cancer

For women diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer, the long-term risk of developing a second primary cancer is low, around 2–3 per cent higher than that of women in the general population. This is one of the conclusions of a study published by The BMJ, which analysed data from nearly half a million women diagnosed in England between 1993 and 2016 with early-stage invasive breast cancer who underwent surgery. During a follow-up period of up to 20 years, around 65,000 women developed a second primary cancer, but the absolute excess risk compared to the risks in the general population was small.

Over the past 20 years, a class of cancer drugs known as CD40 agonist antibodies has shown great potential, but also limited impact in patients and adverse reactions. In 2018, it was demonstrated that they could be improved to boost their effectiveness and limit serious side effects. A study published in Cancer Cell reports the results of using one of these drugs in a small phase 1 clinical trial: out of 12 patients, all with different types of metastatic cancer, six saw their tumors shrink, including two in whom they disappeared completely.

The introduction of artificial intelligence (AI) to assist in performing colonoscopies is associated with a reduction in the ability of healthcare professionals to detect precancerous growths (adenomas) in the colon without the aid of AI, according to an article published in The Lancet Gastroenterology & Hepatology.

In the US, the incidence of colorectal cancer increased in people aged 45-49 years in the period 2019-2022, after advancing the screening age from 50 to 45 years, according to a study published in JAMA. The use of mailed faecal tests made it possible to reach people in this age group, without affecting screening rates in people over 50, says another paper published in the same journal.

Respiratory viruses trigger metastatic breast cancer cells to proliferate in lungs in mouse models of breast cancer, a study in Nature indicates. These findings are supported by human observational data. 

Certain immunotherapy treatments for cancer work by releasing the brakes on our defences. However, their response varies and is not uniform in all patients. A team in the United States has now published a study in Nature according to which certain autoantibodies present in patients could improve the efficacy of the therapy, which would explain some of this variability and could be used to design future complementary treatments.

Research estimates that 15.6 million people born between 2008 and 2017 worldwide will develop gastric cancer at some point in their lives if current trends continue. In Spain, there would be 58,641 cases, or 1.24% of people in this age group. The team used data on gastric cancer from 185 countries in 2022 combined with mortality projections based on United Nations demographic data. The estimates, published in the journal Nature Medicine, show that 76% of cases could be attributed to Helicobacter pylori, a common bacterium found in the stomach.

Although tobacco consumption is declining in many parts of the world, there appears to be an increase in the number of lung cancer cases among non-smokers. One of the possible causes of this increase is air pollution. Now, researchers in the US, with Spanish participation, have analysed the genomes of 871 lung tumours in people from various locations who had never smoked. The results, published in the journal Nature, indicate that greater exposure to pollution is linked to an increase in the number of mutations, including those commonly associated with tobacco.

So-called precision oncology involves the use of drugs that target specific molecular alterations in the tumour. These therapies are usually tested in clinical trials in adults and most have not been approved for use in children. An opinion article calls for these trials to be extended to children as well, given the difficulty of conducting such trials in children due to the small number of cases. According to the authors, who publish the text in the journal Trends in Cancer, given that children and adolescents tend to tolerate therapy better than older adults, ‘the time has come to consider age-agnostic approvals, i.e. approvals that include children and adults of any age’.

Research analyzing data from more than 200 countries concludes that people over the age of 65 will face an increase in skin cancer cases over the next two decades. The study, published in JAMA Dermatology, used data from 1990 to 2021 and made estimates through 2050. Men and people living in countries with higher sociodemographic indices showed a higher incidence.