Blog postings will resume week of September 13th

  Dear Grey Horizon readers, 

Blog postings will resume the week of September 13, 2021. 

Thank you for reading - stay safe and well. 

New trial alert: postoperative identification of tumor cells at the lumpectomy site of patients with early breast cancer

 A new clinical trial sponsored by the Lawson Health Research Institute in London, Ontario, is presently recruiting patients to "analyze the lumpectomy fluid (seroma)...post-surgery for the presence or absence of tumor cells..."  Study eligibility criteria includes women 50 years of age or younger diagnosed with stage 1 to stage 2B invasive breast cancer, at 6 weeks or earlier post-lumpectomy. 

To read more about this trial, click here. 

Opioid use drops among cancer patients at end of life

 A new study recently published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology indicates that palliative care cancer patients are not receiving adequate opioid medication to control pain.  Conducted over a period of 10 years from 2007-2017 on 270,000 cancer patients, findings determined that the filling of opioid prescriptions during the last month of life dropped from 42% to 35%, correlated with a significant number of emergency departments visits due to pain increasing during this time period.  This translated into an overall 25% drop of daily medication dosage.  

To read more about this study, click here. 

Alcohol attributed to 750,000 cancer cases worldwide in 2020

 A new report released by the World Health Organization (2020) indicates that 4% (750,000) of total global cancer diagnoses in 2020 were attributed to alcohol consumption.  While most of the cases were due to excessive drinking, the WHO study did show a correlation between light and moderate drinking, believed to be present in 100,000 of the 750,000 cases reported. Alcohol consumption is strongly correlated with an increased risk of head and neck, esophageal, liver, colon, rectal, and breast cancers. 

To read more about this study, click here. 

COVID-19 vaccination efficient in cancer patients receiving active treatment

A recent analysis conducted on 1503 cancer patients undergoing treatment at Centre Leon Berard in Lyon, France concluded that "COVID-19 vaccination is efficient in patients with cancer."   Further, the study authors, lead by professor Jean-Yves Blay of the Department of Medical Oncology at Centre Leon Berard emphasized the importance of cancer patients receiving 2 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine: "overall death rate in a period of 2 months following the first vaccine dose was significantly higher in patients who received only one dose of COVID-19 vaccine."  

Source mentioned:  Heudel P, Favier B, Assaad S, et al. Reduced SARS-CoV-2 infection and death after two doses of COVID-19 vaccines in a series of 1503 patients. Annals of Oncology; Published online 2 August 2021. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annonc.2021.07.012