Cancer News and Research

Latest Cancer News and Research

New therapy for metastatic prostate cancer shows promise

A new therapy for metastatic prostate cancer has shown considerable promise in early clinical trials involving patients whose disease has become resistant to current drugs.

12 Apr 2009

New alternative to biopsy detects subtle changes in cancer cells

A drop of blood or a chunk of tissue smaller than the period at the end of this sentence may one day be all that is necessary to diagnose cancers and assess their response to treatment, say researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine.

12 Apr 2009

More women with early-stage breast cancer opting for double mastectomies

A University of Minnesota cancer surgeon and researcher has found a dramatic increase in the number of women diagnosed with the earliest stage of breast cancer choosing to have both breasts surgically removed.

12 Apr 2009

Marijuana use may increase risk of testicular cancer

Frequent and/or long-term marijuana use may significantly increase a man's risk of developing the most aggressive type of testicular cancer, according to a study by researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.

12 Apr 2009

Multivitamins have no impact on risk of cancer or heart disease in postmenopausal women

The largest study of its kind concludes that long-term multivitamin use has no impact on the risk of common cancers, cardiovascular disease or overall mortality in postmenopausal women.

12 Apr 2009

Gene fusion discovery may lead to improved prostate cancer test

A newly discovered gene fusion is highly expressed in a subset of prostate cancers, according to a study by researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College.

12 Apr 2009

Researchers explain process by which cells 'hide' potentially dangerous DNA segments

The DNA in the 23 pairs of chromosomes in each of the billions of cells of the human body is so tightly packed that it would measure six feet in length if stretched end to end.

12 Apr 2009

Scientists discover the secrets of NF-kappaB

A study published in Science examines a key player in conditions such as cancer, inflammatory bowel disease, rheumatoid arthritis and asthma and has shown that cells use a sophisticated communication system to coordinate responses to infection and maintain inflammation in the body.

12 Apr 2009

Researchers reveal how immune cells can be harnessed to target melanoma

Researchers at the Babraham Institute and the University of Catanzaro "Magna Graecia", Italy, co-ordinating an international network of scientists and clinicians from Europe, the USA and Japan, have identified new mechanisms through which the immune system recognises and responds to tumours like melanomas.

12 Apr 2009

For cancer cells, genetics alone is poor indicator for drug response

In certain respects, cells are less like machines and more like people.

12 Apr 2009

Vitamin D deficiency is associated with inflammation in healthy women

According to a recent study in the Archives of Internal Medicine, 75 percent of Americans do not get enough Vitamin D.

9 Apr 2009

Discovery of gene that protects against leukemia

Researchers have identified a gene that controls the rapid production and differentiation of the stem cells that produce all blood cell types -- a discovery that could eventually open the door to more streamlined treatments for leukemia and other blood cancers, in which blood cells proliferate out of control.

9 Apr 2009

Clinical trials for two compounds show promise in advanced prostate cancer

In a paper published online this week in Science Express (the online version of Science magazine), researchers report that early clinical trials for two compounds, MDV3100 and RD162, show initial promise for patients suffering from an advanced metastatic form of the disease known as castration-resistant prostate cancer.

9 Apr 2009

Kidney reconstruction performed though single incision hidden in the navel

With a single incision hidden in the navel, surgeons at the University of California, San Diego Medical Center have successfully removed a cancerous kidney tumor while saving the patient's kidney.

9 Apr 2009

Many skin cancer patients do not receive sentinel lymph node biopsy

Although clinical practice guidelines recommend sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy for many patients with clinically node-negative melanoma, a new analysis from the National Cancer Database (NCDB) of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) has found approximately half of patients do not receive recommended evaluation of their lymph nodes and that the type of health insurance a patient has, the type of hospital delivering treatment, and the hospital's geographic region are all associated with provider compliance with those guidelines.

9 Apr 2009