Cancer News and Research

Latest Cancer News and Research

Discovery of critical marker of response to gemcitabine in pancreatic cancer

A protein related to aggressive cancers can actually improve the efficacy of gemcitabine at treating pancreatic cancer, according to a Priority Report in Cancer Research, published by researchers at Thomas Jefferson University.

4 Jun 2009

Discovery of new genetic immune disorder in children

Your immune system plays an important function in your health - it protects you against viruses, bacteria, and other toxins that can cause disease. In autoinflammatory diseases, however, the immune system goes awry, causing unprovoked and dangerous inflammation.

4 Jun 2009

Report says 650,000 cancer deaths avoided between 1990 and 2005

The American Cancer Society's annual cancer statistics report finds that 15 years of steady declines in overall cancer death rates translate to about 650,000 deaths from cancer avoided or delayed during that time period. The estimate comes from 'Cancer Statistics 2009,' published early online and appearing in the July/August print issue of CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians.

4 Jun 2009

Prophylactic cranial irradiation prevents early lung cancer metastases to the brain

A national Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) study led by a Medical College of Wisconsin Cancer Center physician at Froedtert Hospital in Milwaukee has found that a course of radiation therapy to the brain after treatment for locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer reduced the risk of metastases to the brain within the first year after treatment. The study was presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting in Orlando, June 1.

3 Jun 2009

Research looks at bariatric surgery waiting times in Canada

Obesity is now acknowledged as a chronic disease with a number of related complications, and its prevalence has reached alarming epidemic proportions. While bariatric surgery is effective at treating the disease, access to this procedure is still too limited in Canada.

3 Jun 2009

Baucus: Obama open to taxing health benefits to pay for health reform

On the same day President Obama expressed the urgent need for health care reform, he also met with two dozen Senate Democrats and suggested that he is open to considering taxing employer-provided health benefits to pay for health care reform, The Washington Post reports.

3 Jun 2009

Research looks at relationship between death rates from lung cancer and how much a person smoked

It's common knowledge that smoking raises risks of lung cancer. And yet researchers haven't known whether continued smoking by lung cancer patients would increase the risk of the cancer's spread.

3 Jun 2009

Research questions standard protocol for treating traumatic brain injury

Traumatic brain injury - not heart disease, stroke or cancer - is the number one cause of death and disability in people under 45. Each year, some 1.5 million Americans, including soldiers, athletes, the elderly and children, sustain head injuries, and nearly half of them will be hospitalized and treated in an emergency room or intensive care unit.

3 Jun 2009

Metformin may 'revolutionize' cancer-fighting treatments

Researchers at McGill University and the University of Pennsylvania have discovered that a widely used anti-diabetic drug can boost the immune system and increase the potency of vaccines and cancer treatments. Their findings will be published June 3 in the journal Nature.

3 Jun 2009

Diet low in fat and red meat and high in fruit and veg helps prevent prostate cancer

A new review published in the Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics assessed whether certain modifications in diet have a beneficial effect on the prevention of prostate cancer.

3 Jun 2009

Hydrogen peroxide marshals immune system

When you were a kid your mom poured it on your scraped finger to stave off infection. When you got older you might have even used it to bleach your hair. Now there's another possible function for this over-the-counter colorless liquid: your body might be using hydrogen peroxide as an envoy that marshals troops of healing cells to wounded tissue.

3 Jun 2009

Small molecules mimic natural gene regulators

In the quest for new approaches to treating and preventing disease, one appealing route involves turning genes on or off at will, directly intervening in ailments such as cancer and diabetes, which result when genes fail to turn on and off as they should.

3 Jun 2009

Scientists uncover mode of action of enzyme linked with several types of cancer

Scientists at the Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer (IRIC) of the Université de Montréal have discovered a key mechanism used by cells to efficiently distribute chromosomes to new cells during cell multiplication.

3 Jun 2009

Simple MRI test involving breathing oxygen helps determine cancer therapy success

A simple magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) test involving breathing oxygen might help oncologists determine the best treatment for some cancer patients, report researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center.

3 Jun 2009

Australian food industry told to 'shape up' over fat, sugar and salt

The food industry in Australia has been told in no uncertain terms to shape up when it comes to the fat, sugar and salt content in food products.

3 Jun 2009

Bringing life back into the bedroom for cancer survivors

For the more than 6 million female cancer survivors living in the U.S. today, the celebration of continued life and love can be interrupted by cancer treatment's side effects, including in the bedroom. Experts at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center offer survivors advice on how to get their relationships back on track.

2 Jun 2009

Sun-damaged rough patches or lesions on the skin lead to more cancer types than once believed

Actinic keratoses are sun-damaged rough patches or lesions on the skin - often pink and scaly - that doctors have long believed can turn into a form of skin cancer known as squamous cell carcinoma.

2 Jun 2009

Childhood health disparities can have life-long health effects

Research indicates that physical and mental stress in childhood may have life-long adverse health effects and policy initiatives are needed to emphasize the importance of starting health promotion and disease prevention early in life, according to an article in the June 3 issue of JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association, a theme issue on child and adolescent health.

2 Jun 2009

New insights into locally advanced breast cancer

Scientists are reporting two findings that could influence the way researchers screen for, treat and assess prognosis for women with locally advanced breast cancer, an aggressive form of the disease. One finding offers a critical message regarding treatment strategy, they say.

2 Jun 2009

External beam partial breast irradiation most cost-effective treatment for women with early-stage breast cancer

External beam partial breast irradiation (EB-PBI) is the most cost-effective method for treating postmenopausal women with early-stage breast cancer based on utilities, recurrence risks and costs when compared to whole breast radiotherapy (WBRT) and brachytherapy partial breast irradiation (brachy-PBI), according to a study in the June 1 issue of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology*Biology*Physics, the official journal of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO).

2 Jun 2009