Cancer News and Research

Latest Cancer News and Research

Smokers believe light or herbal cigarettes are less harmful

Nearly one-fourth of cigarette smokers believe that so-called reduced-exposure tobacco products - such as "light," herbal or reduced nicotine cigarettes - are less harmful to their health than conventional cigarettes, a new study finds. However, such beliefs are not backed up by existing evidence, according to the study's authors.

19 Jul 2005

The more a man sits at his desk, the more likely he is to be overweight

...says a new Australian study suggesting that the workplace may play an important role in the growing obesity epidemic.

19 Jul 2005

Innovative new brachytherapy planning tool

The Vitesse system is being used in more than 25 hospitals worldwide to speed up planning and enable treatments to take place within a day, avoiding the need for patients to stay in a hospital overnight.

19 Jul 2005

New and more efficient target for antiangiogenic therapy

Scientists now have a more complete understanding of how cancer cells send signals to surrounding tissues to promote development of the blood supply needed to support tumor growth.

19 Jul 2005

Minimally invasive colorectal surgery may have a less pronounced inflammatory response

Minimally invasive colorectal surgery may have a less pronounced inflammatory response and less of a suppressing effect on the immune system than conventional surgery, resulting in a possible reduction in post-operative complications, according to a study in the July issue of Archives of Surgery.

19 Jul 2005

Studies explore genetic interactions between two well-known tumor suppressor proteins, PTEN and TSC2

Two papers in the August 1 issue of Genes & Development explore the genetic interactions between two well-known tumor suppressor proteins, PTEN and TSC2.

19 Jul 2005

Regular yoga practice may help prevent middle-age spread

A new study led by researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center has found that regular yoga practice may help prevent middle-age spread in normal-weight people and may promote weight loss in those who are overweight.

19 Jul 2005

Fever might be a useful weapon in the fight against cancer

A therapeutic approach for battling cancer that is based on infection with a specially designed virus similar to the one that causes the common cold has shown promise in clinical trials. Now, new research suggests that fever might be a useful weapon in the fight as well.

18 Jul 2005

New discovery could help in the fight against cancer

University of Michigan researchers have figured out one more component in cancer cells' aggressive growth - and hope that knowledge can help kill the cells.

18 Jul 2005

Startling discovery about the properties of human bone

The scientists describe their results - finding a sort of "glue" in human bone - in the cover story of the August issue of the international scientific journal, Nature Materials. The article was published on-line on July 17. It describes how healthy bone resists fracture and how unhealthy bone fractures at the molecular level.

18 Jul 2005

New finding has potentially major implications for anti-angiogenic therapy

Scientists supported by the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) have added a key new piece to the puzzle of how tumor cells induce new blood vessels to form and fuel their abnormal growth, a well-known process called angiogenesis.

18 Jul 2005

Compound derived from cottonseed could help improve the effectiveness of chemotherapy at treating head and neck cancer

The findings, which appear in the July issue of the journal Molecular Cancer Therapeutics, could lead to a treatment that provides an effective option to surgically removing the cancer, helping patients preserve vital organs involved in speech and swallowing.

18 Jul 2005

New treatment option for bad breath

More than 90 million Americans can sigh comfortably because of new relief for their bad breath. Dental experts today revealed research highlighting a new treatment option that can eliminate halitosis or chronic bad breath at the Academy of General Dentistry's (AGD) 53rd Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C.

18 Jul 2005

Asthma may be linked to a decreased risk of brain cancer

According to new research there is a suggestion that gene variants known to raise the risk of asthma, might also decrease the risk of a common type of brain cancer that progresses rapidly and is fatal.

18 Jul 2005

NIPA levels act as switch regulating cell division

Cells control mitosis (cell division) by assembling a biochemical switch to block it or by disassembling the switch to trigger it, according to investigators at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and the Technical University of Munich.

18 Jul 2005

Radiation therapy to combat early-stage prostate cancer does not affect sexual and urinary function

Men receiving radiation therapy to combat early-stage prostate cancer are still able to achieve an erection and face a low rate of incontinence one year following treatment, according to a new study published in the July 15, 2005 issue of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology-Biology-Physics, the official journal of ASTRO, the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology.

17 Jul 2005

Malpractice litigation has little to do with erratic quality of health care

Conventional wisdom holds that malpractice lawsuits are the bane of modern medicine, with high insurance premiums driving doctors from the profession and the threat of lawsuits discouraging health-care employees from reporting and correcting medical mistakes.

17 Jul 2005

Asian American and Pacific Island women less likely to receive breast-conserving surgery

Asian American and Pacific Island women, particularly those born abroad, are less likely to receive breast-conserving surgery for early-stage breast cancer than non-Hispanic white women, according to a study published in the online Journal of General Internal Medicine.

17 Jul 2005

Individuals with inactive heterozygous ALDH2, a tendency to alcohol flushing have a greater susceptibility to hangovers

Alcohol consumption is an integral part of the Japanese business culture. Hangovers, however, can have substantial economic drawbacks.

17 Jul 2005

PGE2 may be a target for Celebrex therapy

A product produced by lung cancer tumors fuels the cells that suppress immune function in patients and may be a target for Celebrex therapy, giving oncologists another weapon to fight cancer, according to a study by researchers at UCLA's Jonsson Cancer Center.

17 Jul 2005