Why All Cancer Patients Should Have Access To Genomic Testing
What’s at issue is the right of all cancer patients—regardless of wealth—to obtain high-quality information about their conditions.
7 Key Cancer Trends For 2018
Few doctors, even oncologists who subspecialize, can keep up with developments in the field.
Actually, Many New Cancer Drugs May Be Helpful And Worth Trying
Perhaps the literature fails to capture the clinical value of oncology drugs. This could happen for several reasons.
Dr. Robert Califf Shares Ideas About Real-World Evidence And Health Data
“Medicine is rapidly falling behind business in the accrual of high-quality evidence,” Califf said.
Why I’m Wary Of Grail And Its Plan To Develop A Cancer Detection Blood Test
My worry for Grail is that a lot of people will get worked up upon finding genetic changes of unknown significance. Meanwhile, it might fail to detect cancer in people who really have it.
How The 21st Century Cures Act Should Support Public Health
We need and can afford both: to raise the bar so that everyone has access to modern healthcare, and to advance treatments through medical science.
Why Patients Support The 21st Century Cures Act
The Cures Act will keep the U.S. at the forefront of medical progress, a draw for scientists and doctors around the world, a source of pride.
The FDA Did The Right Thing By Approving a Novel Drug For A Disabling Disease
The FDA’s decision reflects a thoughtful, not knee-jerk approach to its mission, which is to protect the public from fraudulent and unsafe substances. What’s at issue is how well eteplirsen works. And that it’s too expensive.
Tragedy In A Clinical Trial: A Reminder That Biotech Is Not A Game
It was a seemingly innocuous change in the protocol that may have caused this experimental tragedy. Which is all the more reason to be careful, and mind the details.
MoovCare, A Web App, Helps Cancer Patients Live Longer
“If we had a drug that caused this level of survival benefit, wouldn’t we want to go out and use it?” said Dr. Patricia Ganz.
MammaPrint, Agendia’s Breast Cancer Test, Is Having A U.S. Moment. Can It Reduce Overtreatment?
The potential to reduce overtreatment, in women with a low chance of recurrence for which chemo is unlikely to be of benefit, is huge.
Blood Test Offers An Amazing View Of Metastatic Prostate Cancer Cells
Evaluation of circulating tumor cells enables monitoring of some cancers from blood samples. This form of liquid biopsy offers…
To Educate Great Physicians, Focus On Science, Ethics And Future Learning Skills
Tomorrow’s doctors need to grasp more concepts in science and technology than did any previous generation of physicians.
Venetoclax Is A Powerful New Kind of Cancer Drug Effective In Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia
Venetoclax is a powerful new kind of oral medication. It enables leukemia cells to die by interfering with Bcl-2, a survival signal.
Five Key Issues For The Future Of Cancer IT
If there’s one thing that’s become clear about precision medicine – and the delivery of optimal care based in science – it will require super technology. This need is especially urgent in oncology.
Precision Medicine Is A Needed Goal That Will Benefit Cancer Patients
A common misconception is that precision medicine is about one drug for one disease. But for most cancer types, it will involve combining medications in effective cocktails.
Precision Medicine Will (Eventually) Lower Cancer Care Costs
Over time, the costs should drop, like for smartphone tech, what my Dad – a chemistry major and retired physician – called “magic.”
Can Journalists Be Too Skeptical About Progress Against Cancer?
On Twitter this week, I happened upon a discussion having to do with the possibility of curing cancer.
‘Shower Shirt’ Takes Innovation Prize, Enables Women To Shower After Mastectomy
The Shower Shirt is made of waterproof parachute material on the outside, with microfiber on the inside of the neck, a water-resistant zipper, flap, and Velcro all the way down in front.
Automated Ultrasound Can Improve Breast Cancer Detection In Women With Dense Breasts
Automated whole breast ultrasound screening has the potential to improve breast cancer screening of women with dense breasts.
Thinking Ahead: From ‘The Emperor Of All Maladies’ To Precision Medicine In Cancer
We’re in the 1950s of precision medicine, so to speak. Modern oncology care helps some, many but not all.
Tamoxifen As A Breast Cancer Preventive — Mixed Results In Long-Term Follow-Up
The IBIS-1 trial shows a dramatic, reductive effect of tamoxifen in preventing breast tumors.
Ovarian Cancer Awareness: A Declining Disease Rate, And Looking Ahead to New Drugs
September is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month. You might not notice.
Are 3-D Mammograms a Better Way to Screen for Breast Cancer?
A key question about tomosynthesis is whether it’s worth investing in so many new machines and educating radiologists to interpret 3-D breast images.
A Chip against Cancer: Microfluidics Spots Circulating Tumor Cells
With an ordinary blood sample, a device can monitor cancerous cells for spread or resistance to treatment.