Cancer News and Research

Latest Cancer News and Research

Lung cancer patients taking Tarceva who develop a rash fair better

The appearance of a rash in cancer patients treated with erlotinib (Tarceva) is strongly associated with longer survival, according to researchers from the drug's developer, OSI Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

4 Jul 2007

Promising new therapy for protecting the fertility of women with cancer

A promising new therapy for protecting the fertility of women with cancer and auto-immune diseases such as lupus was revealed at the 23rd annual conference of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology.

4 Jul 2007

Central command system for pulmonary hypertension discovered

Researchers at the University of Alberta have identified a "central command system" for pulmonary hypertension, a disease that currently has no cure and kills thousands each year.

4 Jul 2007

Harnessing the power of the immune system to fight cancer

Teaching a body's own immune system to seek out and destroy cancerous tumours represents a promising way to fight a disease that kills more than 70,000 Canadians a year.

4 Jul 2007

Are we looking at cancer vaccine trials the wrong way?

Ongoing therapeutic cancer vaccine trials have yet to show evidence of vaccines spurring a patient's immune system to shrink tumors -- yet patients who receive these vaccines in trials tend to live longer and respond better to subsequent treatment.

4 Jul 2007

Variations in two genes related to inflammation may be a risk factor for lung cancer

Variations in two genes related to inflammation may be a major risk factor for developing lung cancer, according to a team of scientists from the National Cancer Institute and the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.

4 Jul 2007

Myeloperoxidase protein provides clues to heart attacks in healthy people

We've all wondered how a seemingly healthy person can actually be at high risk for heart disease or a heart attack.

4 Jul 2007

Biomira files NDA for novel inhibitor of hypoxia-inducible factor-1 alpha

Biomira Inc. has announced that it has submitted an investigational new drug (IND) application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for PX-478. PX-478 has been shown in preclinical studies to inhibit hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1 alpha, a protein that controls the transcription of a number of genes whose products are important for tumor growth and survival.

4 Jul 2007

Genetic mutation that may alter response to cancer therapeutics found

Researchers from Eli Lilly & Company and the Phoenix-based Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) today announced finding a novel recurring mutation of the gene AKT1 in breast, colorectal and ovarian cancers.

4 Jul 2007

Discovery of two effective antibodies for SARS

An international team of investigators has identified the first human antibodies that can neutralize different strains of the virus responsible for outbreaks of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS).

4 Jul 2007

The next era of cancer treatment

Teaching a body's own immune system to seek out and destroy cancerous tumours represents a promising way to fight a disease that kills more than 70,000 Canadians a year.

4 Jul 2007

Mother donates eggs to infertile daughter

A Canadian mother has taken the unique step of donating her eggs to her daughter to ensure she can have a child.

4 Jul 2007

Scientists tackle deadly hospital superbugs

It infiltrates hospitals as microscopic spores. Its defences are so strong it can resist most antibiotics. And it kills three times as many people every year as MRSA. But scientists at The University of Nottingham are amassing an arsenal of weapons in preparation for counter offensive against the most deadly of hospital superbugs.

4 Jul 2007

Brits keep fit to look good, not reduce cancer risk

UK men and women say reducing their risk of cancer is last on a list of reasons to exercise, according to a national survey by Cancer Research UK and Cannons.

3 Jul 2007

Skin rash actually signifies better outcomes for pancreatic and lung cancer patients

The appearance of a rash in cancer patients treated with erlotinib (Tarceva) is strongly associated with longer survival, according to researchers from the drug's developer, OSI Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

3 Jul 2007

Rethinking therapeutic cancer vaccine trials

3 Jul 2007

Fat kills cancer!

Researchers in Slovakia have been able to derive mesenchymal stem cells from human adipose, or fat, tissue and engineer them into "suicide genes" that seek out and destroy tumors like tiny homing missiles.

3 Jul 2007

Discovery of method to identify how cancer evades the immune system

One of the fundamental traits of a tumor - how it avoids the immune system - might become its greatest vulnerability, according to researchers from the University of Southern California. Their findings, demonstrated in human breast and colorectal cancers, indicate that a technique for determining a tumor's "immune signature," could be useful for diagnosing and treating specific cancers.

3 Jul 2007

And the word is! all diets are equal when it comes to weight loss

It has been well documented that obesity-related problems are currently among the most serious health problems facing many of the world's developed nations.

3 Jul 2007

Young girls have eggs extracted before chemo to protect fertility

Israeli fertility experts have extracted and frozen eggs from girls as young as five about to undergo chemotherapy and frozen them so they can be used later to start a family.

3 Jul 2007