Cancer Archives - Page 2 of 6 - Today's Practitioner

Gut Microbiome Connected to Effectiveness of Immunotherapies for Cancer

A growing amount of research shows that the gut microbiome has a dramatic affect on anti-tumor immunity. Just how the intestinal microbiota limits tumor expansion has remained somewhat elusive. This new study, published in Nature Commutations, shows why certain immune checkpoint inhibitors, used in cancer treatment, don’t always work. It’sRead …

Acupressure for Co-Occurring Symptoms in Breast Cancer Patients

A new study finds acupressure could be a low-cost, at-home solution to a suite of persistent side effects that linger after breast cancer treatment ends. Researchers from the University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center reported in 2016 that acupressure helped reduce fatigue in breast cancer survivors. In the new study,Read …

Integrative Oncology: Making Appropriate Choices While Changing the Culture

By Santosh Rao, MD / I find it difficult to truly define integrative oncology. Statements about how we look after the “whole person”, pay attention to lifestyle and stress or even spirituality seem ambiguous and incomplete. All caregivers pay attention to these things, perhaps some more than others, but isRead …

Aspirin and EPA Show Promise for Reducing the Numbers of Precancerous Colon Polyps

Both aspirin and omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), reduced the number of precancerous colon polyps in patients found to be at high risk of developing bowel cancer, according to new research published in the journal Lancet. This study, called the seAFOod Trial, is the result of a multidisciplinaryRead …

Does Eating Organic Food Reduce Cancer Risk? New French Study Says Yes

Is eating organic healthier? Does eating organic food reduce cancer risk? These are questions that constantly come to mind when your patients shop for produce in the grocery story or farmer’s market. While it seems intuitive to want to eat fewer pesticides, are there health advantages, such as reducing one’sRead …

New Support Tool Improves Genetic Testing Knowledge in Breast Cancer Patients

Awareness of genetic testing among newly diagnosed breast cancer patients is low, a new study finds. In this new study, published in the journal Cancer, as few as 30% of new diagnosed, early-stage breast cancer patients know about genetic screening. Even more troublesome is that the study found that fewerRead …

Open Access until Oct. 24th: Special Issue on Integrative Oncology from JACM

A recent special focus issue on integrative oncology deserves a solid read. In light of the recent controversial article in JAMA on complementary and alternative cancer therapies, this special issue by JACM, The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, a peer-reviewed publication from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers, puts a lensRead …

Gut Microbiota Feeds Colon Cancer Cells

It’s generally understood that it can take as long as ten years for a colon cancer polyp to develop. But why that polyp develops and becomes a tumor has been widely speculated. Intestinal inflammation was the suspected cause, however, scientists at the Technical University in Munich (TUM) recently made an

Retraction Needed? JAMA Oncology’s Bum Science Suggests People Die Faster Using Complementary Medicine

The media had a feeding frenzy when a data-mining report from Yale researchers published in JAMA Oncology suggested a causal relationship between use of complementary medicine and shortened life span among cancer patients. A New York Times subheading was representative: “People who used herbs, acupuncture and other complementary treatments tended to die earlier than those whoRead …

Early Lab Study: Hemp Shows Therapeutic Potential for Reducing Ovarian Cancer Risk

Could non-psychoactive hemp be a viable use to reduce ovarian cancer risk? As we learn more about the bioactives in hemp, the possibility becomes ever real. At the 2018 annual Experimental Biology meeting in San Diego, graduate students, Sara Biela and Chase Turner, presented the first study to examine hemp andRead …