Cancer News and Research

Latest Cancer News and Research

Fred Hutchinson awarded $7.6 million to research how genetic variations influence risk of common diseases

Researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center have received a $7.6 million, four-year grant from the National Human Genome Research Institute to better understand the genetic and biological roots of common diseases. The Hutchinson Center is one of four U.S. research institutes to receive grants totaling about $31 million toward this effort.

17 Jul 2008

Awareness of the role of physical activity in colon cancer prevention

Many experts now consider colon cancer a largely preventable disease, but a new study finds that primary care doctors might not always inform patients about one important step they can take to reduce their risk: becoming more physically active.

17 Jul 2008

Sale of liver disease therapeutic patents

IpAuctions, Inc. will auction the worldwide biotherapeutic patents previously owned by Cell Works Inc., a Maryland-based biotech company, and acquired by CellPoint Diagnostics, Inc., based in Mountain View, Calif. These patents primarily consist of organ-targeted drug delivery systems to combat liver disease.

17 Jul 2008

Researchers find better way to distinguish melanoma from some benign moles

University of Rochester Medical Center researchers found a new protein produced excessively in malignant melanoma, a discovery that is particularly relevant as skin cancer rates climb dramatically among young women.

17 Jul 2008

Hormesis deserves the respect and attention of toxicologists

A comprehensive review published in Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry argues that toxicologists can positively affect public health and reduce the economic costs of drug treatment by increasing their knowledge of hormesis and applying its principles to their discipline.

17 Jul 2008

EpiCept and GNI partner to develop anti-viral hepatitis drug in Asia

GNI Ltd and EpiCept Corporation have announced that they have reached agreement to develop a new therapeutic drug, EP1013, in Asia, Australia, and New Zealand, for late-stage viral infection-induced hepatitis. EpiCept will retain the rights in the rest of the world. GNI’s wholly owned subsidiary, Shanghai Genomics, will start preparation for pre-IND and clinical development in China immediately.

17 Jul 2008

Superbug breakthrough

The week the government's chief medical officer for England, Sir Liam Donaldson, has announced that the NHS aims to create immunisation against two of the most common superbugs, MRSA and Clostridium difficile, within the next decade. But a research team led by University of Sunderland scientists has made a major breakthrough in the fight against a deadly hospital infection which kills tens of thousands of people every year, and it will be available within the next year.

17 Jul 2008

Worldwide analysis of cancer survival finds wide variation between countries

Black men and women have substantially lower survival than white men and women in the United States, but US has the highest survival for prostate cancer of all 31 countries included.

16 Jul 2008

Turning on hormone tap could aid osteoporosis fight

A potential new drug that 'opens the taps' for the release of useful hormones could stimulate new bone growth - and may eventually bring relief to osteoporosis sufferers.

From The University of Manchester 16 Jul 2008

Removal of ovaries during hysterectomy

During hysterectomy operations, surgeons often remove a woman's ovaries as well as her uterus. Cochrane Researchers now say there is no evidence that removing the ovaries provides any additional benefit and warn surgeons to consider the procedure carefully.

16 Jul 2008

Obesity 'hikes up' pancreatic cancer risk in women

Obese women, who carry most of their excess weight around the stomach, are 70 per cent more likely to develop pancreatic cancer, according to a study published online in the British Journal of Cancer.

16 Jul 2008

$2 million computer will help unravel major medical ailments

A federal grant will allow Johns Hopkins researchers to purchase a powerful $2 million computer that will speed up their efforts to find new ways to diagnose and treat brain disease, heart illnesses, cancer and other medical ailments.

16 Jul 2008

Possible link found between X-rays and prostate cancer

Researchers at The University of Nottingham have shown an association between certain past diagnostic radiation procedures and an increased risk of young-onset prostate cancer - a rare form of prostate cancer which affects about 10 per cent of all men diagnosed with the disease.

15 Jul 2008

New understanding of fetal hemoglobin regulation in patients with sickle cell disease

Although sickle cell disease is a single-gene disorder, its symptoms are highly variable. In a study published online July 14 by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, scientists at Children's Hospital Boston and the Dana Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI), in collaboration with the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, report five gene variants that could potentially be helpful in predicting sickle cell disease severity, perhaps even leading to better treatment approaches in the future.

15 Jul 2008

"Smothered" genes combine with mutations to yield poor out come in cancer patients

Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center researchers have identified a set of genes in breast and colon cancers with a deadly combination of traditional mutations and "smothered" gene activity that may result in poor outcomes for patients.

15 Jul 2008

Possible link found between diagnostic radiation and prostate cancer

15 Jul 2008

Improving understanding of cell behaviour in breast cancer

The invasion and spread of cancer cells to other parts of the body, known as metastasis, is a principal cause of death in patients diagnosed with breast cancer. Although patients with early stage, small, breast tumours have an excellent short term prognosis, more than 15 to 20 per cent of them will eventually develop distant metastases, and die from the disease. Vascular invasion - through lymphatic and blood vessels - is the major route for cancer spreading to regional lymph nodes and to the rest of the body.

15 Jul 2008

New technology revolutionizing drug discovery

The National Science Foundation has awarded Weill Cornell Medical College researcher Dr. Scott Blanchard its prestigious Career Award, recognizing his groundbreaking work in cell biology -- work that is poised to revolutionize research for the next generation of young scientists.

15 Jul 2008

New ways of exploiting medicinal uses of cannabis

Research exploring new ways of exploiting the full medicinal uses of cannabis while avoiding unwanted side-effects will be presented to pharmacologists Tuesday, 15 July by leading scientists attending the Federation of European Pharmacological Societies Congress, EPHAR 2008.

From The University of Manchester 15 Jul 2008

Health partnership expands cancer screening services

The Health Partnership of Monroe County, which evolved from the Women's Health Partnership, has expanded its free cancer screenings for women and men and now offers coverage for the human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccine.

15 Jul 2008