Cancer News and Research

Latest Cancer News and Research

Some Black women with advanced breast cancer opt against treatment, study finds

A new study has found that some black women with advanced breast cancer declined treatment with chemotherapy or radiation, though researchers did not know the reason why so many of the women opted against treatment, HealthDay/Las Vegas NOW reports.

26 May 2009

Terminally ill patients and their physicians delay conversations about end-of-life choices, study finds

About half of terminally ill patients do not have discussions with their physicians regarding end-of-life choices, according to a Harvard Medical School study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, the Boston Globe reports.

26 May 2009

Cancer drug capecitabine causes patient to lose fingerprints and be detained by U.S. 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.

26 May 2009

Active ingredient in green tea shows promise in leukemia trials

Mayo Clinic researchers are reporting positive results in early leukemia clinical trials using the chemical epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), an active ingredient in green tea.

26 May 2009

Novel chemotherapy and biological agents brings 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 at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.

26 May 2009

Restricting carbohydrates 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.

26 May 2009

Abraxane prolongs survival in metastatic breast cancer

Research from the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine has found that 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.

26 May 2009

Future cancer care, can we afford it?

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.

26 May 2009

Discovery of biological markers that may indicate poor breast cancer prognosis

A team of researchers has found an association between breast cancer survival and two proteins that, when present in the blood in high levels, are indicators of inflammation.

26 May 2009

WHO-International Atomic Energy Agency join forces to fight cancer in developing countries

WHO and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) today announced the launch of a Joint Programme on Cancer Control, aimed at strengthening and accelerating efforts to fight cancer in the developing world.

26 May 2009

Scientists discover stem cell clue to lung cancer development

Cancer Research UK scientists have revealed that stem cells become 'activated' in severely damaged lungs and help to repair them, according to a study published in the Proceeding of the National Academy of Sciences today (Monday).

26 May 2009

Zebrafish provide insights into development and progression of melanoma

In a new study published in Disease Models & Mechanisms, scientists use 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.

26 May 2009

Hospice care under-used by many terminally ill patients

Hospice, a well-established approach to palliative care, has enabled countless people worldwide to die with dignity. Through focusing on the patient rather than the disease, individuals can spend the last weeks of their lives in an environment where hospice caregivers minimize their pain, maximize their comfort, and provide bereavement services for loved ones and family members.

25 May 2009

Discovery of genetic factors that influence the age at which natural menopause occurs in women

For the first time, scientists have been able to identify genetic factors that influence the age at which natural menopause occurs in women. Ms Lisette Stolk, a researcher from Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, told the annual conference of the European Society of Human Genetics today ( Monday 25 May) that a greater understanding of the factors influencing age at menopause might eventually help to improve the clinical treatment of infertile women.

25 May 2009

Evidence supports use of online-based programs for smoking cessation

Available evidence supports the use of online or other computer-based smoking cessation programs for helping adults quit smoking, according to a meta-analysis of previously published studies appearing in the May 25 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.

25 May 2009

QIAGEN launches novel product enabling non-invasive prenatal diagnostics and cancer detection

QIAGEN today announced the launch of a novel product for extraction of free circulating fragments of tumor- and fetal-derived nucleic acids as well as viral nucleic acids in human blood. Scientists consider these DNA and RNA fragments to have great potential for the highly sensitive and non-invasive diagnosis of a wide range of diseases, including congenital disorders, malignancies such as colon and lung cancer, and infections.

From QIAGEN Manchester Limited 25 May 2009

Bioniche updates on phase III clinical trial with Urocidin in non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer

Bioniche Life Sciences Inc. has provided an update on its Phase III clinical program evaluating Urocidin(TM) in the treatment of bladder cancer. On March 31st, the Company announced that recruitment had been completed in its initial Phase III registration trial evaluating Urocidin in the treatment of non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer that is refractory (unresponsive) to the current standard immunotherapy - Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG).

25 May 2009