Cancer News and Research

Latest Cancer News and Research

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

Direct link between obesity and colorectal cancer

A clear, direct link between obesity and colorectal cancer, the second most common form of cancer in Australia with more than 12,000 new cases each year, has been shown in a new analysis by The George Institute for International Health in Sydney, Australia.

17 Dec 2007

Raised public awareness of hepatitis C leads to 10 per cent increase in diagnoses

The number of newly diagnosed cases of hepatitis C infection in England reached 8,346 in 2006 - 10% higher than in 2005 - according to latest figures released by the Health Protection Agency (HPA).

17 Dec 2007

12 million cancer deaths worldwide in 2007

A new American Cancer Society report estimates that there will be over 12 million new cancer cases and 7.6 million cancer deaths (about 20,000 cancer deaths a day) worldwide in 2007.

17 Dec 2007

Study looks at denosumab in preventing bone loss caused by aromatase inhibitors

Denosumab is a new drug being studied to prevent fractures in breast cancer patients receiving hormonal therapy.

17 Dec 2007

Men unaware of their cancer risk when female relatives test positive for BRCA mutation

Men whose mothers, sisters or daughters test positive for a cancer-causing gene mutation also have an increased risk of developing the disease but are unaware of that risk.

17 Dec 2007

Rituximab used to treat skin disorders

A new review article from the journal Dermatologic Therapy reveals that rituximab, a drug used to treat lymphoma, is now becoming used by dermatologists to treat various dangerous skin diseases.

17 Dec 2007

Complex path to cell death shown by identification of new genes

Can a tiny winged insect's salivary glands really tell us about processes relevant to human disease? Yes, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMMS), who gained new insights into autophagy - a cellular degradation process associated with a form of programmed cell death - by studying the salivary gland cells of the fruit fly.

17 Dec 2007