Immunotherapy in clinical trial takes one-third of patients from hopelessness to a potential cure

Despite multiple myeloma having been considered incurable, a third of patients in a clinical trial have lived without detectable cancer for five years.

Patients in the trial conducted by Johnson & Johnson researchers had been facing "certain, and extremely painful, death within a year," according to a story by Gina Kolata in yesterday's editions of The New York Times.

But after five years, the immunotherapy developed by Legend Biotech, a company founded in China, seems to have made the cancer disappear in a third of the patients — "a result never before seen in this disease."

Dr. Norman Sharpless

"In my 30 years in oncology, we haven't talked about curing myeloma," the Times quoted Dr. Norman Sharpless," professor of cancer policy and innovation at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine and a former director of the National Cancer Institute. "This is the first time we are really talking seriously about cure in one of the worst malignancies imaginable."

The study by Johnson & Johnson, which has an exclusive licensing agreement with Legend Biotech, was published in The Journal of Clinical Oncology and reported yesterday at the annual conference of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

"The Legend immunotherapy is a type known as CAR-T," Kolata's article explains. "It is delivered as an infusion of the patient’s own white blood cells that have been removed and engineered to attack the cancer. The treatment has revolutionized prospects for patients with other types of blood cancer, like leukemia."

Treatments for multiple myeloma are extremely costly. They can run more than $100,000 —  "hideously expensive," according to Dr. Carl June of the University of Pennsylvania. Total cost over the years can be millions of dollars, usually paid by insurers, "and it doesn't even cure you," he told the Times.

Thirty-six thousand Americans each year develop the deadly blood disease, which eats away at bones so it looks as though holes have been punched out in them, elaborates June. Bones can collapse. 

"It's a horrible, horrible death," says June.

More information on clinical trials can be found in Rollercoaster: How a man can survive his partner's breast cancer, a VitalityPress book that I, Woody Weingarten aimed at male caregivers. My other books are MysteryDates — How to keep the sizzle in your relationship; The Roving I, a compilation of 70 of my newspaper columns; and Grampy and His Fairyzona Playmates, a whimsical fantasy intended for 6- to 10-year-olds that I co-authored with my then 8-year-old granddaughter. Find out more on my blog, https://woodyweingarten.com.

Biden and his allies are 'very optimistic' about his ability to beat metastasized prostate cancer

Former President Joe Biden

Former President Joe Biden and those around him appear to be sanguine about his being able to whip his metastasized prostate cancer — even though there is no cure.

Looking forward to his recovery, he specifically told reporters last week that "we're going to be able to beat this."

According to an online story by Sebastian Murdock in the HuffPost, he also said, "The prognosis is good. We're working on everything. It's moving along, and I feel good. All the folks are very optimistic."

Earlier last month the 82-year-old was diagnosed with the Stage 4 cancer that had metastasized to the bone. Biden's office admitted it was "a more aggressive form of the disease."

In a chat with reporters at his home, Biden said, "The expectation is we're going to be able to beat this...It's not in any organ, my bones are strong."

The New York Times earlier had quoted Dr. Judd Moul, a prostate cancer expect at Duke University, as saying that men whose prostate cancer had metastasized "can live five, seven, 10 more years." 

He noted that "survival rates have almost tripled in the last decade."

More information on metastasis can be found in Rollercoaster: How a man can survive his partner's breast cancer, a VitalityPress book that I, Woody Weingarten aimed at male caregivers. My other books are MysteryDates — How to keep the sizzle in your relationship; The Roving I, a compilation of 70 of my newspaper columns; and Grampy and His Fairyzona Playmates, a whimsical fantasy intended for 6- to 10-year-olds that I co-authored with my then 8-year-old granddaughter. Check out my website, https://woodyweingarten.com/.

Mammogram that proves better for women with dense breasts barely used in the United States

A large study shows that one particular mammogram can find more cancers for women with dense breast tissue.

According to a recent story by Roni Caryn Rabin in The New York Times, the study, which compared various types of scans, "has found that mammography enhanced with iodine-based dye can detect three times as many invasive cancers in dense breast tissue as ultrasound."

Women with dense breast tissue are at an elevated risk for breast cancer. Because insurers often decline to pay for scans such as the contrast-enhanced mammograms, many women stick with basic mammograms that often miss tumors buried in dense breasts.

Dr. Fiona J. Gilbert

Rabin quotes Dr. Fiona J. Gilbert, lead author of the study that was published in The Lancet and a professor of radiology at the University of Cambridge's  School of Clinical Medicine, as saying that "contrast-enhanced mammography needs to become standard of care for women with dense breasts" — if they're at high risk of developing breast cancer.

She explained that "when you have lots of white normal breast tissue, it's hard to see the white cancers, but when you do the contrast, the cancers take up the iodine, and all you're seeing is this cancer lighting up."

The Times piece also quotes JoAnn Pushkin, executive director of the educational group DenseBreast-info, to the effect that the study showed contrast-enhanced mammograms could save lives. She said that researchers not only found more tumors but detected them when they were small and had not yet spread to the lymph nodes.

"These," she said, "were tragedies averted. If they had not been found, they would have grown undetected until they were horror stories."

Contrast-enhanced mammography has yet to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration for breast cancer screening, so it is barely used in the United States. It is, however, utilized in limited cases as a diagnostic tool after suspicious findings appear on a regular mammogram.

More information about screenings can be found in Rollercoaster: How a man can survive his partner's breast cancer, a VitalityPress book that I, Woody Weingarten, aimed at male caregivers. My other books are MysteryDates — How to keep the sizzle in your relationship; The Roving I, a compilation of 70 of my newspaper columns; and Grampy and His Fairyzona Playmates, a whimsical fantasy intended for 6- to 10-year-olds that I co-authored with my then 8-year-old granddaughter.

Younger adults are missing early warning signs of colon cancer, writer reports in The N.Y. Times

Many adults in their 20s, 30s, and 40s are missing the red flags for colon cancer, a problem that's partially responsible for colorectal cancer rates rapidly rising in that age bracket.

A story by Roni Caryn Rabin in editions of The New York Times a while ago notes that the most common warning sign for the disease is passing blood in the stool.

Rabin's article explains, too, that "rectal bleeding is associated with a fivefold increased risk of colorectal cancer, according to the new analysis, which looked at 81 studies that included nearly 25 million adults under 50 from around the world."

Other common warning signs are abdominal pain, change in bowel habits, and anemia.

At the same time, the story says, rates have declined among older people, "who are far more likely to get colonoscopies that can catch cancers and precancerous lesions called polyps."

Despite the fact that "millennials born around 1990 are at almost twice the risk of colon cancer compared with people born in the 1950s, and have a risk of rectal cancer that is four times as high, young people without a strong family history of colon cancer aren't eligible for colonoscopies until the age of 45," the Times piece adds. 

Dr. Joshua Demb

According to Dr. Joshua Demb, cancer epidemiologist at the University of California, San Diego, and one of the lead authors of the paper that was published in the journal JAMA Network Open, because physicians are less likely to suspect malignancies in younger people, they may attribute a symptom like rectal bleeding to a benign condition like hemorrhoids, rather than cancer.

"We need to facilitate early detection," he was quoted as saying, "and one way is identifying these red flags."

According to Rabin, "from the time younger adults first go to a caregiver with a complaint about a symptom until thy receive a diagnosis can take four to six months on average [and] because the diagnosis is often delayed, younger adults tend to have more advanced disease that s harder to treat."

Colorectal cancer, the story also says, "has long been associated with obesity, smoking, a sedentary lifestyle, high alcohol intake, and diets that are rich in red meat, processed food, and sugary drinks."

More information about red flags can be found in Rollercoaster: How a man can survive his partner's breast cancer, a VitalityPress book that I, Woody Weingarten, aimed at male caregivers.

Study at UC San Francisco finds 'alarming' hike in advanced prostate cancer across California

An "alarming" surge in advanced prostate cancer across California in the past decade may be linked to changes in guidelines that have reduced routine screenings for the disease.

At least  that's the conjecture in a story by Aidin Vaziri in recent e-editions of the San Francisco Chronicle about a new study at UCSF published in JAMA Network Open.

The study, which according to Vaziri analyzed nearly 388,000 prostate cancer cases between 2004 and 2021, "found that the number of advanced prostate cancer diagnoses statewide increased by 6.7% annually from 2011 to 2021."

Erin Van Blarigan

The Chronicle piece quotes Erin Van Blarigan, ScD, the study's led author and an associate professor professor at  the University of California, San Francisco, as believing "this overall rising trend is alarming and has occurred across age groups, regions of California, races, and ethnicities."

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among men in the United States.

Although the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force in 2012 stopped recommending routine PSA testing for all men, citing concerns over  unnecessary treatments, "UCSF researchers suggest that the shift may have missed opportunities to catch aggressive cancers early, when treatments are more effective," the story indicates. 

California does not stand alone. Nationally, advanced cases of the disease have also risen since the screening guidelines changed. But the Golden State's annual climb is 6.7% as opposed to the countrywide percentage of 4.5. 

More information about screening guidelines can be found in Rollercoaster: How a man can survive his partner's breast cancer, a VitalityPress book that I, Woody Weingarten, its author, aimed at male caregivers.

If older female cancer survivors sit less and move more, they can reduce their chances of death

Sitting less and moving more can decrease the risks of death in older female cancer survivors, a new study reports.

The findings were outlined recently at the American Heart Association’s Epidemiology and Prevention/Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health Scientific Sessions in New Orleans.

 

Dr. Keith Diaz

According to a recent story in the AHA news, the risk of death from cardiovascular disease and other causes for older women with a history of cancer can be dramatically lowered. The piece goes on to quote Dr. Keith Diaz, a professor of behavioral medicine at Columbia University Medical Center in New York as saying that "walking —  at any intensity — matters."

Many adults, says Diaz, who was not involved in the study that combines two studies that followed 2,379 post-menopausal women for about eight years, "now spend the majority of  their day sitting, not engaged in physical activity. And for cancer survivors, this issue is likely even more pronounced due to the physical toll of cancer treatment and recovery."

Sedentary behavior, the AHA News report notes, raises the risk considerably: "Every 102 minutes of sitting time per day was linked to a 30% higher risk of death from cardiovascular disease and a 12% higher risk of death from any cause."

AHA and federal guidelines "recommend adults engage in moderate physical activity for at least 150 minutes each week, or 75 minutes of vigorous activity, or a combination of both."

The story also says that "researchers found that benefits maxed out at 5,000 to 6,000 steps per day and one hour of moderate to vigorous  physical activity a day."

But at least "one hour of moderate to vigorous activity each day, such as  biking or brisk walking, reduced the risk of death from heart disease and stroke by 60%, as well as 40% from any cause."

The women in the study averaged 74 years of age. Half had been diagnosed with breast cancer and the rest had other cancers, including endometrial, lung, colon, and ovarian.

Discussing the study's shortcomings, Dr. Eric Hyde, lead study author and a research analyst at the University of California, San Diego, suggests that "in future studies, physical activity should be measured at several critical time points, such as before cancer diagnosis, during treatment, and after treatment." 

 

More information on cancer in older females can be found in Rollercoaster: How a man can survive his partner's breast cancer, a VitalityPress book that I, Woody Weingarten aimed at male caregivers. My other books are MysteryDates — How to keep the sizzle in your relationship; The Roving I, a compilation of  70 of my newspaper columns; and Grampy and His Fairyzona Playmates, a whimsical fantasy intended for 6- to 10-year-olds that I co-authored with my then 8-year-old granddaughter.

Bayer must pay more than $2 billion in suit linking Roundup herbicide to cancer, jury says

A jury in Georgia has ordered Monsanto's parent company to pay more than $2 billion in a suit linking a pesticide to cancer.

According to an Associated Press story by Wyatt Grantham-Philips that recently appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle, penalties awarded "to a man who says the company's Roundup weed killer caused his cancer" include $65 million in compensatory damages, $2 billion in punitive damages.

Bayer AG, the agrochemical giant, intends to appeal the decision that sent its stock plunging 8% immediately after the verdict.

That recent verdict is "the latest in a long-running series of court battles Monsanto has faced over its Roundup herbicide," the article says, and "marks one of the the largest verdicts in a Roundup-related case to date."

John Barnes

The piece goes on to say that the plaintiff, John Barnes, filed the suit in 2021, seeking damages because of his non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. It quotes his attorney, Kyle Findley of Arnold & Itkin LLP, as calling the verdict "an important milestone [because it illuminates] another example of Monsanto's refusal to accept responsibility for poisoning people with this toxic product."

Findley also charged that the Barnes case showed "many years of cover-ups [and] backroom dealings."  

Bayer, a German-based company that acquired Monsanto in 2018 and "has been hit with more than 177,000 lawsuits involving the weed killer and set aside $16 billion to settle cases," according to Wyatt Grantham-Philips, will continue"to stand fully behind the safety" of the Roundup product line.

In the meantime, Bayer, reports an environmental website, The New Lede, is hopeful that Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, a Republican, will soon sign controversial legislation recently passed by state lawmakers to bar people from suing pesticide manufacturers for failing to warn them of health risks, as long as the product labels are approved by the Environmental Protection Agency.

"Opponents say the legislation will rob farmers and others who use pesticides from holding companies accountable in court if their pesticide products cause disease or injury."

Additional information on Monsanto and its herbicides can be found in Rollercoaster: How a man can survive his partner's breast cancer, a VitalityPress book I, Woody Weingarten, aimed at male caregivers. My other books are MysteryDates — How to keep the sizzle in your relationship; The Roving I, a compilation of 70 of my newspaper columns; and Grampy and His Fairzona Playmates, a whimsical fantasy intended for 6 to 10-year-olds.

Criticism is rife over contentious federal study that finds 'any alcohol use' can cause cancer

Even "low levels" of alcohol consumption can cause cancer and are associated with a higher risk of death, a controversial federal study intended to be a basis of a 2025 revision of U.S. Dietary Guidelines has found.

U.S. Rep Mike Thompson (D-Napa)

A recent story by Esther Mobley and Jess Lander in the San Francisco Chronicle online indicates that U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson (D-Napa) warned last week of his concern "that the agencies in charge of researching and producing our updated dietary guidelines created a new, less transparent review process to issue alcohol consumption guidance to Americans."

His comments were in regard to the study, published by the Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Prevention of Underage Drinking (ICCPUD), that has drawn significant amounts of criticism.

Since 1980, the Chronicle article says, federal dietary guidelines "have stated that one drink a day is safe for women, and two drinks a day is safe for men."

But the ICCPUD findings sharply contrast with those from another report, published in December 2024 by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) that found "moderate drinkers have a lower risk of death than nondrinkers," the piece adds.

According to the Mobley-Lander story, NASEM had concluded that "moderate drinking is linked to lower rates of cardiovascular disease, and with as higher risk of breast cancer, but not other cancers."

The new 81-page document claims, meanwhile, that "the risk of dying from alcohol use begins at low levels of average use [while] higher levels of alcohol consumption are linked with progressively higher mortality risk" — a tenfold increase, in fact.

Who to believe?

Tiffany Hall, board chair of the U.S. Alcohol Policy Alliance, charged Wednesday that "the ICCPUD report highlights the critical need to reduce alcohol harms by properly informing the public of the health risks of consuming alcohol. The fact that any amount of alcohol is harmful to your health can no longer be ignored."

Widespread speculation exists that new guidelines might echo the World Health Organization's 2022 declaration that "there is no safe level of alcohol consumption."

Information on other reports of health risks can be found in Rollercoaster: How a man can survive his partner's breast cancer, a VitalityPress book that I, Woody Weingarten, aimed at male caregivers.  

Three more books of mine are MysteryDates®, a look at how you can keep the sizzle in your relationship; The Roving I, an anthology of 70 newspaper columns I wrote; and Grampy and His Fairyzona Playmates, a whimsical children's fantasy about a sorcerer and two fairies that I co-authored with my then 8-year-old granddaughter. Details can be found at https://woodyweingarten.com/.