Cancer News and Research

Latest Cancer News and Research

South Australian hospital battles to contain superbug VRE

The cancer ward at the Royal Adelaide Hospital (RAH) in South Australia is currently battling to cope with an antibiotic-resistant bacteria called Vanocomycin-resistant Enterococci (VRE), a form of bacteria which lives in the gut.

16 Apr 2009

Lots of fruit and veggies not good for smokers!

According to researchers in the Netherlands, although eating lots of fresh fruit and vegetables may reduce the risk of colon cancer for most people this is not the case with smokers.

16 Apr 2009

Autopsy study links prostate cancer to single rogue cell

One cell...one initial set of genetic changes - that's all it takes to begin a series of events that lead to metastatic cancer. Now, Johns Hopkins experts have tracked how the cancer process began in 33 men with prostate cancer who died of the disease. Culling information from autopsies, their study points to a set of genetic defects in a single cell that are different for each person's cancer.

16 Apr 2009

3 events offer hope for people with brain tumors

People with brain tumors, and those who love and care for them, will observe Brain Tumor Awareness Week with three educational and celebratory events sponsored by the University of Rochester Medical Center and James P. Wilmot Cancer Center.

16 Apr 2009

Protein Mcl-1 identified as new therapeutic target for melanoma

A protein called Mcl-1 plays a critical role in melanoma cell resistance to a form of apoptosis called anoikis, according to research published this week in Molecular Cancer Research.

16 Apr 2009

Researchers use stroke patient's own stem cells in trial for first time

For the first time in the United States, a stroke patient has been intravenously injected with his own bone marrow stem cells as part of a research trial at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston.

15 Apr 2009

Sleeping leads to increased ratings of pain in cancer patients

A study in the April 15 issue of the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine suggests that sleep problems lead to increased pain and fatigue in cancer patients.

15 Apr 2009

Discovery of potential genetic predisposition for lung cancer

University of Cincinnati (UC) cancer cell biologists have identified a distinct gene linked to increased lung cancer susceptibility and development.

15 Apr 2009

New minimally invasive surgery option for stomach cancer patients

A new study led by researchers at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) compares traditional "open" surgery to remove the stomach with laparoscopic gastrectomy - a minimally invasive procedure in which the surgeon removes the stomach while guided by a magnified image projected by a thin, lighted tube with a video camera at its tip, called a laparoscope.

15 Apr 2009

Hand-assisted laparoscopic surgery benefits colorectal patients

Despite rapid strides in minimally invasive surgical techniques -- most notably, laparoscopy -- traditional open surgery remains the most common surgical option across the United States for people with diseases of the rectum and colon.

15 Apr 2009

Gene therapy for muscular dystrophy a step closer

Researchers have cleared a safety hurdle in efforts to develop a gene therapy for a form of muscular dystrophy that disables patients by gradually weakening muscles near the hips and shoulders.

15 Apr 2009

More reasons to eat green vegetables

Vegetables in the Brassica family -- such as broccoli, cabbage, kale and Brussels sprouts -- are inexpensive yet very nutritive, providing beneficial phytochemicals as well as vitamins, minerals and fiber, according to a report presented in the Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety , a peer reviewed publication of the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT).

15 Apr 2009

Chemists synthesize natural alkaloid that could have anti-cancer properties

The club moss Lycopodium serratum is a creeping, flowerless plant used in homeopathic medicine to treat a wide variety of ailments.

15 Apr 2009

A bright future for biological sensors

In the future, explained Peter Ghazal, Chair of Edinburgh University's Department of Molecular Genetics and Biomedicine, biological sensors, the product of the integration of biology and electronics will be used to detect infections and prescribe personalized treatments.

15 Apr 2009

OncoGel: New system for delivering chemotherapy for patients with esophageal cancer

Gastroenterologists at Rush University Medical Center are studying the safety and efficacy of a new system for delivering chemotherapy for patients with esophageal cancer, a rare, but deadly disease that attacks the throat.

15 Apr 2009

Griddle and microwave-cooking maintains highest levels of antioxidants in vegetables

Some vegetable cooking methods may be better than others when it comes to maintaining beneficial antioxidant levels, according to a new study in the Journal of Food Science, published by the Institute of Food Technologists.

15 Apr 2009

Alzheimer's controversy solved

For a decade, Alzheimer's disease researchers have been entrenched in debate about one of the mechanisms believed to be responsible for brain cell death and memory loss in the illness.

15 Apr 2009

Mycophenolate mofetil may be an alternative therapy for lupus nephritis

Lupus is a rare but serious disease that mainly affects women of child-bearing age and occurs when the body's immune system goes awry, damaging a variety of organs.

15 Apr 2009

Bracelet warns of too much sun exposure

Scientists in Britain have come up with what appears a very sensible idea - a team at Strathclyde University in Scotland have developed an early warning sunburn indicator - it comes in the form of a thin strip which turns pink after too much exposure to ultra-violet light.

15 Apr 2009

Price hike for tobacco would make many smokers quit

The latest research from Cancer Council Victoria which involved a telephone poll of 4,500 smokers, has found that almost three quarters of smokers surveyed would try to quit if the price of cigarettes rose by 50%.

15 Apr 2009