2024-03-05 20:32:02
((Automated translation by Reuters, please see disclaimer https://bit.ly/rtrsauto))
(Let us know what you think of the Health Rounds newsletters and if you have any ideas for improving them. We’re offering a brief survey, here. Thank you) by Nancy Lapid
Hello Health Rounds readers! Today we have some potentially promising news for cancer patients. Researchers have reported that for some women with cervical cancer, less extensive surgery may be as effective as a standard radical hysterectomy. Furthermore, Roche’s drug Perjeta could be effective against other HER-2 positive cancers, in addition to breast cancer. We also present a Canadian study that links lifestyle factors to common headaches in children.
Less extensive surgery may be safe for early-stage cervical cancer
Low-risk cervical cancer can be safely treated with less radical surgery than patients typically undergo, according to the results of a study of 700 patients.
All participants had early-stage tumors no larger than 2 centimeters, with minimal invasion into surrounding tissue.
Half of them underwent a so-called simple hysterectomy, during which the uterus and cervix were removed. The others underwent a standard radical hysterectomy, in which surgeons removed the uterus and cervix, some surrounding tissue and ligaments, and 1 to 2 cm of the upper part of the vagina.
With a median follow-up of 4.5 years, the incidence of pelvic cancer recurrence at 3 years was 2.17% in the radical hysterectomy group and 2.52% in the simple hysterectomy group, a difference that does not was not statistically significant, according to a report published in The New England Journal of Medicine.
Urinary incontinence rates were lower in the simple hysterectomy group than in the radical group within four weeks of the procedure (2.4% versus 5.5%) and beyond four weeks (4.7% compared to 11.0%).
Urinary retention was also less common after simple hysterectomy within four weeks and beyond, with a rate of 0.6%. For radical hysterectomy, it was 9.9% and 11%, respectively.
The researchers note that among the limitations of the study, minority women were underrepresented and therefore the results cannot be generalized to all populations.
Although half of the patients were followed for more than 4.5 years, recurrence of the disease beyond this period is still possible, they note.
Roche’s breast cancer drug may have other uses
Roche ROG.S’s breast cancer treatment Perjeta could play a role in fighting other types of cancer, preliminary data shows.
Perjeta, a monoclonal antibody known as pertuzumab, is used in combination with Herceptin (trastuzumab) and chemotherapy to treat breast cancer patients whose tumor cells carry the factor receptor (HER2) proteins human epidermal growth factor (HER-2), known as HER-2 positive breast cancer.
As part of a larger trial to identify “personalized” cancer treatments, researchers gave Perjeta to 25 middle-aged and older adults with gynecologic, gastrointestinal, bladder, or breast cancer. HER-2 positive head and neck.
None of the tumors disappeared, but three patients (12%) – rectal, liver, bile duct or bladder cancer – saw their tumors shrink in response to treatment, researchers reported Monday in Clinical Cancer Research.
In nine other patients with cancers in these locations, the disease remained stable and did not progress.
Most patients whose tumors shrank or remained stable had rare cancer subtypes that constitute “an area of unmet medical need,” the researchers note.
Further testing of Perjeta in patients with these particular cancers could identify a larger proportion of individuals who may benefit from the treatment, Dr. Roisin Connolly of University College Cork in Ireland said in a statement. responsible for the study.
Common headaches in children linked to lifestyle factors
Lifestyle factors, such as alcohol and tobacco consumption and heavy screen exposure, are associated with the risk of frequent headaches in children, according to a large Canadian survey.
For this study, published Thursday in Neurology, nearly 5 million children and adolescents, aged 5 to 17, were asked if they had suffered from headaches in the last six months and to what extent. frequency, and what were the lifestyle factors.
After adjusting for other potential risk factors, participants who regularly ate breakfast and dinner with their family were 10 percent less likely to report at least two headaches per week than those who did not eat meals regularly.
Among participants aged 12 to 17, regular use of alcohol, cigarettes, e-cigarettes or cannabis was associated with a more than threefold risk of frequent headaches, as was daily exposure to smoking inside the house.
Across all ages, high exposure to screens was also linked to a higher risk of frequent headaches, the researchers found.
“It is not uncommon for children and adolescents to suffer from headaches, and although medications are used to stop and sometimes prevent headaches, lifestyle changes can also offer an effective means of relief preventing headaches from occurring and improving quality of life,” study leader Dr. Serena Orr of the University of Calgary said in a statement
The study cannot prove that any of these factors cause the frequent headaches or that refraining from these exposures would prevent such headaches.
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