pancreatic cancer Archives - Amazing Health Advances

Researchers Admit: Chemo Worsens Quality of Life with No Benefit of Overall Survival in Advanced Stage Cancer

The AHA! Team — Fri, 22 Aug 2025 05:22:16 +0000

Dena Schmidt via NaturalHealth365 – Chemo, as a treatment for cancer, has always been controversial with many patients and healthcare providers doubting its efficacy and safety as a cancer treatment. Bottom line: chemotherapy does trigger more harmful effects than beneficial ones, in many cases. Now, researchers admit that chemotherapy can actually accelerate deterioration in cases of late-stage cancer who still have the mobility and energy for daily activities. Another study published in JAMA Oncology also showed that cancer patients with limited or moderate functioning ability feel worse when undergoing chemotherapy. Is chemo worth the effort? The risks and side effects exposed In the words of the study author and lead researcher, Dr. Holly Prigerson, cancer patients who feel good have “the most to lose and the least to gain” through undergoing chemotherapy. Prigerson is a palliative care researcher at New York Presbyterian Hospital in New York and Weill Cornell Medical College. The side effects of chemotherapy are numerous and include loss of appetite, vomiting, diarrhea, anemia, constipation, bladder issues, bleeding, bruising, edema, hair loss, fatigue, infections, neutropenia, lymphedema, memory loss, difficulty concentrating, throat and mouth issues, nerve issues, pain, sexual and fertility issues, insomnia, and more. Other medical professionals have expressed similar concerns regarding chemotherapy administered near a patient’s death. Doctors have long debated whether the strong, toxic chemicals used in chemotherapy bring enough positive effects to justify the debilitating side effects of chemotherapy. Some have referred to this practice of administering chemo to clients with late-stage cancers as harmful at worst and wasteful at best. Cancer patient warning: Chemotherapy hazards outweigh gains and benefits The above study monitored the chemotherapy effects that 312 cancer patients experienced in their final week of life at six oncology clinics in the United States. Within this group, chemotherapy tended to be administered most often to those who were younger, more educated, receiving treatment at a university medical facility, had pancreatic or breast tumors, and presented additional issues besides cancer. They also were able to engage in their normal daily activities. To assess chemotherapy’s impact, caregivers were interviewed shortly after these patients died. Among those who had high functionality in their last week of life, chemotherapy was shown to reduce their quality of life dramatically, even beyond the impact of being in intensive care or on a ventilator. A lower quality of life was reported versus similar patients who didn’t receive chemo. Sound the alarm: Quality of life should be considered in end-stage cancer cases At the very least, clinical guidelines should be reviewed and revised to adjust for this potential harm from chemotherapy near the end of life. After all, quality of life matters in all cancer cases, and areas like pain control, addressing insomnia, and boosting mood, as well as the potential side effects of chemotherapy, should be given greater consideration. Clearly, chemotherapy isn’t helping patients feel better or live longer in many cases. While the objective is often to fight cancer and tumors with every option, terrible side effects and erosion of quality of life are a heavy price to pay. We would hope that medical professionals take a more cautious approach to prescribing chemotherapy, especially in late-stage cases. Editor’s note: Discover the best ways to avoid cancer cell growth naturally, own the Stop Cancer Docu-Class created by NaturalHealth365 Programs. Sources for this article include: NIH.gov Jamanetwork.com Cancer.gov Reuters.com To read the original article click here.

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New Study Examines if ‘Inoperable’ Pancreatic Tumors Can Be Safely Removed

The AHA! Team — Wed, 31 Jul 2024 08:06:36 +0000

University of Utah Health via Newswise – A clinical trial from Keck Medicine of USC aims to provide a surgical solution for patients with a form of advanced pancreatic cancer previously considered inoperable. The study will investigate if chemotherapy followed by a novel type of surgery to remove the cancer is a safe and effective option for patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer, meaning that the cancer has not spread to other organs, but has grown into or close to nearby blood vessels that surround the pancreas. “Usually, these types of tumors cannot be safely removed with surgery because of the risk of damaging the blood vessels, which supply blood to the stomach, liver and other abdominal organs. However, due to recent advancements by Keck Medicine surgeons, we believe that patients with locally advanced cancer can be candidates for successful surgery, which could significantly improve outcomes,” said Steven Grossman, MD, PhD, co-lead investigator of the study. Grossman is a medical oncologist with Keck Medicine and deputy director for cancer services at USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, part of Keck Medicine. The challenge of treating pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer accounts for only about 3% of cancers in the United States, but it is one of the deadliest. People usually have no symptoms until the cancer has become very large or metastasized throughout the body, so the cancer is caught late, and patients have poor prognoses. Only 13% of pancreatic cancer patients survive five or more years after diagnosis. The life expectancy of patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer, which accounts for one third of all pancreatic cancer cases, has historically been about one year. For most forms of cancer, surgery is considered the most effective treatment for localized tumors that have not spread to other areas of the body. However, surgery has traditionally not been offered for tumors involving the blood vessels near the pancreas because if the blood vessels were to become damaged during the procedure, and the blood flow to organs interrupted, it could result in serious side effects or death. Therefore, typically the only treatment option for patients with locally advanced cancer is chemotherapy and/or radiation, both of which have limited effectiveness killing pancreatic cancer cells. “The situation is frustrating because research shows that in the rare cases where locally advanced tumors were safely removed, the progression of the disease was slowed and the patient’s length of survival on average increased from one year to 28 months, more than doubling life expectancy,” said Sandra Algaze, MD, a medical oncologist with Keck Medicine, a member of USC Norris and one of the study’s investigators. “Surgery, therefore, appears to strongly benefit a patient’s survival rate, which is why the medical field has been eager for a surgical solution.” How new surgical advances can benefit patients The clinical trial will use surgical protocols pioneered by Keck Medicine surgeons to safely remove locally advanced pancreatic tumors attached to arteries. The surgical team will be led by study co-lead investigator Yuri Genyk, MD, a hepatobiliary and pancreatic surgeon with Keck Medicine who is an expert in vascular reconstruction, which is the removal and reconstruction of blood vessels. Genyk has already successfully removed about 30 pancreatic tumors that were attached to adjacent arteries. “While this surgery is very complex, we have the skills and expertise to execute it and train other skilled surgeons in the procedure. If the trial results are positive, we envision that the technique could become the gold standard for how this stage of pancreatic cancer is treated in the future,” said Genyk. Patients in the clinical trial will first undergo chemotherapy to attempt to shrink the tumor. Two to eight weeks after completing chemotherapy, they will undergo a laparoscopic evaluation to determine the position and size of the tumor before the tumor is surgically removed and involved blood vessels are removed and reconstructed. Patients will be followed every three months for the first year post-surgery and then every six months for two years after that. The clinical trial will also examine if certain biomarkers, such as the tumor’s DNA, as well as a patient’s demographic factors such as age and gender, play a role in patient outcomes. The study hopes to enroll 20 patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer who have evidence of arterial involvement by their tumors. The surgeries will be performed at Keck Hospital of USC. “Pancreatic cancer is a devastating diagnosis, and Keck Medicine is committed to finding better solutions for the disease,” said Grossman. “Anything we can do to improve patients’ quality of life and extend life expectancy will be a huge milestone that could benefit countless patients and their loved ones.” Those interested in participating in the study can contact: Charlean Ketchens, RN, at (323) 865-3035 or ketchensc@med.usc.edu. For more information about Keck Medicine of USC, please visit news.KeckMedicine.org. To read the original article click here.

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Anti-Parasitic Drug Prevents Pancreatic Cancer’s Initiation, Progression and Metastasis in Mice

AHA Publisher — Wed, 04 Aug 2021 07:00:22 +0000

Johns Hopkins Medicine via News-Medical – As the third-most lethal cancer in the United States, with only a 1% five-year survival rate for people with its most aggressive form, pancreatic cancer has long been a target of researchers who search for ways to slow or stop its growth and spread. Now, a team of Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers have found that an anti-parasitic drug prevents pancreatic cancer’s initiation, progression and metastasis in genetically engineered mice. In a study published in the journal Oncotarget on July 6, Gregory Riggins, M.D., Ph.D., professor of neurosurgery and oncology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and his team used two different mouse models to determine that the anti-parasitic drug mebendazole could slow or stop the growth and spread of both early and late-stage pancreatic cancer. “We think that mebendazole could have a role in all stages. It was particularly effective for pancreatic cancer that was detected early.” (Gregory Riggins, M.D., Ph.D., Professor of Neurosurgery and Oncology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine) Riggins and his team administered mebendazole to mice that were genetically engineered to develop pancreatic cancer. The team measured the inflammation and the change in tissue, as well as the stage, grade and metastatic status in each tumor. Originally used to fight roundworm, hookworm and other parasitic infections by cutting off the parasites’ supply of nutrition, mebendazole inhibits the formation of tubulin. Tubulin, Riggins explains, is both a micro-skeleton of the inner cell and a highway for transport. The drug gets into the parasite’s gut and collapses the tubulin, starving the parasite to death. The study shows that mebendazole may act similarly in pancreatic cancer by collapsing cancer cells’ structure, along with other mechanisms such as reducing inflammation. Riggins says he hopes to continue his team’s research through human clinical trials. “We are advocating for use of mebendazole as a therapy for those diagnosed before metastasis to see if we can slow or prevent pancreatic cancer,” Riggins says. “For those with more advanced cancers, it could be an alternative to certain surgeries. Mebendazole may have utility as a therapy after initial treatment to prevent tumor recurrence in the 15% to 20% of pancreatic adenocarcinoma patients who undergo surgery. It may also increase the durability of response to standard chemotherapy in the remaining 80% to 85% of patients with advanced disease.” The Virginia and D.K. Ludwig Fund for Cancer Research provided funding for the research. Other scientists who conducted the research include Tara Williamson, Michelle Carvalho de Abreu, Dimitri G. Trembath, Cory Brayton, Byunghak Kang, Thais Biude Mendes, Paulo Pimentel de Assumpção and Janete M. Cerutti. Riggins and Williamson are inventors on intellectual property related to mebendazole owned and managed by Johns Hopkins University conflict of interest policies. Riggins has a financial interest in Benizole Therapeutics, PBC. The technology is available for licensing through Johns Hopkins Technology Ventures. To read the original article click here.

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Scientists Discover Molecule That Destroys Pancreatic Cancer Cells

AHA Publisher — Wed, 04 Dec 2019 08:00:15 +0000

Abigail Klein Leichman via Israel21c – Israeli breakthrough study shows 90% reduction of pancreatic cancer cells in mice after treatment with a molecule named PJ34. A little molecule named PJ34 can cause cancer cells to self-destruct, according to an Israeli study published recently in the biomedical journal Oncotarget. Prof. Malka Cohen-Armon and her team at Tel Aviv University’s Sackler Faculty of Medicine did their experiment using xenografts — transplantations of human pancreatic cancer into mice. The mice’s immune systems were compromised so that their bodies wouldn’t reject the transplanted cells. In collaboration with Dr. Talia Golan’s team at the Cancer Research Center at Sheba Medical Center, the scientists injected PJ34 into the mice for 14 days in a row. PJ34 originally was developed to treat stroke. But it has been found to have a powerful effect on human cancer cells. The molecule causes something to go wrong during cell duplication, leading to rapid cell death. “In research published in 2017, we discovered a mechanism that causes the self-destruction of human cancer cells during their duplication (mitosis) without affecting normal cells,” explained Cohen-Armon. “We have now harnessed this information to efficiently eradicate human pancreatic cancer cells in xenografts.” Tumors Practically Disappeared A month after the molecule was administered, the number of cancer cells in the mice’s tumors were found to be reduced by 80 to 90 percent. One mouse’s tumor completely disappeared. Cohen-Armon noted that the treated mice suffered no adverse effects from the PJ34 molecule regimen, nor did they experience changes in their weight or behavior. Also significant is that the PJ34 molecule exclusively interrupts the duplication of human cancer cells, leaving normal cells alone. Although PJ34 could work on other types of cancer cells, pancreatic cancer presents a pressing need. It’s the 12th most common cancer worldwide and the fourth leading cause of cancer death. This type of cancer is often resistant to existing treatments. Early diagnosis of pancreatic cancer is difficult, as often there are no symptoms. As a result, around 80 percent of patients are diagnosed at the metastatic stage and fewer than 3% of patients at the metastatic stage survive more than five years after diagnosis. Therefore, the Israeli research holds great potential for the development of a new effective therapy to treat this aggressive cancer in humans. It could also prove effective against aggressive forms of breast, lung, brain and ovarian cancer. The molecule PJ34 now is being tested in pre-clinical trials according to FDA regulations before larger animal trials and then human clinical trials can begin. Last June, ISRAEL21c reported on a multinational research study led by Golan demonstrating the effectiveness of new drug regimen for pancreatic cancer in people with BRCA mutations. To read the original article click here. For more articles from Israel21c click here.

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