Cancer News and Research

Latest Cancer News and Research

Breakdown of disease caused by UV radiation

Ultraviolet radiation from the sun causes a considerable global disease burden, including specific cancers, a new World Health Organization (WHO) report finds.

25 Jul 2006

New idea for detecting zinc in the body with implications for illnesses

Scientists at Cardiff University have developed a bright idea for detecting zinc in the body with implications for illnesses such as cancer, diabetes and Alzheimer's disease.

25 Jul 2006

Insufficient evidence exists to support the use of complementary and alternative therapies to relieve menopause

Complementary and alternative therapies show little benefit in treating menopause symptoms.

25 Jul 2006

Estrogen and testosterone combination to treat menopause may increase risk of breast cancer

Women who take a combination of estrogen and testosterone to treat the symptoms of menopause may have an increased risk of breast cancer, according to an article in the July 24 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.

25 Jul 2006

Discovery could help identify genes that cause human heart defects

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have identified a group of fruit fly gene mutations responsible for "broken hearts" in the embryonic stages of development, a discovery that could help identify genes that cause human heart defects.

25 Jul 2006

Paternal relatives and family history of breast cancer

Taking a family history is one of the most accessible genomic screens for breast cancer. However, a history of cancer on the paternal side may not be as well reported.

25 Jul 2006

Scientists identifiy the way MDM2 protein can trigger the spread of cancer

The protein, MDM2, normally functions to control the activity of a key cancer preventing protein called p53.

25 Jul 2006

FDA expands use of Oncaspar to include treating children and adults with newly diagnosed acute lymphoblastic leukemia

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has expanded the approved use of Oncaspar to include treating children and adults with newly diagnosed acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) as part of a multiple drug chemotherapy regimen.

25 Jul 2006

Belfer Foundation funds new translational cancer institute

The Arthur and Rochelle Belfer Foundation has pledged $8 million to create the Arthur and Rochelle Belfer Institute of Hematology and Medical Oncology at Weill Medical College of Cornell University.

25 Jul 2006

Birch bark compound may be potent prostate cancer fighter

A compound found in the bark of the white birch tree - betulonic acid, a derivative of betulinol - may finally have been rendered a water-soluble, bio-available drug, and is already showing the potential to be a possible agent against prostate cancer - in cell culture and in an animal model.

25 Jul 2006

Basal tumours may originate from breast stem cells that have undergone genetic mishaps

Findings support previous speculation that breast stem cells, or very early descendents, are the cells from which basal tumours arise.

24 Jul 2006

Nicotine promotes growth of established tumors

While it is established that nicotine by itself is not carcinogenic, researchers have now shown that nicotine promotes cell proliferation and the progression of tumors already initiated by tobacco carcinogens.

24 Jul 2006

Usefulness of BMI is suspect

For years doctors have used the body mass index (BMI), a ratio of height and weight, to characterize the clinical weight status of their patients.

24 Jul 2006

Increasing deaths from opioid analgesics in the United States

Trends analysis of drug poisoning deaths has helped explain a national epidemic of overdose deaths in the USA that began in the 1990s, concludes Leonard Paulozzi and colleagues at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

24 Jul 2006

Gleevec may cause heart problems

Gleevec, the wildly successful poster-child of a new generation of cancer drugs aimed at specific targets in the cancer cell, can be dangerous to the heart.

24 Jul 2006

Link between psychological stress and ovarian tumor growth

When mice with ovarian cancer are stressed, their tumors grow and spread more quickly, but that effect can be blocked using a medication commonly prescribed for heart disease.

24 Jul 2006

Nexavar approved in Europe for treatment of advanced kidney cancer

Bayer Pharmaceuticals Corporation and Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Inc have announced that the European Commission has granted marketing authorization to Nexavar (sorafenib) tablets for the treatment of patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma.

24 Jul 2006

Increasing deaths from opioid analgesics in the United States

24 Jul 2006

Promoting culturally appropriate colorectal cancer screening through a health educator

Colorectal cancer (CRC) screening rates can be significantly improved using a dedicated health educator empowered with culturally appropriate educational tools, according to a new study.

24 Jul 2006

Computers band against cancer

IBM is working with researchers at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) - Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and The Cancer Institute of New Jersey to unleash supercomputer technology in the battle against cancer.

24 Jul 2006