Paul Allen, who co-founded Microsoft with Bill Gates, has been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, reports CNN.  Specifically, he has been diagnosed with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, the most common type of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

The diagnosis comes more than 25 years after Allen was treated for Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Allen, 56, is currently undergoing chemotherapy, and CNN quotes his sister as  saying that Allen is optimistic he can beat the disease.

For more information, see CNN's article.

Those with relapsed and refractory peripheral T-cell lymphoma  -- a rare cancer -- now have the first treatment ever available for their disease. Folotyn (pralatrexate) was approved for this use just a few days ago by the FDA. This OK was based on the PROPEL trial, which showed early and newfound response in patients.  Of course, Folotyn is not without its side effects. Learn more by reading the FDA's news release on the approval.

Diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is one of the most common types of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). It affects thousands of individuals worldwide. Apart from the stage of cancer and blood test results, several other factors like the age and fitness (often termed the 'performance status') of the patient can impact the outcomes of treatment with chemotherapy and radiation. See Prognostic factors for DLBCL.

Scientists at the US National Cancer Insitute in Bethesda carried out research to test if the different genes in the tumor could also predict treatment outcomes. In a pathbreaking study they tested multiple 'gene expression signatures' - a scientific term for patterns of genes that are expressed in the tumor, in more than 400 patients with DLBCL. They found that using 3 important gene patterns it was possible to predict different treatment outcomes after the same treatment in the same disease.

Their research is likely to prompt further research on this issue and help doctors predict how an individual is likely to respond to treatment, and whether different 'gene signatures' should be treated differently.

This is not the kind of news that Britons will be happy to hear.

A report on cancer survival that compares deaths from cancer in UK with 13 other countries in the rest of Europe has some definitely disconcerting news. The report is being presented at the launch of the National Awareness and Early Diagnosis Initiative (NAEDI), a part of Cancer Research, UK.

The report compared death rates for 39 cancers, including lymphomas, between UK and other European countries and has come to the conclusion that each year, nearly 11,000 deaths could be prevented in the UK if only their rates could match the European average.

This report should prompt the NHS to take measures for an earlier diagnosis and more effective treatments to meet the increasing threat of cancer in their population.