Why New Cancer Drugs May Not Be as Successful as They Seem : time

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Why New Cancer Drugs May Not Be as Successful as They Seem

Why New Cancer Drugs May Not Be as Successful as They Seem

There's no denying that cancer treatments keep getting better, thanks in large part to ever more sophisticated and precise drugs that can target tumors exquisitely and eliminate them before they spread and cause serious disease.But in an article published in the BMJ, scientists argue that some vaunted cancer medications aren't living up to their promises to save more patients' lives.The reason has to do with the many ethically questionable practices throughout the drug-development process, says Peter Wise, retired from Charing Cross Hospital and Imperial College School of Medicine in London.These practices range from research by pharmaceutical companies to the way new compounds are tested, how data is interpreted, to the approval process by regulatory agencies and the way that doctors are incentivized to prescribe them.


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How IBM Watson May Help Solve Cancer Drug Resistance

How IBM Watson May Help Solve Cancer Drug Resistance

A recent spate of potent anti-tumor drugs, from ones that target cancers like smart bombs to ones that work with the body's immune system, have excited cancer doctors.But one fact has tempered their enthusiasm; given enough time, most cancers find a way to become resistant to the drugs, rendering them powerless and causing patients to relapse.The danger is that these doctors will have nothing more to throw at the disease.Researchers at the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT are hoping to solve that problem by teaming up with IBM Watson Health to find answers that only reams of data can provide.


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Vitamin D May Affect Breast Cancer Survival

Vitamin D May Affect Breast Cancer Survival

THURSDAY, Nov. 10, 2016 (HealthDay News) -- Vitamin D levels may affect breast cancer patients' chances of survival, a new study suggests.Researchers analyzed data from nearly 1,700 breast cancer patients in California and found that higher vitamin D levels at diagnosis were associated with better overall survival.This link was strongest in premenopausal women.Researchers found lower vitamin D levels in patients with advanced-stage tumors and the lowest levels in premenopausal women with triple-negative cancer.