Cancer News and Research

Latest Cancer News and Research

Nano printing technique produces model membranes

An international team of investigators based in the United States and Germany has modified the nanoscale printing technique known as dip-pen nanolithography to create large numbers of model cell membranes.

20 Feb 2007

All types of carbon nanotubes penetrate wide variety of cell membranes

Over the past two years, researchers have demonstrated repeatedly that certain types of carbon nanotubes are among the most effective materials known for transporting proteins, genes, and drug molecules across the cell membrane.

20 Feb 2007

Scientists label cells with magnetic nanoparticles

Investigators at the German Cancer Research Center have developed silica-coated iron oxide nanoparticles that allow for cell tracking in a live animal using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

20 Feb 2007

More convenient and less invasive screening tests needed for colon cancer

Colon cancer screening rates continue to lag behind those for breast and cervical cancer.

20 Feb 2007

Study underscores importance of cholesterol levels as a risk factor for stroke in women

Healthy women with no history of heart disease or stroke significantly increase their chances of having a stroke if they have high cholesterol, according to a study of more than 27,000 women published in the February 20, 2007, issue of Neurology, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

20 Feb 2007

Avastin slows growth of gliomas

Avastin, a relatively new type of drug that shrinks cancerous tumors by cutting off their blood supply, can slow the growth of the most common and deadly form of brain cancer, a pilot study conducted at Duke University Medical Center has found.

20 Feb 2007

Cell pathway identified which plays critical role in colon cancer

For the one in 18 men and women who will be diagnosed with cancer of the colon and rectum during their lifetime and over 150,000 people diagnosed on a yearly basis, today's genetic research news offers some optimism.

20 Feb 2007

RNAi shows promise in gene therapy

Three years ago Mark Kay, MD, PhD, published the first results showing that a biological phenomenon called RNA interference could be an effective gene therapy technique. Since then he has used RNAi gene therapy to effectively shut down the viruses that cause hepatitis and HIV in mice.

19 Feb 2007

Search for vaccine to prevent Chlamydia

It's the most common bacteria-related sexually transmitted disease in the United States, so researchers at The University of Texas at San Antonio's South Texas Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases (STCEID) and The University of Texas at San Antonio Health Science Center have partnered to discover a vaccine that will prevent Chlamydia.

19 Feb 2007

More evidence that inflammation can fuel cancer

As evidence mounts that the body's normally protective inflammation response can drive some precancerous tissues to become fully malignant, UCSF scientists report discovering an apparent trigger to this potentially deadly process.

19 Feb 2007

Cancer is a stem cell issue

There is an urgent reason to study stem cells: stem cells are at the heart of some, if not all, cancers. Mounting evidence implicates a clutch of rogue stem cells brandishing 'epigenetic' marks as the main culprits in cancer. Wiping out tumours for good, some biologists believe, depends on uprooting these wayward stem cells.

19 Feb 2007

Thailand threatens big pharma companies

Thailand's minister for health has reportedly threatened to override international patents on even more drugs if the big pharmaceutical manufacturers do not significantly cut their prices.

19 Feb 2007

Chocolate is brain food!

It's news we love to hear, if the latest research is to be believed, chocolate is brain food!

19 Feb 2007

Kaiser Permanente launches long term project to collect genetic data

California-based HMO Kaiser Permanente on Wednesday announced the creation of a decades-long research project that will collect and analyze genetic information from hundreds of thousands of adult members, the San Jose Mercury News reports.

19 Feb 2007

Enzyme important in fetal heart-cell failure - findings provide new targets for treatment

In almost all forms of heart failure, the heart begins to express genes that are normally only expressed in the fetal heart. Researchers have known for years that this fetal-gene reactivation happens, yet not what regulates it.

18 Feb 2007

New targets in cancer mutation puzzle

University of Rochester scientists, while investigating the two most frequent types of mutations in cancer, discovered a possible new route to treatment that would take advantage of the mutations instead of trying to repair them.

18 Feb 2007

Everyday plastics and pesticides may influence obesity

Obesity is generally discussed in terms of caloric intake (how much a person eats) and energy output (how much a person exercises).

18 Feb 2007

Researchers replace organ in mice using 'single-parent' stem cells

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine have derived uniparental embryonic stem cells - created from a single donor's eggs or two sperm - and, for the first time, successfully used them to repopulate a damaged organ with healthy cells in adult mice.

18 Feb 2007

Noscapine effective against prostate cancer

A presentation made at the 17th International Prostate Cancer Update Conference in Vail, Colorado, has shown noscapine to be effective against prostate cancer.

18 Feb 2007

Breath test to detect lung cancer

A new breath test has been reported to detect lung cancer in its early stage. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the United States, and doctors believe that early detection could offer sufferers their best chance for early survival.

18 Feb 2007