Category Archives: In the News

Aspirin May Extend the Lives of Some Liver Cancer Patients

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Patients treated for the most common type of liver cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma, may benefit from post-procedural aspirin.

Dr. F. Edward Boas

Dr. F. Edward Boas. Photo by Ethan Kavet.

During transarterial embolization (TAE), physicians block blood flow to a tumor or other growth. It is often used in liver cancer patients who cannot have surgery. In a retrospective review published recently by the American Journal of Roentgenology, MSK’s Dr. F. Edward Boas and colleagues concluded that taking aspirin after TAE can lengthen life. The 42 patients included in the review who took the drug averaged 57 months of overall survival; the 262 who did not averaged 23 months.

In an article in Cure Today, Dr. Boas said he aims to follow the retrospective review with a clinical trial. He also noted that due to potential side effects of aspirin, patients need to consult with their doctors prior to taking the drug.

Metastatic Cancer Cell Migration and More

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  • Researchers from Vanderbilt University studied how cancer cells conserve energy during metastatic migration. The “first study to quantify the energetic costs of cancer cells during metastasis” was published in Nature Communications.
  • A team of engineers and cancer biologists from Ohio State University explored the effect of electromagnetic fields on breast cancer cell migration and created tools to hinder the spread of metastatic breast cancer cells  The new study which lays the foundation for further animal and human studies was published in Communications Biology.
  • Researchers from Michigan State University and Stanford University discovered that nano-sized extracellular vesicles produced by healthy cells in human body can transport therapeutic agents (gene-directed enzymes, drug therapies) to cancer cells. This new approach shows great potential for future treatment strategies according to the authors of the study published in Molecular Cancer Therapeutics.
  • New research from a team at Imperial College in London and their colleagues from Italy contributed to the debate on breast cancer recurrence after treatment with hormone therapies. Their findings suggest that adjuvant endocrine therapy, a type of hormone therapy, while killing some cancer cells, only puts others in a dormant state. This study was also published in Nature Communications.