News digest – health warning on cigarettes, nanoparticles, ‘heat-not-burn’ tobacco and…. artificial intelligence?

• Health warnings on individual cigarettes could put young people off smoking, according to our research. Our press release has details of the study, which found that 16-24 year olds were three times less likely to smoke a cigarette with “smoking kills” written on it. The Independent and Evening Standard also covered this.
• A new treatment for advanced breast cancer has been made available on the NHS in Scotland, BBC Scotland reports. The drug, called palbociclib (Ibrance), was approved in England last month.
• New NHS statistics puts the number of children at risk of being overweight or obese in Scotland at a record high. iNews and Herald Scotland reported that nearly a quarter of primary one pupils (aged 4-6) are at risk of being overweight in Scotland.
• Four in 10 patients with aggressive lymphoma were cancer-free 15 months after treatment with engineered immune cells, according to clinical trial results published this week. Our news report and Popular Science has the detail.
• Nanoparticles that produce infrared light could home in on tiny tumours to help detect them earlier than conventional scans, the Independent reports. But so far the nanoparticles have only been tested in mice with cancer, so talk of the potential benefits for speeding up decisions about treatment is premature.
• A drug prescribed to help people stop drinking alcohol could have cancer-fighting benefits. Scientists found the drug, called Antabuse, slows the growth of breast cancers in mice, but clinical trials are needed to fully understand its potential. The Mail Online has the story.
• ‘Heat-not-burn’ tobacco products are likely to be harmful to health even though they are probably less harmful than regular cigarettes, says a UK government advisory panel. Experts warn that the devices produce a “number of compounds of concern”, including some that can cause cancer. The story was picked up by the Guardian and BBC news.

And finally…

• Could artificial intelligence be the future of cancer monitoring? The Times and International Business Times reported that advanced computer programmes were as accurate as an experienced pathologist in spotting samples where breast cancer had spread. And they were even better than specialists who were pushed for time. But the study author’s cautioned that the test data used didn’t reflect the complicated mix of cases that pathologists will see in the clinic. Artificial intelligence needs to be tested in a clinical setting before we can fully understand its potential as a cancer monitoring tool.

Katie