Neoplasms

The only top 10 cancer where survival rates are falling
Of the top 10 cancers in the UK, bladder cancer is only one where survival rates have been shown to be getting worse. New figures published this month in the Journal of Clinical Urology confirm in a study of cases of bladder cancer in England over a 19 year period (from 1990 until 2009) that survival rates here in the UK are falling and are worse than in than in other European countries with similar incidence rates. Eurekalert!

Cancer vaccine could use immune system to fight tumors
Researchers used IL-15 to develop a whole tumor cell vaccine to target breast (TS/A) and prostate (TRAMP-C2) cancer cells in animal models; results showed that tumor cells stopped growing after the vaccine was introduced and that beneficial effects were enhanced further when IL-15Rα was co-produced by the vaccine cells. MedicalXpress

Surgery better for most men with localised prostate cancer
Surgery offers better survival rates for most men with localised prostate cancer than radiotherapy, according to one of the largest studies of its type. The study, led by an Oxford University researcher, found that surgery as the first-line treatment offered greatest benefits for younger men in good general health.

The international research team from the UK, Sweden and the Netherlands compared data on what happened to more than 34,000 Swedish men over a 15-year period after they had been treated for prostate cancer. It is hoped the findings, published online today in the British Medical Journal, could help inform treatment choice. MedicalXpress