Breast Cancer Etiology May Vary By Subtype

Women's reproductive and lifestyle characteristics can be linked to different invasive breast cancer subtypes. Data on 2,544 breast cancer cases suggests that traditional risk factors for development of the condition are associated with different kinds of tumor.
Full article >>

Why Some Prostate Cancer Returns

Men with a low oxygen supply to their tumor have a higher chance of the prostate cancer returning, as found by increasing prostate-specific antigen levels following treatment.
Full article >>

Study May Aid Efforts To Prevent Uncontrolled Cell Division In Cancer

Researchers have uncovered a remarkable property of the contractile ring, a structure required for cell division. Understanding how the contractile ring works to divide the cell may facilitate development of therapies to prevent uncontrolled cell division in cancer.
Full article >>

New Blood Test Greatly Reduces False-positives In Prostate Cancer Screening

A new blood test used in combination with a conventional prostate-specific antigen screening sharply increases the accuracy of prostate cancer diagnosis, and could eliminate tens of thousands of unneeded, painful, and costly prostate biopsies annually.
Full article >>

Activated Stem Cells In Damaged Lungs Could Be First Step Toward Cancer

Stem cells that respond after a severe injury in the lungs of mice may be a source of rapidly dividing cells that lead to lung cancer, according to a new research.
Full article >>

The Vulnerable Cancer Cell: New Studies Reveal Broad, Hidden Network That Lets Tumors Thrive

Researchers have identified many potential new drug targets for cancers long deemed "untouchable" due to the type of genetic mutation they contain. These studies are beginning to reveal new ways of attacking cancer by targeting a largely hidden network of normal genes that cancer cells rely on for survival.
Full article >>

Cottonseed-based Drug Shows Promise In Treating Severe Brain Cancer

An experimental compound showed good results for months in patients with glioblastoma multiforme, researchers say. After undergoing other treatments, including surgery, chemotherapy and radiation, the trial patients' brain cancer had begun to grow again prior to starting on the current clinical trial.
Full article >>

One in ten advanced colon cancer patients worry about prescription drug costs

The vast majority of advanced colon cancer patients in a clinical trial were not concerned about the cost of prescription drugs for managing chemotherapy side effects, such as infection, pain and nausea and few adopted strategies to reduce drug cost burdens after joining the clinical trial, according to a study led by researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. Although few patients reported substantial worry about drug costs, still fewer reported discussing drug cost issues with their physicians, suggesting there are opportunities for improving how physicians integrate discussions about drug costs into clinical practice.
Full article >>

Chemotherapy combination outcomes differ for aged, younger colon cancer patients

ORLANDO, Fla.--The combination of chemotherapies 5FU and oxaliplatin compared to 5FU alone after surgery for colon cancer decreases colon cancer recurrence and promotes longer survival for patients under 70 -- but not for those who are older, according to Mayo Clinic and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute scientists who will present their findings at the American Society of Clinical Oncology's (ASCO) annual meeting in Orlando, Fla.
Full article >>

US cancer care: treatment choices are all about you

US cancer experts are preparing to focus on new developments in making treatment ever more personalized, right down to the molecular level, at their main annual gathering this weekend.
Full article >>

Technique Eradicates Problems In Most Patients With Barrett's Esophagus

A procedure that uses heat generated by radio waves to treat Barrett's esophagus, a condition caused by acid reflux (severe heartburn), can eliminate signs of the potentially cancer-causing disorder and reduce the risk that the disease will progress. The procedure, called radiofrequency ablation, could mean patients have an alternative to surgery for treating Barrett's esophagus.
Full article >>

Dramatic Increase In Metastatic Colon Cancer Survival

Novel chemotherapy and biological agents for metastatic colorectal cancer, combined with surgical advances in liver resection, have resulted in a dramatic increase in survival for patients with advanced disease, according to researchers.
Full article >>

New Cellular Targets For HIV Drug Development

Focusing HIV drug development on immune cells called macrophages could help combat the disease, according to new research.
Full article >>

Zebrafish Provide Model For Cancerous Melanoma In Humans

Scientists haved used the zebrafish to gain insight into the influence of known cancer genes on the development and progression of melanoma, an aggressive form of human skin cancer with limited treatment options.
Full article >>

Carbohydrate Restriction May Slow Prostate Tumor Growth

Restricting carbohydrates, regardless of weight loss, appears to slow the growth of prostate tumors, according to a new animal study.
Full article >>

New Therapy Enlists Immune System To Boost Cure Rate In Childhood Cancer

Scientist have announced encouraging results for an experimental therapy using elements of the body's immune system to improve cure rates for children with neuroblastoma, a challenging cancer of the nervous system. Children who received monoclonal antibodies and cytokines were 20 percent more likely to be living disease-free two years after treatment, compared to children receiving standard therapy.
Full article >>

Cottonseed-based drug shows promise in treating severe brain cancer

An experimental drug derived from cottonseed shows promise in treating the recurrence of glioblastoma multiforme, widely considered the most lethal brain cancer, said researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB).
Full article >>

Surgeon's remove 2-pound tumor from infant's face

In the arms of his mother, Jordan Smith looks much like any other 2-month-old: a wide-eyed, chubby-cheeked child in green-and-yellow overalls and matching cap.
Full article >>

Cardiovascular fitness not affected by cancer treatment

The cardiovascular fitness level of cancer survivors is not affected by many standard cancer therapies, say researchers from Georgetown University Medical Cancer. That is the finding of a new observational study to be presented today at the American College of Sports Medicine in Seattle.
Full article >>

Study may aid efforts to prevent uncontrolled cell division in cancer

Researchers from the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have uncovered a remarkable property of the contractile ring, a structure required for cell division. Understanding how the contractile ring works to divide the cell may facilitate development of therapies to prevent uncontrolled cell division in cancer.
Full article >>

Cancer cells need normal, nonmutated genes to survive

Corrupt lifestyles and vices go hand in hand; each feeds the other. But even the worst miscreant needs customary societal amenities to get by. It's the same with cancer cells. While they rely on vices in the form of genetic mutations to wreak havoc, they must sustain their activity, and that requires equal parts vice and virtue.
Full article >>

Hitting cancer where it hurts

Two studies in the May 29th issue of Cell, a Cell Press publication, have taken advantage of new technological advances to search for and find previously unknown weaknesses in a hard to treat form of cancer. The discoveries lend new hope in the fight again tumors that are today considered "undruggable."
Full article >>

Compliance and cost: Bitter pills to swallow in the age of oral chemotherapy

Though the growing shift toward oral chemotherapy agents offers cancer patients greater freedom and independence during their treatment, physicians say use of the new medications also poses more chances for patients to skip doses, miss prescription refills, and take their drugs in a dangerous way. An increasing number of cancer patients who receive chemotherapy now do so at home, with the click of a pill bottle each day rather than the drip of an IV medicine that must be delivered in a doctor's office or hospital.
Full article >>

Protein Predicts Development Of Invasive Breast Cancer In Women With Ductal Carcinoma In Situ

Women with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) who exhibit an overexpression of the protein HER2/neu have a six-fold increase in risk of invasive breast cancer, according to a new study. The results may help clinicians distinguish between DCIS that requires minimal treatment and DCIS that should be treated more aggressively.
Full article >>

Can We Afford The Cancer Care Of The Future?

When a cancer patient and his or her doctor discuss the value of a treatment option, the conversation usually centers on a consideration of the treatment's medical benefits versus its possible side effects for the patient. Increasingly, however, as the already high costs of cancer care continue to rise, a full view of the patient's welfare must also take into account the economic impact of the treatment on the patient and his or her family.
Full article >>

Genetic Testing For Breast Or Ovarian Cancer Risk May Be Greatly Underutilized

Although a test for gene mutations known to significantly increase the risk of hereditary breast or ovarian cancer has been available for more than a decade, a new study finds that few women with family histories of these cancers are even discussing genetic testing with their physicians or other health care providers.
Full article >>

Cancer Drug Causes Patient To Lose Fingerprints And Be Detained By US Immigration

Immigration officials held a cancer patient for four hours before they allowed him to enter the US because one of his cancer drugs caused his fingerprints to disappear. His oncologist is now advising all cancer patients who are being treated with the commonly used drug, capecitabine, to carry a doctor's letter with them if they want to travel to the US.
Full article >>

Green Tea Extract Shows Promise In Leukemia Trials

Researchers are reporting positive results in early leukemia clinical trials using the chemical epigallocatechin gallate, an active ingredient in green tea.
Full article >>

Less-toxic Drug Prolongs Survival In Metastatic Breast Cancer

A less toxic, solvent-free chemotherapy drug more effectively prevents the progression of metastatic breast cancer and has fewer side effects than a commonly used solvent-based drug. Abraxane prolonged progression-free survival by almost seven months compared with Taxotere, which is part of a class of solvent-based drugs called taxanes.
Full article >>

Cancer drug causes patient to lose fingerprints and be detained by US immigration

Immigration officials held a cancer patient for four hours before they allowed him to enter the USA because one of his cancer drugs caused his fingerprints to disappear. His oncologist is now advising all cancer patients who are being treated with the commonly used drug, capecitabine, to carry a doctor's letter with them if they want to travel to the USA.
Full article >>

Predicting higher risk for prostate cancer diagnosis

High-grade prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (HGPIN) carries a high predictive value for future diagnosis of prostate cancer. Research published in the open access journal BMC Urology has shown that 41.8% of patients whose extended core biopsy led to an initial diagnosis of HGPIN were subsequently diagnosed with prostate cancer.
Full article >>

US cancer death rate drops again in 2006

(AP) -- The U.S. cancer death rate fell again in 2006, a new analysis shows, continuing a slow downward trend that experts attribute to declines in smoking, earlier detection and better treatment.
Full article >>

Berkeley Lab scientist co-leads breast cancer 'dream team'

An $18 million, three-year grant to develop new and more effective therapies to fight breast cancer was awarded today to a multi-institutional "Dream Team" of scientists and clinicians that is co-led by Joe Gray, a renowned cancer researcher with the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
Full article >>

Web site to raise money for Minn. cancer patient

(AP) -- A Web site has been set up to raise money for the family of the 13-year-old Minnesota cancer patient who fled with his mother in violation of a court order.
Full article >>

Why some prostate cancer returns

The majority of men who receive one of the standard treatments for localized prostate cancer - surgery or radiation therapy - have an excellent outcome.
Full article >>

Younger Men With Advanced Prostate Cancer Have Shorter Survival Times

While young men with prostate cancer have a low risk of dying early, those with advanced forms of cancer do not live as long as older men with similar forms of the disease.
Full article >>

Key Protein May Explain The Anti-aging And Anti-cancer Benefits Of Dietary Restriction

A protein that plays a key role in tumor formation, oxygen metabolism and inflammation is involved in a pathway that extends lifespan by dietary restriction. The finding provides a new understanding of how dietary restriction contributes to longevity and cancer prevention and gives scientists new targets for developing and testing drugs that could extend the healthy years of life.
Full article >>

Protein Identified As Critical To Insulating The Body's Wiring Could Also Become Treatment Target

A new protein identified as critical to insulating the wiring that connects the brain and body could one day be a treatment target for divergent diseases, from rare ones that lower the pain threshold to cancer, researchers say.
Full article >>

New Model Of Cancer Development: Low Vitamin D Levels May Have Role

In studying the preventive effects of vitamin D, researchers have proposed a new model of cancer development that hinges on a loss of cancer cells' ability to stick together. The model, dubbed DINOMIT, differs substantially from the current model of cancer development, which suggests genetic mutations as the earliest driving forces behind cancer.
Full article >>

Can we afford the cancer care of the future?

When a cancer patient and his or her doctor discuss the value of a treatment option, the conversation usually centers on a consideration of the treatment's medical benefits versus its possible side effects for the patient. Increasingly, however, as the already high costs of cancer care continue to rise, a full view of the patient's welfare must also take into account the economic impact of the treatment on the patient and his or her family.
Full article >>

Carbohydrate restriction may slow prostate tumor growth

Restricting carbohydrates, regardless of weight loss, appears to slow the growth of prostate tumors, according to an animal study being published this week by researchers in the Duke Prostate Center.
Full article >>

Activated stem cells in damaged lungs could be first step toward cancer

Stem cells that respond after a severe injury in the lungs of mice may be a source of rapidly dividing cells that lead to lung cancer, according to a team of American and British researchers.
Full article >>

PET scan can non invasively measure early assessment of treatment for common type of breast cancer

Non-invasive imaging can measure how well patients with the most common form of breast cancer - estrogen receptor positive type - respond to standard aromatase inhibitor therapy after only two weeks and shows similar findings that more invasive needle sampling identifies, according to a poster presentation to be presented at the ASCO annual meeting next week.
Full article >>

Novel Herbal Therapy For Men At High Risk Of Prostate Cancer Well-Tolerated In Phase I Trial

Results of a phase I clinical trial of a novel herb-based therapeutic called Zyflamend have demonstrated that the therapy is associated with minimal toxicity and no serious adverse events in men at high-risk for developing prostate cancer.
Full article >>

Breast MRI Detects Additional 'Unsuspected' Cancers Not Seen On Mammography Or Ultrasound

Nearly 20 percent of patients with recently diagnosed breast cancer had additional malignant tumors found only by MRI, according to a new study.
Full article >>

'Happy Hour' Gene Discovery Suggests Cancer Drugs Might Treat Alcoholism

A class of drugs already approved as cancer treatments might also help to beat alcohol addiction. That's the conclusion of a discovery in flies of a gene, dubbed "happy hour," that has an important and previously unknown role in controlling the insects' response to alcohol.
Full article >>

Virus Tamed To Destroy Cancer Cells But Leave Healthy Cells Unharmed

Scientists have tamed a virus so that it attacks and destroys cancer cells but does not harm healthy cells. They have determined how to produce replication-competent viruses with key toxicities removed, providing a new platform for development of improved cancer treatments and better vaccines for a broad range of viral diseases.
Full article >>

Tumor Growth And Chemo Response May Be Predicted By Mathematical Model

The aggressiveness of tumors and their susceptibility to chemotherapy may become easier to predict based on a mathematical model.
Full article >>

Siblings Of Children With Cancer Feel Left Out

Siblings of cancer victims often feel left out and have nobody to share their grief with. However, the illness may help strengthen the bond between a healthy and a cancer-stricken sibling.
Full article >>

Function Of Key Protein In Cancer Spread Described

New research may help lay the groundwork for the development of a compound to prevent the spread of cancer.
Full article >>

Molecular Pathway Behind Invasive Prostate Cancers

Cancer and cell biologists have identified a new molecular pathway key to the development of invasive prostate cancers.
Full article >>

Gene Signature Helps Predict Breast Cancer Prognosis

Researchers have uncovered a gene signature that may help predict clinical outcomes in certain types of breast cancer. They report that this gene signature -- which is associated with the transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-²) signaling pathway -- correlates with reduced relapse-free survival in patients with breast cancer, especially in those with estrogen receptor (ER) positive tumors.
Full article >>

Mutant Genes In High-risk Childhood Leukemias Identified

Scientists have pinpointed a new class of gene mutations, which identify cases of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia that have a high risk of relapse and death. The finding suggests specific drugs that could treat this high-risk leukemia subtype in children, particularly because such drugs are already in clinical trials for similar blood diseases in adults.
Full article >>

Quick Test For Prostate Cancer

A new three-minute test could help in diagnosing prostate cancer, the most common cancer in men in the UK, according to scientists.
Full article >>

Triple Drug Combination Is Promising Option To Treat Metastatic HER2+ Breast Cancer

Combining two chemotherapy drugs with trastuzumab to treat women who have metastatic HER2+ breast cancer may offer physicians another choice in their treatment options.
Full article >>

Glutamine Supplements Show Promise In Treating Stomach Ulcers

The amino acid glutamine, found in many foods as well as in dietary supplements, may prove beneficial in offsetting gastric damage caused by H. pylori infection.
Full article >>

Adult Stem Cells From Bone Marrow Made To Kill Metastatic Lung Cancer Cells In Mice

Researchers have demonstrated the ability of adult stem cells from bone marrow (mesenchymal stem cells, or MSCs) to deliver a cancer-killing protein to tumors. The genetically engineered stem cells are able to home to the cancer cells, both in culture and in mouse models, and deliver TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand, destroying the tumor cells while sparing normal cells.
Full article >>

Gene Therapy Could Expand Stem Cells' Promise

Once placed into a patient's body, stem cells intended to treat or cure a disease could end up wreaking havoc simply because they are no longer under the control of the clinician. But gene therapy has the potential to solve this problem, according to a perspective article.
Full article >>

Menopause: Agent Provides Treatment Option For Women With Hot Flashes

A pill used for nerve pain offers women relief from hot flashes, according to new research.
Full article >>

Younger men with advanced prostate cancer have shorter survival times

While young men with prostate cancer have a low risk of dying early, those with advanced forms of cancer do not live as long as older men with similar forms of the disease. That is the conclusion of a new study published in the July 1, 2009 issue of Cancer, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society. The paradoxical findings indicate that there may be biological differences between prostate cancers that develop in younger men and those that develop in older men, and that uncovering these differences may help tailor screening and treatment strategies for patients based on age.
Full article >>

African-American women with advanced breast cancer often forego vital treatment

A new study finds that nearly one in four African American women with late stage breast cancer refused chemotherapy and radiation therapy, potentially life saving therapies. Published in the July 1, 2009 issue of Cancer, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, the study indicates that more efforts are needed to ensure that all women with breast cancer receive appropriate care.
Full article >>

New Model Suggests Role of Low Vitamin D in Cancer Development

(PhysOrg.com) -- In studying the preventive effects of vitamin D, researchers at the Moores Cancer Center at the University of California, San Diego, have proposed a new model of cancer development that hinges on a loss of cancer cells' ability to stick together. The model, dubbed DINOMIT, differs substantially from the current model of cancer development, which suggests genetic mutations as the earliest driving forces behind cancer.
Full article >>

Protein predicts development of invasive breast cancer in women with DCIS

Women with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) who exhibit an overexpression of the protein HER2/neu have a six-fold increase in risk of invasive breast cancer, according to a new study from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. The results, published in the May issue of the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention, may help clinicians distinguish between DCIS that requires minimal treatment and DCIS that should be treated more aggressively.
Full article >>

A novel marker of colorectal carcinoma

The colorectal cancer is thought to be resulted from a combination of environmental factors, diet, lifestyle, chronic inflammation and accumulation of specific genetic alterations. The pathogenesis and development of colorectal cancer involve multi-genes and multi-steps. TSPAN1 (GenBank Accession No. AF065388) is a new member of TM4SF located at chromosome 1 p34.1. It encodes a 241 amino acid protein. TSPAN1 was reported as a tumor-related gene recently.
Full article >>

A potential drug for liver carcinoma

Looking for efficient anti-tumor drugs is a hot research area. Chrysin (5,7-dihydroxy flavone), a natural widely-distributed flavonoid, has been reported to have many different biological activities such as anti-oxidant, anti-virus, antidiabetogenic activity and clear anxiolytic effect. However, Chrysin is limited in its clinical application because of its modest absorption in the intestine and rapid in vivo glycosylation. To improve the biological activity of chrysin, a number of its derivatives have been prepared for biological testing. 5-allyl-7-gen-difluoromethylenechrysin (ADFMChR) is one of them.
Full article >>

Breast MRI detects additional 'unsuspected' cancers not seen on mammography or ultrasound

Nearly 20% of patients with recently diagnosed breast cancer had additional malignant tumors found only by MRI, according to a study performed at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center.
Full article >>

Is there any association between COX2 and colon cancer?

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), which are known to reduce the risk of colon cancer, act directly on cyclooxygenase-2 (COX2) and reduce its activity. Population studies have found an association of inherited variations in the COX2 gene with colon cancer risk, but others were unable to replicate this finding. Similarly, variations in the uridine diphosphate glucuronosyltransferase 1A6 (UGT1A6) gene, which is also known to be key in the metabolism of NSAIDs, have been shown to modify the effect of NSAIDs on developing colon polyps, a precursor of colon cancer, but these modifications of NSAID effects have not been observed in risk of colon cancer.
Full article >>

Technique eradicates problems in most patients with Barrett's esophagus

A procedure that uses heat generated by radio waves to treat Barrett's esophagus, a condition caused by acid reflux (severe heartburn), can eliminate signs of the potentially cancer-causing disorder and reduce the risk that the disease will progress.
Full article >>

Low Oxygen Levels In Prostate Tumors Can Predict Recurrence

Researchers have discovered that low-oxygen regions in prostate tumors can be used to predict a rise in prostate-specific antigen levels, a marker of tumor recurrence in prostate cancer.
Full article >>

Survival Predictors May Help Customize Treatment Options For Men With Metastatic Prostate Cancer

Four risk factors that help predict how long men may survive with metastatic prostate cancer could help doctors choose more effective treatments, according to a study led by researchers in the Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Full article >>

Vitamin D May Halt Lung Function Decline In Asthma And COPD

Vitamin D may slow the progressive decline in the ability to breathe that can occur in people with asthma as a result of human airway smooth muscle proliferation, according to researchers.
Full article >>

Cancer Stem Cells May Be Related To Prognosis In Primary Breast Cancer

Breast cancer patients who received chemotherapy prior to surgery had heightened levels of cancer-initiating stem cells in their bone marrow, and the level of such cells correlated to a tumor's lymph node involvement, according to new research.
Full article >>

Immunotherapy Effective Against Neuroblastoma In Children

A phase III study has shown that adding an antibody-based therapy that harnesses the body's immune system resulted in a 20 percent increase in the number of children living disease-free for at least two years with neuroblastoma. Neuroblastoma, a hard-to-treat cancer arising from nervous system cells, is responsible for 15 percent of cancer-related deaths in children.
Full article >>

Why Do People With Down Syndrome Have Less Cancer? Research In Mice And Human Stem Cells Suggests New Therapeutic Targets

Most cancers are rare in people with Down syndrome. The late cancer researcher Judah Folkman, M.D., proposed that the extra copy of chromosome 21 may contain a gene that blocks angiogenesis, the development of blood vessels essential for cancer's growth. Now, new research confirms this idea, identifies specific therapeutic targets for treating cancer, and validates her mouse findings using induced pluripotent stem cells derived from a patient with Down syndrome.
Full article >>

How Flip-Flops, Baseball Caps Can Raise Your Skin Cancer Risk

(PhysOrg.com) -- Cheap, convenient and casual, baseball caps and flip-flops have acquired a trendy charm. Those qualities have made them must-wear accessories for teens, outdoor enthusiasts, gardeners or anyone trying to keep cool during the sweltering days of summer.
Full article >>

New warrant issued for Minn. mom in chemo dispute

(AP) -- A new felony arrest warrant was issued Thursday as the search continued for the Minnesota mother who fled with her 13-year-old cancer-stricken son to avoid chemotherapy treatments.
Full article >>

Genetic testing for breast or ovarian cancer risk may be greatly underutilized

Although a test for gene mutations known to significantly increase the risk of hereditary breast or ovarian cancer has been available for more than a decade, a new study finds that few women with family histories of these cancers are even discussing genetic testing with their physicians or other health care providers. In a report in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, which has been released online, investigators from the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Institute of Health Policy and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute note that their findings illustrate the challenges of bringing genetic information into real-world clinical practice.
Full article >>

Discovery In Colon Cancer Prevention

A new study finds that individuals who have low expression of the "Celebrex gene," 15-PGDH, are actually resistant to Celebrex treatment when used to prevent colon cancer.
Full article >>

New Target To Combat Cancer? Defects In Pathway Underlying Fanconi Anaemia Can Cause Cancer In Non-FA Patients

In patients with Fanconi anaemia (FA), one of the DNA repair mechanisms that normally protects us against cancer no longer works adequately. A Dutch researcher set out to find the genes responsible for this defect. He discovered a new FA gene and established that FA gene defects could also cause cancer in people who do not suffer from FA. Although this does not sound positive, it is in fact good news. That is because cells with a FA defect are hypersensitive to certain types of chemotherapy and can therefore be specifically targeted.
Full article >>

Immunohistochemistry Tests Distinguish Breast Cancer Subtypes

A panel of four immunohistochemistry tests can distinguish luminal A and B breast cancer subtypes.
Full article >>

Disruption Of Immune-system Pathway Key Step In Cancer Progression, Study Shows

Human immune cells communicate constantly with one another as they coordinate to fight off infection and other threats. Now researchers have shown that muffling a key voice in this conversational patter is an early step in the progression of human cancers.
Full article >>

Biological Link Established Between Tumors And Depression

In a study that could help explain the connections between depression and cancer, researchers have used an animal model to find, for the first time, a biological link between tumors and negative mood changes. The team determined that substances associated with depression are produced in increased quantities by tumors and are transmitted to the brain. Additionally, pathways that normally moderate the impact of depression-causing substances are disrupted when a tumor develops.
Full article >>

Popular Cancer Drug Linked To Often Fatal Brain Virus

A new study links use of the popular cancer drug rituximab to a swiftly moving and often fatal viral brain infection called PML. Rituximab is the most important and widely used cancer drug for lymphoma. It is also approved for rheumatoid arthritis and is widely used off-label to treat multiple sclerosis, lupus erythematosus and autoimmune anemias. The results indicate a greater need for caution in prescribing the drug.
Full article >>

Surprise 'Spark' For Pre-cancerous Colon Polyps

Researchers have studied the events leading to colon cancer and found that an unexpected protein serves as the "spark" that triggers formation of colon polyps, the precursors to cancerous tumors.
Full article >>

HRT-breast cancer risk stays same, regardless of family history

The risk of developing breast cancer due to taking hormone replacement therapy appears to be the same for women with a family history of the disease and without a family history, a University of Rochester Medical Center study concluded.
Full article >>

Early exposure to tobacco smoke may lead to early emphysema later

Chronic exposure to tobacco smoke in childhood may contribute to early emphysema later in life, according to new research. Environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) is known to be associated with a variety of serious health problems, but it had not previously been associated with the development of emphysema over the life course. The data will be presented on Tuesday, May 19, at the 105th International Conference of the American Thoracic Society in San Diego.
Full article >>

Mutant genes in high-risk childhood leukemias identified

A research team has pinpointed a new class of gene mutations, which identify cases of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) that have a high risk of relapse and death. The finding suggests specific drugs that could treat this high-risk leukemia subtype in children, particularly because such drugs are already in clinical trials for similar blood diseases in adults.
Full article >>

Gene signature helps predict breast cancer prognosis

Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center researchers have uncovered a gene signature that may help predict clinical outcomes in certain types of breast cancer.
Full article >>

Electronic Patient-centered Approach To Capturing Data From Cancer Patients Improves Care And Research

Wireless, personal computers used by cancer patients to log their symptoms help improve the patients' care and further cancer research, according to a new study.
Full article >>

Environmental Exposure To Particulates May Damage DNA In As Few As Three Days

Exposure to particulate matter has been recognized as a contributing factor to lung cancer development for some time, but a new study indicates inhalation of certain particulates can actually cause some genes to become reprogrammed, affecting both the development and the outcome of cancers and other diseases.
Full article >>

Genetic Marker May Predict Early Onset Of Prostate Cancer

Researchers have identified a genetic marker that is associated with an earlier onset of prostate cancer in Caucasian men who have a family history of prostate cancer.
Full article >>

Future Of Personalized Cancer Treatment: New System Delivers RNA Into Cells

In technology that promises to one day allow drug delivery to be tailored to an individual patient and a particular cancer tumor, researchers have developed an efficient system for delivering siRNA into primary cells.
Full article >>

Cigarette Smoke Can Prevent Allergies, Study Suggests

Everyone knows that smoking can kill you, but new research suggests that it may help with your allergies. A study of mouse mast cells shows that cigarette smoke can prevent allergies by decreasing the reaction of immune cells to allergens.
Full article >>

Genetic Links To Age Of First Menstrual Period And Menopause Found

Newly identified gene variants associated with the age at which females experience their first menstrual period and the onset of menopause may help shed light on the prevention of breast and endometrial cancer, osteoporosis, and cardiovascular disease.
Full article >>

New Tool For Next-generation Cancer Treatments Using Nanodiamonds

A research team at Northwestern University has demonstrated use of a Nanofountain Probe that can precisely deliver tiny doses of drug-carrying nanomaterials to individual cells.
Full article >>

Chemotherapy Improves Survival Among Older Breast Cancer Patients

Chemotherapy in addition to surgery or surgery and radiation improves survival among older women with breast cancer.
Full article >>

Study links cigarette changes to rising lung risk

(AP) -- It may be riskier on the lungs to smoke cigarettes today than it was a few decades ago - at least in the U.S., says new research that blames changes in cigarette design for fueling a certain type of lung cancer.
Full article >>

Computer model predicts brain tumor growth and evolution

Researchers from Brown University and other institutions have developed a computational computer model of how brain tumors grow and evolve.
Full article >>

Transplant Patients Have Worse Cancer Outcomes, Analysis Shows

After comparing two patient cancer registries -- one featuring transplant patients and the other the general population -- researchers have found that transplant patients experience worse outcomes from cancer.
Full article >>

Derivative Of Red Sea Coral May Fight Skin Cancer

Scientists are exploring the mechanisms by which a substance derived ultimately from Red Sea coral could help treat skin cancer.
Full article >>

Painkiller Patch Can Lead To Addiction

Morphine patches are supposed to reduce use of painkillers, and provide more control over their use in chronic pain conditions. But researchers have found otherwise.
Full article >>

A Stronger Backbone: DHEA Hormone Replacement Increases Bone Density In Older Women

A new study has found that taking DHEA hormone supplements in conjunction with calcium and vitamin D could lower the risk of spine fractures in older women by 30 to 50 percent. The treatment, however, did not offer similar benefits for older men.
Full article >>

Formaldehyde Exposure Associated With Risk Of Blood And Lymph System Malignancies

Individuals exposed to relatively higher amounts of formaldehyde had a higher rate of death due to blood and lymph system malignancies than those exposed to lower levels of formaldehyde in a large cohort study.
Full article >>

Novel Therapy May Prove Effective In Treatment Of 30 Percent Of Cancers

A ground-breaking Canada-wide clinical trial has shown that a common anti-viral drug, ribavirin, can be beneficial in the treatment of cancer patients.
Full article >>

Women With Previous Abnormal Cervical Cells At Higher Risk For Recurrence And Invasive Cancer

New research has found that women who have been treated for cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (abnormal cervical cell growth) are at higher risk for a recurrence of the disease or invasive cervical cancer. The large, population-based study sheds new light on the long-term risks of subsequent abnormal cell growth or invasive cancer, and should help in the development of follow-up treatment guidelines for women with a history of treatment for abnormal cells.
Full article >>

Microwave Technique Successful In Treatment Of Liver Tumors, Surgeon Shows

A surgeon who has developed a pioneering technique using microwaves to destroy liver tumors has treated more than 100 patients in the UK and other patients are now being treated internationally. The treatment of more than 100 patients with liver cancer has resulted in curing or extending life for many of them, whose life prognosis was less than twelve months. More than one third of the patients treated are still alive after three years and some have been, quite simply, pronounced cured and discharged.
Full article >>

Bone Marrow Stem Cell Co-transplantation Prevents Embryonic Stem Cell Transplant-associated Tumors

Transplanted embryonic stem cells can potentially treat the effects of spinal cord injury (SCI), yet a serious drawback has been the development of tumors following transplantation. A new study has found that co-transplanting embryonic stem cells and bone marrow stem cells suppressed tumor formation in laboratory mice, leading researchers to speculate that future and similar co-transplantation may lead to benefits for humans suffering the effects of SCI.
Full article >>

Good fences make good neighbors

Our genome is a patchwork of neighborhoods that couldn't be more different: Some areas are hustling and bustling with gene activity, while others are sparsely populated and in perpetual lock-down. Breaking down just a few of the molecular fences that separate them blurs the lines and leads to the inactivation of at least two tumor suppressor genes, according to researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies.
Full article >>

A surprise 'spark' for pre-cancerous colon polyps

Researchers at Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) at the University of Utah studied the events leading to colon cancer and found that an unexpected protein serves as the "spark" that triggers formation of colon polyps, the precursors to cancerous tumors.
Full article >>

Study examines reliability of clinical and pathological diagnoses of Barrett's esophagus

In a review of more than 2,000 patients coded for Barrett's esophagus, electronic diagnosis overestimated the prevalence of the disease according to researchers in California. They found that only 61.9 percent of patients assigned a billing diagnosis code for Barrett's esophagus actually had Barrett's esophagus after a manual record review. The study evaluated the accuracy of diagnostic codes for Barrett's esophagus by contrasting codes from electronic databases with diagnoses from a detailed medical record review. Researchers also evaluated the reproducibility of a pathologic diagnosis of Barrett's esophagus between two pathologists and between a single pathologist on two different occasions. The study appears in the May issue of GIE: Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, the monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal of the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE).
Full article >>

Gene In Breast Cancer Pathway Identified

Scientists have discovered how a gene crucial in triggering the spread of breast cancer is turned on and off. The findings could help predict whether breast tumors will metastasize and also reveal potential drug targets for preventing metastasis.
Full article >>

City-dwellers Have Higher Risk Of Late-stage Cancer Than Rural Residents

A new study finds people who live in urban areas are more likely to develop late-stage cancer than those who live in suburban and rural areas.
Full article >>

Genetic Cause Of Most Common Form Of Breast Cancer Identified

The discovery of tumor-suppressor genes has been key to unlocking the molecular and cellular mechanisms leading to uncontrolled cell proliferation -- the hallmark of cancer. Often, these genes will work in concert with others in a complex biochemical system that keeps our cells growing and dividing, disease free. Now researchers have found that defects in one gene, called p18, may override the rest, eventually leading to cancer.
Full article >>

29 Percent Of Cancer Studies Report Conflict Of Interest

Nearly one-third of cancer research published in high-impact journals disclosed a conflict of interest, according to a new study from researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Full article >>

Genetic Research Work Opens Up New Horizons To The Design Of Customized Medicines Against Breast Cancer

Scientists report that gene expression profile study is a “promising strategy to individualize and improve tumour treatment”, reducing toxicity and increasing its efficiency. Their work has permitted to study in depth the molecular response mechanisms to medicines, and will be useful to design other pharmacological treatments according to the patient’s genetic characteristics.
Full article >>

Melanoma And Pregnancy: What Every Woman Needs To Know About The Risks, Prognosis

Researchers estimate that nearly one-third of cases of melanoma, the most serious form of skin cancer, are diagnosed in women during their childbearing years. Since many women now are delaying pregnancy until their 30s or 40s, coupled with the fact that melanoma is the most common form of cancer for young adults 25-29 years old, more women could be faced with developing melanoma before or during pregnancy.
Full article >>

X-rays Help Predict Permanent Bone Damage From Bisphosphonates

Bisphosphonates have been found to place people at risk for developing osteonecrosis of the jaws (a rotting of the jaw bones). Dentists, as well as oncologists, are now using X-rays to detect "ghost sockets" in patients that take these drugs and when these sockets are found, it signals that the jawbone is not healing the right way. Early detection of these ghost sockets can help the patient avoid permanent damage to their jawbone.
Full article >>

Compact cancer-therapy particle-delivery system patented

As part of an effort to make high-precision particle cancer therapy accessible to more patients, a physicist at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory has developed a simpler, less-expensive gantry design for delivering tumor-killing particle beams. Brookhaven Science Associates, the company that manages the Lab for DOE, has applied for a U.S. non-provisional patent on the design, which is now available for licensing and commercial development.
Full article >>

Worldwide success in treatment of liver tumors

Leicester consultant surgeon who has developed a pioneering technique using microwaves to destroy liver tumours has treated more than 100 patients in the UK and other patients are now being treated internationally.
Full article >>

Scientists identify gene in breast cancer pathway

Scientists at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have discovered how a gene crucial in triggering the spread of breast cancer is turned on and off. The findings could help predict whether breast tumors will metastasize and also reveal potential drug targets for preventing metastasis. The study will appear in the May 20th online edition of the Journal of Cell Science.
Full article >>

New Gene May Provide Breast Cancer Diagnostic Marker

Scientists describe a new gene called DEAR1 that is genetically altered by mutation and deletion in breast tumors, and that may provide a new breast cancer prognostic marker.
Full article >>

Almost 30 percent of cancer studies report conflict of interest

A new analysis finds that a considerable number of clinical cancer studies published in respected medical journals have financial connections to pharmaceutical companies. Published in the June 15, 2009 issue of CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, the study indicates that conflicts of interest may cause some researchers to report biased results that are favorable to companies.
Full article >>

City-dwellers have higher risk of late-stage cancer than rural residents

People who live in urban areas are more likely to develop late-stage cancer than those who live in suburban and rural areas. That is the conclusion of a new study published in the June 15, 2009 issue of CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society. The study's results indicate a need for more effective urban-based cancer screening and awareness programs.
Full article >>

Surgery improves survival for prostate cancer patients younger than 50

For men younger than 50 with prostate cancer, undergoing a radical prostatectomy can greatly increase their chances for long-term survival, according to a new study from Henry Ford Hospital.
Full article >>

Glioma: Origin Of Brain Tumor Discovered

Glioma is the most common and most serious form of brain tumors that affect adults. It has not yet been determined which specific type of cell in the brain is the source of the tumor, but now scientists can show that glioma can start from immature support cells.
Full article >>

Early Detection Of Lung Cancer

New data from several studies are useful in evaluating new techniques for early diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer.
Full article >>

Moving Gene Therapy Forward With Mobile DNA

Researchers have developed a new non-viral gene technology approach. This approach overcomes side-effects associated with the current viral vectors, such as inflammation or the development of cancer. The result offers new hope for optimizing gene therapy as a possible cure for specific diseases, such as genetic disorders and cancer.
Full article >>

New Technique May Help Detect Potential Breast Cancer Spread

A new phase III clinical trial of early stage breast cancer patients has shown that a molecule designed to home in on nearby lymph nodes is just as accurate as current techniques, but faster, more specific and easier to use.
Full article >>

Process Controlling T Cell Growth And Production Identified

Identifying one of the processes that plays a role in naïve and memory T-cells' growth and production could one day lead to better vaccines and possibly more effective cancer immunotherapy.
Full article >>

What Blocks Effects Of Newly Developed Anticancer Therapy?

A new approach being developed to treat individuals with cancer that is resistant to standard therapy is the use of adenovirus-based therapies. One reason for the fact that while promising in some clinical results some settings, this approach has not been effective in many other cases has now been uncovered.
Full article >>

Cancer: Detecting, Targeting And Disabling Tumor Cells, All In One Step

Researchers have developed the basis for a four-in-one agent that can detect, target, and disable tumor cells while also making them macroscopically and microscopically visible.
Full article >>

Hypothyroidism In Women Associated With Liver Cancer

Women with a history of hypothyroidism face a significantly higher risk of developing liver cancer.
Full article >>

New clues on the link between Heliobacter pylori and stomach cancer

Heliobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection is considered one of the most important risk factors for stomach (or gastric) cancer with as much as 65% of all cases linked back to the bacteria, although exactly how this occurs is not fully clear. But now researchers in Denmark, Portugal and France, publishing in the journal Clinical Cancer Research, show that H. pylori infection contribution to cancer can be linked to at least three independent molecular pathways, which, when disturbed by infection, lead to mutations in the patients` gastric tissues.
Full article >>

New technique may help detect potential breast cancer spread

A new phase III clinical trial of early stage breast cancer patients has shown that a molecule designed to home in on nearby lymph nodes is just as accurate as current techniques, but faster, more specific and easier to use.
Full article >>

Drugs To Combat Anemia In Cancer Patients Increase Risk Of Death, Study Suggests

The use of drugs to encourage red blood cell formation (erythropoiesis-stimulating agents) in cancer patients with anemia increases the risk of death and serious adverse events such as blood clots, found a new study.
Full article >>

Cancer-obesity Link Could Aid Prevention Efforts

A new link between body fat and cancer underscores obesity's health risk and could lead to new cancer treatment and prevention strategies. Scientists identified the connection between obesity and colon cancer, the third-leading killer of Americans, in part by examining tissue hormones.
Full article >>

Cancer-causing Virus Associated With Higher Risk Of New HIV Infection

Infection with anal human papillomavirus, a virus that can cause anal and cervical cancers, is associated with a higher risk of new HIV infection in previously HIV-negative men who have sex with men, according to new research.
Full article >>

Genes Found To Play Role In Breast Cancer's Spread To Brain

Scientists have identified three genes that specifically mediate the metastasis, or spread, of breast cancer to the brain and illuminates the mechanisms by which this spread occurs.
Full article >>

Gene Key To Alzheimer's-like Reversal Identified: Success In Restoring Memories In Mice Could Lead To Human Treatments

Scientists have now pinpointed the exact gene responsible for a 2007 breakthrough in which mice with symptoms of Alzheimer's disease regained long-term memories and the ability to learn.
Full article >>

Where Tumor Cells Boldly Go: Cancer Biologists Shed Light On The Metastatic Niche

A team of cancer researchers is focusing on a new model of the disease: the permissive microenvironment, or the metastatic niche, that forms in particular tissues located far from the primary tumor, well before full metastasis takes hold.
Full article >>

New Universal Breast Cancer Marker Predicts Recurrence And Clinical Outcome

Researchers have implicated the loss of a stromal protein called caveolin-1 as a major new prognostic factor in patients with breast cancer, predicting early disease recurrence, metastasis and breast cancer patient survival.
Full article >>

Method To Neutralize Tumor Growth In Embryonic Stem Cell Therapy Discovered

Researchers have discovered a method to potentially eliminate the tumor-risk factor in utilizing human embryonic stem cells. Their work paves the way for further progress in the promising field of stem cell therapy.
Full article >>

Using Night Vision Technology To Learn More About Lymphatic System

Scientists are using near-infrared night vision technology made famous by American soldiers in the First Gulf War to shed light on the lymphatic system.
Full article >>

Women More Vulnerable To Tobacco Carcinogens, New Results Show

Women may be more vulnerable than men to the cancer-causing effects of smoking tobacco, according to new results.
Full article >>

Two 'Types' Of Kidney Tumors Thought To Be Different Diseases Are Actually Variations Of Same Disease

Investigators have determined that two types of kidney tumors previously thought to be different diseases are actually variations of the same disease. This finding will help doctors to more accurately diagnose the disease in patients, and demonstrates the importance of using molecular data to diagnose cancer in general.
Full article >>

Statin Drugs May Protect Against Cancer And Also Result in Fewer Gallbladder Removals

The commonly used prescription statin drugs may have a protective effect in the prevention of liver cancer and lead to a reduction in the need for gallbladder removals. As millions of Americans use statins each day to help lower their cholesterol and risk of heart disease, researchers are learning of the beneficial effects these drugs may have on gastrointestinal disorders.
Full article >>

3T MRI Detects 'Early' Breast Cancer Not Seen On Mammography And Sonography

3T MRI, a powerful tool for evaluating patients with a high risk of having breast cancer, can detect a significant number of lesions not found on mammography and sonography, according to a new study.
Full article >>

Snippet Of RNA Helps Make Individuals Remarkably Alike

Uniformity, or singleness of form, is a general property of life. Biologists have long pondered how this feature is produced in the face of such great variation in genetics and environmental conditions. Researchers now have identified a microRNA that is critical to the robustness of the molecular network that helps regulate uniformity. This knowledge could lead to a better understanding of cancer cells, which do not act in controllable, uniform ways.
Full article >>

Potential Lung Disease Biomarkers Yield Clues To COX-2 Inhibitor Side Effects

In searching for a simple way to identify individuals with smoking-related lung injury, scientists at have stumbled upon a potential explanation for why the class of pain-relievers known as COX-2 inhibitors increases the risk of heart problems among users.
Full article >>

Can Kidney Disease Cause Cancer?

Moderate kidney disease increases an older man's risk of developing certain cancers, according to a new study. Given that chronic kidney disease affects about a third of older men, maintaining kidney function could help prevent cancer in the general population.
Full article >>

From cars to cancer: Researcher employs auto industry tools for tumor therapy

An effort is under way at the University of Houston to use technologies with origins in the automobile industry to develop new tools that will help doctors and technicians better plan radiation therapy for patients with head and neck cancer.
Full article >>

New universal breast cancer marker predicts recurrence and clinical outcome

Reporting online in the American Journal of Pathology, researchers from the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson have implicated the loss of a stromal protein called caveolin-1 as a major new prognostic factor in patients with breast cancer, predicting early disease recurrence, metastasis and breast cancer patient survival.
Full article >>

Genes found to play a role in breast cancer's spread to the brain

New research led by investigators at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) identifies three genes that specifically mediate the metastasis, or spread, of breast cancer to the brain and illuminates the mechanisms by which this spread occurs. The study was published online today in Nature.
Full article >>

Stop-gap DNA Repair Needs A Second Step

Genetic "mistakes" can occur following a certain form of error-prone DNA repair. Scientists have now revealed how this two-step process takes place. Understanding how this major form of DNA repair works can have significant clinical implications. Since defects in this process increase the risk of cancer, clarifying its nuts and bolts might one day make it possible to enhance it in people whose natural DNA repair is deficient.
Full article >>

Targeting Tumors Using Tiny Gold Particles

It has long been known that heat is an effective weapon against tumor cells. However, it's difficult to heat patients' tumors without damaging nearby tissues. Now, researchers have developed tiny gold particles that can home in on tumors, and then, by absorbing energy from near-infrared light and emitting it as heat, destroy tumors with minimal side effects.
Full article >>

Lithium May Help Radiation Target Cancer, Spare Healthy Tissue

Researchers have uncovered a mechanism that helps explain how lithium, a drug widely used to treat bipolar mood disorder, also protects the brain from damage that occurs during radiation treatments.
Full article >>

How Some Immune Cells Improve Cancer Outcome

For a number of cancers, including neuroblastoma (the second most common tumor in children), tumor infiltration by a subset of immune cells known as V-alpha-24-invariant NKT cells is associated with a favorable outcome. But how these cells have an anticancer effect is unclear, as many tumors do not express the protein that V-alpha-24-invariant NKT cells target.
Full article >>

Thyroid Cancer Increasing, Scientists Don't Know Why

It's a medical mystery that has been developing for at least a decade: thyroid cancer --- not breast, prostate, lung, or colon cancer --- is the fastest increasing cancer among women and men in the United States.
Full article >>

Dietary Acrylamide Not Associated With Increased Lung Cancer Risk In Men

Dietary acrylamide was not associated with an increased risk of lung cancer, according to data from a large prospective case-cohort study.
Full article >>

New gene may provide breast cancer diagnostic marker

In a research article published in this week's PLoS Medicine, Ann Killary (from the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center) and colleagues describe a new gene called DEAR1 that is genetically altered by mutation and deletion in breast tumors, and that may provide a new breast cancer prognostic marker.
Full article >>

Suppressor Of Cytokine Signaling (SOCS)-1 Inhibits Prostate Cancer Growth

Researchers in Austria have discovered that SOCS-1 negatively regulates prostate cancer proliferation. SOCS family members are expressed in a variety of cancers, including chronic myeloid leukemia, melanoma, and prostate cancer.
Full article >>

New Diagnostic Advance Seen For Head, Throat Cancer

Pharmacy researchers have announced the discovery of a genetic regulator that is expressed at higher levels in the most aggressive types of head and neck cancers, in work that may help to identify them earlier or even offer a new therapy at some point in the future.
Full article >>

NASA's Electronic Nose May Provide Neurosurgeons With A New Weapon Against Brain Cancer

An unlikely multidisciplinary scientific collaboration has discovered that an electronic nose developed for air quality monitoring on Space Shuttle Endeavour can also be used to detect odor differences in normal and cancerous brain cells. The results of the pilot study open up new possibilities for neurosurgeons in the fight against brain cancer.
Full article >>

Longer Lasting Tumor Blocker

On the heels of dismaying reports that a promising anti-tumor drug could, in theory, shorten patients' long-term survival, comes a promising study suggests a potentially better option.
Full article >>

Hospital volume inconsistent predictor of quality care

A new review finds hospital volume to be a useful, albeit imperfect, predictor of short term mortality. While studies, when combined, show a quantifiable and statistically significant inverse association between case volume and mortality, the review finds that individual studies often fail to show such an association, leading the authors to conclude volume is at best an imperfect proxy for healthcare quality.
Full article >>

African-American women still have poorer breast cancer outcomes

New research published in the May issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons shows that dramatic disparities in breast cancer outcomes continue to exist for African-American women, regardless of the age at which they are diagnosed, extent of the cancer, type of treatment or socioeconomic status. The study represents the largest population-based analysis of breast cancer outcomes data to date, including more than 60,000 patients in the state of Florida.
Full article >>

Lithium may help radiation target cancer, spare healthy tissue

Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center investigators have uncovered a mechanism that helps explain how lithium, a drug widely used to treat bipolar mood disorder, also protects the brain from damage that occurs during radiation treatments.
Full article >>

Type of lung cancer screening used to detect disease may impact 5-year survival rates

Dr. Hisao Asamura and his team of researchers at The National Cancer Center Hospital in Tokyo, Japan examined the records of 2,281 patients who underwent lung cancer resection surgery between 2000 and 2006. The study was published in the May issue of the Journal of Thoracic Oncology, the official journal of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer. Dr. Asamura and his team found that after classifying patients based on the technique used to diagnose their lung cancer, eithe
Full article >>

Exercise programs may improve symptoms in non-small cell lung cancer patients

Exercise is known to have a positive effect on maintaining a healthy lifestyle, and a study in the May issue of the Journal of Thoracic Oncology has shown that exercise also plays an important role in both primary and secondary prevention of cancer.
Full article >>

Mother-daughter Breast Density Study Points Way To Earlier Cancer Risk Assessment

A unique mother-daughter study that used magnetic resonance to measure breast density in younger women shows that one's percent of breast water could be linked to the risk of breast cancer in middle age and older.
Full article >>

What Regulates MicroRNAs? When Cells Reach Out And Touch

MicroRNAs are single-stranded snippets that, not long ago, were given short shrift as genetic junk. Now that studies have shown they regulate genes involved in normal functioning as well as diseases such as cancer, everyone wants to know: What regulates microRNAs?
Full article >>

Personalized Treatment For Early Lung Cancer

Cancer vaccines and targeted therapies are beginning to offer new treatment options following surgery for patients with early stages of lung cancer, according to experts.
Full article >>

Early detection of lung cancer

New data from several studies evaluating new techniques for early diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer are being presented at the first European Multidisciplinary Conference on Thoracic Oncology (EMCTO) in Lugano, Switzerland (1-3 May 2009).
Full article >>

Prostate Cancer Therapy Increases Risk Of Fractures And Cardiovascular-related Death

Prostate cancer patients who undergo therapy to decrease testosterone levels increase their risk of developing bone- and heart-related side effects compared to patients who do not take these medications, according to a new analysis.
Full article >>

Beyond Associations: Colorectal Cancer Culprit Found

Genetics plays a key role in risk for colorectal cancer, the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States. Several genetic markers are associated with the disease, but finding the biological events that lead to cancer is much more difficult. In a new study, scientists identified a common genetic variation associated with CRC risk and its functional implications, shedding new light on the basis of this disease.
Full article >>

Improved Detection Of Bladder Tumors Reduces Cancer Recurrence

Making tumors inside the bladder fluoresce red under blue light allows physicians to more easily find and remove them, substantially reducing the rate at which these cancers come back, according to new research.
Full article >>

TIP30 Inhibits Lung Cancer Metastasis, Study Suggests

Researchers in China suggest that TIP30 prevents metastatic progression of lung cancer. TIP30 is a putative tumor suppressor with decreased expression in numerous cancers including melanoma, breast cancer, and colon cancer.
Full article >>

Popular Diabetes Treatment Could Trigger Pancreatitis, Pancreatic Cancer, Study Suggests

A drug widely used to treat type 2 diabetes may have unintended effects on the pancreas that could lead to a form of low-grade pancreatitis in some patients and a greater risk of pancreatic cancer in long-term users. Sitagliptin, sold in pill form as Januvia, caused abnormalities in the pancreas that are recognized as risk factors for pancreatitis and, with time, pancreatic cancer in humans.
Full article >>

Can kidney disease cause cancer?

Moderate kidney disease increases an older man's risk of developing certain cancers, according to an upcoming study in the Journal of the American Society Nephrology (JASN). Given that chronic kidney disease (CKD) affects about a third of older men, maintaining kidney function could help prevent cancer in the general population.
Full article >>