Comment on this storyComment Cancer patients and their doctors are grappling with a record shortage of effective chemotherapy, putting their treatments and their lives at risk. Most are cheap generic drugs that have been used in cancer medicine for decades, says Satyajit Kosuri, clinical director of the stem cell transplant and cell therapy program at the University of Chicago, who has experienced the consequences firsthand. At the end of last year, there were 295 active drug shortages, ranging from antibiotics and anesthetics to cardiac mediations and chemotherapy drugs, according to…
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‘Groundbreaking’ lung cancer drug cuts risk of death in half, says ‘exciting’ study.
ALUNGcancerdrug available on the NHS halves the risk of death, according to a study. Scientists say exciting study results show osimertinib will increase survival of thousands of British patients. 2 One study found that a lung cancer drug halves the risk of deathCredit: Getty 2 Osimertinib, sold under the name Tagrisso, is already available on the NHS for some patients It works by blocking vital receptors that allow cancer cells to use up energy to grow. The medicine is already being used for some NHS patients after previous research found…
Read MoreAstraZeneca’s new UK lung cancer drug hailed as a ‘game changer’
AstraZeneca’s new UK lung cancer drug is hailed as a ‘game changer’ that can HALF the risk of death By Kate Pickles Updated: 5:43 PM EDT, June 4, 2023 Research has shown that a ‘breakthrough’ British drug can halve the risk of dying from lung cancer. The groundbreaking study found that patients who received osimertinib after surgery were 51 percent more likely to be alive five years later than those given a dummy pill. The daily tablets target non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cancers among people who have a specific…
Read MoreRadiation can be safely omitted in selected patients with locally advanced rectal cancer
By the staff of ASCO Post Posted: 6/4/2023 11:46:00 AM Last update: 6/4/2023 10:53:02 Locally advanced rectal cancer patients with chemotherapy-responsive tumors can safely forego radiation therapy before surgery, based on results from the PROSPECT trial. These data were presented by Deborah Schrag, MD, FASCO, MPHat the ASCO Annual Meeting 2023 (Abstract LBA2) and contextually published in The New England Journal of Medicine(effectiveness data) and theJournal of Clinical Oncology (data on patient-reported outcomes). Omitting radiotherapy can reduce short- and long-term side effects that affect quality of life, providing similar results…
Read MoreShortages of cancer drugs in the United States are forcing doctors to ration life-saving treatments
A critical shortage of cancer therapies is forcing thousands of patients to lose life-saving treatments, several major health organizations have warned. There are 14 cancer drugs listed in shortage by US regulators, including the generic chemotherapy drugs cisplatin and carboplatin, which are first-line treatments for many common types of cancer. Julie Gralow, chief medical officer at the American Society of Clinical Oncology, said hospitals were already rationing some drugs and doctors were being forced to make difficult decisions about delaying chemotherapy treatment or using replacement medicines, which may not be…
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