Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Oncologists Can Now Offer Patients Hope In Fight Against Pancreatic Cancer
The Washington Post: Hotly Anticipated Pancreatic Cancer Drug Results Open New Era For Lethal Cancer
A pancreatic cancer drug more than four decades in the making has cracked one of the most stubbornly lethal cancers, extending people’s lives and keeping their tumors in check for twice as long as those on regular chemotherapy. The detailed results of the clinical trial, presented Sunday at a plenary session of the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s meeting in Chicago and simultaneously published in the New England Journal of Medicine, are some of the most hotly anticipated medical results in cancer in years. Oncologists who have traditionally had few options and little hope to offer patients are calling the results “unprecedented,” “compelling” and “spectacular.” (Johnson, 5/31)
NBC News: After New Drug’s ‘Unprecedented’ Results For Pancreatic Cancer, Doctors Look At Other Uses
Every single patient with advanced pancreatic cancer who walked into Dr. Zev Wainberg’s office told him they would rather take an experimental medication than endure another round of chemotherapy. Wainberg, co-director of UCLA Health’s GI Oncology Program, was leading a clinical trial of a new drug called daraxonrasib. All the study participants previously had chemotherapy that was starting to fail. (Edwards, 5/31)
Stat: Ultra-Low Doses Could Bring Costly Cancer Treatments To More Patients In Poorer Countries
What if the trick to getting cancer immunotherapy to parts of the world that can’t access it is simply lowering the dose? A lower-cost immunotherapy approach could extend survival for patients with advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma in resource-limited countries, according to results presented Sunday at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology. (MacPhail, 5/31)
KFF Health News: Gounder Gives Lowdown On Ebola, Peptides, And Colorectal Screenings
Céline Gounder, KFF Health News’ editor-at-large for public health, discussed recent warnings about research-grade peptides and new colorectal cancer screening guidelines on CBS News’ CBS Mornings on May 27. She also discussed the Ebola outbreak centered on the Democratic Republic of Congo and whether it’s expected to spread on May 26. (5/30)
In related developments —
The Wall Street Journal: Radiation Device Placed In Brain Cuts Tumor Recurrence, Boosts Survival
Brain tumors are one of the most devastating consequences of cancer’s spread—hard to treat and highly deadly. Scientists have found that using a radioactive implant precisely where a tumor was removed in the brain can help patients get their cancer treated more quickly and in many cases, live longer. (Martinez, 5/30)
The Washington Post: Cats Could Help Scientists Better Understand Human Cancer, Study Says
Louise van der Weyden is a dog person. But as a scientist who studies cancer in animals, she has turned her attention to cats in recent years. Insight into feline cancers has been like “a black box,” van der Weyden said, because scientists have known so little about them. But what she recently found after years of research surprised her: Cat cancers are similar to some human cancers, giving her hope for future advancement in treatments. “It’s a unique opportunity to help two species in one go,” van der Weyden said. (Melnick, 5/30)
San Francisco Chronicle: Brain Cancer Diagnosis Inspired Bay Area Artist’s Most Personal Work
It started with flashing lights. Vincent Serritella woke up the morning of Dec. 5 to dancing sparks in his vision. He wrote them off at first — he thought he was tired, spending too much time in front of a screen — but then, while typing at his computer, he noticed he couldn’t see his left hand. (Allday, 5/31)
