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer, according to the World Cancer Research Fund International. Pelé isn't the only celebrity to have died of colon cancer in recent years — the Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman died of the disease in 2020 at the age of 43. Here are the cutting-edge phase-three clinical trials for colon cancer, in order of how recently they began.

☆ Only 14% of diagnosed cancers in the US are detected by screening, report says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Jacqueline Howard | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —A small proportion – 14.1% – of all diagnosed cancers in the United States are detected by screening with a recommended screening test, according to a new report. “I was shocked that only 14% of cancers were detected by screening. I think, for many people, we talk so much about cancer screening that we imagine that that’s how all cancers are diagnosed. She suspects that the percentage of cancers detected by screening could now be even lower than what was found in the new report. “I definitely think that the percent of cancers detected by screening would have been lower as a result of the pandemic.

An experimental treatment for advanced melanoma is poised to be the next major advance in cancer treatment, experts say. Those who got TIL therapy had a 50% reduction in disease progression and death, compared to those who were treated with ipilimumab, the study found. Bruce Hawley and his wife, Laurie, celebrated their third wedding anniversary in 2021 in Vancouver, several years after his TIL therapy. "The chemotherapy knocks down the immune cells to make space for the TIL cells going in," Hwu said. The hope is that TIL therapy will also be used for other solid cancers, not just melanoma, Rosenberg said.

Following the news that actor Kirstie Alley died of colon cancer at age 71, several doctors and cancer specialists urged people to get the recommended screenings for the disease. Alley's manager confirmed to NBC News on Tuesday that the actor died of colon cancer. Colorectal cancer is the fourth-most common form of cancer in the U.S. and the second-most deadly behind lung cancer. The National Cancer Institute estimates that around 151,000 cases of colorectal cancer will be diagnosed this year. Colon cancer can be difficult to diagnose, however, since symptoms can resemble those of other conditions like hemorrhoids or irritable bowel syndrome.

☆ How to screen for colon cancer
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Sandee Lamotte | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

A representative for Alley confirmed to CNN via email on Tuesday that she had been diagnosed with colon cancer prior to her death. Colorectal cancer, which includes colon and rectal cancers, is the second most common cause of death from cancer in 2022, outranked only by lung and bronchus cancer, according to the National Cancer Institute Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results Program. Regular checkups are the best way to keep colon cancer at bay, according to the US Preventive Services Task Force. DNA stool test: A DNA stool test is another option, the society said. “You didn’t put the scope in yet, did you?” asked Couric, whose husband, Jay Monahan, had died from colon cancer at age 42 in 1998.

☆ Early research suggests promising use of AI to predict risk of heart attack or stroke using a single chest X-ray
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Deidre Mcphillips | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —Early research suggests a promising use of artificial intelligence to predict the 10-year risk of death from a heart attack or stroke from a single chest X-ray. The AI model uses the same risk thresholds as the established risk calculator, and early findings suggest that it works just as well. Sometimes, the AI findings align with a traditional radiology reading, but other times, it picks up on things that may have been missed, he said. He was not involved in the new AI research but says it’s important to keep the field moving forward. “The risk calculator is one part of risk assessment, but it’s not the only part.

☆ A former Harvard chemist just raised $178 million for a biotech startup that plans to treat previously untreatable cancers
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Andrew Dunn | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The biotech FogPharma has raised $178 million in a Series D round. The longtime Harvard chemist Greg Verdine founded Fog to tackle "undruggable" cancers. Fog's drugs, known as polypeptides or short fragments of proteins, blur the line between small molecules and biologics, sharing characteristics of both types of medicines. Verdine calls it "the magic structure" for Fog's drugs. "I thought he'd be able to find things that bind, but I was very skeptical that he could turn them into drugs," Klausner told Insider.

☆ A woman with a rare set of genetic mutations got cancer 5 times by the time she was 36
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

A woman had cancer 5 times before she turned 36, the first time when she was two. It shows the importance of genetic testing in families where cancer is common, a study author said. In total the woman, who wasn't named, developed 12 different tumors, five of which were cancerous and seven of which were benign. The woman had her first cancer at age two, a tumor in which was treated with radiotherapy and chemotherapy. MedicalRF.com/Getty ImagesThat means that a lot of cells in this patient's body didn't always have the right number of chromosomes, causing havoc.

☆ Fact Check-A UCLA study on late-stage cervical cancer rates does not show HPV vaccine is ineffective
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Francoeur said the study, first published in August 2022, looked only at stage-four cervical cancer, but the overall rates of cervical cancer among U.S. women are decreasing. Francoeur and colleagues examined rates of new diagnoses of advanced cervical cancer – cancers that have spread to the bladder or rectum -- between 2001 and 2018. Another study, of more than 1.6 million girls and women in Sweden, also linked HPV vaccination to lower rates of cervical cancer (here). “Cervical cancer screening and HPV vaccination is essential to prevent later stage of presentation of cervical cancer,” Francoeur said. A UCLA study of advanced cervical cancer rates among U.S. women does not reflect trends in overall rates of cervical cancer, and its authors say that no correlation can be made between HPV vaccination and the increase in late-stage cancers analyzed in their study.

☆ US woman files lawsuit against L’Oréal, claiming chemical hair straightening products are linked to her cancer
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-24 | by ( Jacqueline Howard | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Cosmetics company L’Oréal, along with multiple other parties, is being sued over claims that its chemical hair straightening products put women at an increased risk of uterine cancer. Debrosse Zimmermann told CNN on Monday that the lawsuit marks a “watershed moment” for women of color who have used chemical hair-straightening products, such as relaxers. In the lawsuit, she claims to have no family history of cancer or uterine cancer. Black women tend to use these chemical hair-straightening products more frequently than White women, the researchers noted. “Black hair has been and always will be beautiful, but Black women have been told they have to use these products to meet society’s standards.

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