News digest – testicular cancer, proton beam therapy, lung cancer screening and more

The latest cancer news

• The week started with good news – almost all UK men with testicular cancer now survive their disease, according to figures we released on Monday. The Guardian and Daily Mail have more info.
• And men with advanced, incurable prostate cancer who are treated with the latest drugs have nearly three times the life expectancy of men treated a decade ago. Read more in our news story.
• Scientists at our Southampton Centre found they could stop the fuel supply to breast cancer cells using molecules called cyclic peptide inhibitors. Here’s our news story.
• The Government announced £250 million of funding for hospitals in Manchester and London to deliver proton beam therapy. Our news story has more detail.

• A US expert panel issued draft guidance backing lung cancer screening for high-risk groups. The Daily Mail and Reuters have more detail.

• And other US experts proposed that the definition of cancer should be narrowed to exclude some forms of the disease that are unlikely to cause harm. CBC News had this interesting take.

• Researchers found a way to protect healthy cells in the digestive system of mice from the harmful effects of chemotherapy and radiotherapy. It’s interesting research, but further away from benefiting patients than this Independent headline suggests.

• An aggressive form of leukaemia actually puts healthy stem cells in the bone marrow to sleep, rather than replacing them with cancer cells as was previously thought, according to our research. Here’s our news story.

And finally

• According to a US commentary this week, a “vicious cycle” is being created in which researchers and drug companies don’t invest in research on tumour biomarkers – tests that can help diagnose and track the development of cancer. News Medical has more info.