When Kate Middleton, the princess of Wales, announced in March 2024 that she was receiving “preventive chemotherapy” following abdominal surgery, many wondered what that entails. Formally known as adjuvant therapy,…
Tag: Cancer
Treatment can do more harm than good for prostate cancer − why active surveillance may be a better option for some
Although about 1 in 8 men in the U.S. will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during their lifetime, only about 1 in 44 will die from it. Most men diagnosed…
Radiation therapy takes advantage of cancer’s poor DNA repair abilities – an oncologist and physicist explain how
Nearly half of all cancer patients undergo radiation therapy as part of their care. Ionizing radiation, or the emission of high-energy waves or particles, works as a therapy by damaging…
Could a single drug treat the two leading causes of death in the US: cancer and cardiovascular disease?
What would you guess are the two biggest killers in the world? Based on media coverage, maybe you guessed gun violence, accidents or COVID-19. But the top two killers are…
Many people think cannabis smoke is harmless − a physician explains how that belief can put people at risk
Though tobacco use is declining among adults in the U.S., cannabis use is increasing. Laws and policies regulating the use of tobacco and cannabis are also moving in different directions.…
Prostate cancer treatment is not always the best option – a cancer researcher walks her father through his diagnosis
“Me encontraron càncer en la pròstata,” my father told me. They found cancer in my prostate. As a cancer researcher who knows very well about the high incidence and decreased…
Depression and Anxiety Are Not Cancer Risk Factors
Summary: The association between depression, anxiety and cancer risk has been a point of contention in scientific circles. In an new study a multi-national team refutes the idea that these…
WHO expert cancer group states that the sweetener aspartame is a possible carcinogen, but evidence is limited – 6 questions answered
The World Health Organization declared on July 14, 2023, that the widely used synthetic sweetener aspartame could be a “possible” carcinogen, or cancer-causing agent, on the basis of “limited evidence…
Annual numbers of excess deaths in the US relative to other developed countries are growing at an alarming rate
The Research Brief is a short take about interesting academic work. The big idea People in the U.S. are dying at higher rates than in other similar high-income countries, and…
Psychedelics may better treat depression and anxiety symptoms than prescription antidepressants for patients with advanced cancer
In people with advanced cancer, psychedelic drugs like psilocybin, LSD and MDMA may significantly reduce the severity of depression and anxiety symptoms. Roughly 10% of patients with cancer experience anxiety,…
