Cancer News and Research

Latest Cancer News and Research

Delphi Screener devices help detect HPV in women

More cases of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection - the major cause of cervical cancer - could be detected if home-testing kits were given to women who cannot attend conventional cervical screening, a Dutch study has found.

17 Mar 2010

Novel procedure opens door to new and future treatment for pancreatic cancer

Pancreatic cancer-known as the most fatal cancer with no known effective treatment-requires a radical new therapy. A promising approach may come in the form of tiny gold nanoparticles-loaded with a therapeutic agent to kill cancer-in a novel procedure called "nanoembolization," said researchers at the Society of Interventional Radiology's 35th Annual Scientific Meeting in Tampa, Fla.

17 Mar 2010

Cancer news coverage should also focus on hospice and end-of-life care

Newspaper and magazine reports about cancer appear more likely to discuss aggressive treatment and survival than death, treatment failure or adverse events, and almost none mention end-of-life palliative or hospice care, according to a report in the March 22 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

17 Mar 2010

New heart-healthy omega-3 crops on horizon

A new heart-healthy, essential omega-3 fatty acid is about to improve an American pantry staple: soybean oil. The new scientific advance will move biotechnology onto the average consumer's daily radar.

17 Mar 2010

Antidepressants effective against depression in patients suffering from physical illnesses

Antidepressants are effective against depression in patients suffering from physical illnesses, according to a new systematic review by Cochrane researchers at King's Health Partners Academic Health Sciences Centre in the UK. The researchers found the drugs were more effective than placebos at treating depression in these patients.

17 Mar 2010

Study provides new perspective on cell movements

When cells move about in the body, they follow a complex pattern similar to that which amoebae and bacteria use when searching for food, a team of Vanderbilt researchers have found.

17 Mar 2010

MedSolutions launches oncology management program for cancer patients

MedSolutions (www.medsolutions.com), a leading provider of medical cost management services, today announced the launch of its oncology management program, which uses evidence-based guidelines to ensure appropriate use of diagnostic imaging, radiation therapy and drugs for cancer patients.

17 Mar 2010

Human Genome Sciences to deploy Aegis Analytical's Discoverant manufacturing intelligence solution

Aegis Analytical Corp., the leading provider of Enterprise Manufacturing Intelligence software, announced today that Human Genome Sciences, Inc. will deploy Aegis’ Discoverant® as its data management, analytics and reporting solution in the scale-up and production of BENLYSTA™ (belimumab), an investigational drug for the treatment of systemic lupus that has successfully completed Phase 3 trials.

17 Mar 2010

Genentech submits ACTEMRA sBLA to FDA

Genentech, Inc., a wholly-owned member of the Roche Group, today announced that the company submitted a supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for ACTEMRA® (tocilizumab) for the prevention of structural joint damage (as assessed by radiograph) and improvement in physical function in adults with moderately to severely active rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

17 Mar 2010

Boosting radiation dose for prostate cancer patients does not increase severity of side effects

Boosting the radiation dose given to prostate cancer patients to a level that cut tumor recurrence in half did not increase the severity of side effects reported by patients up to a decade later. The study led by Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center researchers also found that patients characterized the impact of continuing side effects on their quality of life as considerably less bothersome than would be expected, based on earlier studies.

17 Mar 2010

IDSA calls for global commitment to develop 10 new antibiotics by 2020

As the deaths and suffering caused by antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections continue to rise around the world, the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) is urging a global commitment to develop 10 new antibiotics by 2020, known as the 10 x '20 initiative, to address this public health crisis and safeguard patients' health.

17 Mar 2010

California jury rules insurer should pay for out-of-state operation; Mass. probe shows insurers' payments can vary widely

The Los Angeles Times: "A Los Angeles jury concluded Monday that Anthem Blue Cross should cover the cost of an out-of-state liver transplant that a California man paid for after the insurer balked. In addition, the jury ordered Blue Cross to pay plaintiff Ephram Nehme's legal expenses, which could dwarf the $206,000 cost of the transplant. Blue Cross approved Nehme's liver transplant in late 2006, and he was on the waiting list at UCLA Medical Center.

17 Mar 2010

Celerus Diagnostics to present Wave RPD totally automated HC staining system at annual USCAP meeting

Celerus Diagnostics will introduce a totally automated immunohistochemistry (IHC) staining system, the much-anticipated Wave RPD, at the United States and Canadian Association of Pathologists (USCAP) annual meeting being held in Washington DC, March 22–24. The new system is the first of its kind, capable of delivering totally automated IHC results in one hour.

17 Mar 2010

Women on oral contraceptive pills live longer

Women who are taking or have taken the contraceptive pill in their lifetimes are not at an increased risk of death, Scottish researchers say. In fact, the pill may help to prolong life.

17 Mar 2010

Gardasil vaccine may protect women from post-surgical recurrence of cervical cancer

A vaccine designed to prevent cervical cancer also may protect females from post-surgical recurrence of the disease, according to researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

17 Mar 2010

Obama makes a final overhaul pitch in Ohio

With a possible deciding vote on health care overhaul legislation nearing, President Obama traveled Monday to Ohio to make a last-minute plea for political "courage" to pass the legislation, The Washington Post reports. "Making an impassioned pitch in a part of the country where unemployment runs high and insurance coverage is uncertain, Obama said in a speech at a senior center here, 'I don't know about the politics, but I know what's the right thing to do'" (Slevin and Branigin, 3/15).

17 Mar 2010

Cryotherapy offers potential treatment options for breast cancer patients

Interventional radiologists have opened the door to an encouraging potential future treatment for the nearly 200,000 women who are diagnosed with breast cancer in the United States each year: image-guided, multiprobe cryotherapy.

17 Mar 2010

Despite accomplishments and improvements, cancer remains too common disease in the U.S.

Although there have been achievements in the battle against cancer, including a decrease in the rate of death and new diagnoses, cancer remains one of the leading causes of death in the U.S., with a need for continued improvement in the areas of prevention, detection and treatment, according to a commentary in the March 17 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on cancer.

17 Mar 2010

Key cellular defect in protein synthesis can lead to cancer susceptibility

UCSF researchers have discovered that a key cellular defect that disturbs the production of proteins in human cells can lead to cancer susceptibility. The scientists also found that a new generation of inhibitory drugs offers promise in correcting this defect.

17 Mar 2010

Researchers explore new tools to mitigate risk of radiation exposure

Doctors have a clearer picture than ever before of how much radiation reaches sensitive tissues during routine X-rays and similar imaging, thanks to sophisticated models of the human body being developed at the University of Florida.

17 Mar 2010