Cancer News and Research

Latest Cancer News and Research

Link between immune protein and longer survival in melanoma patients

Immune responses to prevent or delay the spread of melanoma, a deadly form of skin cancer, are more likely to prolong survival in patients if their immune cells carry a special kind of marker on the surface, according to a team of researchers at the University of Virginia Health System.

5 Nov 2004

People with terminal conditions should be able to die at home with dignity

Although 65% of people with cancer want to die at home, only about 30% are successful in doing so. A government committed to choice for patients must improve this figure, write palliative care experts from Edinburgh University.

5 Nov 2004

Britain should adopt universal hepatitis B immunisation

The United Kingdom is one of the few developed countries that have not implemented universal immunisation. Because the burden of hepatitis B was low and individual rights were considered paramount, a policy of selective immunisation of high-risk groups, such as health care workers, homosexual men, and drug addicts, has been followed.

5 Nov 2004

Autophagy may even provide a clue to the mythical fountain of youth

The cells of higher organisms have an internal mechanism for chewing up and recycling parts of themselves, particularly in times of stress, like starvation and disease. But nobody is quite sure yet whether this recently discovered process protects cells, or causes damage.

5 Nov 2004

Celebrex may one day be used to prevent and even treat breast tumors

The anti-inflammatory drug Celebrex, or celecoxib, reduces tumor mass by encouraging cell death and discouraging both cell proliferation and the sprouting of new blood vessels that feed growing tumors, according to a study reported in the November issue of Molecular Cancer Research.

5 Nov 2004

alpha4 may prove to be useful target for smoking addiction therapies

Nicotine is responsible for more than four million smoking-related deaths each year. Yet people still smoke. Why? One reason is the stranglehold of addiction, started when nicotine enhances the release of a neurotransmitter called dopamine

4 Nov 2004

Cellular vehicle delivers drugs directly into cancer cells

Researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center have perfected a delivery system for anticancer treatment that zeroes in on a tumor and becomes part of its supporting tissue.

4 Nov 2004

Pfizer licenses drug from University of Rochester for treatment of hot flashes

The University of Rochester has signed a license agreement with Pfizer which will allow Pfizer to market a specific class of non-hormonal drugs for the treatment of hot flashes associated with menopause.

4 Nov 2004

Sensor protein that identifies DNA breaks and activates the p53 cell-death program has been identified

DNA breaks from radiation, toxic chemicals, or other environmental causes occur routinely in cells and, unless promptly and properly repaired, can lead to cancer-causing mutations.

4 Nov 2004

STAT3 protein could lead to new ways to prevent skin cancer

Scientists at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center have identified a protein that serves as a master regulator of skin cancer - a finding that could lead to new ways to prevent skin cancer before it starts.

4 Nov 2004

Cyclooxygenase (COX) inhibitors tested in both prevention and treatment clinical trials

Numerous compounds are examined by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) for their potential to prevent or treat cancer. One class of compounds, cyclooxygenase (COX) inhibitors, is currently being tested in both prevention and treatment clinical trials.

4 Nov 2004

Study of infection prevention therapy for premature babies

Whether donated human antibodies can protect premature babies from a common and potentially dangerous bacterial infection is under study at the Medical College of Georgia Children’s Medical Center.

4 Nov 2004

FDA fast tracks investigational anti-cancer drug, phenoxodiol

Marshall Edwards today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted the investigational anti-cancer drug, phenoxodiol, Fast Track status for its intended use in patients with recurrent ovarian cancer.

4 Nov 2004

The Bush Medicare Prescription has changed the identity of medical oncology

Under previous law, Medicare covered chemotherapy as well as radiation treatment for cancer patients, but did not pay for oral-dose anti-cancer drugs, unless they were available in both oral and injectable form.

4 Nov 2004

The ethics of face transplants

The ethics of face transplants is among the issues to be discussed at the World Congress of Bioethics, which will be hosted by the University of New South Wales (UNSW) next week.

4 Nov 2004

Genetic mutations could collectively raise bowel cancer risk

Cancer Research UK scientists at the University of Oxford have found that a number of genetic mutations could collectively raise bowel cancer risk, reporting their findings in the journal PNAS.

4 Nov 2004

European approval for Taxotere (docetaxel) in prostate cancer

Aventis, part of the sanofi-aventis Group announced today that the European Commission has approved Taxotere (docetaxel) Injection Concentrate for use in combination with prednisone as a treatment for men with androgen-independent (hormone- refractory) metastatic prostate cancer.

4 Nov 2004

Californians say yes on 71

With a clear mandate, the voters of California yesterday overwhelmingly approved Proposition 71, the California Stem Cell Research and Cures Initiative.

4 Nov 2004

New non-invasive diagnostic test for early-stage lung cancer

A non-invasive diagnostic test for early-stage bronchial carcinoma (lung cancer) was presented at White Rose Bioscience Forum in York yesterday (03 November).

4 Nov 2004

Some allergic conditions could increase your risk of suffering from blood cancer

Some allergic conditions could increase your risk of suffering from blood cancer as an adult, according to a new study published in the November 2004 issue of BMC Public Health. This is important news for the increasingly large numbers of allergy sufferers worldwide.

4 Nov 2004