Sexual Toxicity of Cancer Drugs; Guilt and Non-Beneficial Care; Effects of Cannabis

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News, features, and commentary about cancer-related issues

by
Charles Bankhead, Senior Editor, MedPage Today
April 18, 2025 • 2 min read

Cancer drugs’ sexual toxicity warrants a “call to action” among oncologists to address the problem. (Lancet Oncology)

U.S. medical centers have appealed to the FDA for compassionate use approval of the adenosine receptor inhibitor namodenoson for pancreatic cancer, according to Can-Fite BioPharma.

About 85% of brand-name drugs prescribed in the U.S. rely on ingredients sourced from other countries, says a report issued ahead of the Trump administration’s tariff plans. (Endpoints News)

Paddy Higson, 83, often called the “mother of Scottish film,” died of an undisclosed type of cancer. (BBC News)

Guilt and shame — not hope for recovery — play a bigger role in patients’ decisions about potentially pointless therapies for cancers at the end of life. (Rutgers Health)

Six healthcare workers from the same floor at a Boston-area hospital have developed benign brain tumors; an investigation turned up no potential link between the cases. (The Guardian)

Almost two-thirds of patients with relapsed/refractory higher-risk myelodysplastic syndrome responded to the immune modulator bexmarilimab plus azacitidine, according to a statement from Faron Pharmaceuticals.

Overall survival in advanced/metastatic non-clear cell kidney cancer improved significantly with nivolumab (Opdivo) plus ipilimumab (Yervoy) in a randomized comparison with standard of care therapy. (ESMO)

Bristol Myers Squibb announced FDA approval of nivolumab plus ipilimumab for the first-line treatment of unresectable/metastatic hepatocellular carcinoma.

The largest review of its kind published to date showed that positive studies of medical cannabis’s effects on cancer symptoms outnumbered negative studies by 3:1. (Frontiers in Oncology)

Three drugs proved no better than two for treating acute myeloid leukemia. (University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center)

Dance therapy — in the form of Argentine tango — has shown promise for relieving cancer-related neuropathy and improving balance. (The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center)

A study of more than 1,000 patients provided new insights into how inherited cancer gene mutations drive cancer growth and spread. (WashU Medicine)