Tag Archive for: Late-Stage Cancer Patients

August 2023 Notable News

/in , /by

This month the key to cancer treatment for patients and doctors is knowledge. People diagnosed with cancer have protection in place for their job under The Americans with Disabilities Act. Scientists out of Denmark have discovered a new type of T cells that help fight cancer. During studies on a protein, GRP78, scientists discovered a new mechanism of how cancer spreads.

Protections for People with Cancer: Top 5 Things to Know About Your Rights as a Cancer Patient Under The Americans with Disabilities Act

The Americans with Disabilities Act offers protection for people battling cancer or who have a history of cancer. The federal law prohibits discrimination against qualified people with disabilities, including people diagnosed with cancer or who had cancer that is a remission. Reports SurvivorNet. Employers must make reasonable accommodations for patients undergoing cancer treatments. This accommodation includes allowing employees with cancer the ability to leave for medical appointments. It also allows them to take extra breaks as needed to take medications or if there is fatigue due to treatment. Employers can deny accommodation requests if it causes a significant expense or poor performance from the employee. Employers are not allowed to ask new job applicants if they have had cancer or have it currently. FMLA (Federal Family and Medical Leave Act) allows cancer patients to take unpaid leave and still protect their job position and their health insurance. This act also protects family members who are caring for cancer patients. Click here to read more.

Newly Discovered Superior T-cells Might Kill Tumors in Late-Stage Cancer Patients

A study out of Denmark has found new information about T-cells, which helps the body find and kill cells responsible for causing cancerous tumors. Our findings really surprised us, as nobody knew that individual T-cells could recognize cancer cells via several different cancer associated proteins simultaneously. These multi-pronged cells could respond to most types of cancer as cancers only need to express one of the aberrant targets to be identified as dangerous and killed said Andy Sewell, a professor at Cardiff University’s Division of Infection and Immunity reports Interesting Engineering. This knowledge was discovered during work on (TIL) Tumor Infiltrating Lymphocyte therapy, which uses T-cells grown in a lab to treat tumors and late-stage cancers. These multi-pronged T-cells are in the blood of patients that have survived cancer. In TIL therapy, doctors take T-cells from the tumor and then grow them in a lab to put them back in the patient’s body. Scientists hope to use this knowledge to make more immunotherapies to treat cancer. Click here to read more.

Surprising Finding: Scientists Discover New, Unexpected Mechanism of Cancer Cell Spread

During research on the protein GPR78, the protein that regulates replication of viruses and cancer growth, scientists made a new discovery. Lee and her colleagues have now made an unexpected discovery that may eventually enable scientists to protect cells from that hostile takeover. Typically, GRP78 resides in part of the cell called the endoplasmic reticulum. But when cells are under stress, the chaperone protein migrates to the cell’s nucleus, where it alters gene activities and changes the behavior of the cell, allowing the cancer cells to become more mobile and invasive reports SciTechDaily. Scientists used a high-resolution microscope and biochemical analysis to observe and confirm the new information about GRP78. They found GRP78 is involved in cell migration and invasion, which leads to a potential new cancer treatment that regulates GPR78. It was analyzed in lung, pancreatic, breast and colon cancers. These new findings also change the field of cell biology. It has enhanced knowledge about where the protein travels and what its new functions are. Click here to read more.