PICOS score can help in identifying patients with brain metastases at high risk for VTEs

A recent study conducted within the Department of Neurology at University Hospital in Zurich, Switzerland, determined that applying the PICOS (primary, immobilization, chemotherapy, obesity, steroid) score is more effective than current venous thromboembolism (VTE) risk estimation models for cancer patients.  Of the 811 patients with brain metastases analyzed in this study, 97 (12%) experienced VTE.  As a result of these findings, the authors concluded that PICOS "may be useful for stratification in controlled studies...to identify patients with brain metastasis at high risk for VTEs."

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Study mentioned:

Wolpert F, Berghoff AS, Grossenbacher B, et al. Venous thromboembolic events in patients with brain metastases: the PICOS score. European Journal of Cancer2020; 134:P75-85. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejca.2020.04.018. 

Olanzapine reduces nausea caused by advanced cancer

Recent findings published in JAMA Oncology indicate that olanzapine, normally used to treat psychiatric disorders, is effective in reducing nausea and vomiting in advanced cancer patients.  According to Dr. Charles Loprinzi, study investigator at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, "there was a dramatic reduction in nausea and vomiting within 24 hours in the people who received olanzapine and it lasted for the entire week that patients were formally studied."  In addition, olanpazine, available as a generic drug is relatively inexpensive, with few side effects.

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Study examines whether blood test can identify early cancers

Researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine have discovered that a blood test, combined with imaging, is able to detect breast, lung, and colorectal cancers, at an early stage.  Known as cancerSEEK, the blood test correctly identified 26 of the 10,006 women tested with an eventual cancer diagnosis.  While the test is not meant to replace current cancer screening and detection methods, it is seen as a complement to minimize overdiagnosis.

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Cancer cells cause inflammation to protect themselves from viruses

Research conducted at the Francis Crick Institute has identified the means by which cancer cells are protected from oncolytic viruses, which trigger an immune response and thus have been used as a treatment mechanism to destroy cancer cells.  Findings from the Crick Institute study determined that cancels cells exposed to cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) "leads to inflammation that can alert the surrounding tissue, making it harder for viruses to invade and replicate within in the cancer cell."

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Researchers identify key immune checkpoint protein operating within T cells

Research undertaken at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center has discovered a protein presented in specific immune cells required for "optimal immune responses to cancer."  According to Dr. Zihai Li, professor of medical oncology at Ohio State and principle investigator in the study, the poly(c)-binding protein 1 (PCBP1) aids in the June response that "adequate numbers of activated immune T cells differentiate into cytotoxic T cells, which kill cancer cells."

To read more about this study, click here