Cancer News and Research

Latest Cancer News and Research

Cancer promoting gene identified

Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center and VCU Institute of Molecular Medicine researchers have identified a gene that may play a pivotal role in two processes that are essential for tumor development, growth and progression to metastasis. Scientists hope the finding could lead to an effective therapy to target and inhibit the expression of this gene resulting in inhibition of cancer growth.

21 Nov 2009

Discovery holds promise in fighting cancer, AIDS and autoimmune disorders

Researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) have uncovered the genetic identity of a cellular receptor for the immune system's first-response antibody, a discovery that sheds new light on infection control and immune disorders.

21 Nov 2009

Program on patients undergoing individualized treatment for metastatic breast cancer: NCCN

The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN), a not-for-profit alliance of 21 of the world's leading cancer centers, has collaborated with the Discovery Health Channel to produce a program profiling three patients with metastatic breast cancer and their healthcare team as they customize each patient's treatment regimen to their individual tumor type and health status.

21 Nov 2009

USGS researchers examine PAHs and PCBs sources in urban environment

Toxic dust: Toxins in coal-tar-based sealcoats in parking lots may be the culprit in contaminated house dust, according to a USGS study. PAHs - or polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons - are large molecules found in oil, coal and tar deposits, and can have toxic effects.

21 Nov 2009

Protector of single cysteines discovered

We've all read studies about the health benefits of having a life partner. The same thing is true at the molecular level, where amino acids known as cysteines are much more vulnerable to damage when single than when paired up with other cysteines.

21 Nov 2009

Obesity: A major contributor to the development of Type 2 diabetes

"Many Americans have a very limited understanding of the basic facts about diabetes, as well as the serious consequences for health that accompany the disease," commented Sue McLaughlin, RD, CDE, President, Health Care & Education, American Diabetes Association, in a media alert. She blames the problem on a combination of factors including denial of the disease and promotion of inaccurate information or myths surrounding diabetes.

21 Nov 2009

Short-term follow-up a reasonable alternative to biopsy of palpable breast lesions

Short-term follow-up is a reasonable alternative to invasive biopsy of palpable (capable of being touched or felt) breast lesions with benign imaging features, particularly in younger women with probable fibroadenoma (non-cancerous tumors that often occur in women during their reproductive years), according to a study published in the December issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology.

21 Nov 2009

New hope for patients with liver cancer

In patients with unresectable (unable to be removed by surgery) liver cancer, an interventional radiology procedure called triple-drug transcatheter arterial chemoemobolization (TACE) followed by a liver transplant may significantly increase a patient's chance of long-term survival, according to a study published in the December issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology.

21 Nov 2009

Emotionally abused children may face accelerated cellular aging as adults

Children who suffer physical or emotional abuse may be faced with accelerated cellular aging as adults, according to new research from Butler Hospital and Brown University.

21 Nov 2009

Whole genome analysis identifies 43 genetic loci contributing to lipoprotein metabolism

Using highly precise measurements of plasma lipoprotein concentrations determined by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR), researchers led by Daniel Chasman at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston, MA, the Framingham Heart Study in Framingham, and the PROCARDIS consortium in Stockholm, Sweden and Oxford, England performed genetic association analysis across the whole genome among 17,296 women of European ancestry from the Women's Genome Health Study.

21 Nov 2009

Prolonged exposure to formaldehyde linked with increased risk of myeloid leukemia

Long durations of exposure to formaldehyde used for embalming in the funeral industry were associated with an increased risk of death from myeloid leukemia, according to a new study published online November 20 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

21 Nov 2009

Zoladex consumers entitled to treble damages, Court rules

The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit upheld an earlier District Court ruling yesterday, approving a settlement in the long-running Average Wholesale Price (AWP) pharmaceutical litigation against AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals ( AZN).

21 Nov 2009

PhRMA reaffirms its commitment to support the health reform

POLITICO recently published an editorial by Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) Senior Vice President Ken Johnson. In the editorial, Johnson makes the case for health reform and reaffirm's PhRMA's commitment to supporting this historic effort.

21 Nov 2009

"Hotline" report on finasteride for prevention of prostate cancer

In response to a recent New York Times article that questions why currently available medications designed to treat and prevent some cancers are being ignored, ECRI Institute, an independent nonprofit organization, is offering a roadmap to the evidence on Finasteride for Prevention of Prostate Cancer for free download.

20 Nov 2009

FISH technology accurate in measuring the HER-2 receptor in human breast tumors

The debate on how to select patients who will respond best to costly drug treatments for aggressive breast cancer now favors fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) to measure the HER-2 receptor found in human breast tumors, according to a leading pathologist presenting at the Association for Molecular Pathology annual meeting.

20 Nov 2009

Guidelines on cancer screenings spark debate

New guidelines on mammograms and pap smears set off a fierce debate.

20 Nov 2009

Study reveals effectiveness of radiation therapy in achieving local control and palliation in patients with PNTs

Radiation therapy is effective in achieving local control and palliation in patients with pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (PNTs), despite such tumors being commonly considered resistant to radiation therapy, according to a largest of its kind study in the November 15 issue of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology*Biology*Physics, the official journal of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO).

20 Nov 2009

A selection of today's opinions and editorials

These bills will provide a bedrock sense of security and stability for Americans who have health insurance, and quality, affordable options for Americans without it (Peter R. Orszag, 11/20).

20 Nov 2009

CVS/pharmacy kicks off its fundraiser for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital's annual campaign

CVS/pharmacy kicks off its annual in store fundraiser for the sixth year to support the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital Thanks and Giving campaign, beginning this Sunday and running through December 12. CVS/pharmacy store colleagues will encourage customers to add $1 to their purchase at the register to support the lifesaving research of St. Jude, one of the world's premier centers for the research and treatment of pediatric cancer and other catastrophic childhood diseases.

20 Nov 2009

Antigenics to withdraw its MAA for Oncophage following CHMP’s negative opinion

Antigenics Inc. today announced that the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP), the scientific committee of the European Medicines Agency (EMEA), has formally adopted a negative opinion on the marketing authorization application (MAA) for Oncophage (vitespen) as a treatment in earlier-stage, localized renal cell carcinoma (kidney cancer).

20 Nov 2009