This study estimates changes in reimbursements for orally administered anticancer drugs paid by commercial health plans from 2000 through 2014.

Prescription drug pricing and changes in prices for existing drugs have been under intense scrutiny recently. For anticancer medications, high drug prices have the potential to affect access and adherence to therapies and increase financial burden for patients. Given the rapidly evolving drug pricing landscape, it is important to evaluate recent pricing for anticancer medications. This study’s objectives were to estimate changes in reimbursements for orally administered anticancer drugs paid by commercial health plans from 2000 through 2014, focusing on reimbursements during the year of product launch and changes in reimbursements over time.

Source: http://oncology.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=2517398

Cancer is a modern, man-made disease caused by environmental factors such as pollution and diet, a study review by University of Manchester scientists has strongly suggested.

Their study of remains and literature from ancient Egypt and Greece and earlier periods – carried out at Manchester’s KNH Centre for Biomedical Egyptology and published in Nature Reviews Cancer – includes the first histological diagnosis of cancer in an Egyptian mummy.

Finding only one case of the disease in the investigation of hundreds of Egyptian mummies, with few references to cancer in literary evidence, proves that cancer was extremely rare in antiquity. The disease rate has risen massively since the Industrial Revolution, in particular childhood cancer – proving that the rise is not simply due to people living longer.

Professor Rosalie David, at the Faculty of Life Sciences, said: “In industrialised societies, cancer is second only to cardiovascular disease as a cause of death. But in ancient times, it was extremely rare. There is nothing in the natural environment that can cause cancer. So it has to be a man-made disease, down to pollution and changes to our diet and lifestyle.”

She added: “The important thing about our study is that it gives a historical perspective to this disease. We can make very clear statements on the cancer rates in societies because we have a full overview. We have looked at millennia, not one hundred years, and have masses of data.”

Victims suffering side effects from cervical cancer vaccines that were once recommended by the government announced Wednesday they will file a lawsuit against the state and drugmakers.

“Many victims are still suffering from side effects of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines Cervarix and Gardsil, which include overall pain and disorders of perception, movement and memory,” lawyer Masumi Minaguchi, a representative from the planned lawsuit’s defense team told a news conference in Tokyo.

Watch What Happens When Cannabis Ravages Cancer Cells.

After the Washington Post released an article in 1974 that stated THC, “slowed the growth of lung cancers, breast cancers and a virus-induced leukemia in laboratory mice, and prolonged their lives by as much as 36%,” the world was remarkedly quiet about it. It took years, until after the advent of the internet and dissemination of information for the world to buy in. Also, video footage of the cells in action helps drive the point home: certain strains of THC can kill cancer cells and let normal cells live in peace. In 1998, a new study, by Madrid Complutense stated that ”THC can cause cancer cells to die, and unlike chemotherapy the THC kills nothing but the cancer cells, leaving the brain of course completely unharmed.”

Recently headlines were made as 118 oncologist, of the 22,125 currently active in the United States, sounded the alarm publicly about the rising price of cancer drugs calling them “unsustainable.” This rebellious 118, or half of one percent, appear to be making a valid argument from within a tightly controlled and highly profitable cancer industry. Perhaps unaware to most oncologist and others within the mainstream medical system is that drug companies rely on fraud and half truths to circulate their products. In fact, most major drug companies have repeatedly shown that profit margins trump empathy, true healing and human life 8 days a week.

The global market for cancer drugs has hit $100 billion in annual sales, and could reach $147 billion by 2018, according to a new report by the IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics, a unit of drug data provider IMS Health.

This figure does not include discounts or rebates paid to insurers and government programs; IMS says that in the case of cancer drugs, this should not make a big difference the overall figure.

Rushed approvals result in a poor deal for both patients and cancer research

Unlike most other diseases, cancer instils a special fear and “is treated as an evil, invincible predator, not just a disease.”1 The ability of drug companies to charge very high prices, even when most approved cancer drugs provide little gain for patients, drives much of the research, as desperate patients lead some governments and private insurers to pay whatever companies charge. Officials within the US Food and Drug Administration are enthusiastic about new cancer drugs.

Nagalase in Blood

Test for monitoring efficacy of therapy for cancer and certain viral infections

Nagalase in serum / plasma

The test measures the activity of an enzyme α-N-acetylgalactosaminidase (nagalase) in blood.

Nagalase is an extracellular matrix-degrading enzyme that is secreted by cancerous cells in the process of tumor invasion. It is also an intrinsic component of the envelope protein of various virions, such as HIV and the influenza virus. Thus, it is also secreted from virus-infected cells^1,3,4.

The chemical triclosan has been linked to cancer-cell growth and disrupted development in animals. Regulators are reviewing whether it’s safe to put in soap, cutting boards and toys. Consumer companies are phasing it out. Minnesota voted in May to ban it in many products.

At the same time, millions of Americans are putting it in their mouths every day, by way of a top-selling toothpaste that uses the antibacterial chemical to head off gum disease -- Colgate-Palmolive Co.’s Total.

Total is safe, Colgate says, citing the rigorous Food and Drug Administration process that led to the toothpaste’s 1997 approval as an over-the-counter drug. A closer look at that application process, however, reveals that some of the scientific findings Colgate put forward to establish triclosan’s safety in toothpaste weren’t black and white -- and weren’t, until this year, available to the public.

Estimating the global burden of cancer in 2013; 14.9 million new cases worldwide

Date: May 28, 2015

Source: The JAMA Network Journals

Summary: Researchers from around the world have worked together to try to measure the global burden of cancer and they estimate there were 14.9 million new cases of cancer, 8.2 million deaths and 196.3 million years of a healthy life lost in 2013, according to new research.

Researchers from around the world have worked together to try to measure the global burden of cancer and they estimate there were 14.9 million new cases of cancer, 8.2 million deaths and 196.3 million years of a healthy life lost in 2013, according to a Special Communication published online by JAMA Oncology.