cancer | Common News Update

Mar192021 by adminNo Comments

Science behind Pfizer vaccine can be used to give people cancer jabs ‘within a couple of years’

Technology

The co-creator of Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine has said the technology behind it could soon be used to fight cancer too.While the vaccine has been bankrolled by the American pharmaceutical giant, the science itself is the work of BioNTech, a German company founded by married couple and dedicated physicians Ugur Sahin and Ozlem Tureci. Dr Tureci was working on a way to harness the body's immune system to tackle tumours when the pair learned last year of a mystery virus infecting people in China. Image: mRNA could be used to treat more than just COVID-19. Pic: NIAID Over breakfast, they decided to apply the technology they'd been researching for two decades to the new threat, dubbing the effort "Project Lightspeed."Both COVID-19 vaccine...

Mar112021 by adminNo Comments

Swallowable pill cameras to be used to spot bowel cancer tumours

Technology

Tiny cameras that are small enough to be swallowed and can film tumours in the gut are being trialled in the fight against cancer.Called PillCams, they are encased in a capsule to make them easier to ingest, and it is hoped they can replace more invasive methods of screening. Around 11,000 patients across England will take part in the initial trial in more than 40 areas of the country.Professor Peter Johnson, the NHS clinical director for cancer, hopes the new technology will save lives. Image: Medics hope the new technology can save lives "Every year in England, we diagnose around 42,000 people with bowel cancer, that's more than 100 people a day," said Prof Johnson. ...

Mar112021 by adminNo Comments

Cancer patients ‘lack same protection’ after first jab

Health

Getty ImagesCancer patients are much less protected against Covid-19 than other people after one dose of the Pfizer vaccine, the first real-world study in this area suggests.With a 12-week wait for the second dose this could leave them vulnerable, says the King's College London and Francis Crick Institute research team.An early second dose appeared to boost cancer patients' protection.Cancer charities are calling for the vaccine strategy to be reviewed.But Cancer Research UK said the small study had not yet been reviewed by other scientists and people undergoing cancer treatment should continue to follow the advice of their doctors. The government said it was focused on "saving lives" and the antibody response "was only part of the protection provided by the vaccine".About 1.2 million peop...

Feb252021 by adminNo Comments

Covid: Half with cancer signs didn’t contact GP in first wave

Health

Getty ImagesAlmost half of people with potential cancer symptoms did not contact their GP during the first wave of the pandemic, a survey suggests.Symptoms left unchecked included coughing up blood, lumps and changes to the appearance of moles.NHS figures showed a fall in referrals to cancer services last spring.But this study, of almost 8,000 people, captures the fall in people contacting their GP in the first place.The team that carried out the study, from Cardiff University and Cancer Research UK, said this raised concerns that people could be diagnosed later - and so be less likely to be treated successfully and recover.Cancer scan backlog raises late detection fearsCancer therapy with no visitors is 'hardest thing' They surveyed a representative sample of people across the UK recruite...

Feb242021 by adminNo Comments

Cancer survivor to join first all-private spaceflight on SpaceX’s Dragon

Business

ORLANDO, Fla., Feb. 24 (UPI) -- A physician assistant at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital will join the first all-private space mission in a fundraising effort for the Memphis-based charitable facility. The mission, called Inspiration4, is scheduled for launch aboard a Falcon 9 rocket from Florida as early as October for four private citizens. They plan to orbit the Earth for several days aboard a Crew Dragon capsule built by Elon Musk's SpaceX. Advertisement Hayley Arceneaux, 29, survived bone cancer through treatment at the hospital as a 10-year-old. She's thrilled to fulfill a lifelong dream to see space and to share the experience with others, she said Monday. "Cancer made me who I am today," Arceneaux said. "I have such a joy and zest for life, wanting to experience all that I c...