cancer

The breast needle localization helps to identify the exact location of a breast mass that is otherwise missed by touch The breast needle localization helps to identify the exact location of a breast mass that is otherwise missed by touch (impalpable) for biopsy. Usually, a dye or small wire is placed at the point of …

What is targeted cancer therapy? Targeted cancer therapy is a specific method of treatment for cancers, by identifying and targeting the cancer-causing factors (hallmarks) in the particular cancer. Targeted therapy medications do not directly kill the cancer cells, but work on the cellular level to stop their growth and prevent cancer from spreading to other parts of the body. Cancer …

What does replicative immortality mean? Normal human cells can grow and divide only a limited number of times, and undergo planned death (apoptosis) when they become old, damaged, or no longer needed. Cancer cells, due to genetic mutations which enable them to progress through the cell cycle despite DNA damage, replicate infinitely and evade apoptosis; and in effect, achieve replicative …

What are human monoclonal antibodies? An antibody is a protein produced by the body's immune system in response to antigens, which are harmful substances. Antigens include bacteria, fungi, parasites, viruses, chemicals, and other substances the immune system identifies as foreign. Sometimes the body mistakenly identifies normal tissues as foreign and produces antibodies against the tissue. This is the underlying cause …

Breast cancer can spread to other parts of the body. Breast cancer can spread to other parts of the body. It first spreads to the lymph nodes in the armpit (axilla) close to the breast. Lymph nodes are lumps of special tissue that drain the fluid from the breast and arm. The first nodes in the axilla affected by breast …

Grading describes how the cancer cells look compared to normal, healthy cells. In grade 4 cancer, tumor cells look very different from the normal cells, and most likely, they have spread to distant organs. Such tumors have a poorer outlook and may need more aggressive management. Usually, tumors in grade 4 are undifferentiated and very aggressive. However, the grading criteria …

What is Unituxin (dinutuximab), and how does it work? Unituxin (dinutuximab) is indicated, in combination with granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), interleukin-2 (IL-2) and 13-cis-retinoic acid (RA), for the treatment of pediatric patients with high-risk neuroblastoma who achieve at least a partial response to prior firstline multiagent, multimodality therapy. What are the side effects of Unituxin? The most common adverse drug …

What is Onureg, and how does it work? Onureg is a prescription medicine used for continued treatment of adults with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) who: had a first complete remission (CR) following intensive induction chemotherapy with or without recovery of your blood cell counts, and who are not able to complete intensive curative therapy. It is not known if Onureg …

Symptoms are hardly seen in the initial stages. Symptoms are hardly seen in the initial stages. As the tumor size increases, it may cause pain in the right side of the abdomen. Some patients may have worsening symptoms of chronic liver disease or cirrhosis, which often precedes the development of cancer of the liver.  Some of the early warning signs …

What is Kadcyla (ado-trastuzumab emtansine), and how does it work? Metastatic Breast Cancer (MBC) Kadcyla (ado-trastuzumab emtansine), as a single agent, is indicated for the treatment of patients with HER2-positive, metastatic breast cancer who previously received trastuzumab and a taxane, separately or in combination. Patients should have either: Received prior therapy for metastatic disease, or Developed disease recurrence during or …