Cancer News and Research

Latest Cancer News and Research

BRIT1 gene plays a pivotal role in DNA damage detection and repair

A single gene plays a pivotal role launching two DNA damage detection and repair pathways in the human genome, suggesting that it functions as a previously unidentified tumor suppressor gene.

3 Aug 2006

Most Americans do not know when to get cancer screening tests

While most Americans know that mammograms, pap smears, and colonoscopies are screening exams for cancer, the majority of Americans do not know the appropriate age at which initiation of these tests is recommended.

3 Aug 2006

Structural alterations in breast stromal and epithelial DNA

Researchers have uncovered a pattern of DNA damage in connective tissues in the human breast that could shed light on the early stages of breast cancer.

3 Aug 2006

Better understanding of intravenous immunoglobulin

For years, researchers have struggled to understand how IVIG worked. It's ability to treat autoimmune diseases seemed to bean apparent contradiction.

3 Aug 2006

Curry compound may prevent colon cancer

According to the results of a small study compounds found in curry and onions may help prevent colon cancer in those at risk.

3 Aug 2006

EPA accused of putting industry interests before public health

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is being put under pressure by a number of states to be transparent, especially when it comes to insisting pesticide manufacturers disclose all the ingredients on their product labels.

2 Aug 2006

Specialized skin cells use GPS like mapping system to identify where they belong in the body

Until now it's been a mystery as to how adult skin, which consists of basically the same components all over the body, knows to grow hair in some areas like the scalp, while manufacturing sweat glands, calluses and fingerprint whorls in others

2 Aug 2006

Variation in the CHEK2 gene may triple a woman's risk of developing breast cancer

Study shows that women in the general population who carry a specific CHEK2 mutation are three times as likely as women without the mutation to develop breast cancer.

2 Aug 2006

Different genes may be responsible for causing autism in boys than in girls

Like detectives trying to solve a murder case, researchers searching for the biological cause of autism have come up with some surprising suspects.

2 Aug 2006

Trial of Topotecan following Carboplatin and Paclitaxel in treatment of ovarian cancer

The drug topotecan does not increase survival for ovarian cancer patients when used with standard chemotherapy in first-line treatment and is not recommended for future use.

2 Aug 2006

Genetic mutations may be responsible for schizophrenia

The higher risk of schizophrenia among offspring of expectant mothers living through famine could help us understand the genetic basis for that debilitating mental disorder.

2 Aug 2006

Darunavir - first molecule to treat drug-resistant HIV

Doctors have their first FDA-approved tool to treat drug-resistant HIV thanks to a new molecule created by a Purdue University researcher.

2 Aug 2006

Uterine cancer may be clue to Lynch syndrome

A new study suggests that women with endometrial cancer should be screened for inherited mutations that could lead to a high risk of several other cancers.

2 Aug 2006

Protein CD86 raises antibody output

Cancer immunologists here have discovered how a protein on the surface of antibody-making immune cells boosts the amount of antibody the cells make.

2 Aug 2006

Molecular switch that regulates fat and cholesterol production identified

Researchers at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital have identified how a molecular switch regulates fat and cholesterol production

2 Aug 2006

Computer-aided detection essential in preventing breast cancer

Computer-aided detection improves breast cancers in both screening and diagnostic patients according to a recent study done by a private practice radiologist in Santa Barbara, CA.

2 Aug 2006

Human papillomavirus type 16 and 18 variants

Variants of human papillomavirus (HPV) 16 and 18 persist longer in people whose ancestors are from the same geographical area as the virus, according to a study in the August 2 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

2 Aug 2006

Researchers determine why gene therapy treatment caused leukemia in some X-linked severe combined immunodeficiency patients

Scientists at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital have developed a mouse model of a severe disease of the immune system that helps explain why gene therapy used to treat children with this disease at an institution in Europe caused some of them to develop leukemia.

2 Aug 2006

Cell walls - an essential building block

Cancer cells, like houses, need building materials for their walls. And as with a house, the cell wall needs to be built at just the right moment to protect and allow the construction of internal components.

2 Aug 2006

Altering fatty acid levels in diet may reduce prostate cancer growth rate

UCLA researchers found that altering the fatty acid ratio found in the typical Western diet to include more omega-3 fatty acids and decrease the amount of omega-6 fatty acids may reduce prostate cancer tumor growth rates and PSA levels.

2 Aug 2006