Cancer News and Research

Latest Cancer News and Research

DNA-encoded antibody libraries

During the past several years, breakthroughs in genomic and proteomic technologies have enabled researchers to more clearly identify the biochemical networks that malfunction when a healthy cell becomes malignant.

12 Feb 2007

Cancer breakthrough - first treatment to directly target tumor supply

For the first time, physician-scientists at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York City have demonstrated in patients the ability of an antibody to directly target the blood supply of a wide variety of tumors, leaving healthy tissues unharmed.

12 Feb 2007

Combination drug treatment helps beat mesothelioma

People with mesothelioma - a form of cancer associated with asbestos exposure - have a higher survival rate when treated with a combination of two cancer drugs, a large multicenter study finds.

12 Feb 2007

Switching to an aromatase inhibitor provides mortality benefit in early breast carcinoma

For breast cancer patients taking tamoxifen, switching to an aromatase inhibitor within three years significantly improves survival rates, according to a new study.

12 Feb 2007

Changes in breast cancer management

Aggressive research currently underway brings hope of dramatic advances in breast cancer management, according to a new review.

12 Feb 2007

PALB2 gene mutation elevates risk of breast cancer four-fold

Cancer is a complex and common disease caused by a combination of both genetic and environmental factors. An inherited predisposition seems to be involved in at least 5-10 per cent of all cases of breast cancer.

11 Feb 2007

Rate of stem cell transplants among African-Americans lower

Lower transplant rates in ethnic communities may be explained somewhat by a lack of suitable anonymous donors, a problem the medical community has long known and been working to address. Surprisingly, the study found the discrepancy in treatment held true even when the transplant was autologous (e.g. self-donated stem cells were used) or when the cells were donated by a relative, typically a sibling.

11 Feb 2007

South Africa starts major HIV/AIDS vaccine trial

The launch of the first large-scale study to evaluate a candidate HIV vaccine on the African continent was announced today by study collaborators in the United States and South Africa. The trial will involve up to 3,000 participants at five sites throughout South Africa and is expected to continue for four years.

11 Feb 2007

Researchers discover master switch for a tumor suppressive network

A decades-old cancer mystery has been solved by researchers at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL). "We not only found a critical tumor suppressor gene, but have revealed a master switch for a tumor suppressive network that means more targeted and effective cancer therapy in the future," said CSHL Associate Professor Alea Mills, Ph.D.

11 Feb 2007

New method of screening tumors for cancer-related gene abnormalities

A study led by researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Broad Institute of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University provides the first demonstration of a practical method of screening tumors for cancer-related gene abnormalities that might be treated with "targeted" drugs.

11 Feb 2007

Women under 25 should be offered cervical screening

Last month, the British Medical Journal reported a fall in the number of young women attending smear tests. Now, two senior doctors warn that a new policy not to screen women aged 20-24 may be a factor in falling coverage and could increase the risk of cancer developing in young women.

11 Feb 2007

Scientists discover enzym that activates epigenetically silenced genes

For several years now, cancer researchers have been studying a mechanism that contributes to the development of malignant tumors: The cell attaches small molecules containing a carbon atom, called methyl groups, to specific building blocks of DNA, thereby individually switching off the genes thus labeled.

11 Feb 2007

End of an era for DNA patenting

Human DNA patents are unlikely to be the barrier to medical and scientific innovation that they were first feared to be, according to new findings published this week.

8 Feb 2007

Scientists discover master switches for adult blood stem cells

Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center scientists have found a set of "master switches" that keep adult blood-forming stem cells in their primitive state.

8 Feb 2007

ViroPharma receives orphan drug designation for Maribavir

ViroPharma Incorporated today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted orphan drug designation for maribavir for prevention of cytomegalovirus (CMV) viremia and disease in the populations at-risk.

7 Feb 2007

New test shows which breast cancers will recur

Approval has been granted by the FDA for a gene-based test that helps tell early-stage breast cancer patients whether they need chemotherapy after their surgery.

7 Feb 2007

Single transcription factor GABP a major player in cell growth

When cells go about the business of dividing, they can get sidelined. Maybe there aren't enough nutrients. Maybe there aren't the right signals to resume multiplying. Either way, cells go quiet.

7 Feb 2007

Machine learning speeds up Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy

A new computer-based technique could eliminate hours of manual adjustment associated with a popular cancer treatment.

7 Feb 2007

Risk of developing diabetes increasingly involved in decisions regarding HRT

Although doctors for years have "talked about the health effects of hormones on bones, breasts and women's hearts," diabetes has not been "part of the debate" until last week, when the North American Menopause Society in a revised position statement said that women taking hormone replacement therapy appear to be less likely to develop the disease, the Wall Street Journal reports.

7 Feb 2007

Scientists discover how T-cell leukemia viruses evade defense mechanisms

National Cancer Institute (NCI) scientists have discovered how human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1), which infects about 20 million people worldwide, evades being held in check by one of the body's natural defense mechanisms.

6 Feb 2007