Dual Role In Breast Tissue For Protein Involved In Leukemia

A protein known to play a role in growth of some types of leukemia appears to have a mixed function in breast cancer development, say researchers.
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Novel Epigenetic Markers Of Melanoma May Herald New Treatments For Patients

Melanoma is the most serious form of skin cancer, diagnosed in more than 50,000 new patients in the United States annually. As incidences continue to rise, the race is on to find the genetic and cellular changes driving melanoma, and to devise new means of detection and treatment. In new a study, scientists have found new epigenetic markers that will help develop more effective treatment strategies to fight this disease.
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Purple Sweet Potato Means Increased Amount Of Anti-cancer Components

Purple sweet potatoes have high contents of anthocyanin, and anthocyanins have been epidemiologically associated with a reduced cancer risk.
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DNA Mutation That Occurs At Beginning Point Of T-cell Lymphoma Identified

Researchers have identified a key mechanism that causes chromosomes within blood cells to break -- an occurrence that marks the first step in the development of human lymphoma.
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How Much Is Life Worth? The $440 Billion Question

The decision to use expensive cancer therapies that typically produce only a relatively short extension of survival is a serious ethical dilemma in the United States that needs to be addressed by the oncology community, according to a commentary published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
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RNA Snippet Suppresses Spread Of Aggressive Breast Cancer

Low levels of a tiny RNA fragment in cells are associated with metastatic breast cancer in humans and increases the aggressive spread of breast cancer in mice, according to researchers. Measuring levels of this so-called microRNA in cancer cells may more accurately predict the likelihood of metastasis, the spread of cancer to other parts of the body that accounts for 90 percent of cancer-related deaths.
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Scientists Tackle Viral Mysteries

A recent study focuses on the intersection of these two scientific puzzles, resulting in new discoveries about how one herpes virus known to cause cancer may reactivate when the infected cell senses another type of virus entering it.
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Ovarian Transplantation: First Baby Is Born With New Technique

A new technique for transplanting the ovaries of women who have lost their fertility has been developed. The new, two-step method of ovarian transplant has produced excellent results in women whose ovaries have been frozen because of cancer treatment.
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New Take On Growth Factor Signaling In Tamoxifen Resistance

Differences in growth factor (GF) signaling may cause the poor prognosis in some breast cancer cases. A new study suggests that some estrogen receptor-positive breast cancers respond poorly to tamoxifen because of increased GF signaling.
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Study finds improved communication encourages patients to seek colorectal cancer screening

Improved communication among patients and primary care physicians increases the chances those due for colorectal cancer screening will follow their doctors' advice and complete the procedure, a University at Buffalo study has found.
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Hunt for Blood Test to Determine Melanoma Survival Rates

(PhysOrg.com) -- Research at the University of Leicester 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.
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Scientists discover new information on spreading of cancer

A joint research group of VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland and the University of Turku, led by Professor Johanna Ivaska, has discovered a mechanism lung cancer cells use when spreading into the body to form metastases.
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Possible benefit from online genetic testing for lung cancer

As scientists continue to decode the human genome and the information becomes publicly available, private companies that offer online genetic testing are multiplying. Scientists at the National Institutes of Health were concerned that perhaps these tests posed a risk.
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Researchers find a way to reduce patient radiation dose during pulmonary CT angiography

While screening for possible pulmonary emboli using pulmonary CT angiography, a new study shows that radiologists can effectively lower the patient radiation dose by approximately 44% and improve vascular enhancement without deterioration of image quality, according to a study performed at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA.
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Voice Box Can Be Preserved, Even With The Largest Cancers, Study Suggests

Some patients with large tumors on their larynx can preserve their speech by opting for chemotherapy and radiation over surgery to remove the voice box. A new study found that a single round of chemotherapy could identify those patients most likely to benefit from this approach.
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Insulin Analogue Glargine Possibly Increases Cancer Risk

The risk of cancer possibly increases if patients with diabetes use the long-acting insulin analogue glargine instead of human insulin. Scientists analysed the data of almost 130,000 patients with diabetes in Germany who had been treated with either human insulin or the insulin analogues lispro, aspart or glargine between January 2001 and June 2005.
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Second Gene Linked To Familial Testicular Cancer

Specific variations or mutations in a particular can gene raise a man's risk of familial, or inherited, testicular germ-cell cancer, the most common form of this disease, according to new research. This is only the second gene to be identified that affects the risk of familial testicular cancer, and the first gene in a key biochemical pathway.
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Report: Prostate cancer screening has yet to prove its worth

The recent release of two large randomized trials suggests that if there is a benefit of screening, it is, at best, small, says a new report in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians.
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A potent and selective anti-tumor agent on human gastric cancer

A research article to be published on June 21, 2009 in the World Journal of Gastroenterology addresses this question. The research team led by Professor Yan Li from Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University studied the growth inhibitory effects of Alisol B acetat and determined its mechanism of antitumor activity in human gastric cancer cell line SGC7901.
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Scientists discover novel mechanism that increases colorectal cancer risk

Finnish Academy Professors Lauri Aaltonen and Jussi Taipale have identified and described a mechanism whereby a single-base change in the human genome increases the risk of colorectal cancer.
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Second gene linked to familial testicular cancer

Specific variations or mutations in a particular can gene raise a man's risk of familial, or inherited, testicular germ-cell cancer, the most common form of this disease, according to new research by scientists at the National Institutes of Health. This is only the second gene to be identified that affects the risk of familial testicular cancer, and the first gene in a key biochemical pathway. The study appears in the July 2009 Cancer Research.
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New MRI technique could mean fewer breast biopsies in high-risk women

A University of Wisconsin-Madison biomedical engineer and colleagues have developed a method that, applied in MRI scans of the breast, could spare some women with increased breast cancer risk the pain and stress of having to endure a biopsy of a questionable lump or lesion.
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Purple sweet potato means increased amount of anti-cancer components

A Kansas State University researcher is studying the potential health benefits of a specially bred purple sweet potato because its dominant purple color results in an increased amount of anti-cancer components.
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Gastrin Plays Significant Role In Helicobacter-induced Stomach Cancer

Scientists have studied the role of Helicobacter infection in the development of stomach cancer, and found that the hormone gastrin, which stimulates secretion of gastric acid, plays a key role in the development of Helicobacter-induced stomach cancer, may have distinct effects on carcinogenesis in different parts of the stomach.
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Statins Can Protect Against Alzheimer’s Disease, According To New Study

High cholesterol levels are considered to be a risk factor not only for cardiovascular disease including stroke, but also for the development of Alzheimer’s disease. Therefore, many cholesterol lowering drugs, including statins, have been developed in recent years. In addition to the cholesterol reducing effect of statins scientists have demonstrated that statins can protect nerve cells against damage which we know to occur in the brain of Alzheimer’s disease patients.
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Study Challenges Routine Use Of MRI Scans To Evaluate Breast Cancer

Reviewing the records of 577 breast cancer patients, researchers found that women with newly diagnosed breast cancer who receive a breast MRI are more likely to receive a mastectomy after their diagnosis and may face delays in starting treatment. The study demonstrates that, despite the lack of evidence of their benefit, routine use of MRI scans in women newly diagnosed with breast cancer increased significantly between 2004 and 2005, and again in 2006.
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STAT3 Protein Found To Play A Key Role In Cancer

A protein called STAT3 has been found to play a fundamental role in converting normal cells to cancerous cells, according to a new study. The study found that STAT3, in addition to its role in the cell nucleus regulating gene expression, is also present in mitochondria, and regulates the activity of the electron transport chain in tumors cells.
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Selenium Intake May Worsen Prostate Cancer In Some, Study Reports

Higher selenium levels in the blood may worsen prostate cancer in some men who already have the disease. A higher risk of more-aggressive prostate cancer was seen in men with a certain genetic variant. In those subjects, having a high level of selenium in the blood was associated with a two-fold greater risk of poorer outcomes than men with the lowest amounts of selenium.
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Dietary Fat Linked To Pancreatic Cancer

High intake of dietary fats from red meat and dairy products was associated with an increased risk of pancreatic cancer, according to a new study.
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Platypus Helps Illuminate Ovarian Cancer

Researchers believe our oldest mammalian relative may help us to better understand ovarian cancer. DNA mapping of the platypus has uncovered an interesting relationship between their sex chromosomes and DNA sequences found in human ovarian cancer.
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New Piece Found In The Puzzle Of Epigenetics: Mechanism Of Fine Regulation Of RNA Synthesis Elucidated

Scientists have identified the enzyme TFIIH kinase as an important factor in the epigenetic regulation of the cell nucleus enzyme RNA polymerase II. The findings constitute a further building block for understanding the pathomechanisms of cancer and other diseases.
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Gene Findings Revealing Reasons For Neuroblastoma Risk

Two new studies advance the search for genetic events that result in neuroblastoma, a puzzling, often-deadly type of childhood cancer. Scientists performed a genome-wide association study to discover that common variants in the gene BARD1 increase a child's susceptibility to a high-risk form of neuroblastoma.
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Like Burrs On Your Clothes, Molecule-size Capsules Can Deliver Drugs By Sticking To Targeted Cells

It is now possible to engineer tiny containers the size of a virus to deliver drugs and other materials with almost 100 percent efficiency to targeted cells in the bloodstream.
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New Piece Found In Colorectal Cancer Puzzle

Prostasin, a relatively unknown protease enzyme expressed in most epithelial cells, may play a role in the genesis of colorectal cancer. Researchers have associated a reduction in the expression of inhibitors of the enzyme with malignant cellular behavior.
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Study challenges routine use of MRI scans to evaluate breast cancer

Reviewing the records of 577 breast cancer patients, Fox Chase Cancer Center researchers found that women with newly diagnosed breast cancer who receive a breast MRI are more likely to receive a mastectomy after their diagnosis and may face delays in starting treatment. The study demonstrates that, despite the lack of evidence of their benefit, routine use of MRI scans in women newly diagnosed with breast cancer increased significantly between 2004 and 2005, and again in 2006.
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Varying reductions in breast cancer suggest hormone therapy to blame

The recent decline in invasive breast cancer in the US was significantly less pronounced in the poor and those who live in rural areas. Researchers writing in the open access journal BMC Medicine suggest this may be due to varying reductions in the numbers of women taking hormone therapy (HT).
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Platypus link to ovarian cancer

(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers from the Royal Adelaide Hospital and University of Adelaide believe our oldest mammalian relative may help us to better understand ovarian cancer.
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Waste Disposal Protein Is Mechanism Behind Cancer Tumor Suppression

Investigators have discovered that a waste disposal protein is the key to cancer tumor suppression in a process known as autophagy -- a process in which cancer cells eat themselves.
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Low-fat Diet Helps Genetically Predisposed Animals Avoid Liver Cancer

In a study comparing two strains of mice, one susceptible to developing cancer and the other not, researchers found that a high-fat diet predisposed the cancer-susceptible strain to liver cancer, and that by switching to a low-fat diet early in the experiment, the same high-risk mice avoided the malignancy. The switched mice were lean rather than obese and had healthy livers at the end of the study.
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RNA snippet suppresses spread of aggressive breast cancer

High levels of a tiny fragment of RNA appear to suppress the spread of breast cancer in mice, according to researchers at Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research.
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Patients Have Lower Health-related Quality Of Life After Cancer Diagnosis

Cancer patients who are older than 65 years have poorer physical health and, in some cases, mental health when compared with people of the same age group without cancer, according to a new study.
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Growth Factor Identified As Possible Cancer Drug Target

Scientists report finding a new angiogenesis protein, SFRP2, found in the blood vessels of numerous tumor sites, including breast prostate, lung, pancreas, ovarian, colon, kidney tumors and angiosarcomas.
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Gene Therapy Technique Thwarts Cancer By Cutting Off Tumor Blood Supply

Researchers have come up with a new gene therapy method in mice implanted with human colorectal cancer cells to disrupt cancer growth by using a synthetic protein to induce blood clotting, cutting off a tumor's blood and nutrient supply.
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MicroRNA Replacement Therapy May Stop Cancer In Its Tracks

Scientists have discovered a potential strategy for cancer therapy by focusing on what's missing in tumors. A new study suggests that delivering small RNAs, known as microRNAs, to cancer cells could help to stop the disease in its tracks. MicroRNAs control gene expression and are commonly lost in cancerous tumors. Researchers have shown that replacement of a single microRNA in mice with an extremely aggressive form of liver cancer can be enough to halt their disease.
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Gene therapy technique thwarts cancer by cutting off tumor blood supply

University of Florida researchers have come up with a new gene therapy method to disrupt cancer growth by using a synthetic protein to induce blood clotting that cuts off a tumor's blood and nutrient supply.
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Research finds single gene controls growth of some cancers

Research led by Ashok Aiyar, PhD, Associate Professor of Microbiology at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center New Orleans, showing that a single gene can control growth in cancers related to the Epstein-Barr virus and that existing therapeutics can inactivate it, will be published in online issue of PLoS Pathogens.
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Dual role in breast tissue for a protein involved in leukemia

A protein known to play a role in growth of some types of leukemia appears to have a mixed function in breast cancer development, say researchers from the Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center at Georgetown University Medical Center (GUMC).
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Researchers identify DNA mutation that occurs at beginning point of T-cell lymphoma

Researchers at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California (USC) have identified a key mechanism that causes chromosomes within blood cells to break -an occurrence that marks the first step in the development of human lymphoma.
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Hear! Hear! Texas wines fight cancer growth

It's happy hour for Texas wineries. Research now shows that wines produced in the Lone Star State share the anti-cancer traits known to exist in wines from other producing regions.
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Oxygen Plus MRI Might Help Determine Cancer Therapy Success

A simple magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) test involving breathing oxygen might help oncologists determine the best treatment for some cancer patients.
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Health Risks Of Nanotechnology: How Nanoparticles Can Cause Lung Damage, And How The Damage Can Be Blocked

Scientists have identified for the first time a mechanism by which nanoparticles cause lung damage and have demonstrated that it can be combated by blocking the process involved, taking a step toward addressing the growing concerns over the safety of nanotechnology.
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Novel Mechanism Controlling Tumor Growth In The Brain Uncovered

As survival rates among some patients with cancer continue to rise, so does the spread of these cancers to the brain -- as much as 40 percent of all diagnosed brain cancers are considered metastatic, having spread from a primary cancer elsewhere in the body. Now, scientists have discovered a molecular mechanism that plays a pivotal role in controlling cancer growth in the brain. The discovery could provide a basis for potentially effective therapies for the treatment of brain metastasis.
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New Way That Cells Fix Damage To DNA Discovered

Scientists have discovered a new way by which DNA repairs itself, a process that is critical to the protection of the genome, and integral to prevention of cancer development.
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Bisphenol A (BPA) Found In Many Plastics May Cause Heart Disease In Women, Research Shows

New research shows that bisphenol A, found in many commonly used plastics, may be harmful for the heart, particularly in women.
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Found: 1 in 3 billion

Vancouver scientists from the Ovarian Cancer Research (OvCaRe) Program at BC Cancer Agency and Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute have discovered that there appears to be a single spelling mistake in the genetic code of granulosa cell tumours, a rare and often untreatable form of ovarian cancer.
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What are the risk factors of sporadic colorectal cancer?

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common cancers in China. Although the association between the epidemiological factors and sporadic colorectal cancer has been studied, the relation between smoking, alcohol drinking, family history of cancer, body mass index (BMI) and sporadic colorectal cancer still remains uncertain. So it is important to investigate the role of these factors in the development of sporadic colorectal cancer.
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Cancer screening fear is fueled by lack of information

Fear plays a major role in whether women decide to go for cancer screening or not, but healthcare providers underestimate how much women need to know and wrongly assume that they will ask for information if they want it.
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A breakthrough in gastric carcinogenesis

Checkpoint with forkhead and ring finger (CHFR) is a mitotic stress checkpoint gene whose promoter is frequently methylated in various kinds of cancer. In gastric cancer, CHFR promoter hypermethylation has been reported to lead to chromosome instability (CIN) and genetic instability is one of the hallmarks of human cancer.
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Study shows promise for new cancer-stopping therapy

Researchers at Nationwide Children's Hospital and Johns Hopkins University have discovered that delivering a small molecule that is highly expressed in normal tissues but lost in diseased cells can result in tumor suppression.
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New American College of Surgeons risk calculator determines colorectal surgery risk

New research published in the June issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons shows that a risk calculator developed by the American College of Surgeons (ACS) can help surgeons provide patients with more detailed and accurate preoperative information about the risk of death and complications following colorectal surgery. The tool will also allow surgeons to adjust risk probabilities for patients based on their hospital's performance during prior years.
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Binge Drinking Increases Risk Of Lung Cancer In Smokers

The risk of lung cancer increases for those smokers who have a tendency to binge drinking.
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Many Breast Cancer Patients Take High Doses Of Antioxidants Despite Possible Consequences

A new study finds that many women with breast cancer take antioxidant supplements while undergoing cancer treatment, even though the consequences of doing so are unknown.
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New Method For Breast Cancer Biomarker Discovery

Bioinformatics researchers have developed and evaluated a new one-step bioanalytical approach that allows them to profile in detail complex cellular extracts of proteins. The method has allowed the scientists to look at how the levels of proteins change in breast cancer cells when they are treated with hormones or cancer drugs like tamoxifen.
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Vaporized Viral Vector Shows Promise In Anti-cancer Gene Therapy

A new lung cancer therapy employing a vaporized viral vector to deliver a cancer-inhibiting molecule directly to lung tissue shows early promise in mouse trials.
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Cancer Found To Be A Moving Target

Scientists have mathematically analyzed the mutator hypothesis and compared the cancer-generating efficiency of mutator and nonmutator pathways to cancer.
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Dioxins in food chain linked to breastfeeding ills

Exposure to dioxins during pregnancy harms the cells in rapidly-changing breast tissue, which may explain why some women have trouble breastfeeding or don't produce enough milk, according to a University of Rochester Medical Center study.
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Cancer found to be a moving target

Cancer is the result of Darwinian evolution among populations of cells, in which the fittest cells win the struggle for survival, while ultimately killing the person of whom they are a part.
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Variability in pancreatic cancer care found with newly developed quality indicators

A set of expert consensus-based, quality-of-care indicators identified considerable variability in the quality of pancreatic cancer care among hospitals and may be used to evaluate and identify areas for improvement, according to a new study in the June 9 online issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
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Techniques appear to lower radiation exposure from cardiac scans without impairing image quality

An intervention that includes techniques to reduce the amount of radiation from cardiac computed tomography angiography (scanning used to diagnose coronary artery disease) was associated with decreasing patient exposure to radiation without significantly changing the quality of the images, according to a study in the June 10 issue of JAMA.
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Donor stem cell transplantation associated with survival benefit for patients with leukemia

An analysis of previous studies indicates that allogeneic stem cell transplantation (SCT) (stem cells from a compatible donor) is associated with significant overall and relapse-free survival benefit among adult patients with intermediate- and poor-risk but not good-risk acute myeloid leukemia in first complete remission, compared with nonallogeneic SCT therapies, according to an article in the June 10 issue of JAMA.
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2 studies find patients have lower health-related quality of life after cancer diagnosis

Cancer patients who are older than 65 years have poorer physical health and, in some cases, mental health when compared with people of the same age group without cancer, according to a study in the June 9 online issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
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Cancer: The cost of being smarter than chimps?

Are the cognitively superior brains of humans, in part, responsible for our higher rates of cancer? That's a question that has nagged at John McDonald, chair of Georgia Tech's School of Biology and chief research scientist at the Ovarian Cancer Institute, for a while. Now, after an initial study, it seems that McDonald is on to something. The new study is available online in the journal Medical Hypothesis and will appear in the forthcoming issue of the journal.
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Researchers find how a common genetic mutation makes cancer radiation resistant

(PhysOrg.com) -- Many cancerous tumors possess a genetic mutation that disables a tumor suppressor called PTEN. Now researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have shown why inactivation of PTEN allows tumors to resist radiation therapy.
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Fifty-one genes predict breast cancer survival

It may be possible in the future to use a specimen from the tumour to determine which patients with breast cancer have a good chance of overcoming the disease, and which patients should be given more intensive treatments. Fifty-one genes may together provide information about the prognosis for an individual patient.
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Green tea: Seeking hope in a dose of nature

Once a day, Matthew Hudson takes a square of chocolate mixed with green-tea extract and lets it dissolve in his mouth.
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Revised Vienna Classification for diagnosing colorectal epithelial neoplasias

Considerable discrepancies have been reported between diagnoses of colorectal epithelial neoplastic lesions made by Western and Japanese pathologists from endoscopic cold biopsies and resected specimens of the same lesions.
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A potential treatment for gastric motility disorders

GES or pacing has been under investigation as a potential therapy for gastrointestinal motility disorders. Conventionally, GES is performed using a single pair of electrodes or single-channel GES. However, few studies have investigated the effects of two-channel GES with trains of pulses on gastric motility, such as gastric slow waves and gastric emptying.
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Team led by Scripps research scientists finds new way that cells fix damage to DNA

A team of researchers at The Scripps Research Institute and other institutions has discovered a new way by which DNA repairs itself, a process that is critical to the protection of the genome, and integral to prevention of cancer development.
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Insights Into Locally Advanced Breast Cancer

Scientists are reporting two findings that could influence the way researchers screen for, treat and assess prognosis for women with locally advanced breast cancer, an aggressive form of the disease. One finding offers a critical message regarding treatment strategy, they say.
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Hundreds Of Cell-surface Proteins Can Be Simultaneously Studied With New Technique

A new method now enables researchers to study hundreds of cell-surface proteins simultaneously. The results obtained could help to develop more accurate diagnostic tests and more specific therapies in the future.
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Link Unraveled Between Chromosomal Instability And Centrosome Defects In Cancer Cells

Scientists have disproved a century-old theory about why cancer cells often have too many or too few chromosomes, and show that the actual reason may hold the key to a novel approach to cancer therapy.
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New Antibiotics Could Come From A DNA Binding Compound That Kills Bacteria In 2 Minutes

A synthetic DNA binding compound has proved surprisingly effective at binding to the DNA of bacteria and killing all the bacteria it touched within two minutes.
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Common Chemotherapy Drug Can Trigger Fatal Allergic Reactions

A chemotherapy drug that is supposed to help save cancer patients' lives, instead resulted in life-threatening and sometimes fatal allergic reactions. A new study identified 287 hypersensitivity reactions and 109 deaths in patients who received Cremophor-based paclitaxel, a solvent-administered chemotherapy. Two patients who died from an allergic reaction had highly curable early-stage breast cancer. The allergic reactions are believed to be caused by the solvent, and the actual number of deaths is likely higher.
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Defeating Nicotine's Double Role In Lung Cancer

A lung cancer treatment that inhibits nicotine receptors was shown to double survival time in mice, according to new research.
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Gene activity reveals dynamic stroma microenvironment in prostate cancer

As stroma - the supportive framework of the prostate gland - react to prostate cancer, changes in the expression of genes occur that induce the formation of new structures such as blood vessels, nerves and parts of nerves, said researchers at Baylor College of Medicine in a report that appears in the current issue of the journal Clinical Cancer Research.
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'A sad case': She chose herbals over surgery

(AP) -- Leslee Flasch worked in a hospice. She had seen cancer treatments fail. Now doctors were saying she needed her colon removed to treat her rectal cancer. Barely 50 years old, she would have to wear a colostomy bag for the rest of her life.
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Scientists identify growth factor as possible cancer drug target

To grow and spread, tumors need new blood vessels, a process called angiogenesis. One growth factor that causes angiogenesis has been identified - vascular endothelial growth factor or VEGF - and drugs to inhibit VEGF are already in use. But not all tumors respond to the therapy initially or over the long term. Thus new growth factors need to be identified to aid in developing the next generation of angiogenesis inhibitors.
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Colon cancer screening technique shows continued promise in new study

Recent clinical trials show that a new colon cancer screening technique created by Northwestern University researchers has a high enough sensitivity that it could potentially be as or more successful than a colonoscopy in screening for colon cancer.
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A real-time diagnosis for a treatable cancer

According to the American Cancer Society, colorectal cancer, America's third leading type of cancer, is also one of the most preventable. One-third of all colorectal cancer deaths could be avoided by simple screening, they say. But colonoscopies, though highly effective, can also be painful, and current diagnostic techniques are time-consuming and sometimes inaccurate.
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Pathway Linked To Breast Cancer Stem Cells

A gene well known to stop or suppress cancer plays a role in cancer stem cells, according to a new study. The researchers found that several pathways linked to the gene, called PTEN, also affected the growth of breast cancer stem cells.
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Scientists Uncover Mode Of Action Of Enzyme Linked With Several Types Of Cancer

Scientists have discovered a key mechanism used by cells to efficiently distribute chromosomes to new cells during cell multiplication.
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Skin Lesion Leads To More Cancer Types Than Once Believed

Dermatologists have found that sun-damaged rough patches on the skin known as actinic keratoses lead to more forms of skin cancer than previously thought. They also determined that lesions can become invisible and resurface over time.
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Brain Irradiation In Lung Cancer

Scientists have found that a course of radiation therapy to the brain after treatment for locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer reduced the risk of metastases to the brain within the first year after treatment.
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Stem Cell Protein Offers A New Cancer Target

Stem cell researchers have shown that a protein that keeps embryonic stem cells in their stem-like state, called LIN28, is also important in cancer. It offers a new target to attack, especially in resistant and hard-to-treat cases.
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Lethal Cancer Knocked Down By One-two Drug Punch

Scientists have developed a new approach to treating leukemia, one that targets leukemia-proliferating cells with drugs that are already on the market. The research team identified a gene involved with the inflammatory response that could hold the key to treating or even preventing chronic myeloid leukemia, a lethal cancer.
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Gene That Regulates Tumors In Neuroblastoma Identified

Researchers have identified a gene that may play a key role in regulating tumor progression in neuroblastoma, a form of cancer usually found in young children. Scientists hope the finding could lead to an effective therapy to inhibit the expression of this gene.
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Colorectal Cancer Increasing In Young Adults

A new study finds that in sharp contrast to the overall declining rates of colorectal cancer in the United States, incidence rates among adults younger than age 50 years are increasing. The authors theorize that these increases may be related to rising rates of obesity and changes in dietary patterns, including increased consumption of fast food.
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Researchers Shed Light on Esophageal Disease

(PhysOrg.com) -- Canadian Light Source (CLS) staff scientist Luca Quaroni and Dr. Alan Casson from the University of Saskatchewan used the synchrotron's infrared microscope to identify tissue afflicted with a condition known as Barrett's Esophagus from chemical fingerprints associated with the disease, which can lead to esophageal cancer.
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Study says colorectal cancer increasing in young adults

A new study finds that in sharp contrast to the overall declining rates of colorectal cancer in the United States, incidence rates among adults younger than age 50 years are increasing. The authors theorize that these increases may be related to rising rates of obesity and changes in dietary patterns, including increased consumption of fast food. The study, which appears in the June 2009 issue of Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention, says further studies are necessary to elucidate causes for this trend and to identify potential prevention and early detection strategies.
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Women under-represented in most cancer research

Women continue to be under-enrolled in cancer clinical trials, according to a new review, published in the July 15, 2009 issue of CANCER. The study's results suggest that greater efforts are needed to ensure that oncologists know the true effects of treatments and medical procedures in female patients.
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Many breast cancer patients take high doses of antioxidants despite possible consequences

A new study finds that many women with breast cancer take antioxidant supplements while undergoing cancer treatment, even though the consequences of doing so are unknown. Published in the July 15, 2009 issue of CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, the study indicates that additional research should be undertaken to determine the effects of antioxidant supplementation on the health and survival of breast cancer patients.
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Defeating nicotine's double role in lung cancer

A lung cancer treatment that inhibits nicotine receptors was shown to double survival time in mice, according to Italian researchers.
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Vaporized viral vector shows promise in anti-cancer gene therapy

A new lung cancer therapy employing a vaporized viral vector to deliver a cancer-inhibiting molecule directly to lung tissue shows early promise in mouse trials, according to researchers at the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology in Korea.
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Common chemotherapy drug triggers fatal allergic reactions

A chemotherapy drug that is supposed to help save cancer patients' lives, instead resulted in life-threatening and sometimes fatal allergic reactions.
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Break From Hormone Therapy Doesn't Improve Mammograms

It's the downside of not needing to wear a bra: Having "dense" breasts is the biggest risk factor for breast cancer, aside from age. Postmenopausal hormone therapy makes breasts denser -- and harder to "read" on mammograms. So some women take a short hormone break before getting screening mammograms. Now the first large-scale randomized controlled trial of this practice shows it doesn't actually lower women's risk of being called back afterward for unnecessary extra breast imaging.
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Breast Cancer Gene Can Be Blocked By Blood Pressure Drug

Researchers have identified a gene that is overexpressed in up to 20 percent of breast cancers and that could be blocked in the lab by a currently available blood pressure drug, according to a new study.
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Linking Genetic Material MicroRNAs With Cells That Regulate The Immune System Could One Day Lead To New Therapies For Treating Cancer

Linking genetic material microRNAs with cells that regulate the immune system could one day lead to new therapies for treating cancer, infections and autoimmune diseases, according to a new study.
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A lethal cancer knocked down by one-two drug punch

In the battle against cancer, allies can come from unexpected sources. Research at The Jackson Laboratory has yielded a new approach to treating leukemia, one that targets leukemia-proliferating cells with drugs that are already on the market.
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Link unraveled between chromosomal instability and centrosome defects in cancer cells

In a new study, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute scientists disprove a century-old theory about why cancer cells often have too many or too few chromosomes, and show that the actual reason may hold the key to a novel approach to cancer therapy.
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Molecular Powerbrokers Involved In Cancer's Spread

Scientists have known for some time that biological molecules interact with one another in a similarly complex pattern. Now researchers have determined that hamstringing these molecular powerbrokers is a good way to derail processes such as cancer development.
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Even With No Treatment Available, Cancer Patients Want To Know Metastasis Risk

If you had cancer and a genetic test could predict the risk of the tumor spreading aggressively, would you want to know -- even if no treatments existed to help you? An overwhelming majority of eye cancer patients would answer yes, according to a new study.
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Most Common Brain Cancer May Originate In Neural Stem Cells

Scientists have found that a deficiency in a key tumor suppressor gene in the brain leads to the most common type of adult brain cancer. The study, conducted in mice that mimic human cancer, points the way to more effective future treatments and a way to screen for the disease early.
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New Treatment Combination Proves Safe For Head And Neck Cancer Patients, Study Suggests

Patients undergoing treatment for advanced head and neck cancers may respond well to the addition of gefinitib to chemotherapy, according to a new study.
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Two-drug Combination Appears Safe And Active In Metastatic Kidney Cancer

Investigators report that a two-drug blockade of mTOR signaling appears safe in metastatic kidney cancer in a phase I trial. Early data suggests that a combination of temsirolimus and bryostatin may be active in patients with rare forms of renal cell cancer, which are less likely to respond to other targeted therapies.
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Lower Levels Of Key Protein Influence Tumor Growth In Mice

Tumors need a healthy supply of blood to grow and spread. Researchers have identified a molecule that regulates blood vessel growth that is often found at less-than-normal levels in human tumors. Blocking the expression of the molecule, called PHD2, allows human cancer cells to grow more quickly when implanted into mice and increases the number of blood vessels feeding the tumor.
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How Adrenal Cancer Forms: Dysfunctional Telomeres Can Trigger Cancer Mutations

When telomeres -- the bits of DNA at the end of chromosomes -- become dysfunctional, it can trigger cancer, researchers have found. The study was done in a mouse model that targeted the extremely rare adrenal cancer.
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Hitting Where It Hurts: Exploiting Cancer Cell 'Addiction' May Lead To New Therapies

A new study uncovers a gene expression signature that reliably identifies cancer cells whose survival is dependent on a common signaling pathway, even when the cells contain multiple other genetic abnormalities. The research identifies critical molecular vulnerabilities, thereby revealing promising therapeutic targets for a common and notoriously treatment resistant cancer.
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Benefit To Women Not Enough To Sway Men To Get HPV Vaccine

Informing men that a new vaccine to prevent human papillomavirus (HPV) would also help protect their female partners against developing cervical cancer from the sexually transmitted infection did not increase their interest in getting the vaccine, according to a new study.
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Alcohol And Smoking Are Key Causes For Bowel Cancer

A new global study has found that lifestyle risk factors such as alcohol consumption and cigarette smoking are important risk factors for bowel cancer. Researchers have shown that people who consume the largest quantities of alcohol (equivalent to more than seven drinks per week) have 60 percent greater risk of developing the cancer, compared with non-drinkers. Smoking, obesity and diabetes were also associated with a 20 percent greater risk of developing bowel cancer -- the same risk linked with consuming high intakes of red and processed meat.
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Common Diabetes Drug May 'Revolutionize' Cancer Therapies: Unexpected T-cell Breakthrough

Researchers have discovered that a widely used anti-diabetic drug can boost the immune system and increase the potency of vaccines and cancer treatments.
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Diet May Reduce Risk Of Prostate Cancer

Certain modifications in diet have a beneficial effect on the prevention of prostate cancer. Results suggest that a diet low in fat and red meat and high in fruits and vegetables is beneficial in preventing and treating prostate cancer.
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Study gives clues to how adrenal cancer forms

At the ends of chromosome are special pieces of DNA called telomeres. Think of it as the little tip that caps off a shoelace. The telomeres send signals to the cells to let them know it's the end point, not a break that should be repaired.
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Researchers identify critical marker of response to gemcitabine in pancreatic cancer

A protein related to aggressive cancers can actually improve the efficacy of gemcitabine at treating pancreatic cancer, according to a Priority Report in Cancer Research, published by researchers at Thomas Jefferson University.
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