Revolutionary drug could be new hope for adrenal cancer patients

TGen Clinical Research Services at Scottsdale Healthcare today announced the start of a clinical trial for a drug designed to combat adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC), a rare but deadly cancer that attacks the adrenal glands.
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Obesity hinders chemotherapy treatment in children with leukemia

Obesity is an important factor contributing to chemotherapy resistance and increasing relapse rates among children with leukemia, according to recent findings published online first in Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.
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Expert calls for new cancer research priorities

Cancer research is too focused on new drug development, while not enough money and effort is being devoted to pursuing important advances in knowledge likely to have the biggest impact on combating the disease in the next few decades, a leading research policy expert says, adding that a major shift in research priorities will be crucial to the ability to cope with the coming wave of cancer cases.
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New Protein Partnership That Leads To Pediatric Tumor Regression

Scientists have discovered that the cell receptor TrkA may be involved in the spontaneous regression of some pediatric cancers. Further research towards a better understanding of the mechanism of action might hopefully lead, in the future, to the development of drugs that will be able to induce regression of certain tumors.
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Replication At DNA Damage Sites Highlights Fanconi Anemia And Breast Cancer Proteins

While Fanconi anemia is a rare and dangerous disease, new laboratory research shows it may lead researchers toward clues in more common diseases, including highly hereditary types of breast cancer.
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Major Clinical Study Rejects Cancer Safety Fears Of Most Common Heartburn Treatment

Fears about the cancer-causing effects of the second most prescribed group of drugs in the Western world have been put to rest, following the largest ever study into their use.
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Genes identified may help breast cancer diagnosis

Researchers at Keele University, Germany, have identified two genes which may help improve the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer patients.
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Novel 'On-Off Switch' Mechanism Stops Cancer in Its Tracks

(PhysOrg.com) -- A tiny bit of genetic material with no previously known function may hold the key to stopping the spread of cancer, researchers at Yale School of Medicine and Sichuan University in Chengdu, China report in two papers in the September 7-11 issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
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Colon Cancer May Yield To Cellular Sugar Starvation

Scientists have discovered how two cancer-promoting genes enhance a tumor's capacity to grow and survive under conditions where normal cells die. The knowledge, they say, may offer new treatments that starve cancer cells of a key nutrient -- sugar. However, the scientists caution that research does not suggest that altering dietary sugar will make any difference in the growth and development of cancer.
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Unraveling How Cells Respond To Low Oxygen

Scientists have elucidated how the stability of the REDD1 protein is regulated. The REDD1 protein is a critical inhibitor of the mTOR signaling pathway, which controls cell growth and proliferation.
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Scientists Find Cells Responsible For Bladder Cancer's Spread

Scientists have tracked down a powerful set of cells in bladder tumors that seem to be primarily responsible for the cancer's growth and spread using a technique that takes advantage of similarities between tumor and organ growth. The findings could help scientists develop new ways of finding and attacking similar cells in other types of cancer.
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Older Cancer Patients Have More Frailty Than Other Seniors

Older people with a history of cancer are more likely to have disabilities and be frail and vulnerable than older adults who have not had cancer, according to a new study.
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Antibody Linked To Chemotherapy Drug Inhibits Ovarian Cancer In Lab

A novel anticancer agent, consisting of a monoclonal antibody linked to a chemotherapy drug, showed substantial anti-tumor activity in ovarian cancer cell lines and in mice, according to a new study.
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Tumor Mutations Can Predict Chemo Success

Cancer biologists show that the interplay between two key genes that are often defective in tumors determines how cancer cells respond to chemotherapy. The findings should have an immediate impact on cancer treatment, according to researchers. The work could help doctors predict what types of chemotherapy will be effective in a particular tumor, which would help tailor treatments to each patient.
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Crystal Ball For Brain Cancer? New Method Predicts Which Brain Tumors Will Respond To Drug

Researchers have uncovered a new way to scan brain tumors and predict which ones will be shrunk by the drug Avastin -- before the patient ever starts treatment. By linking high water movement in tumors to positive drug response, the scientists predicted with 70 percent accuracy which patients' tumors were the least likely to grow six months after therapy.
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Cost-effectiveness of cetuximab in metastatic colorectal cancer

From a health-care system perspective, it may be more efficient to use the drug cetuximab only in colorectal cancer patients whose tumors have a wild-type KRAS gene, according to a study published online August 7 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
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Key To Strengthening Immune Response To Chronic Infection Found

A team of researchers has identified a protein that could serve as a target for reprogramming immune system cells exhausted by exposure to chronic viral infection into more effective "soldiers" against certain viruses like HIV, hepatitis C and hepatitis B, as well as some cancers, such as melanoma.
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Finding Key To Cancer Drug Gleevec's Limitations

Researchers have learned why imatinib, marketed as Gleevec, helps patients with chronic myeloid leukemia survive longer, but does not keep the disease from returning if treatment ends. The team is now combining imatinib with other drugs in mouse studies to find ways to sensitize resistant leukemia-initiating cells to imatinib and enhance its power.
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Moving To The US Increases Cancer Risk For Hispanics

Results of a new study confirm trends that different Hispanic population groups have higher incidence rates of certain cancers and worse cancer outcomes if they live in the United States, than they do if they live in their homelands.
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Women Often Opt To Surgically Remove Their Breasts, Ovaries To Reduce Cancer Risk

Many women at high risk for breast or ovarian cancer are choosing to undergo surgery as a precautionary measure to decrease their cancer risk, according to a new report.
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Sensitizing Tumor Response To Cancer Therapy

Researchers are working to find natural, biologically active compounds that will sensitize cancerous tumors to therapy without damaging normal tissue.
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Common Trigger In Cancer And Normal Stem Cell Reproduction Found

Researchers have discovered, for the first time, a common molecular pathway that is used by both normal stem cells and cancer stem cells when they reproduce themselves.
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Gene Shut-down May Offer Early Warning Of Chronic Leukemia

A new study shows that certain genes are turned off early in the development of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), before clinical signs of the disease appear. The study examined cancer cells from CLL patients and from a new strain of mice that develops a very similar disease. The findings suggest that epigenetic alterations might serve as markers for detecting CLL early and for monitoring progression, and that their reversal might delay or prevent progression.
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Delays in UK child brain tumor diagnosis

Significant numbers of children in the UK are suffering from preventable levels of disability, particularly blindness, and premature death because of poor diagnosis of brain tumours.
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Advances in lung cancer research announced at conference

Dr. Glen Weiss of the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) and Scottsdale Healthcare this week announced two significant advances in treating lung cancer at an international cancer research conference.
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Protein Complex Key In Avoiding DNA Repair Mistakes, Cancer

Lymphoma and other cancers may occur when a delicate gene recombination process in antibody-making cells goes awry, according to preliminary studies in mice at the University of Michigan.
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The Way You Eat May Affect Your Risk For Breast Cancer

How you eat may be just as important as how much you eat, if mice studies are any clue. Cancer researchers have long studied the role of diet on breast cancer risk, but results to date have been mixed. New findings suggest the method by which calories are restricted may be more important for cancer protection than the actual overall degree of calorie restriction.
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Decoding Leukemia Patient Genome Leads Scientists To Mutations In Other Patients

Scientists have sequenced the complete genome of a patient with acute myeloid leukemia, discovering a suite of genetic changes in the cancer cells. Their research has revealed that one of these mutations also is common in certain brain tumors called gliomas and that another occurred in a second patient with the same type of leukemia. Neither mutation had been previously linked to leukemia.
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Structure Of An Entire HIV Genome Decoded

The structure of an entire HIV genome has been decoded for the first time. The results have widespread implications for understanding the strategies that viruses, like the one that causes AIDS, use to infect humans. The study also opens the door for further research which could accelerate the development of antiviral drugs.
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Moving to the US increases cancer risk for Hispanics

Results of a new study confirm trends that different Hispanic population groups have higher incidence rates of certain cancers and worse cancer outcomes if they live in the United States, than they do if they live in their homelands.
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Scientists find cells responsible for bladder cancer's spread

Johns Hopkins scientists have tracked down a powerful set of cells in bladder tumors that seem to be primarily responsible for the cancer's growth and spread using a technique that takes advantage of similarities between tumor and organ growth. The findings, reported in the July Stem Cells, could help scientists develop new ways of finding and attacking similar cells in other types of cancer.
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Bcl6 Gene Sculpts Helper T Cell To Boost Antibody Production

Expression of a single gene programs an immune system helper T cell that fuels rapid growth and diversification of antibodies in a cellular structure implicated in autoimmune diseases and development of B cell lymphoma, scientists report in Science.
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Nerve-block Anesthesia Can Improve Surgical Recovery, Even Outcomes

When planning for surgery, patients too often don't consider the kind of anesthesia they will receive. In fact, the choice of anesthesia can improve recovery, even outcomes.
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Promising Candidate Protein For Cancer Prevention Vaccines

Researchers have learned that some healthy people naturally developed an immune response against a protein that is made in excess levels in many cancers, including breast, lung, and head and neck cancers. The finding suggests that a vaccine against the protein might prevent malignancies in high-risk individuals.
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Tumors Effectively Treated With Use Of Nanotubes

By injecting man-made, microscopic tubes into tumors and heating them with a quick, 30-second zap of a laser, scientists have discovered a way to effectively kill kidney tumors in nearly 80 percent of mice. Researchers say that the finding suggests a potential future cancer treatment for humans.
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One Force Behind The MYC Oncogene In Many Cancers Uncovered

DLX5, a gene crucial for embryonic development, promotes cancer by activating the expression of the known oncogene, MYC, according to researchers. Since the DLX5 gene is inactive in normal adults, it may be an ideal target for future anti-cancer drugs, they reason.
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Silenced Genes As Warning Sign Of Blood Cancer

In the genetic material of cancer cells, important growth inhibitors are often switched off by chemical labels in the DNA. How this happens has now been investigated. Scientists discovered in mice that cancer-typical DNA labeling occurs long before the first symptoms of leukemia appear. A test for the genetic label might therefore help to detect a developing cancer at an early point.
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Finding key to cancer drug Gleevec's limitations

University of Michigan researchers have developed an animal model that provides strong evidence why imatinib, marketed as Gleevec, helps patients with chronic myeloid leukemia survive longer, but does not keep the disease from returning if treatment ends.
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Forecasting Cancer Recurrence With New Computer Model

Two people with the same kind of cancer who receive the exact same treatment may nevertheless have different chances of their tumors coming back years later. Now a team of scientists has developed a computer model that predicts cancer recurrence in an individual based on how her tumor changes size in response to the first rounds of radiation therapy.
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Scientists Discover Bladder Cancer Stem Cell

Researchers have identified the first human bladder cancer stem cell and revealed how it works to escape the body's natural defenses.
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Stem Cell 'Daughters' Lead To Breast Cancer

Scientists have found that a population of breast cells called luminal progenitor cells are likely to be responsible for breast cancers that develop in women carrying mutations in the gene BRCA1.
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Heavy Drinkers Face Significantly Increased Cancer Risk

Heavy drinkers of beer and spirits face a much higher risk of developing cancer than the population at large, say epidemiologists and cancer researchers. Heavy consumption of beer and spirits have now been linked to 6 different cancers. People in the highest consumption category increased their risk of developing esophageal cancer sevenfold, colon cancer by 80 percent and even lung cancer by 50 percent.
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Common Household Pesticides Linked To Childhood Cancer Cases In Washington Area

Researchers find a higher level of common household pesticides in the urine of children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, a cancer that develops most commonly between three and seven years of age. The findings should not be seen as cause-and-effect, but suggests an association between pesticide exposure and development of childhood ALL.
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Nanoparticles Cross Blood-brain Barrier To Enable 'Brain Tumor Painting'

Fluorescent nanoparticles are able to illuminate brain tumors in mice. The particles can safely cross the blood-brain barrier, an almost impenetrable barrier that protects the brain from infection.
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Critical Link In Cell Death Pathway Revealed

The role of a protein called XIAP in the regulation of cell death has been identified by researchers and has led them to recommend caution when drugs called IAP inhibitors are used to treat cancer patients with underlying liver conditions.
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Mathematical Modeling Predicts Response To Herceptin

Cancer researchers are turning to mathematical models to help answer important clinical questions, and a new article illustrates how the technique may answer questions about Herceptin resistance.
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New Tool May Help With Early Detection Of Deadly Pancreatic Cancer

A new diagnostic tool has shown promising results when used with patients of pancreatic cancer, one of the deadliest forms of cancer due to the difficulty of diagnosing it in its early stages. The method, which studies carbohydrate structures in the bloodstream, could lead to the development of blood tests that can detect cancer more effectively.
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Promising candidate protein for cancer prevention vaccines found

Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine have learned that some healthy people naturally developed an immune response against a protein that is made in excess levels in many cancers, including breast, lung, and head and neck cancers. The finding suggests that a vaccine against the protein might prevent malignancies in high-risk individuals.
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Silenced genes as a warning sign of blood cancer

In many types of cancer, parts of the genetic material of tumor cells are switched off by chemical labels called methyl groups. This kind of methyl labeling ranges among the epigenetic changes that do not change the sequence of DNA building blocks. Such labels are found particularly often in genes which act as important inhibitors of pathogenic cell growth.
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The way you eat may affect your risk for breast cancer

How you eat may be just as important as how much you eat, if mice studies are any clue.
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Yeast Cancer Model For Mapping Cancer Genes

Researchers have devised a scheme for identifying genes in yeast that could lead to the identification of new cancer genes in humans.
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Ovarian Cancer Tests 'Woefully Ineffective' According To Researchers

Current diagnostic tests for ovarian cancer are woefully ineffective for early detection of the disease, say researchers. A new study finds that in order to make a significant dent in the mortality rate for the deadly cancer, the tests would have to be able to detect tumors of less than 1 cm in diameter, or about 200-times smaller in mass than those currently used to assess potential new tests.
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Targeted Therapy Delivers Chemo Directly To Ovarian Cancer Cells

With a novel therapeutic delivery system, scientists have successfully targeted a protein that is over-expressed in ovarian cancer cells. Using the EphA2 protein as a molecular homing mechanism, chemotherapy was delivered in a highly selective manner in preclinical models of ovarian cancer.
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Exercise Benefits Leukemia Patients

A new study suggests that exercise may be an effective way to combat the debilitating fatigue that leukemia patients experience.
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Groundbreaking study shows exercise benefits leukemia patients

One of the most bothersome symptoms of leukemia is extreme fatigue, and asking these patients to exercise doesn't sound like a way to help them feel better.
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PET can help guide treatment decisions for a common pediatric cancer

A new study published in the August issue of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine shows that positron emission tomography (PET) is an important tool for depicting the extent of neuroblastoma in some patients, particularly for those in the early stages of the disease. Neuroblastoma accounts for six to ten percent of all childhood cancers in the United States and 15 percent of cancer deaths in children. Accurately identifying where in the body the disease is located and whether it is spreading is critical for choosing appropriate types of treatment, which can include surgery, chemotherapy, radiation and -in the most advanced cases -a combination of all of these treatments along with bone marrow transplant or investigational therapies.
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Heavy drinkers face significantly increased cancer risk

Heavy drinkers of beer and spirits face a much higher risk of developing cancer than the population at large, says a group of Montreal epidemiologists and cancer researchers. Their findings show that people in the highest consumption category increased their risk of developing oesophageal cancer sevenfold, colon cancer by 80% and even lung cancer by 50%.
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Switch to digital mammography leads to increased cancer detection rates

The use of digital mammography equipment alone is responsible for an increased number of breast cancers detected at a community-based mammography facility, according to a study performed at San Luis Diagnostic Center in San Luis Obispo, CA.
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Viral mimic induces melanoma cells to digest themselves

Recent research has uncovered an unexpected vulnerability in deadly melanoma cells that, when exploited, can cause the cancer cells to turn against themselves. The study, published by Cell Press in the August issue of the journal Cancer Cell, identifies a new target for development of future therapeutics aimed at selectively eliminating this aggressive skin cancer which is characterized by a notoriously high rate of metastasis and treatment-resistance.
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Researchers identify new method to selectively kill metastatic melanoma cells

An international team of researchers has identified a new method for selectively killing metastatic melanoma cells, which may lead to new areas for drug development in melanoma - a cancer that is highly resistant to current treatment strategies.
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New tool may help with early detection of deadly pancreatic cancer

A new diagnostic tool developed by Van Andel Research Institute (VARI) scientists has shown promising results when used with patients of pancreatic cancer, one of the deadliest forms of cancer due to the difficulty of diagnosing it in its early stages. The method, which studies carbohydrate structures in the bloodstream, could lead to the development of blood tests that can detect cancer more effectively.
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New Drug Target For Kaposi's Sarcoma

Researchers have identified a new potential drug target for the herpes virus that causes Kaposi's sarcoma, re-opening the possibility of using the class of drugs called protease inhibitors against the full herpes family of viruses, which for 20 years has been deemed too difficult to attain.
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Antibody Targeting Of Glioblastoma Shows Promise In Preclinical Tests

Cancer researchers have successfully tested a small, engineered antibody they say shuts down growth of human glioblastoma tumors in cell and animal studies. Glioblastoma is the deadliest of brain cancers; there is no effective treatment.
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Epigenetic Signature Changes In Low Oxygen Levels May Contribute To Prostate Cancer Development

Researchers have characterized epigenetic signature changes in prostate cells under conditions of low oxygen levels that may lead to tumor development. The results of the study may provide important targets for the early detection and manipulation of prostate cancer.
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Common Diabetic Therapy Reduces Risk Of Pancreatic Cancer

Taking the most commonly-prescribed anti-diabetic drug, metformin, reduces an individual's risk of developing pancreatic cancer by 62 percent, according to new research.
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Nutritional Supplement, SAMe, Effective In Preventing Formation Of Primary Liver Cancer In Rats

A new study investigated the effectiveness of S-adenosylmethionine in the prevention and treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma or primary liver cancer. SAMe, a widely available nutritional supplement, with little known side effects, was found to be effective in preventing the formation of HCC in rats. However, high enough levels of SAMe were not attainable to successfully treat established HCC.
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Differences identified in treatments of of patients with second primary lung cancers versus primary lung cancer

Patients with second primary lung cancers (SPLC), when compared to those with one primary lung cancer (OPLC), are more likely to have localized disease at the time of diagnosis and are more likely to receive surgical treatment rather than radiation treatment. However, patients with SPLC have a 12% higher lung cancer specific mortality, Fox Chase Cancer Center researchers reported today at the annual meeting of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer.
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Study finds that lung cancer patients respond to erlotinib following cetuximab therapy

Non-small cell lung cancer patients who have progressed on a cetuximab-containing regimen may respond to erlotinib, Fox Chase Cancer Center researchers reported today at the annual meeting of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer.
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Stem cell 'daughters' lead to breast cancer

Walter and Eliza Hall Institute scientists have found that a population of breast cells called luminal progenitor cells are likely to be responsible for breast cancers that develop in women carrying mutations in the gene BRCA1.
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Breast Cancer Hormone Receptor Status And Risk Of A Second Primary Tumor

Women with hormone receptor negative first tumors have twice as much risk for developing a second breast cancer as women with HR-positive tumors, according to a new study.
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New Location Found For Regulation Of RNA Fate

Thousands of scientists and hundreds of software programmers studying the process by which RNA inside cells normally degrades may soon broaden their focus significantly. Researchers have discovered that the RNA degradation, which, when improperly regulated can lead to cancer and other diseases, can be launched in an unexpected location.
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Virus Linked To Some Cases Of Common Skin Cancer

A virus discovered in a rare form of skin cancer has been found in people with squamous cell carcinoma, a common skin cancer. Researchers identified the virus in more than a third of 58 SCC patients and in 15 percent of their tumors. Virus found in tumor cells had a mutation that could enable it to integrate into the host cell DNA, suggesting that the virus might help cause some cases of SCC.
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Altered micriobiome prevalent in the diseased esophagus

Gastroesophageal reflux diseases , or GERD, affects about 10 million people in the United States, yet the cause and an unexpected increase in its prevalence over the last three decades remains unexplainable. Now, researchers have discovered that GERD is associated with global alteration of the microbiome in the esophagus. The findings, reported in the August 1, 2009 issue of Gastroenterology, may provide for the foundation for further study of the condition as a microecological disease with new treatment possibilities.
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Common diabetic therapy reduces risk of pancreatic cancer, study finds

Taking the most commonly-prescribed anti-diabetic drug, metformin, reduces an individual's risk of developing pancreatic cancer by 62 percent, according to research from The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, published in the Aug. 1 issue of Gastroenterology.
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Hunt For The Blood Test To Determine Melanoma Survival Rates

New research will be breaking new ground in the search for a simple blood test that could tell whether a patient with melanoma has the condition in an aggressive form. Melanoma is the most aggressive form of skin cancer. Staging, which involves determining the size of the tumor and its extent of spread, is the best predictor of whether a patient will succumb to disease or survive.
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Nanoparticle-delivered 'Suicide' Genes Slowed Ovarian Tumor Growth

Nanoparticle delivery of diphtheria toxin-encoding DNA selectively expressed in ovarian cancer cells reduced the burden of ovarian tumors in mice, and researchers expect this therapy could be tested in humans within 18 to 24 months.
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Artificial Intelligence Used To Diagnose Metastatic Cancer

When doctors are managing care for women with breast cancer, the information available to them profoundly influences the type of care they recommend. Knowing whether a woman's cancer has metastasized, for instance, directly affects how her doctors will approach treatment -- which may in turn influence the outcome of that treatment.
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Natural Born Killers: How The Body's Frontline Immune Cells Decide Which Cells To Destroy

The mechanism used by "natural killer" immune cells in the human body to distinguish between diseased cells, which they are meant to destroy, and normal cells, which they are meant to leave alone, has been revealed in new detail.
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'Microfluidic Palette' May Paint Clearer Picture Of Biological Processes

Rsearchers have created an innovative device called a "microfluidic palette" that can be used to study the complex biological mechanisms in cells responsible for cancer metastasis, wound healing, biofilm formation and other fluid-related processes.
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Antibody targeting of glioblastoma shows promise in preclinical tests

Cancer researchers at Georgetown University's Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center have successfully tested a small, engineered antibody they say shuts down growth of human glioblastoma tumors in cell and animal studies. Glioblastoma is the deadliest of brain cancers; there is no effective treatment.
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Systems Biology Recommended As A Clinical Approach To Cancer

Bioinformatics specialists are advocating the use of systems biology as an innovative clinical approach to cancer. This approach could result in the development of improved diagnostic tools and treatment options, as well as potential new drug targets to help combat the many potentially fatal types of the disease.
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Factors That Increase Death In Stroke Patients Ages 15 To 49 identified

Heavy drinking, heart failure, cancer, type 1 diabetes and preceding infection were identified as predictors of death among stroke patients 15 to 49 years old.
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Reducing Levels Of Specific Protein Delays Aging Of Multiple Tissues In Lab Mice

Partial inactivation of p38MAPK protein was sufficient to prevent age-induced cellular changes in multiple tissues, as well as improve the proliferation and regeneration of islet cells, without affecting the tumor suppressor function of p16 in mice.
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Cancers Set To 'Explode' In Latino/a Populations, Researcher Says

The Latino/a population in the United States is expected to triple by 2050. And with that growth, says a professor, will come a rise in the number of individuals from that population who are diagnosed with cancer. To better serve the needs of this population, with respect to cancer prevention, detection and treatment, she said, improvements must be made in two areas: knowledge and access.
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Reprogrammed Role For The Androgen Receptor

The androgen receptor -- a protein ignition switch for prostate cancer cell growth and division -- is a master of adaptability. When drug therapy deprives the receptor of androgen hormones, thereby halting cell proliferation, the receptor manages to find an alternate growth route. A new study demonstrates how.
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Smoking Increases Potential For Metastatic Pancreatic Cancer

Smoking has once again been implicated in the development of advanced cancer. Exposure to nicotine by way of cigarette smoking may increase the likelihood that pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma will become metastatic, according to new research.
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Hybrid Linac-MRI System: New Medical Imaging Combines Medical Linear Accelerators And Magnetic Resonance Imagers

Canadian scientists are developing a new technology that integrates two existing medical devices -- medical linear accelerators, or "linacs," which produce powerful X-rays for treating cancer, and magnetic resonance imagers (MRIs), which are widely used to image tumors in the human body.
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Could Therapeutic Vaccines Treat Hard-To-Beat Breast Cancers?

A comprehensive analysis of nearly 1,600 tumor samples has found that CT-X genes are expressed in nearly half the breast cancers that lack the estrogen receptor. CT-X gene products are the targets of therapeutic cancer vaccines already in phase III clinical trials for lung cancer and melanoma.
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Nanoparticle-delivered 'suicide' genes slowed ovarian tumor growth (w/ Video)

Nanoparticle delivery of diphtheria toxin-encoding DNA selectively expressed in ovarian cancer cells reduced the burden of ovarian tumors in mice, and researchers expect this therapy could be tested in humans within 18 to 24 months, according to a report in Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.
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A crystal ball for brain cancer? New method predicts which brain tumors will respond to drug

UCLA researchers have uncovered a new way to scan brain tumors and predict which ones will be shrunk by the drug Avastin -- before the patient ever starts treatment. By linking high water movement in tumors to positive drug response, the UCLA team predicted with 70 percent accuracy which patients' tumors were the least likely to grow six months after therapy.
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Portuguese scientists show Schistosoma haematobium direct link to tumours

Schistosoma haematobium (S. haematobium) is a parasitic flatworm that infects millions of people, mostly in the developing world, and is associated with high incidence of bladder cancer although why is not clear. Now, however, two works by Portuguese researchers just out in The Journal of Experimental Pathology 1 and  the International Journal of Parasitology 2 reveal that cells infected in laboratory with S. haematobium, acquire cancer-like characteristics and, when injected into mice develop into tumours.
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Chinese women join global breast cancer trial

Breast cancer patients have for the first time been recruited from China to take part in an international trial of breast radiotherapy.
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Study links virus to some cases of common skin cancer

A virus discovered last year in a rare form of skin cancer has also been found in people with the second most common form of skin cancer among Americans, according to researchers at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute.
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Few Patients Die From Prostate Cancer Within 15 Years Of Radical Prostatectomy, Study Finds

Researchers have completed the first large-scale, multi-institutional study of prostate cancer death after standard treatment to remove the prostate since PSA screening has become widely used as a method to screen for the disease. In the study, researchers found that in a group of 12,677 men who had radical prostatectomies between 1987 and 2005, the fifteen-year mortality rate that could be directly linked to prostate cancer was only 12 percent, even though many of the patients' cancers had aggressive features.
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Endoscopic Surgery As Effective Open Surgery For Nasal Cancer

Researchers have shown that endoscopic surgery is a valid treatment option for treating esthesioneuroblastoma (cancer of the nasal cavity), in addition to traditional open surgery and nonsurgical treatments.
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Cancer Vaccines Led To Long-term Survival For Patients With Metastatic Melanoma

Medical researchers have released promising data from a clinical study showing patient-specific cancer vaccines derived from patients' own cancer cells and immune cells were well tolerated and resulted in impressive long-term survival rates in patients with metastatic melanoma whose disease had been minimized by other therapies.
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Smokeless Tobacco Safer Than Smoking, Study Suggests

Smokeless tobacco products, as used in Europe and North America, do not appear to increase cancer risk. A large meta-analysis has shown that snuff as used in Scandinavia has no discernible effect on the risk of various cancers. Products used in the past in the US may have increased the risk, but any effect that exists now seems likely to be quite small.
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Physician trust, early screening reduces disparities for prostate cancer

Men who have a regular, ongoing relationship with a health care provider are more likely to receive prostate cancer screening and less likely to be diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer, regardless of their race, according to a University of North Carolina study published in the current issue of the journal Cancer.
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Cancers set to 'explode' in Latino/a populations, researcher says

The Latino/a population in the United States is expected to triple by 2050, according to projections from the U.S. Census Bureau. And along with that growth, says University of Illinois professor Lydia Buki, will come a rise in the number of individuals from that population who are diagnosed with cancer.
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Low prevalence of HPV infection may be tied to poor prognosis for blacks with head and neck cancer

Researchers at the University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Cancer have found that head and neck cancer patients who test positive for the human papillomavirus (HPV) have much better survival rates than patients who don't have the virus, according to a new study in the journal Cancer Prevention Research. The researchers also discovered that blacks in the study had a very low rate of HPV infection, and consequently worse survival, which may explain why African-American patients traditionally have had a poor prognosis for head and neck cancer.
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Most Older Long-term Cancer Survivors Have Poor Health Habits

A new study finds that most older long-term cancer survivors who are interested in diet and exercise actually have poor health habits, and that those survivors who do exercise and watch their diet have improved physical health and quality of life.
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Surgery Remains An Option For Advanced Lung Cancer

Oncologists have debated whether patients with a certain type of advanced lung cancer would benefit from surgery. Now a major study has found that surgery can significantly prolong survival without progression of the cancer, but does not dramatically improve overall survival.
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Molecule Plays Early Role In Nonsmoking Lung Cancer

A new study suggests that a molecule called miR-21 is important in the development of lung cancer in never-smokers and in smokers. Lung tumors from never-smokers with mutations in a gene called EGFR had particularly high levels of the molecule. The findings may lead to improve targeted therapy for lung cancer, including tumors resistant to targeted drugs such as gefitinib.
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Key Event In Prostate Cancer Progression Discovered

Researchers have discovered how hormone-dependent prostate cancer advances to the incurable hormone-independent disease state. The study shows that in androgen-independent prostate cancer, androgen receptors are reprogrammed to regulate genes involved in a later phase of cell division. A small epigenetic change in a gene called UBE2C is responsible for this reprogramming. Increased expression of that gene correlated with progression to the hormone-independent phase.
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Cancer's Distinctive Pattern Of Gene Expression Could Aid Early Screening And Prevention

Distinctive patterns of genes turned off -- or left on -- in healthy versus cancerous cells could enable early screening for many common cancers and maybe help avoid them scientists say.
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Genetic Testing May Be Valuable In Treating Colorectal Cancer

A new cost-effectiveness study has determined that so-called pretreatment pharmacogenetic testing is only beneficial if dose-reduced treatment is shown to be nearly as effective as the full dose. If the lower dose is as effective, the test could prevent many cases of severe neutropenia, an abnormally low count of an important type of white blood cells known as neutrophils. It would also mean better life expectancy and lower cost of care.
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Tumor 'Stem-like Cells' Exist In Benign Tumors

Cancer stem-like cells have been implicated in the genesis of a variety of malignant cancers. Research scientists have now isolated stem-like cells in benign (pituitary) tumors and used these "mother" cells to generate new tumors in laboratory mice. Targeting the cells of origin is seen as a possible strategy in the fight against malignant and benign tumors.
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Tiny early-stage ovarian tumors define early detection challenge

A new study by Howard Hughes Medical Institute researchers shows that most early-stage ovarian tumors exist for years at a size that is a thousand times smaller than existing tests can detect reliably.
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Chicago team uses artificial intelligence to diagnose metastatic cancer

When doctors are managing care for women with breast cancer, the information available to them profoundly influences the type of care they recommend. Knowing whether a woman's cancer has metastasized, for instance, directly affects how her doctors will approach treatment -- which may in turn influence the outcome of that treatment.
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Researchers uncover one force behind the MYC oncogene in many cancers

DLX5, a gene crucial for embryonic development, promotes cancer by activating the expression of the known oncogene, MYC, according to researchers from Fox Chase Cancer Center. Since the DLX5 gene is inactive in normal adults, it may be an ideal target for future anti-cancer drugs, they reason. Their findings are published in the July 31 edition of the Journal of Biological Chemistry, available online now.
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Common household pesticides linked to childhood cancer cases in Washington area

A new study by researchers at the Georgetown's Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center finds a higher level of common household pesticides in the urine of children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), a cancer that develops most commonly between three and seven years of age. The findings are published in the August issue of the journal Therapeutic Drug Monitoring.
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Mathematical modeling predicts response to Herceptin

Cancer researchers are turning to mathematical models to help answer important clinical questions, and a new paper in Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, illustrates how the technique may answer questions about Herceptin resistance.
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E-Cigarettes Contain Toxins, FDA Analysis Shows

The FDA tested samples from 2 leading electronic cigarette companies and found carcinogens and toxic chemicals, including a chemical found in antifreeze.
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Laser Microsurgery For Tongue Cancer Is As Effective As Invasive Open Surgery, According To New Study

Transoral (through-the-mouth) laser surgery to remove cancer at the base of the tongue is as effective as more invasive open surgery, and may improve quality of life according to a new study.
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Protein That Promotes Cancer Cell Growth Identified

Scientists have found that the Caspase-8 protein, long known to play a major role in promoting programmed cell death (apoptosis), helps relay signals that can cause cancer cells to proliferate, migrate and invade surrounding tissues.
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One Gene That Contributes To Breast Cancer's Aggressive Behavior Identified

Scientists have identified a gene, known as RCP (or RAB11FIP1), that is frequently amplified and over-expressed in breast cancer, and functionally contributes to aggressive breast cancer behavior.
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Human Cells Secrete Cancer-killing Protein

The tumor-suppressor protein Par-4 is secreted by human and rodent cells and activates a novel extrinsic pathway involving cell surface GRP78 receptor for induction of apoptosis, researchers have found.
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Newly Discovered Gene Fusion May Lead To Improved Prostate Cancer Diagnosis

Researchers have discovered a new gene fusion that is highly expressed in a subset of prostate cancers.
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New Molecular Pathway For Targeting Cancer, Disease Discovered

A study has identified a way to turn off a key signaling pathway involved in physiological processes that can also stimulate the development of cancer and other diseases. The findings may lead to new treatments and targeted drugs using this approach.
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Stripping Leukemia-initiating Cells Of Their 'Invisibility Cloak'

Two new studies reveal a way to increase the body's appetite for gobbling up the cancer stem cells responsible for acute myeloid leukemia (AML), a form of cancer with a particularly poor survival rate. The key is targeting a protein on the surface of those cells that sends a "don't eat me" signal to the macrophage immune cells that serve as a first line of defense, according to new reports.
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Surgery remans an option for advanced lung cancer

In recent years, oncologists have debated whether patients with a certain type of advanced lung cancer would benefit from surgery.
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Most older long-term cancer survivors have poor health habits

A new study finds that most older long-term cancer survivors who are interested in diet and exercise actually have poor health habits. The study also reveals that those survivors who do exercise and watch their diet have improved physical health and quality of life. Published in the September 1, 2009 issue of Cancer, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, the research indicates that greater efforts are needed to encourage elderly cancer survivors to live healthier lives.
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Study finds acceptable levels of anxiety among men living with early, untreated prostate cancer

Men with early stages of prostate cancer who delay radical treatment in favor of an approach of "expectant management" do not have high levels of anxiety and distress. That is the conclusion of a new study published in the September 1, 2009 issue of Cancer, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society. The study's results suggest that living with untreated cancer is not upsetting for many patients with early prostate cancer.
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Colon capsule endoscopy diagnoses 64 percent of total polyps detected by conventional colonoscopy

Capsule endoscopy for exploring the colon in a minimally invasive manner diagnoses 64% of all lesions located by means of conventional colonoscopy. According to a study published in The New England Journal of Medicine - the specialised medical journal with greatest international impact -, the new device would need technical improvements to achieve similar efficacy to the conventional procedure undertaken with a colonoscopy and to date considered a "gold standard" technique for this medical discipline, given that this is what currently provides the most reliable results.
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Genetic testing may be valuable in treating colorectal cancer

For the 29,000 patients in the United States with metastatic colorectal cancer, chemotherapy with irinotecan is a standard treatment that has been shown to improve survival. But for more than one in 10 of these patients, a variation in their DNA means that this treatment could result in a severe reduction in their white blood cell count, leading to a high risk of bacterial infection and possible subsequent death. A new genetic test can identify those with the variation in order to lower the treatment dose -- however, it has been unclear whether the testing is worthwhile.
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Cancer's distinctive pattern of gene expression could aid early screening and prevention

Distinctive patterns of genes turned off - or left on - in healthy versus cancerous cells could enable early screening for many common cancers and maybe help avoid them, Medical College of Georgia scientists say.
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Molecule plays early role in nonsmoking lung cancer

The cause of lung cancer in never-smokers is poorly understood, but a study led by investigators at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center and at the National Cancer Institute has identified a molecule believed to play an early and important role in its development.
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Study reveals a reprogrammed role for the androgen receptor

The androgen receptor - a protein ignition switch for prostate cancer cell growth and division - is a master of adaptability. When drug therapy deprives the receptor of androgen hormones, thereby halting cell proliferation, the receptor manages to find an alternate growth route. A new study by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Ohio State University scientists demonstrates how.
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Smoking increases potential for metastatic pancreatic cancer

Smoking has once again been implicated in the development of advanced cancer. Exposure to nicotine by way of cigarette smoking may increase the likelihood that pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma will become metastatic, according to researchers from the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson. Their study was published in the August edition of the journal Surgery.
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Breast Cancer Prognosis

Scientists have identified a stromal marker for breast cancer progression. 
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Gene Mutation Responsible For Hereditary Neuroendocrine Tumor Discovered

Researchers have identified the gene that is mutated in a hereditary form of a rare neuroendocrine tumor called paraganglioma. The gene, called hSDH5, is required for activation of an enzyme complex that plays a critical role in the chemical reactions that take place within cells to convert biochemical energy into usable energy.
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Longer Life For Milk Drinkers, Study Suggests

Drinking milk can lessen the chances of dying from illnesses such as coronary heart disease (CHD) and stroke by up to 15-20% according to new research. In recent times milk has often been portrayed by the media as an unhealthy food.
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Embarrassing Illnesses No Bar To Information Sharing

People with potentially "stigmatizing" medical conditions are just as likely as those with less stigmatizing illnesses to allow their personal information to be used for health research. A new study found that the purpose of the research and the type of information to be collected were more important in determining patients' consent choices. In particular, they were very wary of allowing their personal information to be put to commercial use.
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An unusual collection : A brain tumor tissue bank

(PhysOrg.com) -- Five years ago, as she was walking into Caritas Holy Family Hospital and Medical Center in Methuen, Mass., Patricia Fey saw a priest she knew and cornered him. "I'm like 'Oh, Father Peter! And I sort of grabbed him by his arm," she recounts. "I said, 'What are you doing here? Father Peter! I could use a prayer right now. He asked me what was going on and I told him, "They found a brain tumor and I'm about to get set up for radiation. It's cancer."
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Is RTA a new potential option for the treatment of hydatid cysts?

Current treatment of cystic echinococcosis is surgery or percutaneous aspiration, injection and reaspiration (PAIR) using hypertonic saline or ethanol. It is aimed at causing permanent damage to the endocyst - the thin, delicate, and translucid inner membrane that produces the cystic fluid and generates new larval elements able to expand the infestation. Surgery and PAIR on liver and lung can result in biliary or bronchial fistulae, prompted by endocyst detachment; chemical cholangitis or pneumonia, due to passing of hypertonic saline or ethanol into the biliary or bronchial tree; and infection or abscess on the residual cyst cavity.
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Protein that promotes cancer cell growth identified

Scientists at Burnham Institute for Medical Research (Burnham) have found that the Caspase-8 protein, long known to play a major role in promoting programmed cell death (apoptosis), helps relay signals that can cause cancer cells to proliferate, migrate and invade surrounding tissues. The study was published in the journal Cancer Research on June 15.
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Life After Chemotherapy: Daily Tasks, Quality Of Life May Be Affected, Researcher Finds

A new study reveals that, following chemotherapy, mild decreases in skills, such as verbal fluency and problem-solving ability, affect the quality of life for cancer survivors.
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Study provides documentation that tumor 'stem-like cells' exist in benign tumors

Cancer stem-like cells have been implicated in the genesis of a variety of malignant cancers. Research scientists at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center's Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute have isolated stem-like cells in benign (pituitary) tumors and used these "mother" cells to generate new tumors in laboratory mice. Targeting the cells of origin is seen as a possible strategy in the fight against malignant and benign tumors.
Full article >>

Newly discovered gene fusion may lead to improved prostate cancer diagnosis

Researchers from NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center have discovered a new gene fusion that is highly expressed in a subset of prostate cancers. The results may lead to more accurate prostate cancer testing and new targets for potential treatments. Experts believe that gene fusions -- a hybrid gene formed from two previously separated genes -- may be at the root of what causes cancer cells to grow more quickly than normal cells.
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Scientists discover key event in prostate cancer progression

A study led by researchers at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute reveals how late-stage, hormone-independent prostate tumors gain the ability to grow without need of hormones.
Full article >>

Stripping leukemia-initiating cells of their 'invisibility cloak'

Two new studies reveal a way to increase the body's appetite for gobbling up the cancer stem cells responsible for acute myeloid leukemia (AML), a form of cancer with a particularly poor survival rate. The key is targeting a protein on the surface of those cells that sends a "don't eat me" signal to the macrophage immune cells that serve as a first line of defense, according to the reports in the July 24th issue of the journal Cell.
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Human cells secrete cancer-killing protein

Human cells are able to secrete a cancer-killing protein, scientists at the University of Kentucky's Markey Cancer Center have found.
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Breast Cancer Drug Shows Promise Against Serious Infections

An FDA-approved drug used for preventing recurrence of breast cancer shows promise in fighting life-threatening fungal infections common in immune-compromised patients, such as infants born prematurely and patients with cancer.
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Chasing Tiny Vehicles: Microscope Shows How Nanoferries Invade Cells

In future therapies, synthetic nanoparticles may well be able to ferry medicines and even genes to targets inside the body. These nanovehicles can now be directly tested and optimized using a highly sensitive microscopic method that can trace single particles all the way into a cell.
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Low-dose CT method, delivering 50 percent less radiation, correctly identifies patients with appendicitis

Patients with possible appendicitis are typically evaluated using a standard-dose contrast enhanced CT, but a low-dose unenhanced CT that delivers approximately 50% less radiation is just as effective, according to a study performed at the Seoul National University College of Medicine in Seoul, Korea. The standard-dose enhanced CT scan delivers approximately 8.0 mSv of radiation; the low-dose unenhanced CT scan delivers approximately 4.2 mSv of radiation.
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Critical link in cell death pathway revealed

The role of a protein called XIAP in the regulation of cell death has been identified by Walter and Eliza Hall Institute researchers and has led them to recommend caution when drugs called IAP inhibitors are used to treat cancer patients with underlying liver conditions.
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Life after chemotherapy: Daily tasks, quality of life may be affected (w/ Podcast)

Each day, thousands of people undergo chemotherapy treatments for different types of cancer, and it is widely known that patients are negatively affected during the treatments; previous research has shown decreases in cognitive functioning among cancer survivors following treatment. However, scientists were unsure how these cognitive declines might affect daily tasks or quality of life when the treatments ceased. A new study at the University of Missouri reveals that, following chemotherapy, mild decreases in skills, such as verbal fluency and problem-solving ability, affect the quality of life for cancer survivors.
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Gene Linked To Increasingly Common Type Of Blood Cancer

Carriers have nearly twice the risk of developing follicular lymphoma, according to cancer's first genome-wide association study.
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Studies Shed Light On Preserving Fertility Among Cancer Patients

Successes in cancer treatment have created a challenge for young cancer patients since the chemotherapy and radiation treatments that save lives threaten fertility. Researchers are now reporting on how they are maturing human eggs in the laboratory, improving current techniques and discovering new cellular mechanisms that could help preserve and even restore fertility.
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Genes Linked To Chemoresistance Identified

Two genes may contribute to chemotherapy resistance in drugs like 5-fluorouracil, which is used in liver cancer treatment, according to cancer researchers.
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Green Tea: Mixed Reviews For Cancer Prevention

Lifestyle choices are pieces of the cancer prevention puzzle, but exactly which steps to take remain unclear, even to scientists. Still, more and more individuals are incorporating small changes into their daily routine -- such as drinking green tea -- in hopes of keeping cancer risk at bay. Is it working? A large new review of studies that examined the affect of green tea on cancer prevention has yielded conflicting results.
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Network Of Altered Genes Appear To Play Role In Development Of Brain Tumors

The interaction between a network of altered genes appears to play an important role in the development and progression of brain tumors, according to a new study.
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New Drug Candidate Prolongs The Lives Of Pancreatic Cancer Patients

The new drug compound Salirasib has shown positive results against pancreatic cancer and recently passed Phase I/II clinical trials. The drug, given in combination with gemcitabine, the standard drug used to combat pancreatic cancer, almost doubled the life expectancy of those who received it.
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New DNA Vaccine Inhibits Deadly Skin Cancer In Mice

A new DNA vaccine inhibited malignant melanoma, a deadly form of skin cancer, in mice by eliciting antibodies that target a gastrin-releasing peptide which is known to play a key role in cancer development.
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Ovary Removal May Increase Lung Cancer Risk

Women who have premature menopause because of medical interventions are at an increased risk of developing lung cancer, according to a new study.
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Evaluating more lymph nodes may not improve identification of late-stage colorectal cancer

Surgically removing and evaluating an increasing number of lymph nodes does not appear to identify a greater number of patients with stage III colorectal cancer, according to a report in the July issue of Archives of Surgery.
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Two Reproductive Factors Are Important Predictors Of Death From Ovarian Cancer

Researchers found that survival among women with ovarian cancer is influenced by age of menarche and total number of lifetime ovulatory cycles.
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Thalidomide Does Not Improve Survival In Small Cell Lung Cancer, Study Finds

Treating patients with thalidomide in combination with chemotherapy for small cell lung cancer did not improve their survival but did increase their risk of blood clots, according to a new study.
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Molecules Discovered With A Higher Selective Ability To Exterminate Cancer Cells

Researchers have obtained a new type of molecules which have proven -in in vitro cultivations- a high level of efficiency against cancer cells, as well as very low toxicity against the body’s normal cells.
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Gliomas Exploit Immune Cells Of The Brain For Rapid Expansion

Gliomas are among the most common and most malignant brain tumors. These tumors infiltrate normal brain tissue and grow very rapidly. As a result, surgery can never completely remove the tumor. Now, neurosurgeons and brain researchers have been able to show that glioma cells exploit microglia, the immune cells of the brain, for their expansion.
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Estrogen Can Reduce Stroke Damage By Inactivating Protein

Estrogen can halt stroke damage by inactivating a tumor-suppressing protein known to prevent many cancers researchers say.
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New Information About DNA Repair Mechanism Could Lead To Better Cancer Drugs

Researchers have shed new light on a process that fixes breaks in the genetic material of the body's cells. Their findings could lead to ways of enhancing chemotherapy drugs that destroy cancer cells by damaging their DNA.
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New Strategy In Tumor Treatment

A new strategy may treat tumors that do not respond to conventional treatment. Medical researchers used a two part strategy to selectively kill tumors while protecting healthy cells.
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New strategy in tumor treatment

A new strategy proposed by researchers at Dartmouth Medical School and Amtek, Hanover, NH may treat tumors that do not respond to conventional treatment. The study, which was published on May 29th in the open access, peer reviewed journal PLoS ONE, uses a combination of two agents to selectively kill tumors while protecting healthy cells.
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Breast cancer drug shows promise against serious infections

An FDA-approved drug used for preventing recurrence of breast cancer shows promise in fighting life-threatening fungal infections common in immune-compromised patients, such as infants born prematurely and patients with cancer. Some scientists suspected that tamoxifen has antifungal properties; now new research from the University of Rochester Medical Center shows that it actually kills fungus cells and stops them from causing disease.
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New drug candidate prolongs the lives of pancreatic cancer patients

Every year, 42,000 Americans are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Few live very long, and less than 5% are still alive five years after diagnosis.
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Researchers discover new molecular pathway for targeting cancer, disease

A UCLA study has identified a way to turn off a key signaling pathway involved in physiological processes that can also stimulate the development of cancer and other diseases. The findings may lead to new treatments and targeted drugs using this approach.
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Moles And Melanoma: Genetic Links To Skin Cancer Found

Research shows the genetic connection between moles and melanoma -- and why the more moles a person has, the more susceptible they are to the disease. Researchers found a clear link between some genes on chromosomes 9 and 22 and increased risk of melanoma.
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Case For Preventive Prostate Cancer Treatment Bolstered

For the last six years, doctors have faced a dilemma about whether to treat men at risk of prostate cancer with the drug finasteride. Now new research appears to show that the drug did not cause those more aggressive forms of prostate cancer but simply made them easier to diagnose. The findings suggest that doctors can be less cautious in use of finasteride.
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Stealthy Gene Network Makes Brain Tumors Flourish

The brain tumor afflicting Sen. Edward Kennedy -- a glioblastoma -- is the most aggressive form of brain cancer. But scientists have discovered the tumor's vulnerability. They have identified a network of genes that create the perfect environment to allow the tumor to mushroom to the size of an apple in a just a few months. Researchers also identified a new gene whose level in the tumor predicts how long a glioblastoma patient will survive. The discoveries offer new targets for therapies.
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Increase In Thyroid Cancer Not Explained By Screening Alone

Studies have reported an increasing incidence of thyroid cancer since 1980. One possible explanation for this trend is increased detection through more widespread and aggressive use of screening tests. Researchers found incidence rates increased for all sizes of tumors, suggesting that screening is not the only explanation for the rise.
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Targeting Specific Proteins To Halt Advanced Metastatic Breast Cancer

Two specific matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) proteins have been found to contribute to bone metastasis in advanced breast cancer -- lending important new insight into the design of clinically useful small molecule inhibitors.
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Scientists Locate Disease Switches

A team of scientists has identified no less than 3,600 molecular switches in the human body. These switches, which regulate protein functions, may prove to be a crucial factor in human aging and the onset and treatment of diseases such as cancer, Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease.
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Asian Spice Could Reduce Breast Cancer Risk In Women Exposed To Hormone Replacement Therapy

Previous studies have found that post-menopausal women who have taken a combined estrogen and progestin hormone replacement therapy have increased their risk of developing progestin-accelerated breast tumors. Now researchers have found that curcumin, a popular Indian spice derived from the turmeric root, could reduce the cancer risk for women after exposure to hormone replacement therapy.
Full article >>

Fluorescent Probes May Permit Monitoring Of Chemotherapy Effectiveness

Going out like a brilliant flame is one way to get attention. If physicians could watch tumor cells committing a form of programmed suicide called apoptosis, a desired effect of workhorse cancer treatments such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy, they could more quickly pick the most effective treatment. Now scientists have found a way to do just that, by lighting up cells as they die.
Full article >>

Why Neural Stem Cells Divide And Differentiate

Neural stem cells represent the cellular backup of our brain. These cells are capable of self-renewal to form new stem cells or differentiate into neurons, astrocytes or oligodendrocytes. The receptors of the Notch family play a significant role in this process. So far, only stimulating extracellular ligands of Notch receptors had been described. Biochemists now describe a long time assumed but not yet identified soluble Notch inhibitor.
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First Molecular Steps To Childhood Leukemia Identified

Scientists have identified how a chromosomal abnormality known to be associated with acute lymphoblastic leukemia -- the most common cancer in children -- initiates the disease process. Chromosome reshuffling affecting blood stem cells leads to years-later cancer development.
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Surprising New Insights Into The Repair Strategies Of DNA

A microscopic single-celled organism, adapted to survive in some of the harshest environments on earth, could help scientists gain a better understanding of how cancer cells behave.
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Circulating Blood Cells Are Important Predictors Of Cancer Spread In Children

Endothelial progenitor cells may play a role in the start and progression of metastatic disease in children with cancer, according to study results published in Clinical Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.
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Microscopic 'Beads' Could Help Create 'Designer' Immune Cells That Ignore Transplanted Organs

The future of organ transplantation could include microscopic beads that create "designer" immune cells to help patients tolerate their new organ, researchers say.
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Trojan Horse For Ovarian Cancer: Nanoparticles Turn Immune System Soldiers Against Tumor Cells

Immunologists have devised a Trojan horse to help overcome ovarian cancer, unleashing a surprise killer in the surroundings of a hard-to-treat tumor.
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Fighting Drug-resistant Flu Viruses

Amid reports that swine flu viruses are developing the ability to shrug off existing antiviral drugs, scientists are reporting a first-of-its kind discovery that could foster a new genre of antivirals that sidestep resistance problems.
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DNA Not The Same In Every Cell Of Body: Major Genetic Differences Between Blood And Tissue Cells Revealed

New research calls into question one of the most basic assumptions of human genetics: that when it comes to DNA, every cell in the body is essentially identical to every other cell. This discovery may undercut the rationale behind numerous large-scale genetic studies conducted over the last 15 years.
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Radiation Dose, Cancer Risk From Coronary Artery Calcium Screening Estimated

A study based on computer modeling of radiation risk suggests that widespread screening for the buildup of calcium in the arteries using computed tomography scans would lead to an estimated 42 additional radiation-induced cancer cases per 100,000 men and 62 cases per 100,000 women, according to a new report.
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Researchers investigate high-risk populations for bladder-cancer screenings

A new study by UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers sheds light on the challenges involved in identifying which high-risk population would benefit most from bladder-cancer screening.
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Estrogen can reduce stroke damage by inactivating protein

Estrogen can halt stroke damage by inactivating a tumor-suppressing protein known to prevent many cancers, Medical College of Georgia researchers say.
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Enhancement of pancreatic cancer on dynamic CT: Does it correlate with angiogenesis and fibrosis?

Prognosis of pancreatic cancer is poor. Recently, it has been clarified that the grade of tumor angiogenesis is a useful prognostic marker in human cancer, including pancreatic cancer. To establish the grade of tumor angiogenesis by non-invasive imaging may be important clinically. However, there are only a few such reports on pancreatic cancer.
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New Technique Could Save Cancer Patients' Fertility

The tiny egg nestled in the laboratory gel was a mere 30 days old, but its four-week birthday caused researchers to quietly celebrate. This was the first time anyone had grown a woman's immature egg cells to a healthy and nearly mature egg in the laboratory. Scientists have now completed the first critical step in the development of a new technique, which may eventually provide a new fertility option for women whose cancer treatments destroy their ability to reproduce.
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Childhood Cancer Risk Rises With Mother's Age

Research indicates that a baby born to an older mother may have a slightly increased risk for many of the cancers that occur during childhood.
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Hormone Therapy Use Associated With Increased Risk Of Ovarian Cancer

Compared with women who have never taken hormone therapy, those who currently take it or who have taken it in the past are at increased risk of ovarian cancer, regardless of the duration of use, the formulation, estrogen dose, regimen or route of administration, according to a study in the July 15 issue of JAMA.
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DACH1 a key protein for tumor suppression in ER+ breast cancer

Researchers from the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson have identified a protein relationship that may be an ideal treatment target for ER+ breast cancer. The study was reported in the July 15 issue of Cancer Research.
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Circulating blood cells are important predictors of cancer spread in children

Endothelial progenitor cells may play a role in the start and progression of metastatic disease in children with cancer, according to study results published in Clinical Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.
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Study identifies first molecular steps to childhood leukemia

A Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH)-based research team has identified how a chromosomal abnormality known to be associated with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) - the most common cancer in children - initiates the disease process. In the July issue of Cell Stem Cell, they describe how expression of this mutation in hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), which usually occurs before birth, leads to the development of leukemia many years later.
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Dietary Influences Of Liver Disease Examined

Diets high in protein and cholesterol are associated with a higher risk of hospitalization or death due to cirrhosis or liver cancer, while diets high in carbohydrates are associated with a lower risk.
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How Tamoxifen Stimulates Uterine Cell Growth And Cancer

Researchers have identified a new "feed-forward" pathway linking estrogen receptors in the membrane of the uterus to a process that increases local estrogen levels and promotes cell growth.
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DNA-damaged Cells Communicate With Neighbors To Let Them Know They're In Trouble

When cells experiencing DNA damage fail to repair themselves, they send a signal to their neighbors letting them know they're in trouble. The discovery, which shows that a process dubbed the DDR (DNA Damage Response) also controls communication from cell to cell, has implications for both cancer and aging.
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Heavy, Daily Drinking Increases Risk Of High-Grade Prostate Cancer; Makes Preventive Drug Ineffective

Current research is inconclusive regarding the relationship between alcohol consumption and prostate cancer risk. Researchers examined the associations of total alcohol, type of alcoholic beverage, and drinking pattern with risks of total, low- and high-grade prostate cancer.
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Individuals At Risk For Developing Colon Cancer Identified

A new study identifies a group of individuals at increased risk for developing colon cancer and holds the promise for developing new tailored cancer treatments.
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Reminder program dramatically increases mammography rates, study finds

A reminder program aimed at screening for breast cancer when it is most treatable boosted mammography rates by more than 17 percentage points, according to a new study by Kaiser Permanente's Center for Health Research in the August issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. The program used electronic health records to identify women who would soon be due for a mammogram and reached out to them via postcards, automated voice messages and personal phone calls.
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Researchers find childhood cancer risk rises with mother's age

Research from the Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota indicates that a baby born to an older mother may have a slightly increased risk for many of the cancers that occur during childhood.
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Study finds survival rates from gastrointestinal tumors improving among African-Americans

New research published in the July issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons reveals that African Americans with gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST), a rare cancer that begins in the wall of the gastrointestinal tract, now have survival rates equivalent to those of Caucasians. Prior to 2000, African Americans were more likely to develop GIST and less likely to undergo surgical treatment for this type of cancer.
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One Secret To How TB Sticks With You

Mycobacterium tuberculosis is arguably the world's most successful infectious agent because it knows how to avoid elimination by slowing its own growth to a crawl. Now, scientists offer new insights into the bugs' talent for meager living.
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Discovery Highlights New Direction For Drug Discovery

In a discovery that rebuffs conventional scientific thinking, researchers have discovered a novel way to block the activity of the fusion protein responsible for Ewing's sarcoma, a rare cancer found in children and young adults.
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Environmental Manganese Good In Trace Amounts But Can Correlate To Cancer Rates

In the first ecological study of its kind in the world, a researcher has uncovered the unique finding that groundwater and airborne manganese in North Carolina correlates with cancer mortality at the county level.
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New Insights Into Formation Of The Centromere, A Key Cellular Structure In Powering And Controlling Chromosome Segregation

Scientists have described the formation of the centromere, a key cellular structure in powering and controlling chromosome segregation and accurate cell division.
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Preventing Prostate Cancer to Bone Metastasis

(PhysOrg.com) -- In new research on prostate cancer to bone metastasis, Dr. Phillip Trackman of Boston University Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine explains that the lysyl oxidase pro-peptide (LOX-PP) inhibits prostate cancer cell growth in vitro by inhibiting the activity of a key growth factor known as Fibroblast Growth Factor 2, or FGF-2.
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Asian spice could reduce breast cancer risk in women exposed to hormone replacement therapy

Previous studies have found that postmenopausal women who have taken a combined estrogen and progestin hormone replacement therapy have increased their risk of developing progestin-accelerated breast tumors. Now, University of Missouri researchers have found that curcumin, a popular Indian spice derived from the turmeric root, could reduce the cancer risk for women after exposure to hormone replacement therapy.
Full article >>

Fluorescent probes may permit monitoring of chemotherapy effectiveness

Going out like a brilliant flame is one way to get attention. If physicians could watch tumor cells committing a form of programmed suicide called apoptosis, a desired effect of workhorse cancer treatments such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy, they could more quickly pick the most effective treatment. Now scientists at the Stanford University School of Medicine have found a way to do just that, by lighting up cells as they die.
Full article >>

Oxygen Key To 'Cut And Paste' Of Genes

An oxygen-sensitive enzyme has been found to play a key role in how genes create the many different proteins that make up our bodies.
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Elevated Insulin Linked To Increased Breast Cancer Risk

Elevated insulin levels in the blood appear to raise the risk of breast cancer in post-menopausal women, according to new research.
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Cancer Researchers Link DICER1 Gene Mutation To Rare Childhood Cancer

New research demonstrates the first definitive link between mutations in the gene DICER1 and cancer. By studying the patterns of DNA from 11 families with an unusual predisposition to the rare childhood lung cancer pleuropulmonary blastoma investigators found that children with the cancer carried a mutation in one of their two DICER1 gene copies.
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Understanding The Anticancer Effects Of Vitamin D3

The active form of vitamin D3 seems to have anticancer effects. New research has identified a major mechanism underlying these effects. Specifically, the protein cystatin D, which is induced by the active form of vitamin D3, has tumor suppressor activity that accounts for much of the anticancer effect of the active form of vitamin D3.
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Why Some Tumors Don't Respond To Radiation And Chemotherapy

A tightly controlled system of checks and balances ensures that a powerful tumor suppressor called p53 keeps a tight lid on unchecked cell growth but doesn't wreak havoc in healthy cells. Scientists now show just how finely tuned the system is and how little it takes to tip the balance.
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Carbohydrate Acts As Tumor Suppressor

Scientists have discovered that specialized complex sugar molecules that anchor cells into place act as tumor suppressors in breast and prostate cancers.
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Prostate Cancer 'Homing Device' Created For Drug Delivery

A new prostate cancer "homing device" could improve detection and allow for the first targeted treatment of the disease. Researchers have synthesized a molecule that finds and penetrates prostate cancer cells and has created imaging agents and therapeutic drugs that can link to the molecule and be carried with it as cargo.
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Newly Appreciated Membrane Estrogen Receptor Important Therapeutic Target For Breast Cancer

New research has uncovered the biological effects of a novel membrane estrogen receptor, a finding that has potential implications for hormonal therapy for breast cancer.
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Are breast cancer patients being kept in the dark?

Despite the increase of breast reconstruction procedures performed in 2008, nearly 70 percent of women who are eligible for the procedure are not informed of the reconstructive options available to them, according to a recently published report. Newly released statistics by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) shows there were more than 79,000 breast reconstruction procedures performed in 2008 - a 39 percent increase over 2007. But in spite of this, current research suggests that many breast cancer patients are missing out on a key conversation that should take place at the time of diagnosis.
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'Normal' cells far from cancer give nanosignals of trouble

A new Northwestern University-led study of human colon, pancreatic and lung cells is the first to report that cancer cells and their non-cancerous cell neighbors, although quite different under the microscope, share very similar structural abnormalities on the nanoscale level.
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Study shows endoscopic surgery as effective open surgery for nasal cancer

Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have shown that endoscopic surgery is a valid treatment option for treating esthesioneuroblastoma (cancer of the nasal cavity), in addition to traditional open surgery and nonsurgical treatments. These findings appear in the July issue of Laryngoscope.
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