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Welcome to the Cancer Health Forums, a round-the-clock discussion area for people who have any type of cancer, their friends and family and others with questions about living with cancer. Check in frequently to read what others have to say, post your comments, and hopefully learn more about how you can reach your own health goals.

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1

Cancer Research News & Studies / ASCO 2019: News From the World’s Biggest Cancer Conference

« on: June 07, 2019, 09:39:17 am »

Cancer Health was in Chicago for ASCO 2019, a big cancer doctor gathering held in June every year. Read all our coverage from Editor in Chief Bob Barnett and Science Editor Liz Highleyman here...

https://www.cancerhealth.com/tag/asco-2019

2

Living with Liver Cancer / Checkpoint Immunotherapies Show Promise for Liver Cancer

« on: June 07, 2019, 09:34:54 am »

This news came out of ASCO, a big cancer doctor gathering in Chicago held in June every year. Here's some of Cancer Health's coverage of the news.

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The PD-1 checkpoint inhibitor Keytruda (pembrolizumab) offered improved response rates for people with advanced liver cancer, although survival improvements did not meet statistical thresholds, according to research presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting this week in Chicago. Another study showed that pairing Opdivo (nivolumab) with a different type of immunotherapy improved outcomes considerably.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the most common type of cancer that originates in the liver, is often detected late and is difficult to treat. Liver cancer generally does not respond well to traditional chemotherapy. Keytruda and Opdivo, as well as a handful of targeted therapies that interfere with cell growth and blood vessel development, have recently been approved to treat this cancer.

Keytruda and Opdivo are PD-1 checkpoint inhibitors that help the immune system fight cancer. PD-1, a checkpoint protein on T cells, helps regulate immune function. Some tumors can hijack PD-1 to turn off immune responses against them. Drugs that block the interaction between PD-1 and its binding partner, known as PD-L1, can release the brakes and restore T-cell activity. Yervoy is a different type of checkpoint inhibitor that blocks CTLA-4, which turns off immune responses by suppressing T-cell replication.

Read more...
https://www.cancerhealth.com/article/checkpoint-immunotherapies-liver-cancer

3

Living with Colon Cancer / An experimental therapy shows promise for colon cancer

« on: June 07, 2019, 09:32:41 am »

This news came out of ASCO, a big cancer doctor gathering in Chicago held in June every year. Here's some of Cancer Health's coverage of the news.

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An experimental therapy designed to target mutated KRAS proteins showed good activity in a small Phase I study of people with lung cancer, colon cancer and other solid tumors, researchers reported this week at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting in Chicago.

If these results are confirmed in larger trials, this could be good news for patients because KRAS mutations occur more frequently in lung tumors than other mutations—such as ALK, BRAF and EGFR—targeted by existing drugs. Likewise, only a small proportion of colorectal cancer is targetable by existing medications.

Researchers have identified several so-called driver mutations that contribute to the development of cancer. Mutations involving KRAS, a signaling protein that regulates cell multiplication, are the most common genetic variations in lung cancer. But to date, no medications have been able to successfully target these mutations.

“KRAS has been a target of active exploration in cancer research since it was identified as one of the first oncogenes more than 30 years ago, but it remained undruggable due to a lack of traditional small molecule binding pockets on the protein,” David Reese, MD, executive vice president of research and development at Amgen, said in a company press release. “AMG 510 seeks to crack the KRAS code by exploiting a previously hidden groove on the protein surface.”

Read more...
https://www.cancerhealth.com/article/first-kras-targeted-therapy-shows-promise-lung-colon-cancer

4

Living with Lung Cancer / Keytruda shatters stats on lung cancer long-term survival

« on: June 07, 2019, 09:28:57 am »

This news came out of ASCO, a big cancer doctor gathering in Chicago held in June every year. Here's some of Cancer Health's coverage of the news.

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The checkpoint inhibitor Keytruda (pembrolizumab) continues to be a safe and effective treatment for non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), leading to an improvement in overall survival at five years, according to long-term follow-up data presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting in Chicago.

In the KEYNOTE-001 study, which began enrollment at the dawn of the immunotherapy era, nearly a quarter of people who had not previously been treated with chemotherapy and about 15% of treatment-experienced patients were still alive five years later, reported Edward Garon, MD, of the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine in Los Angeles. In contrast, people treated with chemotherapy historically had a five-year survival rate of around 5% before the arrival of immunotherapy.

“The uniformly negative outlook that has been associated with a diagnosis of advanced non-small-cell lung cancer is certainly no longer appropriate,” Garon said. “The fact that we have patients on this trial that are still alive after seven years is quite remarkable. We also have evidence that most patients who are doing well after two years on pembrolizumab live for five years or more.”

Read more...
https://www.cancerhealth.com/article/keytruda-5-year-survival

5

Insurance, Financial Support and Paying for Care / Here are some financial assistance resources

« on: May 16, 2018, 01:06:21 pm »

Cancer can take a toll on more than your day-to-day health—it can also drain your finances. The following organizations offer financial help when you need it most, because no one should have to decide between medical treatment and everyday needs.

https://www.cancerhealth.com/basics/health-basics/resources-cancer-financial-aid