Cancer News and Research

Latest Cancer News and Research

Its not just the Americans - Europeans are getting fat too!

The United States is now being challenged in the obesity stakes by at least seven European countries. All across Europe, the proportion of overweight or obese men is higher than in the United States, experts said Tuesday in a major analysis of expanding girth on the European continent.

15 Mar 2005

No association between acrylamide intake in foods and risk of breast cancer

Researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health and the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, have found no association between acrylamide intake in foods and risk of breast cancer among Swedish women. The findings appear in the March 16, 2005 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

15 Mar 2005

Aspirin use appears to reduce the incidence of colon polyps

The association between regular aspirin use and a reduced risk of precancerous colon polyps may be strongest in those with particular genetic variants.

15 Mar 2005

Antiretroviral therapy may prevent some cancers in people with HIV

In people infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) may prevent most excess cases of Kaposi sarcoma and non-Hodgkin lymphoma, according to a new study in the March 16 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

15 Mar 2005

Risk of ischemic heart disease associated with radiotherapy for breast cancer has substantially decreased in the last 25 years

The risk of ischemic heart disease that is associated with radiotherapy for breast cancer has substantially decreased in the last 25 years, according to a new study in the March 16 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

15 Mar 2005

Discovery of key molecule that controls the growth, spread and survival of pancreatic cancer cells

Pancreatic cancer kills 30,000 Americans every year. Not only is there no cure, but there are no effective treatments. That may change if a new finding by Mayo Clinic researchers continues to show promise.

15 Mar 2005

Fasting every other day, while cutting few calories, may reduce cancer risk

New research at the University of California, Berkeley, raises such a possibility. It shows that healthy mice given only 5 percent fewer calories than mice allowed to eat freely experienced a significant reduction in cell proliferation in several tissues, considered an indicator for cancer risk.

15 Mar 2005

Link between a critical cancer pathway and an Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) protein

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have identified a link between a critical cancer pathway and an Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) protein known to be expressed in a number of EBV-associated cancers.

15 Mar 2005

Selenium, vitamin E and the tomato nutrient lycopene have been shown to reduce prostate cancer

Greater levels of selenium, vitamin E and the tomato nutrient lycopene have been shown to reduce prostate cancer in one out of every four Caucasian males - those who inherit a specific genetic variation that's particularly sensitive to oxidative stress.

15 Mar 2005

Timing is everything when it comes to killing prostate cancer cells

"The window of opportunity is narrow for vaccination, designed to reinvigorate the immune system's attack on cancer cells, and it occurs right after hormonal therapy begins to wipe out the tumor and immune cells outnumber cancerous ones," according to Charles Drake, M.D., Ph.D.

15 Mar 2005

Study indicates that vitamin E does not prevent cancer

Patients who took vitamin E supplements for about 7 years did not have their risk of cancer or cardiovascular events significantly reduced, and in fact some had an increased risk of heart failure, according to a study in the March 16 issue of JAMA.

15 Mar 2005

Lesbian body image differs from that of women overall

Over three-quarters of lesbian adults (77%) describe their body weight as overweight while 67% of all female adults surveyed describe their body weight as overweight.

15 Mar 2005

Patients can now swallow pill-sized, disposable cameras to help diagnose diseases of the esophagus

Patients can now swallow pill-sized, disposable cameras to help gastroenterologists diagnose and evaluate diseases of the esophagus, or swallowing tube. This new diagnostic tool is a further modification of capsule endoscopy, which has been used clinically since late 2001 to examine the small intestines.

15 Mar 2005

Brewing up potential anti-cancer drugs from green tea

Drinking green tea has a protective effect against some forms of cancer but drinking large amounts can increase the risk of birth defects such as spina bifida – according to previous epidemiological studies.

15 Mar 2005

Bevacizumab (Avastin) in combination with standard chemotherapy helps advanced lung cancer sufferers

Preliminary results from a large, randomized clinical trial for patients with previously untreated advanced non-squamous, non-small cell lung cancer show that those patients who received bevacizumab (AvastinTM) in combination with standard chemotherapy lived longer than patients who received the same chemotherapy without bevacizumab.

15 Mar 2005

Doctors may soon be able to diagnose multiple sclerosis (MS) with a simple blood test

New research by Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center and colleagues suggests that one day, doctors may be able to diagnose multiple sclerosis (MS) with a simple blood test. The findings are reported in the current issue of the Journal of Molecular Neuroscience.

15 Mar 2005

Novel Australian anti-cancer therapy has begun safety testing in human subjects

An international medical conference here heard that an Australian developed anti-cancer therapy based on the use of a common cold virus to control cancer cell growth has begun safety testing in human subjects.

15 Mar 2005

Heart disease risk in older women identified by simple blood test

Postmenopausal women who are not identified by traditional cardiovascular risk factors, could benefit from a simple blood test to show their white blood cell (WBC) count which may predict cardiovascular events and risk of death.

15 Mar 2005

Good results in new lung cancer treatment

Interim analysis of a Phase III study of Avastin (bevacizumab) with paclitaxel and carboplatin chemotherapies in first-line non-squamous, non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) met its primary goal of improving overall survival, or a reduction in the risk of death, compared to chemotherapy alone.

15 Mar 2005

New hepatitis drug wins approval by FDA

An experimental hepatitis B drug has earned the praise of US health experts for its effectiveness and has been recommended by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory panel to treat the liver disease in adults.

14 Mar 2005