Cancer News and Research

Latest Cancer News and Research

HapMap will give clues to many common diseases

Researchers say that they have completed a map that charts patterns of human genetic variation in the world population, to better understand human biology, evolution and how to diagnose diseases.

27 Oct 2005

Mammograms a big factor in the fight against breast cancer

A new study has come down solidly on the side of routine screening mammograms as a preventative measure in the fight against cancer.

27 Oct 2005

Early detection and improved treatment have contributed almost equally to the substantial decrease in breast cancer

Early detection through screening mammography and improved adjuvant treatment have contributed almost equally to the substantial decrease in breast cancer death rates over the past 10 to 15 years, researchers conclude in an unprecedented effort to parse out the factors that have led to the decline.

27 Oct 2005

More exercise equals lower risk of ischemic stroke

Even in an Asian nation where people generally have higher levels of physical activity on the job than is typical in North America or Europe, those who walk more or engage in regular sports activity tend to have lower levels of ischemic stroke and coronary heart disease

27 Oct 2005

Possible toxic damage from inhaled nanoparticles

A physicist and a medical researcher at the University of Leicester have received a grant of £100,000 from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council to look at possible toxic damage from inhaled nanoparticles used for a range of everyday purposes.

27 Oct 2005

Bouncing helicases possibly play a preventative role in keeping the genome intact

Researchers studying how proteins called helicases travel along strands of DNA have found that when the proteins hit an obstacle they snap back to where they began, repeating the process over and over, possibly playing a preventative role in keeping the genome intact.

27 Oct 2005

Preventing bowel cancer in high risk families

Bowel cancer rates could be reduced by up to 80 per cent in people with a moderate family history of the disease by screening with colonoscopy, according to new research published in the British Medical Journal.

26 Oct 2005

China has become the 89th country to ratify the global tobacco treaty

...the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). Countries that ratify the treaty commit themselves to stringent tobacco control measures, including advertising restrictions, clean indoor air laws, higher tobacco taxes, and bigger warning labels on tobacco packaging.

26 Oct 2005

Way now clear for use of costly breast cancer drug throughout UK

Health managers in the UK have virtually been ordered to pay for the drug Herceptin for women with an aggressive form of breast cancer in its early stages.

26 Oct 2005

Simple urine test detects bladder cancer

According to Italian researchers a simple and accurate urine test can detect bladder cancer early and they say the test should be used on smokers and others prone to the disease.

26 Oct 2005

Cancer drug may be effective for Alzheimer's

According to scientists at the Blanchette Rockefeller Neurosciences Institute and the Marine Biological Laboratory, a cancer drug may stimulate the production of proteins needed for long-term memory, suggesting the compound may a possible treatment for Alzheimer's disease

26 Oct 2005

Fight over billboards linking cancer to abortion

An anti-abortion group, Life Canada, has put up three billboards in Alberta that display a large pink ribbon and the words "stop the cover up".

26 Oct 2005

Australian obesity crisis

A new study by global market research firm, TNS, reinforces growing alarm among health and nutrition professionals that Australia is in the grips of rising levels of excess weight, risking future diabetes, heart disease and cancer epidemics and increasing mental illness in the community.

26 Oct 2005

Mechanisms of evolution may be associated with disease

By comparing the human genome with that of the chimpanzee, man's closest living relative, researchers have discovered that chunks of similar DNA that have been flipped in orientation and reinserted into chromosomes are hundreds of times more common in primates than previously thought.

26 Oct 2005

Doctors call for urgent review of UK cancer initiative

Hospital doctors are calling for an urgent review of the UK Government’s two-week cancer wait, saying there’s no evidence that the initiative has had any impact on survival rates.

26 Oct 2005

Scientists find key step in a signaling pathway that helps orchestrate embryonic development

The study, reported in Nature (Oct. 13, 2005), focuses on the Hedgehog family of signaling molecules, which play a central role in directing development of the early embryo's growth and spatial plan, as well as its later organ and limb development. Defects in Hedgehog signaling are a significant cause of some birth defects and cancers.

25 Oct 2005

Australian researchers determine structure of JAK2 kinase, huge implications for development of new cancer drugs

Researchers from Monash's Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology have determined the structure of the protein JAK2 kinase, a discovery with huge implications for the design and development of new cancer drugs.

25 Oct 2005

Most communities woefully unprepared for outbreaks of killer flu

If health officials and media prognosticators are accurate, this coming winter may bring with it one of the most sweeping, deadly outbreaks of killer flu that the world has ever seen.

25 Oct 2005

Gold nanorods injected into the bloodstream may be used to develop an advanced medical imaging tool

Researchers at Purdue University have taken a step toward developing a new type of ultra-sensitive medical imaging technique that works by shining a laser through the skin to detect tiny gold nanorods injected into the bloodstream.

25 Oct 2005

Measurement of telomerase activity in urine appears useful for detection of bladder cancer in men

The incidence of human bladder cancer has greatly increased over the last few decades, with more than 60,000 new cases diagnosed each year in the United States alone, and now represents the 4th most common malignancy in men and the 10th most common in women, according to background information in the article.

25 Oct 2005