Cancer News and Research

Latest Cancer News and Research

Growth hormone illegal for off-label anti-aging use

Because of 1988 and 1990 amendments to the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, off-label distribution or provision of human growth hormone to treat aging or age-associated illnesses is illegal in the United States, according to a report in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

25 Oct 2005

Can strength-training exercises reduce or prevent lymphedema symptoms in breast cancer?

In a novel research study to begin this week at the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania, Kathryn Schmitz, PhD, MPH, Assistant Professor in Epidemiology, will help to determine the extent to which a slowly progressive program of strength-training exercises is safe for breast cancer survivors with and without symptoms of lymphedema.

25 Oct 2005

As men grow older, bladder function can worsen and the prostate gland may be responsible

Their findings remind patients and their physicians that urination difficulties in men can be better cared for at early onset. Additionally, the study notes that as men age, the possibility increases that they will experience problems with urination.

25 Oct 2005

Single blast of ultrasound destroys cancer cells

Scientists at the University of Dundee have demonstrated that cancer cells can be targeted and destroyed by a single blast of ultrasound according to an article published in leading scientific journal "Nature-Physics".

25 Oct 2005

Wellcome Trust awards £8.1 million to tackle tropical diseases

The Wellcome Trust, one of the world’s largest medical charities, has awarded £8.1 million over 5 years to a team of six scientists at the University of Dundee to help discover new drugs to treat some of the world’s most neglected tropical diseases.

25 Oct 2005

Early diagnosis guarantees therapeutic success in breast cancer

Breast cancer is the most common tumour amongst the female population. In recent years its prevalence has increased considerably without the reasons thereof being very clear, although lifestyle changes such as first pregnancy taking place at a later age or the reduction in the period of breast-feeding may play an important role.

25 Oct 2005

Counterfeit Tamiflu drug a very real threat

Health officials in the U.S. have expressed concern that with the current panic in many countries regarding bird flu, a counterfeit industry to produce the drug Tamiflu may already be in existence.

25 Oct 2005

DOS47 scientific paper published in the Journal of Experimental Therapeutics and Oncology

Helix BioPharma announced today the publication of a scientific paper in the Journal of Experimental Therapeutics and Oncology (volume 5, number 2, pp. 93-99), entitled "Urease-induced alkalinization of extracellular pH and its antitumour activity in human breast and lung cancers."

25 Oct 2005

How cells use very slow biological flows to signal and organize

An EPFL (Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne) team led by professor Melody Swartz has demonstrated for the first time that the presence of very slow biological flows affects the extracellular environment in ways that are critical for tissue formation and cell migration.

25 Oct 2005

Depression raises disability risk

Depressed middle-aged adults are at four times greater risk for being unable to perform everyday tasks than their non-depressed peers, a Northwestern University study found.

25 Oct 2005

Cholesterol levels and use of statins are not associated with breast cancer risk

Although some evidence suggests that statins (the most commonly used type of lipid-lowering drugs) may inhibit tumor development and may work in combination with chemotherapy drugs against cancer, studies on the association between the use of statins and breast cancer have had conflicting results

25 Oct 2005

Physical and emotional impact of breast cancer

The psychological and physical effects of breast cancer are being examined in a first-time study that tracks women in the first five years following their diagnosis.

25 Oct 2005

Lack of gene expression associated with ovarian cancer

The expression of two specific genes is almost completely downregulated in ovarian cancer tumours. An extensive analysis of gene expression in ovarian cancer tumour cells has revealed this important finding, which should be an aid to early diagnosis.

24 Oct 2005

Women satisfied with contralateral prophylactic mastectomy

Mayo Clinic researchers report that most women who have a contralateral (opposite to cancerous breast) prophylactic mastectomy (CPM) are satisfied and would elect this procedure again. Satisfaction with CPM was studied an average of 10 years after the procedure was done. The findings were published online Oct. 3 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

24 Oct 2005

New website in Ontario gives info on hospital waiting lists for surgery

In a new initiative patients in Ontario, Canada can now gain information on waiting times for key surgical procedures from a government website designed to track access to various health services.

24 Oct 2005

Freeze treatment for lung cancers - promising and less invasive

Doctors in the UK are using a probe that freezes tumours at temperatures of -190°C to treat lung cancer in patients who otherwise could not have surgery.

24 Oct 2005

First study to examine chemotherapy errors in ambulatory care for cancer patients

In one of the first studies to examine chemotherapy errors in ambulatory care for cancer patients, researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI) and Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) have found that about three percent of chemotherapy orders in three outpatient infusion clinics studied contained mistakes.

24 Oct 2005