Drug May Stop Cancer Patients' Weight Loss
Posted on: Tuesday, 8 March 2005, 06:00 CST
Thalidomide could be used as a treatment for cancer, according to research out yesterday.
The drug slows down weight loss and wasting in patients with an advanced form of pancreatic cancer, doctors from Southampton University Hospital have found.
Severe wasting, or cachexia, is the direct cause of death in one in five patients with advanced cancer.
It results from the disturbances in metabolism caused by a combination of the body's immune response to the disease and the cancer's production of a cocktail of powerful chemicals.
Although people who took 200mg of thalidomide daily during tests did not live longer than those who did not, their increased weight was matched by increased physical capacity.
Thalidomide reduces inflammation in the body, the researchers said, although they do not know exactly how it does it. Previous research has shown that thalidomide can improve the wasting typical in Aids patients and can also reduce weight loss as a result of tuberculosis
Source: Birmingham Post; Birmingham (UK)
Related Articles
- Northwestern Memorial Study Tests Cancer Drug on Scleroderma Patients
- CTRC Enrolls First Patients in Phase II Study; Living Virus Destroys Cancer Cells in Sarcoma Patients
- Heart Disease and Lung Cancer Won't Wait, But Patients May Have to Wait for Life-Saving Care
- Pharmion Announces French ATU Granted for Use of Thalidomide for Elderly Patients With Untreated Multiple Myeloma
- Highmark Foundation Awards Grants to Support Cancer, Avian Flu and Patient Care Programs
- Colonoscopy lowers cancer risk in colitis patients
- Cell Genesys Announces Publication of Encouraging Phase 1/2 Clinical Results For GVAX(R) Immunotherapy for Prostate Cancer in Early Stage Patients Before Receiving Hormone Therapy
- Charlotte Business Owners Raise Money for Cancer By Losing Weight
- Cancer Society and Weight Watchers Team Up for Health
- Colonic Histoplasmosis Presenting As Colon Cancer in the Nonimmunocompromised Patient: Report of a Case and Review of the Literature
 |
 |
User Comments (0)
RSS Feeds