People with intellectual disability at increased risk of cancer

 A research team from the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden recently unveiled a population-based cohort study correlating intellectual disability with a higher prevalence of specific cancer types.  According to Dr. Qianwei Liu, findings from the study conducted between 1974-2013 on over 3.5 million children, of whom 27,956 (0.8%) had a clinical case of intellectual disability, showed a statistically significant increased risk for the following cancers: oesophageal, stomach, small intestine, colon, pancreatic, uterus, kidney, central nervous system, as well as acute lymphoid and acute myeloid leukaemia.  

To read more about this study, click here. 

Source mentioned: 1488O – Liu Q, Adami H-O, Reichenberg A, et al. Cancer risk in individuals with intellectual disability. ESMO Congress 2021 (16-21 September).

New drug combination treatment for ovarian cancer patients

 Results of early trials presented at the European Society of Medical Oncology congress suggest a new highly effective drug combination treatment for women in ovarian cancer, "shown to shrink tumours in half of patients with an advanced form of the disease." The unique drug combination blocks cancer cell growth signals and is an alternative treatment for ovarian cancer that does not respond well to chemotherapy or hormone therapy. 

To learn more about this trial, click here. 

Origins of lung cancer in never smokers

 A new study lead by researchers at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) has conducted a genomic analysis of lung cancer in individuals who have never smoked, determining that "a majority of these tumors arise from the accumulation of mutations caused by natural processes in the body."  The epidemiologic study, conducted a genomic analysis on 232 non-smoker patients with a non-small call lung cancer diagnosis, revealing 3 cancer subtypes categorized by musical names according to number of genomic changes in the tumors.  The "piano" subtype had the least number of mutations, with "mezzo-forte" exhibiting chromosomal changes, and "forte" showcasing "whole-genome doubling, a genomic changes that is often seen in lung cancers in smokers." 

To read more about this study, click here. 

Source mentioned: 

Zhang T, Joubert P, Ansari-Pour N, et al. Genomic and evolutionary classification of lung cancer in never smokers. Nature Genetics. Sept 6, 2021. DOI: 10.1038/s41588-021-00920-0.