Latest on E-Cigarettes, Chemo Brain, and a Flu Vaccine…

Here are a few worthy news items in the world of cancer research:

  • Researchers at Penn State College of Medicine found that e-cigarettes – marketed as a healthier alternative to traditional smoking as well as a way for smokers to gradually kick their habit – actually pose a potentially significant threat to human health. Read more on their findings in Chemical Research in Toxicology.
  • A study of two leading breast cancer drugs has determined that the breast cancer symptoms women experience while taking those drugs — and the severity of those symptoms — tend to vary based on the patients’ ages. The new study from UCLA analyzed data from 1193 patients enrolled in a phase 3 clinical trial. The results have been published in The Lancet.
  • Researchers at the Indiana University of School of Medicine found that participation in a mindfulness-based stress reduction program diminished cancer related cognitive impairment, otherwise known as chemo brain. Their findings were published in the Journal of Cancer Survivorship.
  • Yale Cancer Center researchers have developed a vaccine strategy that reduces the risk of flu infections in cancer patients. Their findings were presented at the 57th Annual Meeting of American Society of Hematology in Orlando, Florida.