ek bhayanak bimari

cancer

Cancer care costs are a financial burden to patients, their families, and society as a whole. In 2006 medical expenses from cancer care in the United States were an estimated $104.1 billion. As the population ages, costs are expected to continue to increase as cancer prevalence rises. In addition, the development of expensive, targeted treatment strategies that are becoming the standard of care will most likely increase cancer costs. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) between 2004 and 2030, global cancer deaths will increase from 7.4 million to 11.8 million and cancer will be the leading cause of death this year followed by heart disease and stroke.

In the current study, researchers evaluated data on death and disability from illness from the WHO and analyzed it in order to come up with a measure describing the overall burden of disease in terms of a disability-adjusted life year (DALY). To determine economic burden, researchers estimated the economic value of a year of healthy life. Data were analyzed for 17 types of cancer and 15 leading causes of death. In addition, countries worldwide were classified by income.

• In 2008, the cost of premature death and disability but not direct medical costs from cancer was $895 billion worldwide compared with $753 billion for heart disease
• Wordwide, cancer results in greatest cost from premature death and disability of all causes of death
• Lost productivity and lost years of life are responsible for cancer’s largest drain on economy
• Lung, colorectal and breast cancer are associated with greatest cost worldwide due to death and disability
• In poorer countries, head and neck cancers, cervical cancer and breast cancer are associated with the greatest cost due to death and disability

• When prostate cancer has been detected or has returned following initial treatment with surgery, radiation therapy, and/or hormonal therapy, it is said to be recurrent or relapsed. The course of treatment for relapsed prostate cancer depends on what treatment a patient has previously received and the extent of the cancer. Some patients have only a rise in PSA level as evidence of recurrent cancer which is known as biochemical failure or biochemical recurrence (BCR). Other patients will have evidence of recurrent cancer on x-rays or scans. Patients who have prostate cancer that continues to grow despite hormone therapy are referred to as having hormone-refractory prostate cancer.

  In a recent study, researchers evaluated prostate cancer patients whose initial recurrence of their disease was a biochemical recurrence in order to determine how many of those patients experienced further disease progression and ultimately died from prostate cancer versus other causes. The researchers observed 623 United States veterans who had been diagnosed with prostate cancer between 1991 and 1995 and were treated with either surgery or radiation; patients were followed until 2006. This population had a high rate of other health problems in addition to prostate cancer.

  Depending on initial treatment and duration of follow-up, biochemical recurrence occurred in 34-48% of patients (see Table). Of those patients who experienced a biochemical recurrence following initial treatment with surgery or radiation, 3-42% died of prostate cancer, depending on follow-up period and initial treatment.release from Pfizer and will also be presented at an upcoming medical meeting.[1]

  Treatment of advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) often involves chemotherapy. Currently available combination chemotherapy regimens can improve the duration of survival as well as quality of life, but researchers continue to search for ways to improve outcomes for patients with this disease.

  Tarceva is a targeted therapy that works by blocking a biological pathway referred to as the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) pathway. The EGFR pathway is involved in cell growth and replication. Tarceva may be used for treatment of NSCLC after failure of initial chemotherapy, for NSCLC maintenance therapy, or for treatment of advanced pancreatic cancer.

  Sutent is an oral targeted agent that works by inhibiting multiple biologic pathways involved in the growth, replication, and spread of cancer cells. It has been shown to be effective in the treatment of selected patients with kidney cancer or gastrointestinal stromal tumors, and is also being evaluated in the treatment of other types of cancer. Phase II studies have indicated that the combination of Tarceva and Sutent is active in NSCLC.

  To evaluate the combination of Sutent and Tarceva for the treatment of patients with advanced NSCLC, researchers conducted a large, double-blind Phase III clinical trial among patients with previously treated advanced NSCLC. Patients were randomized to receive Sutent combined with Tarceva or Tarceva plus a placebo. The combination of Sutent and Tarceva did not improve overall survival but did significantly improve progression-free survival compared with Tarceva and placebo. Patients in this study were reported to experience no new or unexpected treatment side effects.

  Detailed results from this study are expected to be presented at the 35th European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) conference in October.