Cancer News and Research

Latest Cancer News and Research

Healing touch therapy

Often, a gentle hand on your shoulder when you're upset is all it takes to ease your mind and calm your nerves. Now, University of Cincinnati (UC) researchers are looking at a similar occurrence by pairing a complementary therapy known as Healing Touch with mild sedation to see if the technique truly calms patients undergoing minor procedures.

1 Jul 2008

Discovery of gene mechanism could lead to new therapeutic strategies to fight metastatic disease

Virginia Commonwealth University and VCU Massey Cancer Center researchers have uncovered how a gene, melanoma differentiation associated gene-7/interleukin-24 (mda-7/IL-24), induces a bystander effect that kills cancer cells not directly receiving mda-7/IL-24 without harming healthy ones, a discovery that could lead to new therapeutic strategies to fight metastatic disease.

1 Jul 2008

UVB does more damage to DNA than UVA

As bombs burst in air this July 4, chances are that sunburn will be the red glare that most folks see - and feel. But unfortunately, even when there is no burn, the effects of the sun's ultraviolet (UV) rays can have deadly consequences.

1 Jul 2008

Disease-detecting lab-on-a-chip

Detecting food-borne diseases such as campylobacter and salmonella long before they enter the food chain would help ensure that the dinner on your table is safe to eat.

1 Jul 2008

Hydrogen sulfide significantly improves survival after extreme blood loss

For the first time, researchers have demonstrated that the administration of minute amounts of inhaled or intravenous hydrogen sulfide, or H2S - the molecule that gives rotten eggs their sulfurous stench - significantly improves survival from extreme blood loss in rats.

1 Jul 2008

Symptom screening plus a simple blood test equals a 20 percent jump in early detection of ovarian cancer

Women's reports of persistent, recent-onset symptoms linked to ovarian cancer - abdominal or pelvic pain, difficulty eating or feeling full quickly and abdominal bloating - when combined with the CA125 blood test may improve the early detection of ovarian cancer by 20 percent, according to new findings by researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center published online today in CANCER.

1 Jul 2008

Yeast-based vaccine induces immune responses and reduces tumor size in mice

Scientists have found that vaccination with a heat-killed, non-toxic yeast that is genetically engineered to manufacture a common tumor protein can induce specific and repeated anti-tumor immune responses in mice.

1 Jul 2008

New technique produces genetically identical stem cells

Adult cells of mice created from genetically reprogrammed cells-so-called induced pluripotent stem (IPS) stem cells-can be triggered via drug to enter an embryonic-stem-cell-like state, without the need for further genetic alteration.

1 Jul 2008

Can children have strokes?

Childhood stroke is at least as common as brain tumours in children and may be as common as all childhood cancer but the condition is under-recognised by both the public and the medical profession. A new study hopes to address some of the large gaps in the understanding of this condition.

1 Jul 2008

Spiritual effects of 'sacred mushrooms' appear to last more than a year

In a follow-up to research showing that psilocybin, a substance contained in "sacred mushrooms," produces substantial spiritual effects, a Johns Hopkins team reports that those beneficial effects appear to last more than a year.

1 Jul 2008

Cancer cells revert to normal at specific signal threshold

Cancer starts when key cellular signals run amok, driving uncontrolled cell growth. But scientists at the Stanford University School of Medicine report that lowering levels of one cancer signal under a specific threshold reverses this process in mice, returning tumor cells to their normal, healthy state. The finding could help target cancer chemotherapy to tumors while minimizing side effects for the body's healthy cells.

1 Jul 2008

Children's Brain Tumor Foundation's tissue bank consortium may solve dire problem in pediatric cancer research

In a major effort to speed treatment and cures for pediatric brain tumors and cancer, the Children's Brain Tumor Foundation (CBTF) today launched the initial phase of a tissue bank consortium designed to jump-start meaningful analyses that could lead to treatment and cures for these types of cancer, where survival rates are unacceptably low and neurocognitive and other damage is posed by today's treatment options.

1 Jul 2008

Denmark the happiest nation in the world, Zimbabwe the unhappiest

People in most countries around the world are happier these days, according to newly released data from the World Values Survey based at the University of Michigan Institute for Social Research.

30 Jun 2008

Zinc finger technology brings personalized HIV therapy a step closer

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and collaborators are using minute, naturally occurring proteins called zinc fingers to engineer T cells to one day treat AIDS in humans.

30 Jun 2008

Being born over 10 pounds increases risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis

People who have a birthweight over 10 pounds are twice as likely to develop rheumatoid arthritis when they are adults compared to individuals born with an average birthweight, according to a study published by researchers from Hospital for Special Surgery online in advance of print in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases. While the mechanism for this association is unclear, the study identifies a potentially modifiable risk factor and highlights a potential way to decrease the incidence of the disease.

30 Jun 2008