Latest news with #cancertreatment
BBC News
9 hours ago
- Health
- BBC News
Mum of woman who refused chemo accuses paramedics of killing her
A high-profile conspiracy theorist has told an inquest she believes paramedics killed her daughter and doctors used experimental drugs on her without Shemirani, 23, died in July last year seven months after receiving a cancer diagnosis of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. She had refused chemotherapy mother Kate, a former nurse who rose to prominence on social media sharing Covid conspiracy theories, accused the emergency team who treated Paloma when she collapsed at home of gross negligence manslaughter. She also denied influencing Paloma's refusal of conventional treatment, saying: "I cared for her like any loving mother would, but I did not make her decisions." Ms Shemirani was struck off as a nurse in 2021, having qualified in the 1980s and a Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) committee found she had spread Covid-19 misinformation that "put the public at a significant risk of harm".Giving a statement via video link to Thursday's hearing in Maidstone, Mrs Shemirani said that when her daughter was first diagnosed in December 2024 she was given "experimental" medication without her agreement. She added: "I was gravely concerned my daughter may have been enrolled in a drug trial without her knowledge."She said Paloma, a Cambridge graduate from Uckfield in East Sussex, had felt bullied and pressured by doctors while considering chemotherapy, adding: "I told her not to sign the consent form. "I was concerned she was being deceived and they'd already started her treatment without her authorisation."Mrs Shemirani described suggestions she had coerced Paloma into refusing chemotherapy as "false and deeply offensive" and said her daughter was "fully competent" to make up her own mind. The inquest was also played the 999 call made by Mrs Shemirani on the night Paloma collapsed, during which she can be overheard shouting that her daughter is dying. But now she states that it was only when paramedics arrived that "everything went horribly wrong", blaming them for administering "a massive overdose of drugs too quickly to a petit woman".Describing the months leading up to her daughter's death Mrs Shemirani said Paloma had chosen treatment which included nutrition, juices and spiritual support, claiming that many of her symptoms had disappeared. Coroner Catherine Wood also heard from intensive care consultant Dr Peter Anderson who saw Paloma at the Royal Sussex County Hospital when paramedics brought her in. He said a scan showed a large mass in her chest and neck which was compressing her airways and affecting major blood vessels. Either could have caused the cardiac arrest she suffered, he inquest continues.
CTV News
a day ago
- Health
- CTV News
Ontario plans to double medical isotope production by 2030
Stephen Lecce, Minister of Energy and Mines of Ontario speaks at a press conference as Ontario Premier Doug Ford looks on, in Toronto on Thursday, April 17, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Arlyn McAdorey TORONTO — Ontario plans to double the number of medical isotopes it produces within four years. Energy and Mines Minister Stephen Lecce says the province is creating an expert panel that will accomplish that feat. Medical isotopes are made at all three nuclear generators in Ontario and at McMaster University. The province says they produce about 50 per cent of the world's isotopes used to treat head, neck and cervical cancers and to sterilize medical equipment. Medical isotopes are also used to diagnose other types of cancers and in medical imaging techniques. The move is part of the province's pivot to attract life sciences companies and manufacturers, following a $146-million investment in the sector last fall. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 30, 2025. Liam Casey, The Canadian Press
Medscape
2 days ago
- Health
- Medscape
Deaths From Prostate Cancer vs Other Causes: Long-Term Data
Men treated for nonmetastatic prostate cancer under current guidelines are up to 6 times less likely to die from their cancer than from other causes, according to data from a Swedish cancer registry. The study estimated long-term outcomes over up to 30 years in men who received treatment for nonmetastatic prostate cancer that was in line with current National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) guidelines. Overall, nearly 90% of men with low-risk or favorable intermediate-risk disease were likely to survive their cancer and die from other causes over their life expectancy. While men with high-risk disease had higher death rates from prostate cancer, they were still at least twice as likely to die from other causes. 'Our data support adherence to guideline recommendations for treatment of prostate cancer,' lead author Pietro Scilipoti, MD, of Uppsala University in Uppsala, Sweden, and IRCCS San Raffaele Hospital in Milan, Italy, said in a news release. 'If guideline-recommended treatment is used,' Scilipoti added, 'most people with prostate cancer will live for many years after diagnosis. That includes active surveillance as an excellent treatment strategy for appropriately selected people.' Kyrollis Attalla, MD, a urologic oncologist at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City, emphasized the findings among low-risk patients, most of whom underwent active surveillance. The data offer a 'strong and welcome addition to the existing and growing body of evidence demonstrating the superior clinical outcomes among men with low-risk prostate cancer managed with data-driven active surveillance protocols,' Attalla, who wasn't involved in the study, told Medscape Medical News . The analysis was published online earlier this month in the Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network. Addressing a Data Gap Men with nonmetastatic prostate cancer have a long disease trajectory, and it's well known that the competing risk for death from other causes is high. However, there are only limited data on long-term outcomes for men treated for prostate cancer according to current guideline recommendations. To investigate, Scilipoti and colleagues used Swedish registry data to identify 62,839 men diagnosed with nonmetastatic prostate cancer between 2000 and 2020. At diagnosis, their median age was 67 years and median life expectancy was 18 years. All had a defined risk category and received primary treatment consistent with current NCCN guidelines (v4.2023): Most often that meant radical prostatectomy (42%), radiotherapy with or without androgen deprivation therapy (22%), or active surveillance (20%). Among the 15,531 men with low-risk disease, 71% underwent active surveillance. The researchers simulated patients' risk of dying from prostate cancer or other causes at 15 and 30 years, according to risk category and life expectancy at diagnosis. For men with low-risk prostate cancer, the simulated 15-year prostate cancer mortality rate was 5.5%, whereas mortality from other causes was 37%. Prostate cancer mortality was highest among men with very high-risk disease, at 22%, but the rate of death from competing causes was still higher (36%). At 30 years, the simulated estimate for prostate cancer mortality was 12% among low-risk men, whereas the mortality rate from other causes was 77%. Estimates for men with favorable intermediate-risk cancer were almost identical. Even for men with higher-risk disease, the likelihood of dying from causes other than prostate cancer was two to three times higher: At 30-years, researchers estimated a 20% mortality rate from prostate cancer vs 67% from other causes among men with high-risk disease, and 30% vs 63% among men with very high-risk disease. Within each risk category, deaths due to prostate cancer and other causes varied by life expectancy. For example, when men with low-risk disease had a life expectancy of over 15 years, their estimated 15-year prostate cancer mortality was just 2.5%. That rose to 10% among low-risk men with a life expectancy of < 10 years. Mortality from other causes was higher and ranged from 20% to 81%, respectively, in men with a life expectancy of > 15 years and < 10 years. 'This study offers a big sigh of relief for many men facing a prostate cancer diagnosis,' Ahmad Shabsigh, MD, with The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, Columbus, Ohio, and member of the NCCN guidelines panel for prostate cancer, said in the news release. 'What's truly striking is that for patients with low-risk prostate cancer, many of whom were on active surveillance, the 30-year mortality risk from the cancer itself was only about 11%,' said Shabsigh, who was not involved in the research. 'It really underscores the power of evidence-based treatment plans and the importance of focusing on a person's overall health, not just their cancer.' Attala noted that while the overtreatment of prostate cancer has long been an issue, active surveillance has more than doubled over the last decade in the US. 'As our understanding of tumor biology and our ability to risk-stratify men with prostate cancer improved, the rates of offering and implementation of active surveillance for appropriate candidates were seen to increase in tandem,' Attala said. Still, he added, rates of active surveillance vary widely across practices and individual providers. The new data 'should serve to further attest to the long-term safety of active surveillance for men with low-risk prostate cancer,' Attala said. He cautioned, however, that patient safety depends on adherence to the quality protocol detailed in the guidelines — and that does not always happen in current practice. For example, Attala pointed out that confirmatory testing is recommended following a diagnosis of low-risk disease, to facilitate early identification of men who may be at higher risk for future grade reclassification or progression. However, recent data suggest that only a little over half of urologists are offering confirmatory testing following the initial biopsy. 'The rates of grade reclassification with confirmatory testing are not insignificant — upwards of 25% in some studies,' Attala pointed out. 'Altogether, this study and others highlight that optimal outcomes on active surveillance are derived from optimal guideline-driven practices.'
BBC News
3 days ago
- Health
- BBC News
Letterkenny and Sligo: New surgical hubs proposed for hospitals
The minister for health in the Republic of Ireland has now backed the development of two new surgical hubs in the north west, insisting the decision is based on announcement comes after concerns were raised by some Donegal-based clinicians when the regional Health Service Executive (HSE) initially identified Sligo as the preferred location for a new surgical hub in the Jennifer Carroll MacNeill confirmed on Monday a second unit will also be developed at Letterkenny University Hospital and dismissed claims this decision was politically motivated. It remains unclear whether patients from Northern Ireland will be able to access services at either site once operational. "This is the right thing for Donegal - it is the right thing for the north west," the minister said. "From a data perspective and a planning perspective, this was simply the right decision."The investment at Letterkenny University Hospital will include the development of a new surgical hub, along with expanded cancer treatment Sligo, a new stand-alone surgical hub with two operating theatres will be constructed near the town's university MacNeill described the announcement as "an important milestone" in delivering improved care for patients at both said the projects would make "a real and lasting difference" to people's lives in the region and emphasised that increasing surgical capacity in both locations was a priority for the Irish government."These investments align with our Ambulatory Elective Day Care Strategy and the National Cancer Control Programme," Carroll MacNeill said."They will ensure that patients in the northwest have timely access to high-quality surgical and oncology care." Hope to be operational 'within two years' The minister visited Letterkenny University Hospital on Monday to make the announcement. "This was the right decision— not because of a series of meetings, but because, from a data perspective and from a future planning perspective, this was simply the right decision," Carroll MacNeill said. "It's not anything political - this is the right thing for Donegal - this is the right thing for the north west and I hope we'll see the benefits of these two surgical hubs which will deliver quicker surgeries for people in a very short time."Carroll MacNeill said she hoped both hubs would be operational within two years. Regional executive officer for HSE west and north west, Tony Canavan, said the new units could help reduce waiting lists for elective procedures in Donegal and Sligo, but said questions remained over staffing the facilities. "In Letterkenny, the hub we're proposing to develop will also include day beds for people receiving oncology treatments—15 brand new beds, along with 15 replacement beds," he explained."That will mean people from Donegal can receive their chemotherapy close to home and will be able to plan for that in the future as well."However, Mr Canavan cautioned that staffing the new units would be a "challenge".
Globe and Mail
5 days ago
- Business
- Globe and Mail
AstraZeneca's Latest Study: Evaluating Ceralasertib's Impact on Cancer Drug Pharmacokinetics
AstraZeneca ((AZN)), Parexel International ((PRXL)), AstraZeneca plc ((GB:AZN)), AstraZeneca ((DE:ZEGA)), AstraZeneca plc US ((AZNCF)) announced an update on their ongoing clinical study. Elevate Your Investing Strategy: Take advantage of TipRanks Premium at 50% off! Unlock powerful investing tools, advanced data, and expert analyst insights to help you invest with confidence. AstraZeneca, in collaboration with Parexel International, is conducting a Phase I clinical study titled 'A Phase I, Open-label, Fixed-sequence Study to Evaluate the Effect of Ceralasertib on Pharmacokinetics of Drug X, Drug Y and Drug Z in Participants With Advanced Solid Tumours.' The study aims to assess how ceralasertib affects the pharmacokinetics of three other drugs in patients with advanced solid tumors, potentially offering new insights into cancer treatment. The intervention involves administering ceralasertib, alongside Drugs X, Y, and Z. Ceralasertib is given twice daily over a week, with single doses of the other drugs administered on specific days to evaluate interactions. This open-label study follows a single-group assignment model with no masking, focusing on treatment as its primary purpose. It includes multiple visits and wash-out periods to ensure accurate results. The study began on May 21, 2025, with the latest update submitted on July 22, 2025. These dates are crucial for tracking the study's progress and ensuring transparency. For investors, this study could influence AstraZeneca's stock performance by potentially expanding its oncology portfolio. The collaboration with Parexel highlights a strategic partnership that could enhance research capabilities, impacting investor sentiment positively. Competitors in the oncology sector may also be closely monitoring these developments. The study is currently recruiting, with further details available on the ClinicalTrials portal.
