Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Doctors Find Good Diet, Exercise Can Help Patients In Cancer Treatment
The Wall Street Journal: Facing A Cancer Diagnosis? Exercise And Diet Could Make A Difference
When facing down a cancer diagnosis, patients often ask: What can I do to help my own odds? The answer, data increasingly shows, is to go back to the basics: exercise and a good diet. A structured exercise program with a trainer helped colorectal cancer patients lower their risks of death and cancer recurrence after treatment, according to a study released Sunday at the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s annual conference in Chicago and published in the New England Journal of Medicine. (Abbott, 6/1)
MedPage Today: Adjuvant Immunotherapy Ups Survival In DMMR Colon Cancer
The risk of recurrence or death after surgery for deficient mismatch repair (dMMR) colon cancer decreased by 50% in patients who received immunotherapy in addition to adjuvant chemotherapy, a large randomized trial showed. After 3 years of follow-up, 86% of patients treated with atezolizumab (Tecentriq) and chemotherapy remained alive without evidence of disease. That compared with 76.6% of patients who received chemotherapy only after surgery. (Bankhead, 6/1)
Regarding breast cancer —
The New York Times: Breast Cancer Patients Get Early Warning Of Faltering Drugs With Blood Test
Breast cancer patients whose tumors have spread to other parts of their bodies live from scan to scan. ... But a new study sponsored by the drug company AstraZeneca showed that there is an alternative: Instead of waiting for a scan to show that a cancer is growing, it’s possible to find early signs that the cancer is resisting the drugs that were controlling it. To do that, researchers used a blood test to find mutations in cancer cells that let the tumors defy standard treatments. (Kolata, 6/1)
NBC News: 'Liquid Biopsies' Alert Advanced Breast Cancer Patients When New Drugs Are Needed
New research suggests that blood tests known as “liquid biopsies” can improve the treatment of some people with metastatic breast cancer and help their tumors remain under control for more than a year. For many, it’s been a long time coming: More than a decade ago, researchers and investors predicted that liquid biopsies — which are sensitive enough to detect tumor cells and DNA in the blood — would be “game changers” in the realm of cancer. (Szabo, 6/1)
The Washington Post: Nonhormonal Menopause Drug, Veozah, Gives Options To Women, Experts Say
During breast cancer treatment, Sharity Keith began experiencing hot flashes and night sweats. She had been placed on medications that caused her to start experiencing menopause symptoms. But because of her cancer, she was not a candidate for hormone therapy, which is considered the most effective treatment for many menopause symptoms, including hot flashes and night sweats. (Bever, 5/31)
In other cancer news —
CBS News: A Misplaced MRI Found A Tumor On Her Spine. Doctors Removed It Through Her Eye In A First-Of-Its-Kind Surgery
Karla Flores was 18 when she started experiencing double vision. She knew something was wrong but struggled to find a diagnosis. Finally, she saw an ophthalmologist who referred her to a neurosurgeon. Flores, then 19, was diagnosed with a chordoma wrapped around her brain stem. Chordomas are incredibly rare — only about 300 are diagnosed per year in the United States, according to the Cleveland Clinic — and they are slow-growing, malignant tumors. (Breen, 5/31)
The Wall Street Journal: Novartis’s Cancer Treatment Pluvicto Shows Positive Results In Trial
Novartis said Pluvicto demonstrated positive results in patients with PSMA-positive metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer. The Swiss pharmaceutical company on Monday said Pluvicto showed statistically significant and clinically meaningful benefits—including combined with hormone therapy versus hormone therapy alone—with positive trend in overall survival. (Kienle, 6/2)
Newsweek: Biden Admin Accused Of Covering Up Cancer Clusters In East Palestine
The Biden administration is facing accusations of not publicly releasing concerning health information related to the East Palestine, Ohio, train derailment, including internal warnings about the toxic burn plume's potential to cause "cancer clusters," Lesley Pacey, an investigator with the Government Accountability Project, said. Newsweek has reached out to Pacey and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for comment via email on Sunday. (Taheri, 6/1)
