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Sapient Health Network Articles
(Sapient has become part of WebMD.)
These articles on the Sapient website are
aimed at
an audience of patients, as well as their friends and family. These are
people who have an intense personal interest in the topics presented.
They
can use this information to become more sophisticated and active
participants
in their treatment.
Researchers
Press for Inclusion of Elderly in Cancer Trials June 1998
Cancer researchers say it is time to correct a significant imbalance
between the worlds of cancer treatment and cancer research. While
more than half of all cancers occur in people older than 65, one major
cancer research group says only a quarter of participants in its
studies
are elderly. The lack of study may affect the quality of treatment for
elderly patients, if doctors lack clear resaerch guidance.
"Suicide Gene
Therapy" Shows Promise for Prostate Cancer June 1998
Researchers are trying to trick prostate cancer cells into committing
suicide. The key is a type of gene therapy that can make tumors
sensitive
to a drug, ganciclovir, that normally attack herpes viruses. The
researchers
point out that this "suicide gene therapy" can be used only against
localized
tumors. Similar approaches are already being used against other types
of
cancer.
Herceptin:
An Entirely New Weapon Against Cancer June 1998
A new drug to fight breast cancer is pointing the way toward the
development
of an entirely new type of weapon against cancers of all types. Some
experts
say Herceptin heralds a new, and more effective method, for finding new
treatments to slow, stop, or prevent cancers of all types by
understanding
what makes tumor cells appear and then grow.
Testing
Anti-Angiogenesis
Agents in People (not just mice) June 1998
While a flurry of media attention recently focused on a pair of new
drugs, angiostatin and endostatin, that eliminated tumors in laboratory
mice, other researchers have been quietly moving forward with trials of
similar agents in people with cancer. early results for two such drugs
were presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual
meeting.
Prostate
Cancer
Vaccine Tests Move Forward May 1998
Beginning this summer, patients with advanced prostate cancer may be
able to try treatment with a cancer "vaccine" at several leading cancer
centers. The announcement of plans to expand trials of immunotherapy
for
prostate cancer was made at the 1998 American Cancer Society Science
Writers
Seminar.
Cancer
Treatments
on the Cutting Edge March 1998
A wrap-up of experimental strategies presented at the American Cancer
Society Science Writers Seminar, including:
- a gel that holds toxic chemotherapy drugs inside tumors,
- an enzyme-based drug that singles out cancer cells, (this drug became
Gleevec,
a revolutionary leukemia drug)
- a DNA vaccine against a cancer gene.
The
Role of Genetic Mutations in Breast and Ovarian Cancer February
1998
The discovery of genetic mutations that can cause breast and ovarian
cancers can today change the lives of some women; and someday it may
bring
revelations of vital importance to all women.
Impotence
Treatment Options for Prostate Cancer Patients January 1998
Prostate cancer treatment often damages a man's sex life. This is an
unpleasant reality. But experts stress men do not need to accept
impotence.
Exciting new options on the horizon and a solid lineup of available
treatments
give hope for combatting one of treatment's most unwelcome side
effects.
(Note: This article forecast the excitement over Viagra while the drug
was awaiting FDA approval.)
Tumor
Marker CA 125 December 1997
Ovarian cancer is deadly in large part because it grows silently.
Patient
usually do not know they have ovarian cancer until it is advanced. The
desire for an effective screening test is intense. Is CA 125 that test?
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