Average five-year survival rate for pancreatic cancer patients, up from 3% in 1975-77; 24% of patients survive one year after diagnosis. Overall, median survival is 4 to 6 months. But prognosis depends on the stage and type of disease: patients with neuroendocrine and cystic tumors, for instance, have much better survival rates than do patients with pancreatic adenocarcinoma. [via Medscape]
I don’t normally write about anniversaries, but this one seems worth noting. It’s been 40 years since President Richard Nixon signed the National Cancer Act in 1971, the historic legislation that focused attention — and perhaps more importantly, government funding — on the need to research and find treatments for cancer.
If slobbery kisses and adoring tail wags weren’t enough to secure dogs’ reputation as man’s best friend, a new initiative from some creative cancer researchers may do just that. By recruiting pet dogs with naturally occurring cancers into clinical trials, oncologists may be able to develop treatments that could eventually be used effectively in humans [...]
