Friday, June 5, 2009

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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Thursday, June 4, 2009

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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