Cancer News and Research

Latest Cancer News and Research

Saint Louis professor develops new high-flow brain bypass procedure

On the cover of a recent edition of the journal Neurosurgery, the highest circulation medical journal in the field, readers saw an artist's intricate depiction of the high-flow brain bypass technique developed by Saint Louis University professor of neurosurgery, Saleem Abdulrauf, M.D.

15 Apr 2011

Coffee made in espresso machines or from capsules contain more carcinogenic furan

Coffee made in espresso makers, above all that made from capsules, contains more furan - a toxic, carcinogenic compound - than that made in traditional drip coffee makers, although the levels are still within safe health limits.

15 Apr 2011

Adhering to cancer prevention guidelines reduces risk of cancer, cardiovascular disease

A study of more than 100,000 men and women over 14 years finds nonsmokers who followed recommendations for cancer prevention had a lower risk of death from cancer, cardiovascular disease, and all-causes. The study appears early online in Cancer Biomarkers, Epidemiology, and Prevention, and was led by American Cancer Society epidemiologists.

15 Apr 2011

FEN1 enzyme might serve as anti-cancer therapy target

An enzyme essential for DNA replication and repair in humans works in a way that might be exploited as anti-cancer therapy, say researchers at The Scripps Research Institute and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

15 Apr 2011

Safer-sex education leads to fewer episodes of unprotected sex

Teaching young women how to prevent sexually transmitted infections (STIs) increases condom use and might reduce their number of sexual partners, but little research exists on whether educational programs reduce rates of STIs such as human papillomavirus, according to an updated research review from England.

15 Apr 2011

Varian Medical Systems launches new brachytherapy applicator

Varian Medical Systems is introducing a new brachytherapy applicator for treating endometrial cancer patients after a hysterectomy. The Capri applicator, aimed at increasing patient comfort and allowing clinicians to better sculpt the radiotherapy dose, is being exhibited this week at the annual American Brachytherapy Society meeting in San Diego.

15 Apr 2011

New JAMA issue focuses on infectious diseases and immunology

Several media outlets report on findings published in this week's issue of JAMA, which focuses on infectious diseases and immunology.

15 Apr 2011

Early recognition of oral cancer symptoms

For decades, the incidence of oral cancer has remained nearly constant, partly because it can be difficult to detect. However, during April, Oral Cancer Awareness Month, Western Dental Services, Inc., is joining the national effort to support early recognition of oral cancer symptoms.

15 Apr 2011

Scientists identify novel small molecules that block human tumor cell growth

Researchers from the Cancer Institute at NYU Langone Medical Center have identified three novel small molecules that interrupt a crucial cellular communication pathway that regulates many aspects of development and cancer.

15 Apr 2011

Genzyme reports positive data from 5-year alemtuzumab Phase 2 study in MS

Genzyme Corp., a subsidiary of sanofi-aventis Group, today reported additional five-year patient data from its completed Phase 2 multiple sclerosis (MS) trial showing that nearly two-thirds of alemtuzumab treated patients remained free of clinically-active disease as much as four years after most patients received their last course of the investigational drug.

15 Apr 2011

Researchers pinpoint new approach that can treat pediatric leukemia

A Loyola University Health System study points to a promising new approach to treating an aggressive and usually fatal leukemia in babies.

15 Apr 2011

Insight into Cervical Spondylotic Myelopathy

Researchers at the Krembil Neuroscience Centre, Toronto Western Hospital have identified a cell receptor, which is responsible for cell death in the spinal cord in a condition called Cervical Spondylotic Myelopathy.

15 Apr 2011

Study finds 47% of meat and poultry samples contaminated with S. aureus

Drug-resistant strains of Staphylococcus aureus, a bacteria linked to a wide range of human diseases, are present in meat and poultry from U.S. grocery stores at unexpectedly high rates, according to a nationwide study by the Translational Genomics Research Institute.

15 Apr 2011

Researchers report injectable gel can help treat arthritis

Some 25 million people in the United States alone suffer from rheumatoid arthritis or its cousin osteoarthritis, diseases characterized by often debilitating pain in the joints. Now researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital report an injectable gel that could spell the future for treating these diseases and others.

15 Apr 2011

African genital herpes strains are more infectious than the U.S. virus

Strains of genital herpes in Africa are far more virulent than those in the United States, researchers at Harvard Medical School report, a striking insight into a common disease with important implications for preventing HIV transmission in a region staggered by the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

15 Apr 2011

AHRQ finds 52% increase in medication side effects, injuries between 2004 and 2008

The number of people treated in U.S. hospitals for illnesses and injuries from taking medicines jumped 52 percent between 2004 and 2008 - from 1.2 million to 1.9 million - according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

15 Apr 2011

Nurses use ineffective strategy for adapting circadian clocks to night-time schedule

As many as 25 percent of hospital nurses go without sleep for at least 24 hours in order to adjust to working on the night shift, which is the least effective strategy for adapting their internal, circadian clocks to a night-time schedule.

15 Apr 2011

Alliance HealthCare Services acquires 24/7 Radiology

Alliance HealthCare Services, Inc., a leading national provider of outpatient diagnostic imaging and radiation therapy services, announced the acquisition of 24/7 Radiology, a professional radiology services company, which provides both preliminary and final professional radiology interpretation services for MRI, CT, ultrasound, X-Ray and other imaging modalities in 18 states.

15 Apr 2011

Researchers temporarily turn off essential gene using RNAi technology

One way of discovering a gene's function is to switch it off and observe how the loss of its activity affects an organism. If a gene is essential for survival, however, then switching it off permanently will kill the organism before the gene's function can be determined. Researchers at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) have overcome this problem by using RNA interference (RNAi) technology to temporarily turn off any essential gene in adult mice and then turn it back on before the change kills the animals.

15 Apr 2011

Normal breast cells provide an innate defense mechanism against cancer

It is well known that the human body has a highly developed immune system to detect and destroy invading pathogens and tumor cells. Now, researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have shown that the body has a second line of defense against cancer - healthy cells.

15 Apr 2011