Cancer News and Research

Latest Cancer News and Research

Scientists discover how to enhance production of hepatocytes to repair damaged liver tissue

Scientists have shed light on how the liver repairs itself with research that could help develop drugs to treat liver disease.

4 Mar 2012

Novel partnership could transform breast cancer diagnosis

An innovative University of Sydney research partnership with private enterprise could see a radical change in how breast cancer is diagnosed, with the possibility to improve detection rates.

4 Mar 2012

Vitamin A daily dose may help prevent skin cancer: Study

A study has shown that a daily vitamin pill could help prevent skin cancer - particularly among women. Scientists say taking food supplements containing vitamin A can make people less likely to develop melanoma, the deadliest form of the disease.

4 Mar 2012

Diesel exhaust fumes linked to lung cancer among miners

It has been known that diesel exhaust may be a probable carcinogen. But the 20-year study from the National Cancer Institute took a closer look in the Diesel Exhaust in Miners Study, which followed 12,315 miners working in eight underground nonmetal mining facilities. Data were collected on the miners' health and exposure to various elements and chemicals from the time when the mine company first introduced diesel-powered equipment (between 1947 and 1967) until the end of the study in 1997. They breathed varying levels of exhaust from diesel-powered equipment, levels higher than the general population encounters.

4 Mar 2012

Heavy DE exposure may increase risk of dying from lung cancer

Heavy diesel exhaust (DE) exposure in humans may increase the risk of dying from lung cancer, according to two papers released March 2nd by the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

3 Mar 2012

Rigosertib drug shows promise against advanced pancreatic cancer

The American Cancer Society estimates that 44,000 new cases of pancreatic cancer will be diagnosed this year and that 37,000 people will die from the disease. These are not strong odds. A new drug, rigosertib, allows pancreatic cancer cells to rush through replication - and then stops them cold, killing them in in the middle of a step called M phase. Healthy cells that don't rush are unharmed.

3 Mar 2012

Promising results from initial trial of new ultrasonic breast cancer screening

Scientists have successfully completed an initial trial of a new, potentially more reliable, technique for screening breast cancer using ultrasound. The team at the National Physical Laboratory (NPL), the UK's National Measurement Institute, working with the University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust, are now looking to develop the technique into a clinical device.

3 Mar 2012

Viewpoints: The defeated Blunt Amendment, Obama's $100B Catholic hospital risk, fixing drug shortages

The amendment, which was attached to a highway bill, was defeated on a narrow 48-to-51 vote. But it showed once again how far from the mainstream Republicans have strayed in their relentless efforts to undermine the separation of church and state, deny women access to essential health services and tear apart President Obama's health care reform law.

3 Mar 2012

Survivors of cancer in childhood have higher risk of infertility in later life

Survivors of cancer in childhood have a higher risk of infertility in later life. This is the conclusion reached by Magdalena Balcerek and her co-authors in a study published in Deutsches -rzteblatt International.

3 Mar 2012

WUSTL scientists to decode DNA of 99 patients with rare diseases

Rare genetic diseases, long overlooked because they affect relatively few people, are getting new attention. Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis are reaching out to patient advocacy groups and offering to decode the DNA of 99 patients with rare diseases to help find the genetic alterations responsible for their illnesses.

3 Mar 2012

Early surgical intervention stops seizures and improves quality of life

While the thought of any type of surgery can be disconcerting, the thought of brain surgery can be downright frightening. But for people with a particular form of epilepsy, surgical intervention can literally be life-restoring.

3 Mar 2012

Polymer-based medical implants can produce harmful free radicals

A polymer is a mesh of chains, which slowly break over time due to the pressure from ordinary wear and tear. When a polymer is squeezed, the pressure breaks chemical bonds and produces free radicals: ions with unpaired electrons, full of untapped energy. These molecules are responsible for aging, DNA damage and cancer in the human body.

3 Mar 2012

REST molecule acts as an adapter in stem cells, times neuronal development

Upon fertilisation, a single cell is formed when egg and sperm fuse. Our entire body, with more than 200 specialised cell types and billions of cells are formed from this single cell. It is a scientific mystery how the early stem cells know what cell type to become, but a precise timing of the process is crucial for correct development and function of our body.

3 Mar 2012

Older women face increased risk of late stage breast cancer diagnosis

Older women with breast cancer face a higher risk of being diagnosed with the disease at a late stage, while the risk of an advanced stage diagnosis of lung cancer decreases with age, a new study shows today.

3 Mar 2012

Long-term data from Baxter's HyQ clinical study on PI

Baxter International Inc. today announced the presentation of additional long-term data supporting the clinical profile of HyQ, its investigational combination product for use in patients with primary immunodeficiencies.

From Baxter International Inc. 3 Mar 2012

Proceeds from Polo Under the Palms in Sarasota to benefit MD Anderson Cancer Center

Polo mallets and palm trees take center stage as Polo Under the Palms returns to Sarasota, Fla., March 24. Proceeds from the second annual competition benefit The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

2 Mar 2012

Congress urged to pass 'Removing Barriers to Colorectal Cancer Screening Act of 2012'

Colonoscopy for colorectal cancer screening saves lives, but a loophole in current Medicare law may cause patients to think twice before undergoing this vital test. Legislation introduced today seeks to ensure that colorectal cancer screening for all Medicare beneficiaries is free, as intended.

2 Mar 2012

External cues affect cell's ability to migrate

In a paper published today in the journal, Cell, a team from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has explained for the first time how a long-studied protein complex affects cell migration and how external cues affect cell's ability to migrate.

2 Mar 2012

Combination of implanted DCs and EBRT effective in creating sarcoma tumor immune response

A team of 18 researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Fla., have found that treating high-risk, soft tissue sarcoma patients with a combination of implanted dendritic cells (immune system cells) and fractionated external beam radiation (EBRT) provided more than 50 percent of their trial patients with tumor-specific immune responses lasting from 11 to 42 weeks.

2 Mar 2012

Desflurane may be safer anesthetic option for patients with AD

In a study that will appear in Annals of Neurology and has received early online release, Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers report that administration of isoflurane impaired the performance of mice on a standard test of learning and memory - a result not seen when another anesthetic, desflurane, was administered.

2 Mar 2012