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Articles on Oncology

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Some cancer patients receive additional treatment after surgery with the goal of eliminating any remaining tumor cells. BSIP/Collection Mix: Subjects via Getty Images

Cancer often requires more than one treatment − an oncologist explains why some patients like Kate Middleton receive both chemotherapy and surgery

There are many approaches to treating cancer. Which ones work best is determined on an individual basis and informed by each tumor.
Nurturing hope among patients with cancer and their caregivers is possible and includes coping strategies and exploring realistic goals. (Shutterstock)

Incurable but not hopeless: How hope shapes patients’ awareness of their advanced cancer prognosis

Patients with incurable cancer want to be informed about their disease and its treatment, but must also maintain hope. This inner conflict can affect how they process information about their prognosis.
A proton therapy treatment room at a facility in Prague, Czech Republic. Canada lags behind other countries in providing this treatment. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

Proton beam therapy: A modern treatment for cancer, but not in Canada (yet)

Proton beam therapy is a precise form of radiation that can reduce the side-effects of cancer treatment. It is available around the world, but not in Canada.
Advances in radiotherapy involve combining new technologies with clinical expertise. Kateryna Kon/Science Photo Library via Getty Images

Radiation therapy takes advantage of cancer’s poor DNA repair abilities – an oncologist and physicist explain how

Radiotherapy takes many forms: from directing powerful high-energy beams toward specific areas of the body to placing radioactive seeds right next to tumors.
Many patients with less aggressive prostate cancer elect active surveillance instead of treatment. triloks/E+ via Getty Images

Prostate cancer treatment is not always the best option – a cancer researcher walks her father through his diagnosis

Prostate cancer is one of the most common cancers in men. Although watchful waiting is appropriate for low-risk cases, many are diagnosed at an advanced stage because of racial health disparities.
This microscopy image shows a cytotoxic T cell (blue) attacking a cancer cell (green) by releasing toxic chemicals (red). Alex Ritter and Jennifer Lippincott Schwartz and Gillian Griffiths/National Institutes of Health via Flickr

Immune cells that fight cancer become exhausted within hours of first encountering tumors – new research

T cells recognize and kill cancer cells but quickly lose their effectiveness. This fast dysfunction may help explain why immunotherapy doesn’t lead to long-term remission for many patients.
Most tumors are made up of many different kinds of cancer cells, as shown in this pancreatic cancer sample from a mouse. Ravikanth Maddipati/Abramson Cancer Center at the University of Pennsylvania via National Cancer Institute

Every cancer is unique – why different cancers require different treatments, and how evolution drives drug resistance

There is no one-size-fits-all approach to treating cancer. Understanding how cancer cells evolve could help researchers develop more effective drugs.
Psilocybin and other psychedelics could help patients process the challenges of a cancer diagnosis. Kateryna Kon/Science Photo Library via Getty Images

Psychedelics may better treat depression and anxiety symptoms than prescription antidepressants for patients with advanced cancer

Receiving a cancer diagnosis and undergoing cancer treatment can be a traumatizing experience. Psychedelics like LSD, psilocybin and MDMA could help alleviate symptoms from cancer-related PTSD.
Stochasticity is everywhere – and finding the order in disorder can unlock new ways to understand biology. Erlon Silva - TRI Digital/Moment via Getty Images

Cancer evolution is mathematical – how random processes and epigenetics can explain why tumor cells shape-shift, metastasize and resist treatments

An epigenetic model of cancer that incorporates the concept of stochasticity could also explain why cancer risk increases with age and how biological development can be reversible.
You can change your gut microbiome composition by eating different foods. wildpixel/iStock via Getty Images

Microbes in your food can help or hinder your body’s defenses against cancer – how diet influences the conflict between cell ‘cooperators’ and ‘cheaters’

Cancer cells are ‘cheaters’ that do not cooperate with the rest of the body. Certain microbes in your diet can either protect against or promote tumor formation by influencing cell cooperation.
Hypoxia, or a state of low oxygen, can encourage tumors to spread. This microscopy image visualizes the microenvironment of a breast tumor. Steve Seung-Young Lee, Univ. of Chicago Comprehensive Cancer Center, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health via Flickr

Stopping the cancer cells that thrive on chemotherapy – research into how pancreatic tumors adapt to stress could lead to a new treatment approach

Some cancers are notoriously resistant to chemotherapy and not curable with surgery. Stopping tumors from adapting to the harsh microenvironments of the body could be a potential treatment avenue.
This image shows pancreatic cancer cells (blue) growing, encased within membranes (red). Min Yu/Eli and Edythe Broad Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at USC via NIH/Flickr

Triggering cancer cells to become normal cells – how stem cell therapies can provide new ways to stop tumors from spreading or growing back

Many tumors have cancer stem cells that help them grow and evade treatments. Differentiation therapy forces these cells to mature, stopping growth with less toxicity than traditional treatments.
Tumor cells traverse many different types of fluids as they travel through the body. Christoph Burgstedt/Science Photo Library via Getty Images

How cancer cells move and metastasize is influenced by the fluids surrounding them – understanding how tumors migrate can help stop their spread

Counterintuitively, cells move faster in thicker fluids. New research on breast cancer cells explains why, and reveals the role that fluid viscosity plays in metastasis.

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