Cancer News and Research

Latest Cancer News and Research

Tiny protein provokes healthy bonding between cells

In human relationships, a certain "spark" often governs whether we prefer one person to another, and critical first impressions can occur within seconds.

25 Nov 2008

Scientists create synthetic Heparin in more varieties

Scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have learned to customize a key human enzyme responsible for producing heparin, opening the door to a more effective synthetic anticoagulant as well as treatments for other conditions.

25 Nov 2008

Pelvic lymphadenectomy does not improve survival in early stage endometrial cancer

Systematic use of pelvic lymphadenectomy (removal of the lymph nodes) does not improve disease-free or overall survival in women with early-stage endometrial cancer, according to a randomized trial published online November 25 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

25 Nov 2008

Seniors are feeling anxious

For older adults who have lived through the Great Depression, news stories comparing present circumstances to the harsh realities of food lines, few jobs, and extreme poverty of the 1930's may be panic-producing.

25 Nov 2008

New MRI techniques with sharper images

Researchers in Ohio and France have solved a longstanding scientific mystery involving magnetic resonance -- the physical phenomenon that allows MRI instruments in modern hospitals to image tissues deep within the human body.

25 Nov 2008

Mammogram most effective 12 months after radiation

Breast cancer patients who receive breast-conserving therapy and radiation do not need a follow-up mammogram until 12 months after radiation, despite current guidelines that recommend follow-up mammograms at between six and 12 months after radiation, according to a November 15 study in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology*Biology*Physics, the official journal of the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology.

25 Nov 2008

Immune cells reveal fancy footwork

Our immune system plays an essential role in protecting us from diseases, but how does it do this exactly?

25 Nov 2008

Drink tea instead of soft drinks to avoid tooth erosion

Today, the average size soft drink is 20 ounces and contains 17 teaspoons of sugar.

25 Nov 2008

Cancer declines for first time in United States

The overall incidence of cancer and death due to cancer dropped for the first time in men and women in the United States, according to a report published in the November 25 online issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

25 Nov 2008

Scientists develop peptide that converts Bcl-2 protein from a cancer cell's friend to a foe

If you're a cancer cell, you want a protein called Bcl-2 on your side because it decides if you live or die.

25 Nov 2008

Scientists develop 'barcode chip' to revolutionize diagnostic medical testing

In less than 10 minutes, and using just a pinprick's worth of blood, the chip can measure the concentrations of dozens of proteins, including those that herald the presence of diseases like cancer and heart disease.

25 Nov 2008

New study on pancreatic cancer survival

Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest and most difficult to treat cancers. Now, in a major step forward, researchers at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center have shown that administering radiation therapy prior to surgery nearly doubles survival in pancreatic cancer patients with operable tumors.

25 Nov 2008

Declines in cancer incidence and death rates across U.S.

A new report from the nation's leading cancer organizations shows that, for the first time since the report was first issued in 1998, both incidence and death rates for all cancers combined are decreasing for both men and women, driven largely by declines in some of the most common types of cancer.

25 Nov 2008

$2.7 million boosts effort to create the big view of cancer

Many scientists like to discuss how each form of cancer is a distinct disease with its own causes and its own treatments. But researcher Hartmut "Hucky" Land, Ph.D., takes the opposite approach: He is hunting for the most basic rules that all cancers share to make good cells go bad.

25 Nov 2008

Mammograms may pick up breast cancers which would have disappeared

According to researchers in Norway mammograms may detect some cancers that would have otherwise regressed.

25 Nov 2008

Women more likely than men to be hospitalized for chest pain

Women are more likely than men to be hospitalized for chest pain for which doctors cannot find a cause, according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

24 Nov 2008

Researchers develop new strategy for broad spectrum anti-viral drugs

Bavituximab, an anti-viral drug developed by UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers, shows promise as a new strategy to fight viral diseases, including potential bioterrorism agents.

24 Nov 2008

Blood transfusions increase clot risk in hospitalized cancer patients

Blood transfusions used to treat anemia in patients with cancer are associated with an increased risk of life-threatening blood clots, at a similar rate as other treatments for cancer-induced anemia, according to scientists at the University of Rochester Medical Center.

24 Nov 2008

Double-balloon enteroscopy offers cost-effective approach for obscure GI bleeding

A cost-effectiveness analysis conducted by researchers at Stanford University Hospital in Calif., shows that an initial double-balloon enteroscopy (DBE) is a cost-effective approach for patients with obscure gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding.

24 Nov 2008

Novel device enhances efficacy of standard chemotherapy

NovoCure Ltd. presented results yesterday evaluating the Novo-TTF device in vitro and in a pilot clinical trial that showed the device enhanced the efficacy of standard chemotherapy (temozolomide) treatment in newly-diagnosed glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) patients.

24 Nov 2008