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Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Adenoid cystic carcinoma in the news

First - I saw this story from Staffordshire (UK): Survivor takes up charity challenge after beating rare cancer: http://www.thisisstaffordshire.co.uk/Survivor-takes-charity-challenge-beating-rare/story-15342320-detail/story.html

Bernie Webbe, mom of two young children, is going to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support to help others suffering for cancer. And she isn't doing it close to home - she is going to take 10 days in May to walk across Peru! You can make donations on her site (today's figures show she is over half-way to her goal of 4000 British Pounds): http://www.justgiving.com/Bernie-Webbe

Congratulations to Mrs. Webbe and her strong family that has supported her through ACC treatment twice. Bernie, you are an amazing person to undertake this challenge - go for it! This Cheeky Librarian (that wears her scars on the other side of her head) will be cheering you on, thanking you for bravely taking every step of the way!

Second - the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute (BPEI) celebrated its 50th anniversary by hosting a scientific meeting. http://www.modernmedicine.com/modernmedicine/ModernMedicine+Now/BPEI-marks-anniversary-with-meeting/ArticleStandard/Article/detail/762191?contextCategoryId=40139
Among all the research shared:
"Results of a recent study of 19 patients with adenoid cystic carcinoma of the lacrimal gland treated via a novel approach called intra-arterial cytoreductive chemotherapy demonstrated survival rates of 94% at both 5- and 10-year follow-up, compared with 43% and 29%, respectively, for patients with conditions managed by conventional therapies. Two of the patients have had more than 15 years of disease-free survival, one of them for 22 years. "

2 comments:

Jeanne Sather said...

Teri--care to define "intra-arterial cytoreductive chemotherapy"?

Teresa Hartman said...

Thanks Jeanne- Livestrong has a description of intra-arterial chemotherapy ('cytoreductive' means to reduce the number of cells, which is what chemo is supposed to do, I thought, but I have been wrong before):
http://www.livestrong.com/article/151566-what-is-intra-arterial-chemotherapy/. Basically, chemo is delivered by a catheter pushed through arteries, targeting the tumor more directly than chemo delivered through the entire body. Referring again to the Livestrong page, head/neck cancers are good candidates for this, as they don't respond well to the 'whole body' chemo delivery.

 
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