Cancer News and Research

Latest Cancer News and Research

Dramatic difference between breast cancers in US and Africa

A study comparing, for the first time, breast cancers from Nigeria, Senegal and North America has found that women of African ancestry are more likely to be diagnosed with a more virulent form of the disease than women of European ancestry.

19 Apr 2005

Children on school buses may face increased exposure to diesel pollution

Diesel particle pollution inside urban school buses may be worse than levels found in the surrounding roadway air, according to a study by scientists at the University of California. The report appears in the April 15 issue of the American Chemical Society's journal Environmental Science & Technology.

19 Apr 2005

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

The findings, which will be presented Tuesday, April 19, at the American Association for Cancer Research annual meeting, 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.

19 Apr 2005

Clinical trial of gefitinib for advanced lung cancer closes early

Researchers have closed a randomized clinical trial comparing gefitinib (Iressa) vs. placebo following chemotherapy and radiation for patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) that had spread only to nearby tissues or lymph nodes. Review of interim data indicated that gefitinib would not improve survival.

19 Apr 2005

Method shows how precisely gene expression signals are copied in DNA replication

Genetic information that determines hair color or whether an individual might develop a particular cancer is passed from one generation to the next through DNA. Genes encoded in the DNA contain information, but a process called methylation is one factor that often controls how that information is expressed.

19 Apr 2005

Can hospital data detect poor performing doctors?

For over 20 years, routine data sources such as the hospital episode statistics have been widely perceived as being of little value because of problems with completeness and accuracy, and the Department of Health has in the past dismissed their use for identifying poor quality services.

19 Apr 2005

Asian women living in England and Wales have a substantially lower risk of breast cancer than other women

The research team tracked the health and survival of almost 116,000 women who had been diagnosed with primary invasive breast cancer in England and Wales between 1986 and 1990, using information supplied to the National Cancer Registry. Their progress was monitored until 1995.

19 Apr 2005

Key discovery about non-Hodgkin lymphoma

There is a surprise benefit to being either an only child, the oldest sibling or even enduring some allergies – you are significantly less likely to develop non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), according to new research from the University of New South Wales (UNSW).

19 Apr 2005

Sex, age and sun exposure linked to frequency of sunburns

In Danish volunteers, sunburn was typically associated with female sex, younger age, high risk behaviors like sunbathing, and long hours exposed to the sun, according to an article in the April issue of Archives of Dermatology.

19 Apr 2005

Dermatologists use patterns to recognize melanoma

Dermatologists depend on overall pattern recognition and comparison rather than specific analytic criteria to distinguish melanoma lesions (malignant skin cancer) from harmless skin moles, according to an article in the April issue of Archives of Dermatology.

19 Apr 2005

Statins help cut risk for advanced prostate cancer

In a 10-year study of more than 30,000 health professionals, researchers at Johns Hopkins and Harvard found that the longer men take cholesterol-lowering drugs such as statins, the far less likely they are to develop advanced prostate cancer.

19 Apr 2005

Gene expression pattern predicts multiple drug resistance

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital discovery of genetic links to multi-drug resistance gives clinicians new insight into the cause of treatment failure and suggests targets for novel anti-leukemic drugs

19 Apr 2005

Researchers determine structure of binding site of colon-cancer drug Erbitux and its protein target

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have determined the precise molecular details of how Erbitux, a recently approved colorectal cancer drug, binds to its target on cancer cells. Knowing this chemical configuration will lead to better drug design for this family of cancer medications.

19 Apr 2005

More pressure to lift 13 year near-ban on silicone-gel breast implants

Hot on the heels of the FDA's rejection of Inamed's attempt to have its Silicone-gel breast implants re-instated, a second manufacturer Mentor has also tried to convince sceptical federal health advisers to the Food and Drug Administration to lift a 13-year near-ban on silicone-gel breast implants.

13 Apr 2005

New approach to fighting cancer, based on nanoscale particles

Researchers at Rice University in Texas have developed a new approach to fighting cancer, based on nanoscale particles that can both detect and destroy cancerous cells. The report appears in the April 13 issue of the American Chemical Society's journal Nano Letters.

13 Apr 2005

Researchers show why mutations in a certain few genes, such as the p53 tumor suppressor gene, are found in different cancers

Scientists have identified some of the first genetic triggers for cancer as mutations in specific oncogenes or tumor suppressor genes. Full-blown tumors and metastatic cancers, however, often exhibit many genetic mutations, sometimes dozens in a given tumor. An important scientific question, and one with significant clinical implications, has been what happens after the initial mutation that leads to dangerous later-stage cancers with multiple damaged genes.

13 Apr 2005

Scientists have discovered the mechanism that enables some CD4 T cells - the main target of HIV - to thwart the virus

The discovery, reported on April 13 in the online version of Nature, could open the door to an entirely new strategy for preventing the spread of HIV infection in the body's cells, according to the senior author of the study, Gladstone Institute of Virology and Immunology Director Warner C. Greene, MD, PhD.

13 Apr 2005

Rates of cervical cancer could jump fourfold to a million a year by 2050

Deaths from cervical cancer could jump fourfold to a million a year by 2050, mainly in developing countries. This could be prevented by soon-to-be-approved vaccines against the virus that causes most cases of cervical cancer- but there are signs that opposition to the vaccines might lead to many preventable deaths. The trouble is that the human papilloma virus (HPV) is sexually transmitted.

13 Apr 2005

Scientists identifiy protein that seems to control the malignant features of brain tumor cells

Scientists from Wake Forest University School of Medicine have identified a protein that seems to control the malignant features of brain tumor cells, suggesting a new treatment target for anti-cancer drugs. The research is reported in the current issue of Molecular Cancer Research.

13 Apr 2005

Black women in the US less likely to access preventative cancer treatments

A report from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in Philadelphia says that black women in the US with a family history of breast or ovarian cancer, are far less likely to seek genetic counselling and possible testing than their white counterparts, and although the reasons for the disparity are not clear, it is suspected that mistrust of both the medical system and advice from primary physicians may be factors.

12 Apr 2005