Cancer News and Research

Latest Cancer News and Research

Herceptin may work better when it is followed by injections of interleukin

A new study suggests that antibody-based cancer drugs might help patients more if they are given with substances that stimulate the immune system.

5 Jan 2006

Concerns raised about surgeons performing occasional breast cancer operations

A leading cancer expert has expressed concern about the link between hospitals carrying out low numbers of breast cancer operations and disproportionately high readmission rates.

5 Jan 2006

One day radiation may become an option for breast cancer patients

Doctors in Canada are studying the effectiveness of permanent radiation seed implants following lumpectomy as an alternative to whole or partial breast irradiation for early-stage breast cancer patients

4 Jan 2006

Art sessions can benefit cancer patients

Northwestern Memorial Hospital research shows that cancer patients benefit from one-hour art sessions.

2 Jan 2006

Smokers with a family history of lung cancer encouraged to undergo screening

To detect invasive lung cancer in its early stages, researchers urge current and former smokers who have a strong family history of the disease to take a lung function test and undergo screening with spiral computed tomography. The test is especially important should the previously diagnosed relative be young (around 50).

2 Jan 2006

Study finds two genes that are essential for the proper development of muscle

Scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have found two genes that are essential for the proper development of muscle.

30 Dec 2005

Study finds two genes that are essential for the proper development of muscle

Scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have found two genes that are essential for the proper development of muscle.

30 Dec 2005

New breast cancer drug Femara will save lives

Following the results of a worldwide study, U.S. regulators have given approval for the use of the drug Femara for women with early breast cancer directly after they have had surgery.

29 Dec 2005

University of Michigan Medical School to study the science of obesity and metabolism

As millions of Americans prepare their New Year’s resolutions to lose weight, eat better or exercise more, the University of Michigan Medical School is launching a new center that may help explain why so many resolutions fail, while others succeed.

29 Dec 2005

A good year for breast cancer detection and treatment

It was a good year in women’s health, notably breast cancer treatment and detection. The December issue of Mayo Clinic Women’s HealthSource hails these important advances of 2005.

29 Dec 2005

New gene therapy maybe useful for treating muscular dystrophy

A new gene therapy technique that has shown promise in skin disease and hemophilia might one day be useful for treating muscular dystrophy, according to a new study by researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine.

29 Dec 2005

Oncologist should be the primary decision maker in some pediatric cancer situations

The oncologist should be the primary decision maker in some pediatric cancer situations, say researchers at Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) in Houston in an article appearing today in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

29 Dec 2005

Molecular link between high fat diets and type 2 diabetes established

Howard Hughes Medical Institute researchers have discovered a molecular link between a high-fat, Western-style diet, and the onset of type 2 diabetes. In studies in mice, the scientists showed that a high-fat diet disrupts insulin production, resulting in the classic signs of type 2 diabetes.

29 Dec 2005

Gene discovery may reinvigorate the body's immune system after fighting viral infections

Like boxers wearied by a 15-round bout, the immune system's CD8 T cells eventually become "exhausted" in their battle against persistent viral infection, and less effective in fighting the disease.

29 Dec 2005

Blacks more likely to die of curable lung cancer than whites

Even when they have equal access to specialized care, blacks with potentially curable lung cancer are about half as likely as whites to undergo surgery that could save their lives, according to a study by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute researchers.

28 Dec 2005

Blue-green algae shows promise as a natural weapon against Alzheimer's

A compound isolated from a cyanobacterium, a type of blue-green algae known as Nostoc, shows promise of becoming a natural drug candidate for fighting Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative diseases, according to an in vitro study by researchers in Switzerland.

28 Dec 2005

Daily dose of Vitamin D cuts cancer risk

According to cancer prevention specialists, taking vitamin D3 daily appears to lower the risk of cancer by up to as much 50 percent.

28 Dec 2005

Plant stem cell breakthrough made

Totipotent stem cells allow plants to build new organs throughout their whole life. But it has been unclear how hormones and genetic factors work together to prevent plants from having growth that is either stunted, or uncontrolled and tumor-like. Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology have now uncovered a feedback mechanism, involving a growth-enhancing hormone and a regulatory protein, which controls the number of stem cells the plant produces.

22 Dec 2005

Chromosome link found between alcohol addiction and smoking

Scientists have found in a study of tobacco users that their drinking behavior is linked to some of the same chromosome regions associated with alcohol addiction.

22 Dec 2005