Cancer News and Research

Latest Cancer News and Research

Green tea and COX-2 inhibitors combine to slow growth of prostate cancer

Drinking a nice warm cup of green tea has long been touted for its healthful benefits, both real and anecdotal. But now researchers have found that a component of green tea, combined with low doses of a COX-2 inhibitor, could slow the spread of human prostate cancer.

1 Mar 2007

Exposure to diesel exhaust during commutes poses a serious public health risk

The Boston-based environmental research group reported today that even though we spend only a tiny portion of our day commuting, it's during the commute that we receive more than half our overall exposure to deadly fine particle pollution.

28 Feb 2007

Prostate brachytherapy causes fewer side effects than surgery

Men with prostate cancer have a slightly better long-term side effects profile with radiation seed implants than they do with surgery, according to a study released today in the International Journal for Radiation Oncology-Biology-Physics, the official journal of ASTRO.

28 Feb 2007

Tangerine tomatoes boost disease-fighting antioxidants in blood

Deep red tomatoes get their rich color from lycopene, a disease-fighting antioxidant. A new study, however, suggests that a special variety of orange-colored tomatoes provide a different form of lycopene, one that our bodies may more readily use.

28 Feb 2007

MIT researchers develop technique to encourage the survival and growth of adult stem cells

Adult stem cells, found in many tissues in the body, are precursor cells for specific cell types. For example, stem cells found in the bone marrow develop into blood cells, bone cells and other connective tissues, and neural stem cells develop into brain tissue.

28 Feb 2007

Link between growth of blood vessels critical to spread of cancer and copper in our bodies

Growing new blood vessels from existing ones - a process called angiogenesis - is important in growth, development and wound healing. But it also enables the spread of tumors throughout the body, so researchers have been scrambling for ways to stop angiogenesis in the fight against cancer.

28 Feb 2007

Vitamin D deficiency widespread among women during pregnancy

Even regular use of prenatal multivitamin supplements is not adequate to prevent vitamin D insufficiency, University of Pittsburgh researchers report in the current issue of the Journal of Nutrition, the publication of the American Society for Nutrition.

28 Feb 2007

Industry funded studies on breast cancer treatments more likely to have positive results

Industry-funded clinical trials of breast cancer medications report more favorable results than nonindustry supported research, according to a study published in the Feb. 26 online edition of the journal Cancer, the New York Times reports (Bakalar, New York Times, 2/27).

28 Feb 2007

One in four American women infected with HPV

In the first comprehensive study of a sexually transmitted disease that can cause cervical cancer, it has been found that one in four American women age 14 to 59 are infected with the human papillomavirus (HPV).

28 Feb 2007

Meta-analysis on antioxidants provides muddled conclusions

A new meta-analysis examining the effect of antioxidant supplements on all-cause mortality published in the Feb. 28, 2007 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) misuses meta-analysis methods to create generalized conclusions that may inappropriately confuse and alarm consumers who can benefit from supplementing with antioxidants, said the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN).

27 Feb 2007

SpectraScience granted European patent

SpectraScience, Inc. has announced that it has received the official decision for the grant of another European Patent number 1063921 for its "Optical Biopsy Forceps System and Method of Sampling Tissue."

27 Feb 2007

Memorial Hospital, IU Cancer Center join in fight against cancer

Memorial Hospital and Health Care Center and the Indiana University Cancer Center announced an affiliation agreement on Tuesday, Feb. 27. The agreement gives the Jasper hospital priority access to the resources and services of the IU Cancer Center, an IU School of Medicine and Clarian Health partnership.

27 Feb 2007

Cancer Research UK secures fenretinide orphan drug licence

A previously shelved drug could prove effective for treating a group of rare childhood cancers, and Cancer Research UK today announced it has been granted exclusive marketing rights for the drug in these indications by the European Commission and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

27 Feb 2007

FDA approves Humira (adalimumab) for Crohn's disease

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today approved Humira (adalimumab) to treat adult patients with moderately to severely active Crohn's disease, a chronic inflammatory disease of the intestines, which affects an estimated one million Americans.

27 Feb 2007

Drug industry influences breast cancer research

Breast cancer treatment trials supported by the pharmaceutical industry are more likely to report positive results than non-sponsored studies, according to a study to be published in the April 1, 2007 issue of CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society.

27 Feb 2007

Aspirin offers help for Barrett's esophagus

Researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center have found that people with the most-aggressive form of Barrett's esophagus, a precancerous condition that can lead to esophageal cancer, may benefit the most from preventive therapy with aspirin, ibuprofen and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDs.

27 Feb 2007

Influence of inflammatory polyarthritis on cancer incidence and survival

Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), a chronic inflammatory autoimmune disease, have a high risk of death from disease - at least double the risk of the general population, studies overwhelmingly show. Evidence has been less clear on whether RA patients are exceptionally vulnerable to dying from cancer.

27 Feb 2007

High blood glucose levels may signal an increased risk for cancer in women

The March journal also includes a study that found a link between high levels of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in a person's bloodstream and insulin resistance, a precursor for type 2 diabetes.

27 Feb 2007

Stimuvax investigational lung cancer vaccine phase III study starts

Merck KGaA today announced that the first patient has been enrolled in its global Phase III clinical study, START (Stimulating Targeted Antigenic Responses To NSCLC), assessing the efficacy and safety of Stimuvax (BLP25 liposome vaccine) as a potential treatment for patients with unresectable stage III non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

26 Feb 2007

Publication of the National Mesothelioma Framework

People with a chest cancer related to exposure to asbestos will receive a boost today, as a new framework for improving their care is launched by Britain's Health Minister Rosie Winterton.

From Asthma + Lung UK 26 Feb 2007