Why Are Liver Cancer Death Rates Up?

Posted on May 22, 2019May 23, 2019 by Cancer Today Staff | Leave a comment

Since the 1990s, the cancer mortality rate in the U.S. has steadily declined. Yet liver cancer death rates in the U.S. have increased. Why?
Liver cancer is caused principally by the combination of a chronic hepatitis B virus infection and dietary exposure to aflatoxin B1, a contaminant that grows on corn and peanuts. Recent efforts to better control liver cancer globally include wide distribution of hepatitis B virus vaccines—more than a billion so far—and deployment of food safety tactics to prevent exposure to aflatoxin B1.

Cancer Survival: Improving Health After Treatment

Posted on January 22, 2019January 28, 2019 by Cancer Today Staff | Leave a comment

At long last, cancer survival statistics are beginning to reveal real progress. From 1991 to 2015, the cancer death rate in the U.S. dropped by 26 percent, resulting in an estimated 2.4 million fewer cancer deaths. In 2016, more than 15.5 million Americans with a history of cancer were alive; that number is projected to exceed 20 million by 2026. The U.S. health care system faces a looming challenge: how to deal with the wide array of health and wellness aftereffects faced by children and adults who were once cancer patients.

A Growing Commitment to Cancer Survivors

Posted on November 8, 2018November 13, 2018 by Cancer Today Staff | Leave a comment

Thanks to decades of cancer research that have brought us groundbreaking discoveries and treatments, 15.5 million U.S. cancer survivors have more time to spend with their loved ones. That number is only going up, to an estimated 26.1 million by 2040.

For most of these survivors, their journey comes with complications and lasting side effects. Many continue to deal with the physical, mental, and emotional impact of their cancer diagnosis long after their final treatment. Thousands of survivors face financial challenges resulting from or made worse by their cancer diagnosis and treatment.

CAR-T Cells: “Bionic” Immune Cells for Treating Cancer

Posted on October 29, 2018November 1, 2018 by Cancer Today Staff | Leave a comment

In the 1970s television series The Six Million Dollar Man, the narrator says of severely injured astronaut Steve Austin: “We can rebuild him. We have the technology. We can make him better than he was. Better, stronger, faster.” The narrator was referring to “bionic” technologies that provided higher visual acuity, stunning strength, and the ability to run at speeds greater than 60 miles per hour.

Over the past few years, cancer immunologists have achieved a comparable feat. They have taken T cells—the immune cells capable of destroying infectious agents, foreign cells, and cancers—and rebuilt them to be better than they were, better at recognizing and killing cancer cells.

Cancer Today Book Discussion: “When Breath Becomes Air”

Posted on August 16, 2018August 22, 2018 by Marci Landsmann | Leave a comment

As part of ongoing efforts to increase dialogue between cancer patients, survivors, physicians, and researchers, Cancer Today hosts an online discussion about a book that provides a unique take on the cancer experience. This summer, the editors have chosen to talk about The New York Times best-selling memoir When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi.

Understanding Immunotherapy Side Effects

Posted on August 9, 2018August 15, 2018 by Cancer Today Staff | Leave a comment

Treatment with checkpoint inhibitors is often billed as gentler than chemotherapy—and it is true that immunotherapy doesn’t come with the same acute side effects, such as hair loss, characteristic of many chemotherapy drugs. But checkpoint inhibitors are not without side effects.

In a story published in the summer 2018 issue of Cancer Today, digital editor Kate Yandell discusses what is known about checkpoint inhibitor side effects and how to spot and treat them.

Putting an End to Cancer Health Disparities

Posted on August 1, 2018August 3, 2018 by Cancer Today Staff | Leave a comment

Last year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved 15 new anticancer therapeutics. More groundbreaking treatments are on the way. Despite this progress, cancer still has a disproportionate impact on disadvantaged and minority groups.

Synthetic Lethality and Cancer: Aiming an Arrow at Achilles’ Heel

Posted on July 11, 2018July 19, 2018 by Cancer Today Staff | Leave a comment

Guest Post by William G. Nelson, MD, PhD
Editor-in-Chief, Cancer Today
Do cancer cells have Achilles’ heels? The answer may lie in a concept called synthetic lethality that originated in studies of …

Disparities in End-of-Life Care

Posted on June 5, 2018June 7, 2018 by Cancer Today Staff | Leave a comment

For cancer patients at the ends of their lives, hospice care can provide access to comfort measures and extra help. Medicare offers hospice benefits to eligible patients. But not all patients have equal access to this care, research indicates.

In the spring issue of Cancer Today, medical and business journalist Charlotte Huff writes about disparities in end-of-life care affecting U.S. cancer patients.

Why Is Liver Cancer on the Rise?

Posted on May 16, 2018May 17, 2018 by Cancer Today Staff | Leave a comment

Although liver cancer isn’t as prevalent as lung cancer or breast cancer, this cancer is now the fastest-increasing cause of cancer death in the United States. In the Spring 2018 issue of Cancer Today, contributing editor Sue Rochman explored contributing factors for the increased liver cancer incidence since the mid-1970s.