Medical News Today: Lung Cancer News

Cancer becomes life-threatening when tumor cells start leaving their primary site. They travel through the lymph and blood streams to other tissues where they grow into metastases. This transition to malignancy is associated with characteristic changes in the cancer cells. The activity of several genes is reprogrammed and, thus, the production of proteins anchoring cells to a tissue is reduced...

Clinicians at the Rinecker Proton Therapy Center (RPTC) in Munich are reporting using advanced proton therapy systems supplied by Varian Medical Systems (NYSE: VAR) for difficult lung cancer treatments. A 75-year-old patient with a large tumor in the right upper lung received 18 proton therapy treatments over three months...

Lung cancer researchers have identified a genetic signature that can help doctors determine which patients with early-stage non-small cell lung cancer are at high risk for developing disease recurrence and therefore may benefit from chemotherapy after surgery ("adjuvant chemotherapy")...

There is yet no straightforward way to determine the optimal dose level and treatment schedules for high-dose radiation therapies such as stereotactic radiation therapy, which is used to treat brain and lung cancer, or for high-dose brachytherapy for prostate and other cancers. Radiation oncologists at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center-Arthur G...

Millions of patients with advanced disease in palliative care settings receive oxygen therapy to help them breathe more easily. But a new study from Duke University Medical Center says roughly half of them don't benefit from the intervention, and among those who do benefit, it doesn't make a bit of difference whether they get pure oxygen or just plain old room air - both offer equal benefit...

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide, and the prognosis is generally poor, even if surgery is successful. Furthermore, the incidence of one type of lung cancer, adenocarcinoma, has been increasing in recent years...

Chemotherapy is the best broad defense against cancer recurrence after surgical resection. However, it is difficult to predict which patients will benefit from which regimen of anticancer drugs, if at all...

Two studies reveal that smokers may have a significantly lower risk of developing lung cancer and colorectal cancer with the drug metformin, which is commonly prescribed for diabetes type 2 treatment, the medical journal Cancer Prevention Research informs...

The American Lung Association is offering a free-of-charge, online caregiving coordination service called "My Fighting for Air Community" to support individuals affected by acute and chronic lung diseases...

Metformin, a drug commonly used to treat type 2 diabetes, shows potential in the prevention of tobacco-induced lung tumors, according to early research conducted at the National Cancer Institute (NCI). Results of this study will be published in the September issue of Cancer Prevention Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. Scott Lippman, M.D...

People who consume a variety of vegetables tend to have a lower risk of developing lung cancer compared to those who don't, according to a study published in the medical journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a publication of the American Association for Cancer Research...

Adding a variety of vegetables to one's diet may help decrease the chance of getting lung cancer, and adding a variety of fruits and vegetables may decrease the risk of squamous cell lung cancer, especially among smokers. Study results are published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research...

Maybe you worshipped the sun in your youth or weren't as meticulous as you should have been with sunscreen. If so, take heart: Scientists at The University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio are finding that certain plant substances, when given in combinations, may suppress damage that can cause skin cancer...

The American Lung Association is encouraging patients with lung cancer to take charge of their diagnosis and learn about clinical trials through the Lung Cancer Clinical Trial Call to Action campaign. This service provides personalized education to quickly identify trial options that match each patient's specific diagnosis, stage, and treatment history...

Second-hand smoke is associated with a number of diseases and conditions, including cancer, heart disease, and emphysema. It is an irritant to lung tissue and blood vessels, but the processes through which the body reacts to second-hand smoke comprise a mystery scientists are only beginning to unravel...

The SUN 1087 trial of Stutent (sunitinib malate) combined with erlotinib versus just elrotinib did not improve overall survival in patients with previously treated NSCLC (non-small cell lung cancer), Pfizer Inc. informs. However, the combination therapy did demonstrate a significant improvement in progression free survival....

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE :PFE) announced that the SUN 1087 trial of sunitinib in combination with erlotinib versus erlotinib demonstrated a statistically significant improvement in Progression-Free but not in Overall Survival in patients with previously treated advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)...

ArQule, Inc. (Nasdaq: ARQL) and Daiichi Sankyo Co., Ltd. (TSE 4568) announced that they will move forward with a Phase 3 clinical trial of ARQ 197, a small molecule inhibitor of the c-Met receptor tyrosine kinase, in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). In connection with this decision, the sponsor company, Daiichi Sankyo, will file a Special Protocol Assessment (SPA) with the U.S...

ImmunoGen, Inc. (Nasdaq: IMGN), a biotechnology company that develops antibody-based targeted anticancer products, today announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted orphan drug designation to its lorvotuzumab mertansine (formerly IMGN901) product candidate when used for the treatment of small-cell lung cancer (SCLC)...

Patients with advanced lung cancer who received integrated palliative care early on during treatment had a better quality of life and survived for two months longer compared to patients receiving standard care only, according to a study published in the August 19th issue of NEJM (New England Journal of Medicine)...