Cancer News and Research

Latest Cancer News and Research

Polymer coating improves tumor-targeting nanoparticles

Adding a thin coating of the biocompatible polymer poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) to the surface of sulfur-modified, or thiolated, nanoparticles designed to fall apart inside tumors, prolongs the time that the resulting nanoparticles remain in tumors.

13 Nov 2006

A single dose of doxorubicin-functionalized bow-tie dendrimer cures mice bearing C-26 colon carcinomas

In a dramatic demonstration of the power of nanotechnology, a team of investigators has designed a nanoscale, polymeric drug delivery vehicle that when loaded with a widely used anticancer agent cures colon cancer in mice with a single dose.

13 Nov 2006

Scientists shed light on the roll of junk DNA

University of Iowa scientists have made a discovery that broadens understanding of a rapidly developing area of biology known as functional genomics and sheds more light on the mysterious, so-called "junk DNA" that makes up the majority of the human genome.

13 Nov 2006

LaVeist named inaugural William C. and Nancy F. Richardson Professor in health policy

The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health has named Thomas A. LaVeist, PhD, the inaugural William C. and Nancy F. Richardson Professor in Health Policy. LaVeist, a leader in the study of minority health and the elimination of health disparities, was officially installed during a ceremony at the Bloomberg School of Public Health on November 10.

13 Nov 2006

New cancer treatments use body's own immune system to kill melanoma tumours

Scientists are claiming that the body's own immune system could be used to fight the most serious form of skin cancer, malignant melanoma.

13 Nov 2006

Sugar and fizzy drinks linked to pancreatic cancer

Swedish research has linked the risk of developing cancer of the pancreas to the consumption of sugar and fizzy drinks.

13 Nov 2006

SpectraScience files new patent application

SpectraScience has announced that it has filed for a new patent with the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

13 Nov 2006

Distress, psychiatric syndromes, and impairment of function in women with newly diagnosed breast cancer

Almost half of newly diagnosed breast cancer patients are found to have clinically significant emotional distress or symptoms of psychiatric disorders before treatment is begun, according to a new study published in the December 15, 2006 issue of CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society.

13 Nov 2006

Muscle protein myosin VI involved in the development of prostate cancer

Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center have for the first time implicated the muscle protein myosin VI in the development of prostate cancer and its spread.

8 Nov 2006

Inhibiting a particular cancer-causing gene improves radiation effectiveness

Inhibiting a particular cancer-causing gene can enhance the cell-killing effects of radiation, a team of radiation oncologists and cancer biologists at the Kimmel Cancer Center at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia has found.

8 Nov 2006

Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus tricks cells to become tumors

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have discovered how the Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) subverts a normal cell process in order to promote tumor growth.

8 Nov 2006

Cost-effectiveness of lipid screening in Hodgkin's disease survivors

Hodgkin's lymphoma survivors who have lipid screening every five years to detect high cholesterol will live a half year longer than patients who don't have the screening and the intervention is cost-effective, according to a study presented November 8, 2006, at the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology's 48th Annual Meeting in Philadelphia.

8 Nov 2006

Bionomics delivers on milestones for cancer, anxiety and multiple sclerosis programs

Australian drug discovery company Bionomics Limited today updated shareholders at its Annual General Meeting on the recent progress of its anti-cancer drug BNC105 and drug discovery programs in anxiety and Multiple Sclerosis.

8 Nov 2006

Phase I clinical trial of experimental gene therapy to treat HIV shows encouraging results

The results of a Phase I clinical trial of an experimental gene therapy aimed at treating HIV indicate that the therapy is safe and effective and also might sustain viral loads, according to a study published on Monday in the online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the AP/Washington Post reports.

8 Nov 2006

External-beam radiation therapy safe for breast cancer

External-beam radiation therapy for early-stage breast cancer can be delivered safely and in a shorter course that eliminates as much as two weeks from conventional treatment.

8 Nov 2006

Lots of sweet food and drink increases risk of pancreatic cancer

Pancreatic cancer is a very serious form of cancer that is possibly caused when the pancreas produces heightened levels of insulin as a consequence of upset glucose metabolism. A well-known way of increasing insulin production is to eat a lot of sugar.

8 Nov 2006

Shaped-beam radiosurgery treats tiniest lung tumors

Patients with metastatic cancer tumors in their lungs are much more likely to live disease-free if they have an experimental treatment involving shaped-beam radiosurgery rather that conventional treatment, according to a University of Rochester Medical Center study.

8 Nov 2006

Scientists discover how androgen plays a role in the development of prostate cancer

Scientists have discovered for the first time a specific biochemical pathway by which the sex hormone, androgen, increases levels of harmful chemicals called reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the prostate gland that play a role in the development of prostate cancer.

8 Nov 2006

New research could affect future treatment options for prostate cancer

Two new studies on the treatment of prostate cancer could well affect future treatment options for patients.

8 Nov 2006

Arthritis drugs not as risky as first thought

Researchers now say that two biotech drugs used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, Humira (Abbott Laboratories) and Remicade (Johnson & Johnson), may not raise the risk of cancer and infections as much as was initially feared.

8 Nov 2006