Cancer News and Research

Latest Cancer News and Research

First Edition: August 21, 2012

Today's headlines include reports from the campaign trail, where House candidates are turning up the Medicare debate; and from the health care marketkplace, where Aetna acquired Coventry Health, a Medicare and Medicaid insurer.

21 Aug 2012

Bile duct cancer chosen as next indication for PCI Biotech

PCI Biotech (PCIB) the Norwegian biopharmaceutical company, reported today that it has chosen bileduct cancer as the next indication for the use of its PCI (photochemical internalisation) localised cancer therapy. In this indication PCI Biotech’s proprietary photosensitiser Amphinex® will be used in combination with the generic cytotoxic agent gemcitabine. The aim is to start the clinical Proof of Concept study within end of 1H 2013.

21 Aug 2012

Berry wines may help people with diabetes decrease their blood sugar

In evaluating the bioactive compounds of Illinois blueberry and blackberry wines, University of Illinois scientists have found compounds that inhibit enzymes responsible for carbohydrate absorption and assimilation. And that could mean a tasty way to help people with diabetes decrease their blood sugar.

21 Aug 2012

New tool reveals surprising clues about how cancer cells respond to therapy

A new tool to observe cell behavior has revealed surprising clues about how cancer cells respond to therapy, and may offer a way to further refine personalized cancer treatments.

21 Aug 2012

Higher mammographic density not linked to reduced survival in breast cancer patients

The risk of dying from breast cancer was not related to high mammographic breast density in breast cancer patients, according to a study published August 20 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

21 Aug 2012

Declining rates of circumcision in US infant males could add billions to health care costs

A team of disease experts and health economists at Johns Hopkins warns that steadily declining rates of U.S. infant male circumcision could add more than $4.4 billion in avoidable health care costs if rates over the next decade drop to levels now seen in Europe.

21 Aug 2012

Researchers examine link between zoning code reforms and physical-activity among U.S. adults

Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago have received a $1.5 million federal grant to examine the relationship between zoning code reforms, the physical environment, and physical-activity behavior in communities throughout the U.S.

21 Aug 2012

MitoTarget Project and neurodegenerative diseases: an interview with Rebecca Pruss, Ph.D., CSO of Trophos

The MitoTarget Project was a project funded by the European Commission, under their FP7 programme. It was funding for a call published in 2007.

21 Aug 2012

New model more effective in predicting individuals at high risk of lung cancer

A lung cancer risk prediction model developed by scientists at the University of Liverpool has been shown to be a viable tool for selecting high risk individuals for prevention and control programmes.

21 Aug 2012

Spirituality often enhances health regardless of a person's faith

Despite differences in rituals and beliefs among the world's major religions, spirituality often enhances health regardless of a person's faith, according to University of Missouri researchers. The MU researchers believe that health care providers could take advantage of this correlation between health - particularly mental health - and spirituality by tailoring treatments and rehabilitation programs to accommodate an individual's spiritual inclinations.

21 Aug 2012

Mayo Clinic receives approval for construction of new building on Phoenix campus

Mayo Clinic has been granted approval for construction of a 217,200 square-foot building on its Phoenix campus, a major expansion that will create a single-site, integrated Cancer Center. Mayo Clinic Cancer Center is the only National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center with a multi-site, national presence, which allows us to serve a broad and diverse group of patients.

21 Aug 2012

Viewpoints: Insuring medical treatments are well researched; GOP Govs reluctance on exchanges may backfire

By 1990, many doctors were recommending hormone replacement therapy to healthy middle-aged women and P.S.A. screening for prostate cancer to older men. Both interventions had become standard medical practice. But in 2002, a randomized trial showed that preventive hormone replacement caused more problems (more heart disease and breast cancer) than it solved. ... Then, in 2009, trials showed that P.S.A. screening led to many unnecessary surgeries and had a dubious effect on prostate cancer deaths.

21 Aug 2012

India's CNBC-TV18 examines implications of country's decision to issue compulsory license for Bayer cancer drug

"India's grant of a compulsory license to Natco for Bayer's kidney-cancer drug Nexavar has sent shockwaves across the globe," but "India has found a backer in the World Health Organization," CNBC-TV18's "moneycontrol.com" reports.

21 Aug 2012

Thiabendazole drug slows tumor growth and shows promise as chemotherapy for cancer

An inexpensive antifungal drug, thiabendazole, slows tumor growth and shows promise as a chemotherapy for cancer. Scientists in the College of Natural Sciences at The University of Texas at Austin made this discovery by exploiting the evolutionary relatedness of yeast, frogs, mice and humans.

21 Aug 2012

Daily vitamin D intake protects against respiratory infections in children

A study conducted in Mongolian schoolchildren supports the possibility that daily vitamin D supplementation can reduce the risk of respiratory infections in winter. In a report that will appear in the journal Pediatrics and has received early online release, an international research team found that vitamin D supplementation decreased the risk of respiratory infections among children who had low blood levels of vitamin D at the start of the study.

21 Aug 2012