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Gastric cancer research points to new treatment strategies

Dr. McLeod

Patients with increased tumor lymphocytes show longer survival potential

We are gradually putting together important pieces of the treatment puzzle for this common killer.”
— Dr. Yijing He
TAMPA, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES, October 19, 2020 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Gastric cancer research points to new treatment strategies. Patients with increased tumor lymphocytes show longer survival potential.

New medical research into the treatment of gastric cancer has shown promise and opens up opportunities for new combination therapies to treat stomach cancer, according to Dr. Howard McLeod, medical director of Tampa’s Geriatric Oncology Consortium and a professor at the University of South Florida Taneja College of Pharmacy.

Gastric cancer is the fifth most common cancer in the world, with more than one million cases per year. Combination chemotherapy is the primary treatment.

McLeod and a team of researchers from Xiangya Hospital, Central South University in Changsha, China recently published new findings of impact on this topic.

The paper, “High levels of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes showed better clinical outcomes in FOLFOX-treated gastric cancer patients,” was published in Futuremedicine.com.

“The study examined the outcomes of 129 patients receiving the most commonly used chemotherapies for advanced stomach cancer. The study asked the question, ‘Is the number of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes found to be associated with a patient’s survival?’” said McLeod.

A lymphocyte is a type of white blood cell that is part of the immune system.

The research observed that patients with a higher number of ‘activated’ tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes had longer survival than those with lower amounts in the tumor (53 months vs 27 months), independent of gender or tumor stage.

McLeod said, “the human body mounts a response to cancer, deploying the tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes.”

The research team also recently discovered that the heart drug Propanolol can cause an increase in the number of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes in cancer. This has led to clinical trials that combine the tumor lymphocyte infiltrating qualities of Propanolol with the standard chemotherapy to treat the stomach cancer.

“We are gradually putting together important pieces of the treatment puzzle for this common killer,” said Yijing He MD, PhD, an associate professor at Xiangya Hospital.

Risk factors for stomach cancer include an immediate family member with stomach cancer, a diet high in smoked and salted foods and low in fruits and vegetables, smoking, and existing medical conditions to include stomach infections, Pernicious Anemia, chronic stomach inflammation, and gastric polyps.

McLeod is a world-class researcher in pharmacogenetics, also referred to as Precision Medicine. Pharmacogenetics is a branch of genetics that addresses how our genetic code influences how we respond to drug therapies.

David Fierro
Fierro Communications
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