Cancer News and Research

Latest Cancer News and Research

New improved enzyme could help facilitate spinal cord injuries

Researchers have developed an improved version of an enzyme that degrades the dense scar tissue that forms when the central nervous system is damaged. By digesting the tissue that blocks re-growth of damaged nerves, the improved enzyme - and new system for delivering it - could facilitate recovery from serious central nervous system injuries.

4 Nov 2009

Tinnitus patients need more support and advice on healthcare options

As many as one in seven people will experience tinnitus, or ringing in their ears, at some time of their life, but not enough is being done to support patients who experience this distressing condition, according to an extensive research review in the November issue of the Journal of Clinical Nursing.

4 Nov 2009

superDimension's electromagnetic navigational bronchoscopy device receives AMA Category I CPT code

superDimension, Inc.®, a private company that develops minimally invasive interventional pulmonology devices, announced today that The American Medical Association (AMA) has issued a new Category I CPT® code for the use of the Company's electromagnetic navigational bronchoscopy (ENB) device to navigate to lesions or spots deep in the lungs.

4 Nov 2009

Webinar series on neuroendocrine tumours

The Canadian Oncology Societies and the Canadian Association of Medical Oncologists continue the series of webcasts on Neuroendocrine Tumours by presenting an hour-long webinar by Dr. Walter Kocha, Dr. Amil Shah, and Dr. Peter Metrakos. This webinar is part two of a three-part series and will cover the subjects of Surgery, Cardiology, Radiology & Principals of Medical Management in Treatment.

4 Nov 2009

HER2-positive breast cancer patients can be treated with Trastuzumab and adjuvant radiation therapy

Standard adjuvant treatment for HER2-positive breast cancer patients, following primary surgery for their cancer, is Trastuzumab (Herceptin)--typically used in combination with chemotherapy.

4 Nov 2009

Experts team up to measure the hearing of people with AIDS

Specialists in HIV and in hearing at the University of Rochester Medical Center are teaming up to measure the hearing of people with AIDS.

4 Nov 2009

Some patients with tonsil cancer can be treated with radiation, says PMH study

Clinical researchers at Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH) have confirmed that patients with oropharyngeal squamous cell cancer ("tonsil cancer") harbour a common type of human papilloma virus (HPV16), but also that such cancers are very sensitive to radiation. For some patients, this may mean successful treatment with radiation alone and avoiding the side effects of chemotherapy.

4 Nov 2009

Propylene glycol in e cigarettes might keep us healthy, says researchers

According to the Centers for Disease Control, during 2000-2004, "An estimated 443,000 persons in the United States died prematurely each year from smoking or exposure to secondhand smoke.

4 Nov 2009

Combination of high-dose radiotherapy and chemotherapy shows encouraging results in treating LSCL

Treating limited stage small cell lung cancer(LSCL) with a combination of accelerated high-dose radiotherapy and chemotherapy has shown encouraging results, opening the door to larger scale investigation, according to new research from The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.

4 Nov 2009

Findings may lead to new drug therapies to reduce breast cancer metastasis

Researchers have reduced breast cancer metastasis to bone using an experimental agent to inhibit ROCK, a protein that was found to be over-expressed in metastatic breast cancer.

4 Nov 2009

Tonsil cancer patients harbouring HPV16 can avoid chemotherapy

4 Nov 2009

Radiation treatment as effective and as safe in reducing the risk of prostate cancer from returning

A shorter, five-week course of radiation treatment that delivers higher doses of radiation in fewer sessions, known as hypofractionation, appears to be just as effective and as safe in reducing the risk of prostate cancer from returning as standard radiation therapy, yet is delivered in two-and-a-half weeks less time, according to interim results of a randomized study presented November 4, 2009, at the 51st Annual Meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO).

4 Nov 2009

Breastfeeding: ADA position paper details health benefits for both infants and mothers

The American Dietetic Association has released an updated position paper on breastfeeding that details health benefits for both infants and mothers and encourages promotion of breastfeeding whenever possible.

4 Nov 2009

Early-morning colonoscopies yield more polyps per patient than later screenings

The effectiveness of a screening colonoscopy may depend on the time of day it is performed. According to a new UCLA study, early-morning colonoscopies yielded more polyps per patient than later screenings, and fewer polyps were found hour by hour as the day progressed.

4 Nov 2009

Advanced equipment targets radiation to specific areas in the brain

Radiation oncologists at Rush University Medical Center are intent on finding ways to avoid damage to the critically important hippocampus and limbic circuit of the brain when cranial radiation is required to treat existing or potential metastatic cancers.

4 Nov 2009

MRF's research Consortium to develop effective treatments for advanced melanoma

For more than a decade, there have been no new therapies that have improved survival rates for patients with advanced melanoma. Today, at the 6th International Melanoma Congress for the Society for Melanoma Research, the Melanoma Research Foundation (MRF) announced a novel collaboration between the research community and pharmaceutical companies that will pool knowledge and resources to generate new breakthroughs in treatment.

4 Nov 2009

Stereotactic radiosurgery effectively controls pain in patients with cancer

Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS), a radiation therapy procedure pioneered at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI) that precisely delivers a large dose of radiation to tumors, effectively controls pain in patients with cancer that has spread to the spine, according to researchers from UPCI.

4 Nov 2009

Battle with lung cancer

In his debut memoir, "No Expiration Dates: A Cancer Patient's Strategies for Survival" (published by iUniverse), Leon Weisman recounts his unique and inspirational battle with lung cancer while also offering practical advice about the emotional and social changes that a cancer diagnosis can bring to a patient as well as a family embarking on the fight to stay alive.

4 Nov 2009

Lower total cholesterol may be caused by undiagnosed cancer: Study

A pair of studies in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, lay to rest the decades-long concern that lower total cholesterol may lead to cancer, and in fact lower cholesterol may reduce the risk of high-grade prostate cancer.

4 Nov 2009

PET imaging is not the basis for increasing dosage level

Positron emission tomography (PET) imaging of non-small cell lung cancer prior to receiving radiation therapy should not be the basis for determining areas that may benefit from higher doses of radiation, according to research presented by investigators at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital at the 51st ASTRO Annual Meeting (Abstract #2583/B-186).

4 Nov 2009