Cancer News and Research

Latest Cancer News and Research

Folate, vitamin B6 and B12 do not appear to affect cancer risk

A daily supplementation combination that included folic acid and vitamin B6 and B12 had no significant effect on the overall risk of cancer, including breast cancer, among women at high risk of cardiovascular disease, according to a study in the November 5 issue of JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association.

5 Nov 2008

Death by hyperdisease

It took less than a decade for native rats to become extinct on the Indian Ocean's previously uninhabited Christmas Island once Eurasian black rats jumped ship onto the island at the turn of the 20th century.

5 Nov 2008

Targeting epigenetic changes helps tackle MLL-AF4 leukemias

A very difficult-to-treat child leukemia may benefit from the discovery of a small but potent epigenetic change that launches the cancer - but could potentially be reversed relatively easily, preventing cancer-promoting genes from being turned on.

4 Nov 2008

Polypectomy is costly and unnecessary

Polypectomy (the surgical removal of polyps by colonoscopy) of small polyps found during CT colonography is costly and unnecessary according to a study performed at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health in Madison, WI.

4 Nov 2008

Smokers lose ability to smell common odors, increased risk for laryngitis

As Americans prepare for a day without cigarettes and tobacco products as part of the American Cancer Society Great American Smokeout (November 20), new research gives them more reasons to extend that break to a lifetime, according to the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Foundation (AAO-HNSF).

4 Nov 2008

Sibling study could lead to better treatments for inherited form of colon cancer

Researchers at Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) believe they may be one step closer to understanding how certain forms of colon cancer develop.

4 Nov 2008

Call to explore broader use of human papillomavirus vaccines

A call to explore a broader use of HPV (human papillomavirus) vaccines and the validation of a simple oral screening test for HPV-caused oral cancers are reported in two studies by a Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center investigator.

4 Nov 2008

Novel leukemia therapy shows promise for high-risk patients

Researchers at the Moores Cancer Center at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) are conducting clinical trials of a novel therapy aimed at revving up the immune system to combat a particularly difficult-to-treat form of leukemia.

4 Nov 2008

Discovery of biomarkers for esophageal cancer before it develops

Rhode Island Hospital researchers have identified genetic proteins, also known as biomarkers, capable of distinguishing changes at the microscopic level that can signal a precancerous condition in the esophagus.

4 Nov 2008

Just one mutated SMAD4 allele is enough to cause cancer

Tumour suppressor genes do not necessarily require both alleles to be knocked out before disease phenotypes are expressed.

4 Nov 2008

Potential therapeutic target for acute leukemia types

Research using a new mouse model has led to the identification of a potential therapeutic target for a type of leukemia commonly associated with an unfavorable prognosis.

4 Nov 2008

Liver transplant recipients face increased risks of developing cancer

A new Canadian study comparing cancer rates of liver transplant patients to those of the general population has found that transplant recipients face increased risks of developing cancer, especially non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and colorectal cancer.

4 Nov 2008

Human papillomavirus helps cervical and head and neck cancers resist treatment and grow and spread

The human papillomavirus (HPV) allows infected cervical and head and neck cancer cells to maintain internal molecular conditions that make the cancers resistant to therapy and more likely to grow and spread, resulting in a poor prognosis for patients, researchers with UCLA's Jonsson Cancer Center found.

4 Nov 2008

Bladder conditions - raising awareness

November is Bladder Health Month, and there's no better time to raise awareness of the bladder conditions that affect millions of patients, who often suffer in silence with common, treatable symptoms.

4 Nov 2008

YM Biosciences reports on early trials of nimotuzumab in brain metastases and high-grade glioma

YM BioSciences Inc. has announced data from two clinical trials of nimotuzumab, its humanized monoclonal antibody that targets the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). Preliminary results from the two trials which are evaluating nimotuzumab in combination with radiation therapy for the treatment of brain metastases and high-grade gliomas, conducted by YM's licensor, were presented at the 2008 EORTC-NCI-AACR annual meeting recently held in Geneva, Switzerland.

3 Nov 2008

Anti-VEGF drugs for retinal diseases could have serious side effects

Scientists at Schepens Eye Research Institute have found that reducing the levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), which is best known as a stimulator of new blood vessel growth, in adult mice causes the death of photoreceptors and Muller glia -- cells of the retina that are essential to visual function.

3 Nov 2008

Scientist says research indicates need for effective HPV vaccine for women and men and a simple HPV screening test

3 Nov 2008

Genentech submits application to FDA for Avastin in the most aggressive form of brain cancer

Genentech has announced that the company submitted a supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for Avastin (bevacizumab) as a therapy for people with previously treated glioblastoma. If accepted by the FDA, the application would be considered for an accelerated approval that allows provisional approval of medicines for cancer or other life-threatening diseases based on preliminary evidence suggesting clinical benefit.

3 Nov 2008

First gene for child brain tumour identified

Scientists have found the first genetic link to a common childhood brain tumour - reveals research published in Cancer Research.

3 Nov 2008

Persistent bacterial infection exploits killing machinery of immune cells

A new study reveals an important and newly discovered pathway used by disease-causing bacteria to evade the host immune system and survive and grow within the very cells meant to destroy them. This discovery may lead to new treatments and vaccines for tuberculosis (TB) and certain other chronic bacterial and parasitic infections.

3 Nov 2008