Nuclear Oncology

Posts Tagged ‘Chemotherapy’

Cáncer drugs NHS (National Health System) has caused controversy in the country with his announcement to no longer provide patients with kidney cancer four drugs that can prolong his life arguing that they are too expensive.

But the response was immediate from patients with the disease have already stated that the decision taken by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, which will apply in England and Wales, condemn many patients to a ” early death. ”

Although not cure the disease when it is in an advanced stage, these drugs can extend life for patients with advanced kidney cancer by up to two years. The four drugs in question are Sutent (sunitinib), Avastin (bevacizumab), Nexavar (sorafenib) and Torisel (temsirolimus).

These modern treatments ‘target’, with a different mechanism of action of chemotherapy. Precisely these products are those that are revolutionizing worldwide funding of cancer treatments and forcing authorities to consider how to pay your large bill.

The NICE (a public body decides from 1999 on public funding of medical devices) as posing excessive spending for British health, estimated at 24,000 pounds (30,200 euros) per patient per year, and offer no good value for money.

“Although these drugs are clinically effective, regrettably in terms of costs can not be borne by the NHS resources,” said the director of NICE, Professor Peter Littlejohns,

In this regard, Pat Hanlon, the organization ‘Kidney Cancer UK’, dedicated to the fight against kidney cancer, said that the decision will have “a devastating impact on patients.”

And Professor John Wagstaff, Cancer Institute of South Wales, “This decision means that the UK will have the worst survival rates in Europe in this type of cancer.”

A group of British scientists found three new genetic risk factors for testicular cancer. According to experts, their findings may help improve treatment and diagnosis of this disease, common among young men.

Scientists at the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) analyzed the genetic maps of about 6,000 men, some of whom had testicular cancer, and found that three genetic variants were significantly more common in patients suffering from this disease.

“The genes located in these regions give us clues to the mechanisms by which testicular cancer develops,” said Nazneen Rahman, professor of ICR who worked on the study.

“Over time, this will allow us to develop new treatment options,” he said.

In addition, the team confirmed their findings by analyzing other 670 patients with cancer and 3,500 men without the disease.

The findings, published in the journal Nature, increase the number of genetic regions associated with testicular cancer risk to six, after earlier studies identified others.

For its part, the study’s leader, Clare Turnbull said: “This study represents an important new progress in identifying men who are at increased genetic risk of testicular cancer.”

“Finding the men at increased risk would allow us to achieve an early diagnosis or prevention of disease,” he added.

The three genes identified by the British team are called TERT, ATF7IP and DMRT1. Turnbull and his team explained that the TERT and ATF7IP were important for maintaining the correct length of the ends of chromosomes, called telomeres.

Shortened telomeres are a known feature of several types of cancers and the variations in the TERT gene have been associated with other cancers, including lung, bladder, cervical, pancreatic, skin and prostate.

The third gene identified in the study, DMRT1, has an important role in sex determination and was involved in the development of testicular cancer in mice.

Testicular cancer is considered one of the most treatable and usually responds well to chemotherapy, but survivors often have fertility problems after treatment.