Cancer Research: Blood test for lung cancer a step closer ♦ Researchers define unique group of high-risk lymphoma patient ♦ Breast cancer treatment with fewer potential side effects

Breast cancer treatment with fewer potential side effects has equally good patient outcomes Women diagnosed with breast cancer and treated with a one-week regimen of partial breast radiation after the surgical removal of the tumor, or lumpectomy, saw no increase in cancer recurrence or difference in cosmetic outcomes compared to women who received radiation of the entire breast for a period of up to six weeks after surgery.

Researchers define unique group of high-risk lymphoma patients About 20 percent of follicular lymphoma patients consistently experience their disease coming back within two years of being treated with the latest therapies. New research confirms that patients in this group have very poor survival outcomes; 50 percent die in five years. People who relapse early may have a disease with distinctly different biology and should not be approached the same at diagnosis nor at the time of relapse in terms of therapies

Blood test for lung cancer a step closer Two oncologists and a research scientist are helping pave the way to an easier, more accurate, less invasive way to screen for the most common form of lung cancer. Lung cancer the number one cancer killer in the United States

Treatment with PI3K inhibitors may cause cancers to become more aggressive and metastatic The enzyme PI3K appears to be exploited in almost every type of human cancer, making it the focus of considerable interest as a therapeutic target. However, PI3K inhibitors have only shown modest clinical activity. Now, new research shows that treatment with PI3K inhibitors alone may actually make a patient’s cancer even worse by promoting more aggressive tumor cell behavior and increasing the cancer’s potential of spreading to other organs.

Cancer Research:Nano-capsules designed for diagnosing malignant tumors ♦ association between exposure to aflatoxin and gallbladder cancer ♦ Response in patients with metastatic melanoma

Nano-capsules designed for diagnosing malignant tumors Researchers have developed adaptable nanocapsules that can help in the diagnosis of glioblastoma cells -- a highly invasive form of brain tumor

Investigational immunotherapy treatment shows durable response in patients with metastatic melanoma Advanced-stage melanoma patients have significant improvement in durable response rate when treated with a genetically-modified form of a herpes virus, whose native form causes the common cold sore, new research shows.

Study suggests using excess stress to kill therapy resistant breast cancer Maxing out the inherently stressed nature of treatment-resistant breast cancer cells thwarts their adaptive ability to evolve genetic workarounds to treatment, according to a study. Looking at tumor progression as essentially an evolutionary process, researchers highlight the feasibility of maximizing cell stress by inhibiting adaptive pathways to cause cell death

Clinical trial reduces stress of cancer caregivers A randomized control trial demonstrates an intervention that successfully reduces the stress of caregivers in the context of cancer patients treated with stem cell transplantation. The study enrolled 148 caregivers of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell (Allo-HSCT) patients

Study finds association between exposure to aflatoxin and gallbladder cancer In a small study in Chile that included patients with gallbladder cancer, exposure to aflatoxin (a toxin produced by mold) was associated with an increased risk of gallbladder cancer. In Chile, gallbladder cancer is a leading cause of cancer death in women.