The research, published in the American Heart Association (AHA) journal Circulation, found increased inflammation in the large arteries of 20 Austrians with melanoma immediately following treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors. The drugs are a type of cancer treatment known as immunotherapy because they strengthen the ability of the body’s immune system to attack cancer cells, medicalxpress.com reported.

“The study provides evidence that [immune checkpoint inhibitor] therapy aggravates present atherosclerosis and treating physicians should consider potential complications here,” said study senior author Dr. Marcus Hacker, of the division of nuclear medicine at the Medical University of Vienna, Austria.

Immunotherapy has been shown to be effective for many people with cancers resistant to chemotherapy and radiation. Immune checkpoint inhibitors work by thwarting the part of the body’s immune system that keeps it from responding too strongly, to protect healthy cells from being destroyed. Drugs that block immune checkpoints make it easier for the body’s infection-fighting T-cells to kill cancer cells. But side effects include potential cardiovascular damage.

People who have cancer are generally at greater risk of dying from cardiovascular disease than the general population. A 2019 study in the European Heart Journal found that over nearly 40 years, more than one in 10 cancer survivors in the United States died from some form of cardiovascular disease, most often from heart disease. According to American Cancer Society statistics, there are about 17 million US cancer survivors.

While the new study looked at people with just one type of tumor, Hacker said his team has since expanded its investigation to lymphoma patients, finding similar results that have not yet been published. What’s needed next, he said, are studies that look at whether the increased arterial inflammation in people receiving immune checkpoint inhibitors leads to heart problems later in life.

A larger study that tracks patients for 10 or 20 years would be a logical next step, said Carolyn Miller Reilly, a professor at Emory University’s Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing in Atlanta. She coauthored a recent AHA scientific statement about the intersection of cardiovascular medicine and cancer treatments — an emerging field known as cardio-oncology.

“The changes they are showing here are not going to immediately demonstrate adverse events,” said Reilly, who was not involved in the new research. “It’s not like we’re going to give this drug, and a month later the patient is going to have a heart attack. But it’s going to cause plaque buildup that can become more unstable. Long-term, we may see the development of cardiovascular disease.”

The study does not suggest cancer patients —even those with pre-existing cardiovascular disease — should forego immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy, she added, noting that inflammation had worsened most in those with the mildest plaque buildup. “I would not withhold this treatment as the benefits outweigh the risk.”

Instead, she said, oncologists may wish to consider strategies to mitigate any impact on the heart and consult with a cardio-oncologist to evaluate a specific patient’s cardiovascular disease risk.

Reilly often teaches about the need for lifestyle changes to control risk factors for cancer and heart disease by optimizing weight, decreasing cholesterol levels, eating a healthy diet, exercising and maintaining good blood pressure control. “Cancer and heart disease have all the same risk factors,” she said.

In some cases, medications may also be useful, Hacker said.

“If our study results can be replicated in prospective settings, we should think about future combination therapies with atherosclerosis-stabilizing agents like statins to potentially protect patients at cardiovascular risk from unfortunate events after therapy.

While the current standard of care involving radiation and temozolomide, anti-cancer chemotherapy, can marginally extend the lives of patients with glioblastoma multiform brain tumors, the resistance of GBM to these therapies is a frequent occurrence, sciencecodex.com reported.

Additionally, the five-year survival rate of GBM patients treated with the standard of care is less than six percent, and no current therapies prevent a recurrence.

The researchers have focused on discovering FDA-approved drugs and more uncommon agents that could potentially help counteract glioblastoma’s resistance to and effectiveness of treatment. “Our studies uncovered a new potential application of the antimalarial drug as a possible therapy for glioblastoma multiform resistant to the standard of care entailing radiation and temozolomide,” said Paul B. Fisher, M.Ph., Ph.D., FNAI, the principal investigator of the study recently published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Specifically, lumefantrine can inhibit a genetic element involved in cancer development and progression, Fli-1, which controls the resistance of glioblastoma multiform to radiation and temozolomide.

During in vitro studies (conducted with cells grown in culture) researchers found that incorporating lumefantrine while treating glioblastoma killed cancer cells and suppressed tumor cell growth. This occurred in both glioblastoma cells sensitive to and those that otherwise would be resistant to radiation and temozolomide. Furthermore, during in vivo studies (conducted using mice containing a transplanted human glioblastoma multiform in their brains), lumefantrine inhibited tumor growth caused by both therapy-sensitive and therapy-resistant glioblastoma cells.

Discovering the lumefantrine’s ability to neutralize the body’s resistance to radiation and chemotherapy came through genetic and molecular approaches that identified the new genetic element ‘Fli-1′ as an important genetic element controlling resistance to therapy. This discovery became a focal point of the current research. Researchers found that ‘heat shock protein B1’, also known as HSPB1, is prominent in glioblastoma tumors, and its expression is regulated by Fli-1. Innovative screening strategies for Fli-1 inhibitors identified lumefantrine as a prospective agent that could bind to Fli-1, inactivate it, and thereby suppress the expression of important genes regulating growth, survival, and oncogenicity (ability to cause tumors) of glioblastoma multiforme.

In addition, two key processes essential for cancer invasion and spread is known as extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) are important factors that regulate glioblastoma’s ability to respond and resist radiation and chemotherapy. Those two processes are regulated by Fli-1 and are inhibited by lumefantrine.

To help treat glioblastoma, researchers will further explore other means to counteract therapy resistance induced by Fli-1.

“These preclinical studies provide a solid rationale for Fli-1/HSPB1 inhibition with lumefantrine as a potential novel approach for glioblastoma management,” Fisher said. “Identification of drugs like lumefantrine from FDA-approved therapeutic agents and from uncommon sources provides opportunities to broaden the breadth and versatility of current therapeutic regimens for glioblastoma multiform patients.”

Beyond glioblastoma, elevated expression of Fli-1 can be seen in cancers such as melanoma, ovarian cancer, breast cancer, and others, researchers said, suggesting that blocking the cancer-promoting effects of Fli-1 might help other cancer patients as well.

“The present results may have broader implications than just treating glioblastoma,” Fisher said.

Vince Kitching, 69 male, booked an appointment with his GP straight after noticing it in his left breast, checking for breast cancer symptoms, Iran News quotes BBC wrote.

An ultrasound scan showed he had a tumor and he underwent a full mastectomy.

The grandfather-of-two from Llandudno Junction has now recovered after the discovery in May.

Breast cancer is very rare in men, with 390 diagnosed each year compared to 54,800 women, according to Cancer Research UK.

“Me and my wife Helen were devastated when we were told the news I had breast cancer,” Kitching said.

But he said after surgery in Ysbyty Glan Clwyd he was able to go home the same day to recover.

He added: “I was very lucky as I didn’t have any pain following my surgery and recovered very quickly.”

A week later, he received the news from his surgeon that the cancer had not spread and he did not need any further treatment.

“I’m not too sure how long the lump had been there but I wasn’t checking my breast area,” Kitching said.

“In fact, like many men, I didn’t even know we were supposed to check this area of our bodies.

“I had never heard of breast cancer in men before, there is no breast cancer in my immediate family so it had never crossed my mind.”

Breast cancer is often thought of as something that only affects women, but men can get it in rare cases.

It develops in the small amount of breast tissue men have behind their nipples and usually occurs in the over 60s.

Kitching’s surgeon Chiara Sirianni described male breast cancer as “quite rare” and said it represented about one percent of all cases.

She said: “It is important for men to remain aware and to report to the GP any new lumps on the breast or chest, especially if associated with skin changes and deformity.

“Most breast masses in men are benign, but they all warrant a specialist assessment.”

Sirianni said 95 percent of male breast cancer cases are diagnosed at an early stage, however a “significant proportion” have a family history of the disease.

“Cancer patients are often less active than adults without cancer,’ said author Dr. Flavio D’Ascenzi, University of Siena, Italy. A a result of not doing any exercise, cancer patients are more vulnerable to heart damage of chemotherapy.

“However, exercise is essential for patients diagnosed with cancer who are under treatment, irrespective of the type of treatment, Iran News quotes what eurekalert reported..

“Endurance training is more effective for improving cardiovascular performance and reducing inflammation, but resistance training may be a better starting point for frail cancer patients,” he continued.

“Other types of exercise, such as inspiratory muscle training, are safe and effective, particularly in those with thoracic cancer; therefore, the specific exercise should be chosen based on individual characteristics.”

Cardiovascular diseases are common side effects in patients with cancer. This is the result of cardiotoxicity, whereby cancer treatment impairs heart function and structure, or accelerated development of cardiovascular disease, especially when risk factors such as high blood pressure are present. Furthermore, cardiovascular diseases and cancer often share the same risk factors. Therefore, cancer patients are advised to eat healthily, quit smoking, control their weight, and exercise.

The paper highlights the importance of an individual exercise plan for each patient, taking into account personal history, cancer treatment, response to exercise, and personal preferences. Exercise should start as soon as possible, even before starting treatment to reduce damage of chemotherapy.

A multidisciplinary team should be involved in formulating an exercise prescription, including oncologists, cardiologists, physical therapists, nurses, nutritionists, and psychologists. Cardiac evaluation, with exercise testing (and particularly cardiopulmonary exercise testing or lactate testing) to determine response to exercise, is the starting point. The appropriate ‘dose’ of exercise (as usually done for a drug) can then be prescribed, including the intensity, type of training, and training volume (hours/minutes of training per week).

“Defining the intensity and volume of exercise is important for maximizing the benefits of physical activity while avoiding muscular soreness, fatigue, and sleep disorders,’ said D’Ascenzi.

Ongoing treatment is not a contraindication to exercise, but patients are urged to consult their doctor before starting a new activity. Specific guidance is provided: For example, patients with low hemoglobin levels should avoid high intensity activities; those with low platelet levels (needed for blood clotting) should not do contact sports. Activities that could increase the risk of fracture should be avoided in frail patients. Breathlessness or fatigue must be investigated but, after excluding associated health problems, exercise can help cope with fatigue, which is relatively common in cancer patients.

D’Ascenzi concluded: “Physical activity before, during and after cancer treatment can counteract the negative effects of therapies on the cardiovascular system. In addition, it can relieve symptoms such as nausea and fatigue and help prevent unwanted changes in body weight.”