Cancer News and Research

Latest Cancer News and Research

Cultural habits influence oral cancers

Clinicians from the USC School of Dentistry unravel connection between the incidence of oral cancer and race and ethnicity-- as part of first epidemiological study of oral cancer in California.

15 Nov 2007

Compound of milk thistle shows anti-cancer effects

Recently, scientists demonstrated the anti-cancer effects of silibinin, a major biologically active compound of milk thistle. Being widely used as a folk remedy for liver diseases, milk thistle is safe and well-tolerated, and it protects the liver from drug or alcohol-related injury.

15 Nov 2007

Human RecQ helicases, homologous recombination and genomic instability

Two independent papers in the December 1st issue of G&D detail how human RecQ helicases regulate homologous recombination and protect genome stability.

15 Nov 2007

Hormone orexin links sleep, hunger and metabolism

While investigating how the hormone orexin might control sleep and hunger, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have discovered, to their surprise, that it activates a protein, HIF-1, long known to stimulate cancerous tumor growth.

15 Nov 2007

Freeze-dried grape powder blocks genes linked to colon cancer

Low doses of freeze-dried grape powder inhibit genes linked to the development of sporadic colorectal cancer, University of California, Irvine cancer researchers found.

15 Nov 2007

Clear link between lack of sunlight and endometrial cancer

Using newly available data on worldwide cancer incidence, researchers at the Moores Cancer Center at University of California, San Diego (UCSD) have shown a clear association between deficiency in exposure to sunlight, specifically ultraviolet B (UVB), and endometrial cancer.

15 Nov 2007

Captopril may limit radiation kidney damage in bone marrow transplant patients

Researchers at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee have found that the risk of radiation injury in normal tissue after exposure may be reduced by a drug in common use. Their study in press appears in the on line issue of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology and Physics.

15 Nov 2007

New explanation for how regulatory networks of genes evolved

When ancient retroviruses slipped bits of their DNA into the primate genome millions of years ago, they successfully preserved their own genetic legacy.

15 Nov 2007

Medics worry about ethnic sensitivity

Health professionals worry that a lack of knowledge about different cultures may lead to them being seen as insensitive or inappropriate to patients from different ethnic backgrounds - according to research published today.

14 Nov 2007

Young men are just as affected by hair loss during cancer treatment

Research into young people's experiences of hair loss during cancer treatment has found it is a mistake to assume women will be more affected than men. Scientists analysing interviews with recovered young adult cancer patients enrolled in the DIPEx project found that young men were just as affected by chemotherapy-induced hair loss as young women.

14 Nov 2007

WaferGen and University of Pittsburgh to collaborate on SmartChip

WaferGen Biosystems, Inc. has announced that it has established a research collaboration with the University of Pittsburgh Medical School to have it serve as the alpha test site for WaferGen's SmartChip Real-Time PCR System.

14 Nov 2007

Ultrasound may better classify ovarian tumors

Experts examining patterns in ultrasound images can more accurately classify ovarian tumors as benign or malignant than can pre-surgical blood tests, according to a study published online in the Nov. 13 Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

14 Nov 2007

Tumour cells could be used to develop personalised light-activated cancer vaccines

Cancer tissue taken directly from patients could be used to produce a light-triggered vaccine to target and treat their own tumours, according to a study published in the British Journal of Cancer.

14 Nov 2007

Telomerase enzyme structure provides significant new target for anti-cancer therapies

Inappropriate activation of a single enzyme, telomerase, is associated with the uncontrollable proliferation of cells seen in as many as 90 percent of all of human cancers. Since the mid-1990s, when telomerase was first identified in human tumors, scientists have eyed the enzyme as an ideal target for developing broadly effective anti-cancer drugs.

14 Nov 2007

GPRC5A gene found to be a tumor-suppressor for lung cancer

The GPRC5A gene, which is under-expressed in human lung cancer cells, suppresses lung tumors in mouse models and could provide a key to attacking lung cancer in humans, researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center report in the Nov. 21 edition of The Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

14 Nov 2007

PET scans useful for some cancer treatment, but how do patients fare?

Positron emission tomography or PET scans can help clinicians diagnose and treat some cancers, but it is not clear yet whether the imaging technology helps people with cancer live longer and healthier lives, according to a comprehensive review by the U.K. National Health Service.

14 Nov 2007

La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology to perform study on allergy molecular causes

A major study that will provide a new window into understanding and potentially treating allergies will be conducted by the La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology (LIAI) under a $5 million federal contract.

14 Nov 2007

New drug may restore memory with Alzheimer's disease

A 2006 study by MetLife found that adults over age 55 fear Alzheimer's disease more than cancer, and with good reason. Alzheimer's creeps up on patients and their families, robbing more than half of all Americans over age 85 of their memory and ability to care for themselves.

14 Nov 2007

Tumor-suppressor gene for lung cancer identified

14 Nov 2007

Real-time 3-D analysis of breast cancer biopsies

A sophisticated microscope that offers a “real-time” 3-D analysis of tissue samples might, in the future, reduce the number of needle biopsies traditionally needed from women suspected of having breast cancer, according to recent research published at Georgetown University Medical Center's Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center.

14 Nov 2007