Cancer News and Research

Latest Cancer News and Research

$74 million allocated to study environmental causes of disease

As part of the new Exposure Biology Program, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, a component of the National Institutes of Health, today announced $74 million in grant opportunities for the development of new technologies that will improve the measurement of environmental exposures that contribute to human disease.

19 Oct 2006

FDA advisory panel recommends adding warning label to Tamoxifen

An FDA advisory panel on Wednesday recommended that a warning label be added to tamoxifen, an agency-approved drug for treating and preventing breast cancer, the AP/Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports (Bridges, AP/Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 10/18).

19 Oct 2006

Black women in Chicago more likely to die from breast cancer than white women

Black women living in Chicago are more likely to die from breast cancer than white women in the city, according to a study released on Tuesday by the Sinai Urban Health Institute, the Chicago Tribune reports (Peres et al., Chicago Tribune, 10/18).

19 Oct 2006

Sanofi Pasteur begins selling Gardasil in six E.U. countries

Sanofi Pasteur, a joint company of Merck and Sanofi-Aventis, recently began selling Merck's human papillomavirus vaccine Gardasil in Austria, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Sweden and the United Kingdom, Reuters reports (Reuters, 10/17).

19 Oct 2006

All women in U.S. should have right to quality health care, breast cancer screenings

All women in the U.S. should have access to regular mammograms, and "none should be condemned by lack of funds to the painful death of breast cancer," the Rev. Jesse Jackson, a Chicago Sun-Times columnist, writes in a Sun-Times opinion piece.

19 Oct 2006

New treatment option gives hope to victims of head and neck cancers

More than 640,000 people worldwide are diagnosed with head and neck cancer each year, and more than 350,000 die from the disease annually.

19 Oct 2006

Study gives Teflon the 'all clear'

A new study has been released which tracked the health of more than 6,000 employees for more than 50 years, at DuPont plants which use ammonium perfluorooctaonate, also known as C8 or PFOA, to produce the Teflon nonstick coating for pots and pans.

18 Oct 2006

Comprehensive review backs health benefits of eating fish

There is ample research advocating the nutritional benefits of eating fish and shellfish because fish is high in protein and omega-3 fatty acids.

18 Oct 2006

Benefits of breast cancer screening questionable

Danish researchers are claiming that the benefits of breast cancer screening are questionable and that mammograms can lead to women being given unnecessary and harmful treatment.

18 Oct 2006

FDA approves Taxotere for head and neck cancers

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today approved Taxotere (docetaxel) Injection Concentrate for use in combination with cisplatin and fluorouracil prior to radiotherapy for the treatment of patients with inoperable, locally advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN).

18 Oct 2006

Do the risks of eating fish outweigh the benefits? Yes or No

Fish is high in protein and omega-3 fatty acids. But concerns have been raised in recent years about chemicals found in fish from environmental pollution, including mercury, PCBs and dioxins. That has led to confusion among the public--do the risks of eating fish outweigh the benefits?

17 Oct 2006

Helicobacter pylori increases risk of lower stomach cancer, decreases risk of upper

The bacteria Helicobacter pylori substantially increase the risk of cancer in the lower stomach, but it may decrease the risk of cancer near the junction between the esophagus and the stomach, according to a study in the October 19 Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

17 Oct 2006

Female survivors of childhood cancer: preterm birth and low birth weight among their children

Female childhood cancer survivors may face pregnancy problems, including early deliveries and low birth weight children, according to a study in the October 19 Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

17 Oct 2006

Tuberculosis fourfold the risk for Celiac sufferers

Swedish researchers are suggesting that people with celiac disease, also known as gluten intolerance, have an increased risk of developing tuberculosis (TB).

17 Oct 2006

Virtual colonoscopy is an accurate screening method for colorectal cancer

"Our positive experience with virtual colonoscopy screening covered by health insurance demonstrates its enormous potential for increasing compliance for colorectal cancer prevention and screening"

17 Oct 2006

Transport mechanism of bioactive molecule, S1P, identified

Virginia Commonwealth University researchers have identified how a bioactive molecule involved with allergy, inflammation and cancer is transported out of mast cells, according to findings published online this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

17 Oct 2006

Elderly breast cancer patients often are underdiagnosed, undertreated

Elderly women often receive substandard breast cancer screenings and treatment and delayed diagnoses compared with younger patients, according to a study published in the October issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association's Archives of Surgery, the Wall Street Journal reports.

17 Oct 2006

Racial disparities in preventive health care persist

The racial gap in preventive health care -- such as Pap tests, mammograms, and prostate and colorectal cancer screenings -- persists and might be larger than previously thought, a study published online in BMC Heath Services Research finds, the Washington Post reports.

17 Oct 2006

Topical treatment for psoriasis, eliminates need for injections

Apollo Life Sciences, a Sydney-based biotechnology company, has announced that its topical psoriasis treatment has outperformed current market-leading drugs in preclinical studies.

17 Oct 2006

AACR announces major gift for breast cancer research

The American Association for Cancer Research today announces a $200,000 gift from the Breast Cancer Research Foundation which will create the BCRF-AACR Fund for Translational Breast Cancer Research.

17 Oct 2006