Cancer News and Research

Latest Cancer News and Research

Two new studies on Veterans Affairs health care system

As recently as the 1990s, the Veterans Affairs health care system had a subpar reputation for quality, but two new studies of standard quality metrics, both led by Amal Trivedi, assistant professor of community health at Brown University and a physician at the Providence VA Medical Center, show that the system that cares for more than 5 million patients has improved markedly in the last decade.

8 Apr 2011

Adult survivors of childhood CNS tumors have persistent, unmet health care needs

Patients treated in childhood for tumours of the central nervous system have persistent and unmet health care needs even in adulthood, according to a comprehensive study from Karolinska Institutet which investigated an entire cohort of patients in Sweden.

8 Apr 2011

NEJM: Perspectives from Aaron, Reinhardt, Iglehart, Annas, Chambers and others

This week's New England Journal of Medicine features perspectives from prominent authors on Medicare and Medicaid. NEJM granted KHN permission to excerpt substantial portions of these columns.

8 Apr 2011

Study: Majority of hospital deaths are due to late cancer diagnosis

Late cancer diagnosis in Northern Ireland contributes to hospital deaths despite patient's preference to die at home according to a major report launched at Queen's University Belfast.

8 Apr 2011

IBM discovers biodegradable nanoparticles that seek out and destroy drug-resistant bacteria

IBM's announcement of the first biodegradable nanoparticles that can seek out and destroy drug-resistant bacteria caps off a century of healthcare and life sciences innovation from IBM.

8 Apr 2011

Visual Healthcare Lab Automation Platform gains traction with private industrial clients

Visual Healthcare Corp. announces that its new Lab Automation module is quickly gaining traction with private sector industrial clients.

8 Apr 2011

ASBMB to honor 11 scientists with annual awards for biomedical research

The winners of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology annual awards will give lectures at the Experimental Biology 2011 conference April 9-13 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C.

8 Apr 2011

Bayer, Regeneron initiate two VEGF Trap-Eye Phase 3 trials in Diabetic Macular Edema

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Bayer HealthCare announced that they have initiated the first of two Phase 3 clinical trials evaluating the efficacy and safety of VEGF Trap-Eye, an investigational new agent for the treatment of certain eye diseases, in the treatment of Diabetic Macular Edema.

8 Apr 2011

Refined carbohydrates create an ill and obese population

When it comes to feeding a body well, we've all been told we need proteins, fats and carbohydrates. For years, many of those we trust for health information have told us that the foundation of our diet should primarily consist of carbohydrates, namely, grains, breads and pastas.

8 Apr 2011

New discovery in cancer and gene therapy

DNA's role as the master blueprint of the cell means that even small sequence changes can have catastrophic consequences. For this reason, much of our understanding of cancer development comes from studying how cells copy DNA and repair sequence errors--and how these processes can go wrong.

8 Apr 2011

Cosmic radiation can increase risk of atherosclerosis in astronauts

Astronauts anticipate more trips to the moon and manned missions to Mars. But exposure to cosmic radiation outside the Earth's magnetic field could be detrimental to their arteries, according to a study by University of Alabama at Birmingham researchers published April 6, 2011, online in the journal Radiation Research.

8 Apr 2011

Longer looks: Could Ryan's plan be a pitfall for Democrats?; the cost of military health care; revealing more about doctors' billing practices

Every week, reporter Jessica Marcy selects interesting reading from around the Web.

8 Apr 2011

Precision launches new tumor profiling product

Precision Therapeutics, Inc. announced that the launch of a new product line, BioSpeciFx, will help further the personalization of cancer treatments.

8 Apr 2011

Hope4Cancer offers gentle non-invasive therapies for patients with brain tumor

Linda Roberts was puzzled when her favorite food, chocolate ice cream, suddenly did not taste good, and her prized orchids didn't smell nice either. When she began having sudden, severe headaches, she mentioned the changes in taste and smell to her doctor. After several tests, Roberts was diagnosed with a glioblastoma multiforme, the most aggressive form of brain tumor.

8 Apr 2011

New insight into acute pancreatitis

Timing is everything. That's especially true when it comes to the activation of enzymes created by the pancreas to break down food. When the timing is right, those enzymes are activated only when they reach the gut, where they get to work releasing and distributing nutrients that we need to survive.

8 Apr 2011

Virtual reality games can improve motor function in stroke patients

Virtual reality and other video games can significantly improve motor function in stroke patients, according to research from St. Michael's Hospital.

8 Apr 2011

ASBMB honors South Carolina researcher with Avanti Award for sphingolipid work

The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology has named Yusuf Hannun, professor and department chairman at the Medical University of South Carolina, in Charleston, S.C., the winner of the Avanti Award in Lipids.

8 Apr 2011

New ATA recommendations on outpatient 131I therapy aim to treat thyroid cancer

New recommendations from the American Thyroid Association on outpatient radioiodine treatment aim to minimize unintended radiation exposure and maximize the safety of patients, their families, and the public.

8 Apr 2011

Genzyme's alemtuzumab Phase 2 trial data in MS to be presented at AAN meeting

Genzyme, a subsidiary of sanofi-aventis Group, announced today that it will present new data from its completed Phase 2 trial of the investigational drug alemtuzumab for multiple sclerosis at the American Academy of Neurology's 63rd Annual Meeting in Hawaii, April 9 - 16, 2011.

8 Apr 2011

New treatment approach raises hope for women with ovarian cancer

Researchers at Oregon Health & Science University's Oregon National Primate Research Center may have good news for women at high-risk for ovarian cancer who also want to have children.

8 Apr 2011