Cancer News and Research

Latest Cancer News and Research

Gene therapy for muscular dystrophy a step closer

Researchers have cleared a safety hurdle in efforts to develop a gene therapy for a form of muscular dystrophy that disables patients by gradually weakening muscles near the hips and shoulders.

15 Apr 2009

More reasons to eat green vegetables

Vegetables in the Brassica family -- such as broccoli, cabbage, kale and Brussels sprouts -- are inexpensive yet very nutritive, providing beneficial phytochemicals as well as vitamins, minerals and fiber, according to a report presented in the Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety , a peer reviewed publication of the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT).

15 Apr 2009

Chemists synthesize natural alkaloid that could have anti-cancer properties

The club moss Lycopodium serratum is a creeping, flowerless plant used in homeopathic medicine to treat a wide variety of ailments.

15 Apr 2009

A bright future for biological sensors

In the future, explained Peter Ghazal, Chair of Edinburgh University's Department of Molecular Genetics and Biomedicine, biological sensors, the product of the integration of biology and electronics will be used to detect infections and prescribe personalized treatments.

15 Apr 2009

OncoGel: New system for delivering chemotherapy for patients with esophageal cancer

Gastroenterologists at Rush University Medical Center are studying the safety and efficacy of a new system for delivering chemotherapy for patients with esophageal cancer, a rare, but deadly disease that attacks the throat.

15 Apr 2009

Griddle and microwave-cooking maintains highest levels of antioxidants in vegetables

Some vegetable cooking methods may be better than others when it comes to maintaining beneficial antioxidant levels, according to a new study in the Journal of Food Science, published by the Institute of Food Technologists.

15 Apr 2009

Alzheimer's controversy solved

For a decade, Alzheimer's disease researchers have been entrenched in debate about one of the mechanisms believed to be responsible for brain cell death and memory loss in the illness.

15 Apr 2009

Mycophenolate mofetil may be an alternative therapy for lupus nephritis

Lupus is a rare but serious disease that mainly affects women of child-bearing age and occurs when the body's immune system goes awry, damaging a variety of organs.

15 Apr 2009

Bracelet warns of too much sun exposure

Scientists in Britain have come up with what appears a very sensible idea - a team at Strathclyde University in Scotland have developed an early warning sunburn indicator - it comes in the form of a thin strip which turns pink after too much exposure to ultra-violet light.

15 Apr 2009

Price hike for tobacco would make many smokers quit

The latest research from Cancer Council Victoria which involved a telephone poll of 4,500 smokers, has found that almost three quarters of smokers surveyed would try to quit if the price of cigarettes rose by 50%.

15 Apr 2009

Vaccine for Coeliac disease could mean the end of gluten free diets

Australian scientists have developed an experimental vaccine to treat coeliac disease. The team at the Walter and Eliza Hall (WEHI) Institute in Melbourne are hoping a phase 1 clinical trial of the vaccine, due to begin this month, will eventually lead to an effective clinical treatment for the disease.

15 Apr 2009

PET/CT imaging shows if single cycle of chemo is working

Oncologists often have to wait months before they can determine whether a treatment is working.

14 Apr 2009

Early HIV treatment decreases the risk of death

Begin treatment as early as possible: this general common sense rule seems to apply to most diseases except HIV-AIDS, which is only treated once a certain number of immune cells called "CD4+" cells have disappeared.

14 Apr 2009

Surgical gel used to stop bleeding could confuse mammograms

Dr. Kathleen Ward noticed something odd when she examined the mammogram of a patient who had recently undergone breast cancer surgery.

14 Apr 2009

Scientists harness nanoparticles to track cancer-cell changes

The more dots there are, the more accurate a picture you get when you connect them.

14 Apr 2009

Deafness - cure a hair away?

Despite modern medicine, one in 1,000 American babies are born deaf.

14 Apr 2009

Enteral tube feeding for older patients with advanced dementia

Family members grappling with the decision to allow a feeding tube for a relative with advanced dementia will find little comfort from a new review of evidence.

14 Apr 2009

Scientists show how gene alteration can lead to the development of a type of brain cancer

An international team of scientists from the Moores Cancer Center at the University of California, San Diego, the University of North Carolina and several institutions in China have explained how a gene alteration can lead to the development of a type of brain cancer, and they have identified a compound that could staunch the cancer's growth.

14 Apr 2009

Experimental vaccine increases survival in men with prostate cancer

Below is a comment from Otis W. Brawley, M.D., American Cancer Society chief medical officer, on the announcement that the experimental vaccine Provenge increased survival in men with prostate cancer.

14 Apr 2009