Cancer News and Research

Latest Cancer News and Research

Breasts damaged by cancer surgery reshaped using stem cell injections

Japanese researchers have used stem cells to help reshape the breasts of women who have undergone surgery for a breast tumour.

19 Dec 2007

Contaminated syringes make 40 people sick

An investigation is being carried out by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) into blood infections linked to medical syringes which were contaminated with bacteria.

19 Dec 2007

Thyroid cancer drug given expanded approval by FDA

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given expanded approval for a drug used to treat thyroid cancer.

19 Dec 2007

Combo therapy reduces size of brain tumours

According to a major drug manufacturer, a combination drug treatment appears to be effective in fighting breast cancer that has spread to the brain.

19 Dec 2007

20,000 deaths each day from cancer

According to the results of a new report by the American Cancer Society, worldwide in 2007 there were more than 12 million new cancer cases diagnosed.

19 Dec 2007

Researchers initiate gene therapy trial in patients with advanced skin cancer

Researchers at the Ireland Cancer Center of University Hospitals Case Medical Center are the first in the region to have joined a nationwide clinical trial to evaluate the effectiveness of a gene therapy in patients with advanced melanoma which is aimed to help a patient ' s own immune system fight their cancer.

18 Dec 2007

Factors associated with survival in advanced laryngeal cancer

Type of treatment, sex, race and insurance status are associated with survival rates among patients with advanced laryngeal cancer, according to a report in the December issue of Archives of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery.

18 Dec 2007

Short legs linked to an increased risk of liver disease

Short legs are linked to an increased risk of liver disease, suggests a study in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health .

18 Dec 2007

New robotic surgery technique appears promising for the removal of cancer in tonsils

Typically, surgeons trying to remove tonsils of patients with cancer through the mouth have limited access to the area, according to background information in the article. If the cancer has spread to any of the surrounding tissues, an open approach involving cutting through the skin is needed. These procedures take a long time, can cause long-term difficulty swallowing and usually require the placement of a tracheotomy tube.

18 Dec 2007

Reasons for low colorectal cancer screening rates

Two recently released studies confirm an alarming reality, that a majority of Americans who should be getting screened for colorectal cancer are not.

18 Dec 2007

Plant constituent with selective effect on cancer cells

The substance wogonin triggers the death program apoptosis in tumor cells, while it has virtually no effect on healthy cells.

18 Dec 2007

Effectiveness and risks of six bisphosphonates for osteoporosis

Many medications reduce the risk of bone fractures in people with osteoporosis, but the most commonly used drugs - bisphosphonates - have not been proven more effective than alternatives, according to a new report funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

18 Dec 2007

Lack of sunlight may increase the risk of lung cancer

Lack of sunlight may increase the risk of lung cancer, suggests a study of rates of the disease in over 100 countries, published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.

18 Dec 2007

Scientists identify and repress breast cancer stem cells in mouse tissue

By manipulating highly specific gene-regulating molecules called microRNAs, scientists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) report that they have succeeded in singling out and repressing stem-like cells in mouse breast tissue - cells that are widely thought to give rise to cancer.

18 Dec 2007

Biological physics creates diagnostics of the future

Chalmers University of technology in Sweden is about to enter a new field of research - biological physics.

18 Dec 2007

Agent orange chemical, dioxin, attacks the mitochondria to cause cancer

Researchers with the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine have demonstrated the process by which the cancer-causing chemical dioxin attacks the cellular machinery, disrupts normal cellular function and ultimately promotes tumor progression.

18 Dec 2007

Bowel cancer genes that triple risk discovered

Cancer Research UK funded scientists have identified two common genetic variants that could triple a person's risk of getting bowel cancer. Their findings are published in Nature Genetics (Sunday).

17 Dec 2007

Cheaper drugs now closer to realization with new DropArray technology

A standard laboratory tool for measuring pharmacological activity of biological substances and performing other related tests may soon be replaced by a new miniaturized bioassay that will be faster, cheaper and more efficient for scientists to use, with new technology developed by Singapore's Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (IBN).

17 Dec 2007

Survival shortened when estrogen or progesterone receptor negative breast cancer spreads to the brain

Two studies from Mayo Clinic's site in Jacksonville, Fla., of women whose breast cancer spread to their brain, have found that women whose tumors do not have estrogen or progesterone receptors have the worst overall outcomes.

17 Dec 2007

Survey underscores importance of emotional/educational needs among women with advanced breast cancer

Psychosocial support in women with advanced or metastatic breast cancer (MBC) is as important as the need for disease- and treatment-related information, according to results of a survey presented here today at the 30th Annual San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.

17 Dec 2007