Here are a few newsworthy items in the world of cancer research

• Research led by scientists at the University of New Mexico Comprehensive Cancer Center have identified a new drug that may significantly prolong life and provide improved quality for patients with mastocytosis, a rare disease of the immune system. The drug is called Midostaurin. Read more about this research in the New England Journal of Medicine.
• New research from Thomas Jefferson University may help identify the challenges that are important to African American women breast cancer survivors. The study should help in devising programs that will address cancer disparities and improve health outcomes. The findings were reported in Supportive Care in Cancer.
• Scientists in the UK have discovered that esophageal cancer can be classified into three different subtypes, making it possible for testing targeted treatments tailored to patients’ disease for the first time. Their discovery is furthered discussed in Nature Genetics.
• According to the European Society for Medical Oncology, deaths from ovarian cancer fell worldwide between 2002-2012 and are predicted to continue to decline in the USA, European Union (EU), and Japan. Read more on this global trend in the Annals of Oncology.