Tag: Chemotherapy

Plain English Medical Letters to Patients

Writing letters to patients in plain English without medical jargon is a gift that only a few doctors possess.

Personalising complex medical terminology in a letter dictated over a few minutes is NOT an inherent skill possessed by many doctors including those who are native English speakers.

Dictating Plain English medical letters would take considerable time and effort – particularly if letters are going to succinctly summarise everything from a medical consultation.

In UK, with regards to Cancer, we are lucky to have cancer charities who do a good job of providing information in plain English ( E.g Cancer Research UK, Macmillan Cancer Support, Prostate Cancer UK).

Cancer Patients in UK also have the support of Cancer Nurse Specialists ( CNS ) who do a fantastic job of guiding patients through their cancer journey and clarify all medical jargon to patients.

Other specialities might not have the resources that are available to cancer patients. But, on the whole, Clinic Time slots are precious. Many UK specialists have long waiting lists.

So if further time and effort is to be expended in busy clinics for dictating plain English Letters – in addition to the usual Medical letters to GP – good clinical evidence is needed to demonstrate that separate plain English letters do benefit patients in a meaningful way.

Please do read the BMJ article and put forward your views in the rapid response section.

Access the article at: http://bmj.com/cgi/content/full/bmj.m949

Toll-free link:
http://bmj.com/cgi/content/full/bmj.m949?ijkey=nxJ9CdIVHKZW1Jd&keytype=ref

Disclaimer:

The views expressed here are my personal views and do not represent the views of any other professional organisation I am associated with…

Exciting new immunotherapy treatment !

Test tube lab

The holy grail of cancer treatment is design a drug that is highly lethal to cancerous tissue but completely spares the normal tissues.

Scientists at Cardiff University have discovered immune cells which could provide such a clever treatment.

It is still early days. The principle has been proven in lab. But to be a useful treatment that can be used in cancer patients, it is still far off.

This particular novel form of immunotherapy using T cells is still in early stages and so many hurdles have to be overcome before this discovery could be employed in cancer treatment.

Nevertheless, it has certainly excited many researchers in the field of cancer and the paper has been published by a premier scientific journal.

 

References:

Original scientific paper. Genome-wide CRISPR–Cas9 screening reveals ubiquitous T cell cancer targeting via the monomorphic MHC class I-related protein MR1

BBC news. Immune discovery ‘may treat all cancer’. By James Gallagher. Health and science correspondent

Disclaimer: Please note- This blog is NOT medical advice. This blog is purely for information only. See your own doctor to discuss concerns and options relevant for you.

Veliparib : Another new drug for treatment of Ovarian Cancer

Veliparib trial data has certainly brought more options to the table in treatment of advanced Ovarian cancer.

Trial data presented at ESMO congress at Barcelona shows that first line therapy with Veliparib is beneficial.

Acknowledgement: Copyright of Slides: Authors and ESMO

References

Disclaimer: Please note- This blog is NOT medical advice. This blog is purely for information only. See your own doctor to discuss concerns and options relevant for you.

New drug combination for Ovarian Cancer (Olaparib and Bevacizumab)

New trial data presented at the ESMO cancer Congress 2019 in Barcelona, Spain, show excellent results for the combination of Olaparib and Bevacizumab. The combination looks likely to become standard of care in at-least a subgroup of patients.

The expert discussing the trial data did raise the possibility that most benefit seems to come from Olaparib in patients with BRCA mutations and whether Olaparib alone instead combination is enough for this group. More data is awaited.

References

1. ESMO 2019 congress press release. Ovarian Cancer: More Women Benefit from Maintenance Combined Targeted Therapy [ESMO 2019 Press Release]

Acknowledgement: Copyright of Slides: Authors and ESMO

Disclaimer: Please note- This blog is NOT medical advice. This blog is purely for information only. See your own doctor to discuss concerns and options relevant for you.

Niraparib : New treatment for new diagnosed Ovarian Cancer

A landmark study presented at ESMO congress at Barcelona shows significant benefits for maintenance treatment with the drug Niraparib.

Niraparib is likely to become a standard treatment in a much more widely group of advanced ovarian cancer patients.

Many clinicians will be weighing up Niraparib Vs Olaparib in Some patients and Niraparib vs Bevacizumab in other groups of patients.

Reference

1. Niraparib Prolongs PFS in Patients with Newly Diagnosed Advanced Ovarian Cancer. ESMO press release.

Acknowledgement: Copyright of Slides: Authors and ESMO

Melanoma Skin cancers: significant improvement in life expectancy with immunotherapy

Advanced melanoma skin cancers used to carry a dismal prognosis.

Data presented at Barcelona European Cancer Congress ( ESMO) shows the prognosis has improved remarkably in the recent years.

Fifty percent of patients are now alive for at-least five years. It is quite a remarkable achievement for immunotherapy.

References

1. ESMO press release. One in Two Patients with Metastatic Melanoma Alive after Five Years with Combination Immunotherapy [ESMO 2019 Press Release].

2.BBC News. Skin cancer: Half of people surviving advanced melanoma. By James Gallagher. Health and science correspondent, BBC News

Disclaimer: Please note- This blog is NOT medical advice. This blog is purely for information only. See your own doctor to discuss concerns and options relevant for you.