Learning from haematology
Many of our most profound insights into the nature of cancer and its treatment have originated in the field of haematology. It was the high levels of bone marrow toxicity among soldiers who had been [more]
2017
Haemato-oncology – Where precision medicine is finding its target
With the prospect of a chemo-free cure for some blood cancers, and with new targets and new drugs emerging at an unprecedented pace, Simon Crompton asks: Is haematology where the promise of precision medicine will [more]
A visionary who made a lasting contribution – Patrick Johnston, medical oncologist 1958–2017
The European School of Oncology has lost a supporter, colleague and friend, writes Mike Clarke, who co-chaired ESO’s Systematic Reviews Masterclass alongside Patrick Johnston. With the sudden and unexpected death of Patrick Johnston on 4 [more]
Virtual trials in virtual patients. Is this how we will accelerate progress in personalised treatments?
If mind-boggling complexity is the barrier to developing personalised cancer care strategies, could mathematical modelling – long used by economists, meteorologists and others – be the answer? Marc Beishon talks to leading figures who are [more]
Prevention and early detection – If we don’t prioritise them, why should anyone else?
Oncology is understandably fascinated by ideas around precision treatment. As a medical oncologist who was there when the germs of this approach first appeared 50 years ago, I do of course share the excitement over [more]
Josep Tabernero ESMO President Elect
Josep Tabernero is active at many levels. He does hands-on translational research in the lab and clinic, he directs one of Europe’s top cancer institutes, and he will shortly be taking over the leadership of [more]
Lisa Hutchinson: teasing out the signal from the noise
The explosion of new information in the era of personalised medicine has created a headache for busy clinicians. Lisa Hutchinson has spent the past 13 years helping them keep abreast of developments by sifting, sorting [more]
Use of PARP inhibitors in ovarian cancer
PARP inhibitors are the first class of drugs to exploit a new concept in oncology – synthetic lethality. Alexandra Leary explains the rationale, reviews the trial evidence and clinical experience, and looks to their future [more]
Do I refer this patient on? European family doctors swap notes on how they decide who should be tested for cancer
Symptomatic cancers are diagnosed quicker in some countries than others. A group of European primary care physicians recently set out to discover why this is, by gathering information about the different factors that influence decision-making. [more]
Improving early diagnosis of symptomatic cancer
Focusing on the UK situation, Willie Hamilton and colleagues investigate why speeding up diagnosis of symptomatic cancers may be important, how to achieve it, who to focus on and where, and finally how much such [more]
Does being a patient have to be a full-time job?
Most doctors believe in holistic care, yet the clinical guidelines they use, and the way they discuss and deliver care, rarely take into account the demands that a given treatment option will make on the [more]
How to help a friend with metastatic breast cancer
So, your friend endured any number of treatments: chemotherapy, lumpectomy or mastectomy, possibly reconstruction, radiation therapy… and then when scans were done, instead of hearing the magical words “remission” or “cured,” your friend heard, “your [more]
Hair loss caused by chemo: an online registry will help to learn more
Hair loss can be a big concern for many cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, and according to a recent review of the literature published on the Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing, «scalp cooling efficacy is dependent [more]