Blood Test Screens for Gastric Cancer

February 2018

Act Before March 1st: Join the Your Cancer Game Plan Challenge

The Your Cancer Game Plan Challenge was launched by Merck in honor of World Cancer Day. Until March 1st, Gastric Cancer Foundation will receive $5 for every social media share of yourcancergameplan.com. Your participation will help Gastric Cancer Foundation help those impacted by the disease.

As many of us know all too well, any form of cancer can challenge all aspects of daily life and make it hard for people to talk to friends, family, or even their medical team about things that they are feeling and thinking. Family members and loved ones can also struggle and feel helpless. They want to help but are sometimes overwhelmed, confused, and in need of support and information.

Your Cancer Game Plan offers information, tips, and video content to help patients and families address their needs when it comes to emotions, health, and communication.

When you help spread the word about this resource, you will also support gastric cancer research. Ask your friends and family to share the site with their contacts.

A Soup Recipe for Lunar New Year and Year-Round

GCF board member, Hans Rueffert, offers a new twist on eating protein for those recovering from gastric cancer. Hans offers a couple of delicious flavoring variations for miso, his favorite probiotic. Those celebrating the Lunar New Year will especially enjoy this miso soup recipe. Actually, everyone can enjoy it!

In this continuing nutrition video series, Hans shares his personal experiences and some of the tasty recipes that have helped him through his 10-plus years as a gastric cancer survivor and a "chef without a stomach." See all of our nutritious recipes on our website.

Research Round-Up

Research this month includes updates on emerging treatments, screening, and prevention.

In gastric cancer treatment news, Athenex, Inc. has released encouraging results in their recently completed Phase 1 clinical trial for Oraxol (oral paclitaxel) plus CYRAMZA (ramucirumab) in gastric cancer patients who had failed previous chemotherapy treatments. Oraxol is an oral formulation of paclitaxel, a commonly used chemotherapy, combined with HM30181A (a novel P-gp inhibitor). Read more here.

There is also news about screening. Although it's a long way from being a marketable device, researchers at Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center have developed a blood test (CancerSEEK) that screens and identifies the location of certain cancer types, including gastric cancer. Find out more here. Another study in the World Journal of Surgery has found a combination of CRP/Alb ratio and NLR can be an independent prognostic indicator for gastric cancer.

And on the risk factor side, a prospective study in Gut Journal quantifies the cancer risk associated with each gastritis stage. Another study using genomic technologies and published in Cancer Cell investigates the effects of having Helicobacter pylori infections and intestinal metaplasia on gastric cancer occurrence and progression.

What Would Make Our Website Better?

We are revamping our website with a new look and new features. We would like to hear your ideas about making the new website more useful for gastric cancer patients and families. Let us know what you would like to see and the types of information you could use. Also, tell us what you currently like best on gastriccancer.org. Please send your comments and suggestions to info@gastriccancer.org.

Next Month: Gastric Cancer Registry Update

Stay tuned for news of how the Gastric Cancer Registry is growing and how your participation can help further research. Next month, we'll feature an interview with the new team headed by Hanlee Ji, MD.

Support Our Cause for Hope: Help Advance Research

The Gastric Cancer Foundation is dedicated to accelerating research focused on improving treatments and finding a cure for this disease. Remember, gastric cancer research receives just 0.4% of all federal funding for cancer research.

Donate now to help bridge the funding gap and support this urgent work.

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