Breaking Research News from sources other than Breastcancer.org
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Oh I did that. Even three gives the bad dreams. I love Santa Barabara, btw! Thanks. On reddit one guy theorized that is one is lacking REM sleep then the nightmares may go on until caught up. They are all about being lost. Pretty sure it pertains to Lost inCancerland. I’ve been lost in Chinatown, Hong Kong, San Franciso. And the Hawaiian Islands. All in vivid detail. Pretty funny eh?
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perfect symbolism in those dreams!
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I listened to a SciFri science podcast on NPR on The dangers of Melatonin...
It's very much like pain meds for our brains. If you take Melatonin regularly, your body stops producing it's own version and becomes reliant on the supplement. You then have to take more to have the same effect and in the end, it can produce bad side effects.
After listening and doing some research I stopped taking Melatonin nightly and given this study, will simply darken my room more.I found the episode:
https://www.sciencefriday.com/segments/ask-a-sleep-doctor-the-questions-that-keep-you-up-at-night/If you zoom over about 20 minutes (-8:00 left in the show) it is a question about Melatonin.. very interesting.
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Thank you Lisey. In my case I never get passed the first day and then I stop. Decide to try again and still it does the same thing. The less meds and supplements we use the better I think.
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In my dreams, I'm often lost, or have lost something and am desperately searching. Often I'm back in college, and can't find the right buildings or can't find my dorm etc. It's a very frequent theme in my dreams.
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Navigating Cancerland, is like finding our way through college or large cities and locations. Especially when we are left to figure it out for ourselves. I just want it to get to the end of it, but always one more appointment, one more test.
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Eek! Maybe it's a good thing I rarely remember to take the Melatonin!
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Utah health plan covers pharmacy tourism for some public employees
Utah's public employee health insurance plan will cover plane tickets to San Diego and transportation to a contracted clinic in Tijuana, Mexico, and pay $500 to patients who need one of about a dozen drugs for multiple sclerosis, cancer or an autoimmune disorder.
https://www.sltrib.com/pb/news/2018/10/28/fight-hi...
{I don't see any BC drugs on the list but this is a rather amazing turn of events. If SQ Herceptin were on the list, I wonder....}
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Combining palliative care with oncology improves outcomes
A Lancet Oncology Commission addressed the integration of care focused on treating cancer with care focused on patients with the disease. Randomized clinical trials combining these two paradigms, oncology care and palliative care, showed improved survival and symptom control, less anxiety and depression, less futile chemotherapy, improved family satisfaction, and better use of health care resources.
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanonc/article/...(18)30415-7/fulltext
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/S1470-2045(18)30415-7
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Hey thank goodness there are no required drug tests for crossing the border. That's next.
HR+ Breast Cancer: Factors in Selecting a CDK4/6 Inhibitor
Insights From: Joyce A. OShaughnessy, MD, Balor University Medical Center; Stephen Johnston, MA, PhD, FRCP, The Royal Marsden Hospital; Matthew P. Goetz, MD, The Mayo Clinic
Published: Wednesday, Aug 29, 2018
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FDA approved treatments for Breast Cancer Oct 2018
https://media.empr.com/documents/2/onco_bct_2pt_0918_1007.pdf
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ESMO 2018: Overall Survival With Palbociclib Plus Fulvestrant
- Interview with Timothy J Pluard MD Interview by Bradley McGregor MD
- This was a trial in second-line endocrine therapy in advanced breast cancer comparing fulvestrant with palbociclib vs fulvestrant and placebo in a phase III trial, showing a significant prolongation of progression-free survival from 4.6 months to just over 11 months... this was the first look at overall survival data from that study.
- https://www.practiceupdate.com/C/75354/56?elsca1=e...
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Great chart. Thanks marijen.
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Thanks for the chart Marijen. I’m firing my onc if I have a recurrence. 😀
Melatonin. I’m a fan. I’ve been on 5mg tabs taken one on bedtime and one when/if I wake during the night. I end up taking 2-3 tabs a night. They put me back to sleep immediately. No dreams to speak of. That’s 10-15mg. I take my tamoxifen at night as well.
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Benefit of Extended Adjuvant Endocrine Therapy Remains Unknown
Angelica Welch
Published: Monday, Oct 29, 2018
https://www.onclive.com/web-exclusives/benefit-of-...https://www.breast-cancers.com/2018/10/31/benefit-...
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so maybe if you want to avoid taking melatonin and still have trouble sleeping I highly suggest accupuncture and/or valerian root supplements.
Long history of insomnia here and that has helped me trenendously. The melatonin didnt agree with me after a while. I didn't realize it though till i tried 20mg one night and not only didnt i sleep for 7 hours i also had to pee every hour and had bad restless legs. Google "melatonin reviews" and look at bad reviews.
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FDA approves pegfilgrastim biosimilar for cancer patients
Coherus BioSciences' Udenyca, or pegfilgrastim-cbqv, has gained FDA approval as a pegfilgrastim biosimilar of Amgen's Neulasta. Udenyca is indicated as a treatment for infection in cancer patients and will be priced 33% less than Neulasta, or $4,175 per unit, when it is launched Jan. 3.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-coherus-biosimi...
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Balixafortide Plus Eribulin for Metastatic Breast Cancer
2018 Nov 05
Video Interview with Timothy Pluard MD Interview by Bradley McGregor MD. Transcription provided.
https://www.practiceupdate.com/c/75698/67/13/?elsc...
Discussion regarding the combination of balixafortide with eribulin in the treatment of breast cancer. "...we saw that the PFS and the overall survival were similar to what eribulin had shown previously, and now the FDA has granted a fast track designation for balixafortide and we're in discussions about designing a subsequent trial....ultimately, we hope to see that we get to a randomized trial and show that the combination is superior to eribulin alone in the metastatic setting."
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Opioid Screening Practices in Cancer Patients
—Tighter opioid prescribing guidelines from leading health organizations would benefit patients with cancer by reducing the potential for abuse.
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No Cosmetic Difference With Hypofractionated WBI in Breast Ca
Equivalent to conventionally fractionated approach in early-stage disease
Hypofractionated whole-breast irradiation (HF-WBI) was equivalent to conventionally fractionated whole-breast irradiation (CF-WBI) with respect to cosmetic outcomes, a randomized trial in early-stage breast cancer found.
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A Cancer "Kill Switch" Has Been Found In The Body – And Researchers Are Already Hard At Work To Harness It
"...a team from Northwestern University has discovered a seemingly foolproof self-destruct pathway that can be used to destroy any type of cancer cell.
The mechanism involves the creation of small RNA molecules (siRNAs) that interfere with multiple genes essential to the proliferation of fast-growing, malignant cells, but have little effect on normal, healthy cells."
https://www.iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/a-c...
CD95/Fas ligand mRNA is toxic to cells
"We now report expression of full-length CD95L mRNA itself is highly toxic to cells and induces a similar form of cell death. We demonstrate that small (s)RNAs derived from CD95L are loaded into the RNA induced silencing complex (RISC) which is required for the toxicity and processing of CD95L mRNA into sRNAs is independent of both Dicer and Drosha. We provide evidence that in addition to the CD95L transgene a number of endogenous protein coding genes involved in regulating protein translation, particularly under low miRNA conditions, can be processed to sRNAs and loaded into the RISC suggesting a new level of cell fate regulation involving RNAi."
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THE #3 LEADING CAUSE OF DEATH IN THE UNITED STATES IS ITS OWN HEALTH CARE SYSTEM.
Medical mistakes lead to as many as 440,000 preventable deaths every year. To Err Is Human is an in-depth documentary about this silent epidemic and those working quietly behind the scenes to create a new age of patient safety.
Through interviews with leaders in healthcare, footage of real-world efforts leading to safer care, and one family's compelling journey from victim to empowerment, the film provides a unique look at our healthcare system's ongoing fight against preventable harm.
More about the film here:
https://www.toerrishumanfilm.com/
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"Please Help Me See the Dragon I Am Slaying": Implementation of a Novel Patient-Pathologist Consultation Program and Survey of Patient Experience
Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Lowell, MA
Context.— Pathologists evaluate human disease and teach medical students, residents, and clinicians. Historically recognized as the "doctor's doctor," pathologists are well suited to be a direct patient resource of individualized, accurate information.
Objective.— To develop and implement a pathology consultation service whereby patients review their tissue slides directly with the pathologists.
Design.— A pathologist conducted patient consultations, reviewing biopsy or surgery findings on a multiheaded microscope or computer screen. The pathologist evaluated patients' understanding of their disease and invited patients to ask specific questions. We recorded patient demographic data and assessed utilization with a short patient satisfaction survey using 6 questions with a 5-point Likert scale and 2 questions for open response.
Results.— A total of 31 patients came for consultation; 39% (12 of 31) were accompanied by a friend or family member. Patients' median age was 59 years, with a strong female predominance (90%; 28 of 31). The majority of patients had breast cancer (58%; 18 of 31) or hematologic malignancy (19%; 6 of 31). Of the 31 patients, the survey response rate was 58% (18 of 31). Top-box scoring demonstrated program support, with 89% (16 of 18) of respondents strongly recommending the experience to another patient. Additionally, 78% (14 of 18) strongly agreed that they felt more empowered after seeing their disease. Mean scores for Likert-based questions all were higher than 4.0.
Conclusions.— To our knowledge, this study is the first report of direct patient-pathologist consultation. Early data suggest that the program may provide effective patient-specific education. The high response rate and favorable assessment of the program suggest that it may be a valuable resource for some patients.
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Safety Profile of Subcutaneous Trastuzumab in Patients With HER2+ Early or Locally Advanced Breast Cancer
- European Journal of Cancer
- This prospective, nonrandomized study evaluated the safety profile of subcutaneous trastuzumab in patients with HER2-positive early or locally advanced breast cancer.
- Subcutaneous trastuzumab was safe and tolerable in this setting. Cardiotoxicity was found to be consistent with that reported in prior studies.
https://www.practiceupdate.com/C/75763/56?elsca1=e...
https://www.ejcancer.com/article/S0959-8049(18)31404-7/pdf
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Thank you, Lumpie, for all the great info. The one about the "cancer kill switch" seems very exciting to me. I'm glad they are a few years into that project. Go siRNA's!!!
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Muddling: Yes, the "cancer kill switch" does sound exciting, doesn't it? Godspeed and may they get there quickly!
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Oncologists Can Cut Costs While Maintaining Quality of Care
https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/820639#vp_1
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"The alarmingly high increases in the cost of cancer care can be reined in. However, it will require that the oncology community take responsibility for practice patterns....{Some oncology practices have} developed a system of clinical pathways....The pathways permit only specific drugs (generally generics), limit the lines of chemotherapy, involve social workers and others to address advanced directives, and increase the use of hospices."
Related article:
Delivering maximum clinical benefit at an affordable price: engaging stakeholders in cancer care
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanonc/article/...
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/S1470-2045(13)70578-3
Cancer costs continue to increase alarmingly despite much debate about how they can be reduced. The oncology community needs to take greater responsibility for our own practice patterns, especially when using expensive tests and treatments with marginal value: we cannot continue to accept novel therapeutics with very small benefits for exorbitant prices. Patients, payers, and pharmaceutical communities should be constructively engaged to communicate medically and economically possible goals, and eventually, to reduce use and costs. Diagnostic tests and treatments should have to show true value to be added to existing protocols. In this article, we discuss three key drivers of costs: end-of-life care patterns, medical imaging, and drugs. We propose health-care models that have the potential to decrease costs and discuss solutions to maintain clinical benefit at an affordable price.
{I am reading more and more about proposals to limit MBC'ers to three, or some other arbitrary number, lines of treatment before being placed on hospice care. IMHO, this is lifetime caps all over again. Troubling.}
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Targeting a protein could be key for suppressing breast cancer metastasis, study suggests
A new study by University of Kentucky Markey Cancer Center researchers suggests that targeting a protein known as collagen XIII could be key for suppressing breast cancer metastasis.
https://www.news-medical.net/news/20181009/Targeti...
see also: http://uknow.uky.edu/research/new-markey-study-shows-promise-targeting-breast-cancer-metastasis
Membrane associated collagen XIII promotes cancer metastasis and enhances anoikis resistance
Breast Cancer Research201820:116
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re: "{I am reading more and more about proposals to limit MBC'ers to three, or some other arbitrary number, lines of treatment before being placed on hospice care. IMHO, this is lifetime caps all over again. Troubling.}"
I believe that's already the case in Canada, sadly.
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