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CUREXtra, your monthly e-mail update on the latest cancer newsand events, is brought to you by the publishers ofCURE magazine.
> CancerMay Cause Cognitive Dysfunction
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Researchers at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston published their findings in the journal Cancer, showing that 35 percent of 84 breast cancer patients demonstrated cognitive impairment prior to chemotherapy. The exact reason for this prechemotherapy effect is unknown. (The study also found chemotherapy causes chemobrain in women who did not show symptoms before treatment.) Previous studies have found the frequency of chemobrain ranges from 17 to 75 percent. But authors of the recent study believe earlier studies may have overestimated the actual incidence of chemobrain due to chemotherapy because cognitive functioning was not measured prior to treatment. “Given the current documentation of objective cognitive impairment before adjuvant systemic therapy, a large proportion of patients in previously published reports who performed at levels below what was expected when they were assessed after chemotherapy may well have performed at that same level before chemotherapy,” say the authors. Patients or family members who notice changes in cognition may consider a pretreatment neuropsychologic evaluation against which postchemotherapy changes in cognition can be compared. For more about chemobrain, see the Spring 2002 issue of CURE at www.curetoday.com. |
A study, published in The New England Journal of Medicine in July, found that PSA velocity (the rate at which PSA levels rise) in the time before surgery can predict the risk of developing advanced prostate cancer despite undergoing radical prostatectomy. This information will give doctors the knowledge they need to make better use of results from PSA tests. The study followed more than 1,000 men with localized prostate cancer for a median of more than five years and found that men in this study with a high PSA velocity were 10 times more likely to die from the disease within five to seven years. Prostate cancer often grows slowly, but these findings give patients and doctors alike the information they need to make treatment decisions of watchful waiting or aggressive treatment. In addition, these findings emphasize the importance of getting regular PSA screenings in order for level changes to be recognizable. Be watching for the Fall 2004 issue, which will include a feature on prostate cancer. |
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The completed PanCAN-NCI Pancreatic Cancer Research Map will chart all research focused on pancreatic cancer and make it publicly available through a web-based database. Construction of the map is currently under way and will allow patients, families, researchers and physicians access to a comprehensive listing of ongoing research projects and clinical trial information. The information will be used to highlight research progress, identify gaps in areas of research funding and assist in the development of collaborative research projects and clinical trials. “Our goal is to deliver progress in the area of pancreatic cancer research and treatment,” said Paula Kim, co-founder and president of scientific and government affairs for PanCAN, in a press release. “No one else is taking this unique mapping approach. The map will give a true picture of the current state of pancreatic cancer research, and we’ll be able to quickly identify the type and location of current research efforts. We see the map as an important model for all cancers, but one that is especially important for enhancing the research effort in underfunded, underrepresented cancers.” The map is expected to be up and running by the end of 2004. For updates, visit www.pancan.org. And to read more about pancreatic cancer, see the Winter 2003 issue of CURE at www.curetoday.com. |
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SEPT. 11 SEPT. 16-19 SEPT. 19 OCT. 3 OCT. 28 Until next time,
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