EXTENDING LIFE
WITH RADIOTHERAPY
It’s not necessarily the initial
tumour that makes cancer deadly,
but the spread of the disease to
other parts of the body. At that
point, many cancers are considered
incurable. But two new studies
have shown that high-dose
radiation, or radiotherapy, to the
new tumours can prolong lives.
In one multi-national study, almost
half the patients with lung, colon
and breast cancers that had spread
were still alive five years after being
given radiotherapy, compared to
only a quarter who survived in the
control group with no radiotherapy
treatment. A second Swiss-
UK study of men with prostate
cancer reported that radiotherapy
improved survival in men whose
cancer had moved beyond the
prostate when the metastases
were limited to lymph nodes or
nearby bones.Fish Oil Proves
Its Worth
Many people take fish oil to lower
their heart disease risk. But does
it work? A recent study has just
provided the best evidence yet that it
can. People with high triglyceride
levels who took 4000 mg of the
purified fish oil supplement Vascepa
(icosapent ethyl) per day reduced
their risk of heart attack and stroke by
about 25 per cent compared to those
who took a placebo. Vascepa contains
4000 mg of eicosapentaenoic acid
(EPA), one of the two main omega 3
fatty acids that earlier research
suggested were beneficial. The
makers are currently seeking new
indications for Vascepa with the
US FDA, after which it may start to
become available in other countries.Ten-Minute Cancer Test
Australian researchers have developed a test that can
detect cancer in ten minutes with 90 per cent accuracy.
What’s more, says the study, published in December
2018 inNature Communications, the “process can be
detected by the naked eye as a visual colour change.” DNA
derived from blood plasma is added to water mixed with gold
nano-particles. Pink means cancer is present; blue means cells are
ILLUSTRATIONS: SHUTTERSTOCKhealthy. If cancer is detected, diagnostics must be run to identify its source.
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Medical Breakthroughs