Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma, Radiation Therapy And Likely Predictions

Cells lining the nasopharynx are affected by nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). The majority of NPC cases can be cured by radiation therapy, however ~20% are resistant to radiation treatment. In this issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, Yu-Sun Chang and colleagues at Chang Gung University sought to find a way to predict which individual cases of NPC would be sensitive to radiation therapy. The authors compared the levels of various serum factors between NPC patients that responded to radiation therapy and patients that were resistant to therapy.

Patients that did not respond to radiation therapy had higher serum levels of the IL-6 family cytokine leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF), and that LIF levels were predictive of NPC patient response to radiation therapy. The researchers further demonstrated that LIF itself promotes NPC. In the companion commentary, Micah Luftig from the Duke University School of Medicine discusses the implications of LIF as a predictor of NPC resistance to radiation therapy.

Bevacizumab Can Reduce Spread of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma
Bevacizumab which is widely used to treat different kinds of cancer may also help protect against nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Source-Eurekalert

Combined Chemo/radiation Treatments for Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Increase Toxicity
Study says non-cancer related deaths and toxicity problems have been shown to increase although the standard practice of treating patients with advanced Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma

Cigarette Smoking Increases Death Risk for Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Patients
Survivors of nasopharyngeal carcinoma who are former or current smokers are more likely to have their disease progress, relapse, or spread, and are more likely to die of their disease.

Epstein - Barr virus Protein Implicated in Blood Cancer
Researchers at the University Of Pennsylvania School Of Medicine had identified a link between an Epstein - Barr virus (EBV) protein and a vital cancer pathway earlier this year.