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Psychotherapy improves survival for breast cancer patientsA new study finds that breast cancer patients who participate in intervention sessions focusing on improving mood, coping effectively, and altering health behaviors live longer than patients who do not receive such psychological support.
New genes identified linked to lung cancerWorking as part of a multi-institutional collaboration, scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have assembled the most complete catalog to date of the genetic changes underlying the most common form of lung cancer.
New MRI imaging may identify cervical cancer earlyUsing high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with a special vaginal coil, a technique to measure the movement of water within tissue, researchers may be able to identify cervical cancer in its early stages, according to a new study being published in the November issue of Radiology.
Colonoscopy associated with reduced colorectal cancer incidencePatients who undergo a complete negative colonoscopy have a reduced incidence of colorectal cancer, confirms a study published in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology.
Vitamin C supplements reduce benefits of anti cancer drugsIn pre-clinical studies, vitamin C appears to substantially reduce the effectiveness of anticancer drugs, say researchers at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.
Colon cancer's genetic link to obesityA new study reveals the first-ever genetic link between obesity and colon cancer risk, a finding that could lead to greater accuracy in testing for the disease, said a researcher at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB).
Eli Lilly's Alimta approvad for lung cancerEli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) announced that it received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the use of ALIMTA(R) (pemetrexed for injection), in combination with cisplatin, in the first-line treatment of locally-advanced and metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), for patients with nonsquamous histology.
Family history of brain tumors raises brain cancer riskPeople with a family history of cancerous brain tumors appear to be at higher risk of developing the same kind of tumors compared to people with no such family history, according to a study published in the September 23, 2008, issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Physicians rarely show empathy with lung cancer patientsIn consultations with patients with lung cancer, physicians rarely responded empathically to the concerns of the patients about mortality, symptoms or treatment options, according to a study led by a University of Rochester Medical Center researcher.
1 week radiation effective breast cancer treatmentAccelerated partial breast irradiation (APBI) using a type of radiation seed implants called balloon brachytherapy is as effective in keeping breast cancer from coming back as the standard external beam radiation treatment.
Lung cancer among lifelong nonsmokersA new American Cancer Society study sheds light on the ten to fifteen percent of lung cancers that are caused by factors other than tobacco smoking. The study analyzed data on lung cancer occurrence among lifelong nonsmokers in North America, Europe, and Asia and found that lung cancer death rates among never-smokers are highest among men, African Americans, and Asians residing in Asia.
Skin odor may diagnose skin cancerChemists described the first identification of a specific "odor profile" for skin cancer, a discovery that could form the basis of a rapid, non-invasive test for diagnosing the most common type of cancer in the United States.
Moisturisers may increase skin cancer riskMoisturisers used by millions of people may be increasing the risk of common skin cancer like melanoma, hinted by researchers. However, the researchers had cautioned that the experiments were carried out on mice, but the majority of moisturisers have not gone through skin cancer safety checks.
Breast cancer relapse risk low after 5 yearsBreast cancer survivors continue to have a substantial risk of disease recurrence after five years of systemic therapy, according to a study published in the August 12 online issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
Gene found responsible for smoking habitAnyone who has ever tried smoking probably remembers that first cigarette vividly. For some, it brought a wave of nausea or a nasty coughing fit. For others, those first puffs also came with a rush of pleasure or "buzz."
PSA screening awareness needed among high-risk groupsIn one of the first examinations of PSA screening in younger men, a study published by researchers at Duke Medicine's Prostate Center finds that one-fifth of men under age 50 reported undergoing a prostate specific antigen (PSA) test to detect prostate cancer in the previous year, yet only one in three young black men reported ever having a PSA test in the previous year.
Prostate cancer screening for men over 75 not requiredThe U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), updating its 2002 report, now recommends against routine prostate cancer screening for men over the age of 75. More evidence is needed to determine if men under 75 could benefit from screening.
Vitamin C injections slow tumor growthHigh-dose injections of vitamin C, also known as ascorbate or ascorbic acid, reduced tumor weight and growth rate by about 50 percent in mouse models of brain, ovarian, and pancreatic cancers, researchers from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) report in the August 5, 2008, issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
SPOT-Light HER2 CISH kit approved for breast cancer patientsSPOT-Light HER2 CISH kit - a novel genetic test for determining whether patients with breast cancer are good candidates for treatment with the drug Herceptin (trastuzumab) has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Broccoli rich diet prevents prostate cancerFor the first time, a UK research group at the Institute of Food Research led by Professor Richard Mithen has provided an explanation of how eating broccoli might reduce cancer risk based upon studies in men, as opposed to trying to extrapolate from animal models.
New therapy promising for melanoma skin cancerThe combination of two different biotherapies (interferon alfa-2b and tremelimumab) may be beneficial for patients with inoperable melanoma, revealed by researchers in US.
Breast cancer spread stopped by bone drugResearchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis found that women treated for stage II/III breast cancer who also received a bone strengthening drug zoledronic acid were less likely to have breast tumor cells growing in their bones after three months.
Cancer stem cells created with genes techniqueWith a bit of genetic trickery, researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have turned normal skin cells into cancer stem cells, a step that will make these naturally rare cells easier to study.
Fasting for 2 days protects healthy cells against chemotherapyFasting for two days protects healthy cells against chemotherapy, according to a study appearing online the week of March 31 in PNAS Early Edition. Test tube experiments with human cells confirmed the differential resistance of normal and cancer cells to chemotherapy after a short period of starvation.
Type 2 diabetes genes associated with prostate cancerScientists have identified six new genes which play a role in the development of type 2 diabetes, and among the group is the second gene known to also play a role in prostate cancer.
Therapeutic cloning may treat Parkinson's diseaseResearch led by investigators at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) has shown that therapeutic cloning, also known as somatic-cell nuclear transfer (SCNT), can be used to treat Parkinson's disease in mice.
Protein Robo4 may reverse macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathyTwo major eye diseases and leading causes of blindness-age-related macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy-can be reversed or even prevented by drugs that activate a protein found in blood vessel cells, researchers at the University of Utah School of Medicine and several other institutions have announced in a new study.
Lower heart effects from Herceptin breast cancer treatment with chemotherapyA new pilot study by investigators at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) found that breast cancer patients can be treated safely with a "dose-dense" regimen of standard chemotherapy agents and the antibody trastuzumab (Herceptin), a drug that has previously been shown to cause cardiac toxicity.
Broccoli may ward off bladder cancerAn international team of researchers led by AgResearch senior scientist Dr Rex Munday has discovered that an extract of broccoli sprouts can decrease the incidence of bladder cancer in an animal model by more than 50 per cent.
Researchers identify protein that fuels ovarian cancerA protein that stimulates blood vessel growth worsens ovarian cancer, but its production can be stifled by a tiny bit of RNA wrapped in a fatty nanoparticle, a research team led by scientists at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center reports in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
Vitamin supplements may increase lung cancer riskVitamin supplements do not protect against lung cancer, according to a study of more than 77,000 vitamin users. In fact, some supplements may even increase the risk of developing it. The findings were published in the American Thoracic Society's American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
Gene changes after smoking affects lung cancerSmoking plays a role in lung cancer development, and now scientists have shown that smoking also affects the way genes are expressed, leading to alterations in cell division and regulation of immune response. Notably, some of the changes in gene expression persisted in people who had quit smoking many years earlier.
Stem cells may aid stroke recoveryNeural cells derived from human embryonic stem cells helped repair stroke-related damage in the brains of rats and led to improvements in their physical abilities, according to a new study by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine.
Heavy cell phone users subject to cancersAn Israeli scientist, Dr. Siegal Sadetzki, has found a link between cell phone usage and the development of tumors. Dr. Sadetzki, a physician, epidemiologist and lecturer at Tel Aviv University, published the results of a study recently in the American Journal of Epidemiology, in which she and her colleagues found that heavy cell phone users were subject to a higher risk of benign and malignant tumors of the salivary gland.
DCIS patients overestimate breast cancer risksMany women with newly diagnosed DCIS have inaccurate perceptions of the breast cancer risks that they face, and anxiety is particularly associated with these inaccurate perceptions.
Avastin found effective in advanced breast cancer patientsGenentech, Inc. (NYSE: DNA) announced that AVADO, a Roche-sponsored Phase III, placebo-controlled study evaluating Avastin® (bevacizumab) in combination with docetaxel chemotherapy met its primary endpoint of prolonging progression-free survival (PFS) in patients who had not received prior chemotherapy for their locally recurrent or metastatic HER2-negative breast cancer.
7 new prostate cancer genetic risk factors identified7 new sites in the human genome identified that are linked to men's risk of developing prostate cancer, revealed by Cancer Research UK funded scientists at the Institute of Cancer Research and University of Cambridge.
IGFBP7 protein may stop melanoma skin cancerHoward Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) researchers have uncovered a protein that stops the growth of melanoma, a cancer that develops from pigment-producing cells in the skin called melanocytes.
$9 million grant for prostate cancer researchHenry Ford Hospital is embarking on an expanded major clinical trial involving the use of gene therapy in combination with radiation therapy, to determine if the combined treatment is more effective than radiation therapy alone for patients with intermediate risk prostate cancer.
Simple urine test detecting prostate cancer accuratelyAn experimental biomarker test developed by researchers at the University of Michigan more accurately detects prostate cancer than any other screening method currently in use, according to a study published in the February 1 issue of Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.
Camera in a pill finds early signs of esophageal cancerWhat if swallowing a pill with a camera could detect the earliest signs of cancer? The tiny camera is designed to take high-quality, color pictures in confined spaces. Such a device could find warning signs of esophageal cancer, the fastest growing cancer in the United States.
Melanomas may appear different than other molesA preliminary study suggests that melanomas have a different appearance than other irregular skin moles (i.e., are "ugly ducklings"), according to a report in the January issue of Archives of Dermatology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
Stem cells may improve muscles in muscular dystrophyUsing embryonic stem cells from mice, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have prompted the growth of healthy - and more importantly, functioning - muscle cells in mice afflicted with a human model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The study represents the first time transplanted embryonic stem cells have been shown to restore function to defective muscles in a model of muscular dystrophy.
GVAX cancer immunotherapy improves prostate cancer survivalCell Genesys, Inc. (Nasdaq: CEGE) announced that the Independent Data Monitoring Committee (IDMC) for VITAL-1, the first of two ongoing Phase 3 clinical trials of GVAX immunotherapy for prostate cancer, has completed a pre-planned interim analysis and has recommended that the study continue, as GVAX cancer immunotherapy improves prostate cancer patients survival.
Combined hormone therapy increases lobular breast cancer riskPostmenopausal women who take combined estrogen/progestin hormone-replacement therapy for three years or more face a fourfold increased risk of developing various forms of lobular breast cancer, according to new findings by researchers.
Newly discovered virus linked to skin cancerResearchers using sequencing technique discovered a new cancer virus Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCV) causing Kaposi's sarcoma, is associated with another rare but deadly skin cancer called Merkel cell carcinoma.
Genetic testing can gauge prostate cancer riskGenetic testing of DNA in a blood sample can determine which men are likely to develop prostate cancer, as five genetic variants previously associated with prostate cancer risk have a strong cumulative effect.
RNA may stop breast cancer spreadNow, researchers can develop more effective drugs to prevent or treat cancer metastasis, as they have identified a specific group of microRNA molecules that are responsible for controlling genes that cause breast cancer metastasis.
Infants with birthmarks received less oxygen in wombA hemangioma is a benign tumor of cells that line blood vessels, appearing during the first few weeks of life as a large birthmark or lesion. A study published in Pediatric Dermatology reveals that a disturbance of oxygen depletion was found in placentas of babies who developed infantile hemangioma (IH).
New ultrasound technique sharpens view of liver tumorsA new high-energy form of ultrasound imaging developed by researchers at Duke University's Pratt School of Engineering produces pictures of liver tumors that are better than those made with traditional ultrasound, according to results of a clinical study.