Cancer News and Research

Latest Cancer News and Research

New information on genetic shuffling before egg or sperm formation rewrites genetic theory

Key decisions in the genetic shuffling that occurs before eggs or sperm are formed are made earlier than thought, rewriting textbook genetics, according to recent papers from researchers at UC Davis, Harvard University and UC San Diego.

16 Apr 2004

How to beat throat cancer

Rochesterian Jim Toole is looking forward to a warm summer filled with hearty picnic barbecues after beating throat cancer.

16 Apr 2004

Mayo Clinic debunks myths cancer myths

Believing cancer myths can be dangerous to your health, because they could prevent you from having the tests and treatments needed to detect and treat cancer.

16 Apr 2004

Tibetan yoga helps cancer and insomnia

The first study to look at the use of Tibetan yoga by cancer patients found the combination of movement and meditation led to a significant sleep benefit, say researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.

16 Apr 2004

Evidence suggests cutting back on state-sponsored smoking prevention campaigns could increase smoking rates

New evidence indicates that cutting back on state-sponsored smoking prevention campaigns could result in a sharp increase in smoking rates, particularly among adolescents, and should convince all states to protect these programs, according to the American Heart Association.

16 Apr 2004

Certain prostate cancer cell lines are unable to repair DNA damage caused by "free radicals"

Certain prostate cancer cell lines are unable to repair DNA damage caused by "free radicals," according to scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and National Institutes of Health (NIH). This type of damage has been implicated before in the development of prostate cancer.

16 Apr 2004

New gene presents a potent new target for breast cancer therapy

A gene known to promote longevity in animals has now been discovered to encode a tumor suppressor – a protein that helps prevent cancer, according to a study by a team of scientists from The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center. The new gene, which was inactivated in two-thirds of patients studied, presents a potent new target for breast cancer therapy, the researchers say.

16 Apr 2004

New insights into how tumors neutralize CD8 T cells

Scientists have speculated that this may be because the immune response is not strong enough, or because it does not last long enough to have an effect. Hence the increasing efforts to develop cancer vaccines that induce, strengthen, and increase the duration of immunological attack against cancer cells.

16 Apr 2004

Cancer-specific protein offers new target for the development of melanoma vaccine

Scientists from the Cancer Vaccine Collaborative (CVC) have discovered that the cancer-specific protein, SSX-2, induces a spontaneous immunological reaction against cancer cells in melanoma patients, offering a new target for the development of a therapeutic melanoma vaccine. SSX-2 is the prototype of the SSX family, and is part of a larger group of proteins known as cancer/testis (CT) antigens.

16 Apr 2004

Breast cancer treatment based on MIT radar research

A breast cancer treatment based on MIT radar research that was originally aimed at detecting space-borne missiles is showing promise in the final phase of clinical testing.

16 Apr 2004

Three hours exercise reduces risk of breast cancer

Three hours of moderate exercise per week significantly reduced circulating estrogens in postmenopausal women, according to a new study published in the current issue of Cancer Research. The finding may explain why women who exercise regularly lower their risk for breast cancer.

16 Apr 2004

Proteomics techniques to find a possible predictor of response in a chemoprevention trial

Using new technology associated with the study of proteins, or proteomics, scientists at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and their colleagues have made a step toward predicting which people with familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP), an inherited condition that often leads to colon cancer, will respond to the prevention drug celecoxib.

16 Apr 2004

Free software helps capture the molecular signatures of cells

A new, free software package developed by the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard makes it easier and faster for scientists to capture the molecular signatures of cells in a particular state--information that's crucial to disease diagnosis and prognosis.

14 Apr 2004

Muscle stem cells morph to resemble nerve cells

Taking a major step forward in stem cell biology, researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center have turned muscle progenitor cells — stem cells that are “committed” to becoming muscle tissue — into cells that look and act like neurons (nerve cells).

14 Apr 2004

North America's largest-ever breast cancer enrolls 19,000th participant

Leaders of North America's largest-ever breast cancer prevention trial, the Study of Tamoxifen and Raloxifene (STAR), are striving to reach a major milestone this summer: the enrollment of the study's 19,000th — and final — participant.

14 Apr 2004

Women get better picture on hormone replacement therapy

Detailed results of the "estrogen-alone" study within the Women's Health Initiative (WHI), which was terminated in early March 2004, are providing some of the first answers to questions about the efficacy of estrogen alone to prevent chronic disease in healthy, postmenopausal women who have had a hysterectomy.

14 Apr 2004

Cancer could be inactivated by RNA library

CANCER RESEARCH UK and the Netherlands Cancer Institute have completed the first stage of a landmark initiative to systematically uncover the function of our genes, the charities announce today.

14 Apr 2004

FDA approval for skin cancer cream

3M has received an "approvable" letter from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in response to its supplemental new drug application on Aldara (imiquimod) Cream, 5% for the treatment of superficial basal cell carcinoma (sBCC), a common form of non-melanoma skin cancer.

14 Apr 2004

Cinnamon's role as an insulin substitute in type II diabetes

Cinnamon may be more than a spice – it may have a medical application in preventing and combating diabetes. Cinnamon may help by playing the role of an insulin substitute in type II diabetes, according to cellular and molecular studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara, Iowa State University and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

14 Apr 2004

CT colonography not presently a viable option for colorectal cancer screening

Findings of a new multicenter study by Cotton et al. published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association comparing standard colonoscopy with CT colonography for the detection of colorectal cancer reveal that this technology, in the form used most often in the United States, while of significant interest, is not presently a viable option for routine colorectal cancer screening.

14 Apr 2004