Lung adenocarcinoma with mucinous histology

 A recently completed study conducted amongst four academic institutions/cancer centres across the United States (Dana Farber/Brigham and Women's Cancer Center, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and Massachusetts General Hospital), along with the University of Bologna in Italy have uncovered that "mucinous histology is seen in 10% of patients with lung carcinoma."  Further, the researchers determined that patients diagnosed with lung adenocarcinoma with mucinous histology, have never smoked.  These findings indicate the need to strongly consider mucinous histology in future lung cancer prognostications. 

To learn more about this study, click here. 

Source mentioned: 

Di Federico A, Hong L, Elkrief A, et al. Lung adenocarcinomas with mucinous histology: clinical, genomic, and immune microenvironment characterization and outcomes to immunotherapy-based treatments and KRASG12C inhibitors. Annals Of Oncology; Published online 2 December 2024. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annonc.2024.11.014

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.

New manuscript published for young adult colorectal cancer partients

Fight Colorectal Cancer (Fight CRC) has published a new manuscript following a working meeting of experts specializing in the study of colon and rectal/colorectal cancers in young adults.  Entitled A summary of the Fight Colorectal Cancer working meeting: exploring risk factors and etiology of sporadic early-age onset colorectal cancer, the manuscript functions as a roadmap aimed at better understanding "the causes of early-age onset colorectal cancer, as well as the best way to approach screening and prevention."


A summary of the working meeting is available here

New study reveals a link between circadian clock disruption and tumor growth

A handful of large studies of cancer risk factors have found that working the night shift, as nearly 15 percent of Americans do, boosts the chances of developing cancer. MIT biologists have now found a link that may explain this heightened risk.

In a study of mice, the MIT team found that two of the genes that control cells' circadian rhythms also function as tumor suppressors. Loss of these tumor suppressors, either through gene deletion or disruption of the normal light/dark cycle, allows tumors to become more aggressive.

Read more here.

Risks for breast, ovarian cancers could be found with multigene panel testing

In nearly 100,000 patients who were clinically tested for hereditary cancer risk, utilization of multigene panel sequencing was found to detect ovarian cancer-associated mutations in 11 genes, according to results of a study presented at the 2016 ASCO Annual Meeting.

A second study, also presented at the meeting2, examined the potential harms of multiplex testing for cancer risk, such as unwarranted surgery or adverse psychological effects. However, results showed that, at a 3-month follow-up after genetic testing, the rates of patient distress, intrusive thoughts, or regret of testing were found to be low.


Studies mentioned:
Kurian AW, Hughes E, Handorf E, et al. Association of ovarian cancer (OC) risk with mutations detected by multiple-gene germline sequencing in 95,561 women. J Clin Oncol. 2016;34 (suppl; abstr 5510).
Kurian AW, Idos G, Culver J, et al. Safety of multiplex gene testing for inherited cancer risk: Interim analysis of a clinical trial. J Clin Oncol. 2016;34 (suppl; abstr 1503).

Statin treatment linked to fewer cancer deaths

Being treated for high cholesterol with statins is being linked with a reduced risk of death and better survival from four common cancers. The results come from a study of 14 years of UK data that included nearly a million people.

Data on deaths from cancers came from the Office for National Statistics. When researchers from several UK centres analysed the data, they found that people diagnosed with high cholesterol and one of the four cancers were less likely to die from cancer.
However, being diagnosed with high cholesterol usually lead to treatment, often with statins.

The study could only find a link between high cholesterol and a lower death risk, rather than establishing any cause-and-effect.

Read more here.

Study mentioned:
European Society of Cardiology Frontiers in CardioVascular Biology (FCVB) 2016, Florence, Italy. Abstract: Hyperlipidaemia reduces mortality in breast, prostate, lung and bowel cancer.