Cancer News and Research

Latest Cancer News and Research

New shaped-beam radiation delivery system provides patients with targeted cancer treatment

The Cleveland Clinic has installed the latest in radiation oncology technology, making it possible to treat a wider range of cancer patients with more precisely targeted radiation treatments that largely spare healthy tissues.

10 Jun 2004

Conflicting views on embryonic and adult stem cells complicate research in stem cell therapeutics

Though there has been considerable biological and political debate over the use of embryonic stem cells (ESCs) vs. adult stem cells (ASCs) as therapies for tissue engineering and organ transplants, inherent benefits and drawbacks in both techniques compel them to coexist and complement each other.

10 Jun 2004

Breath test device detects early symptoms of diabetes

John Plodinec and Chuji Wang already have developed a prototype and applied for a patent. They now are seeking a commercial partner to help them move their unique diabetes breath analyzer from the university laboratory into the marketplace.

10 Jun 2004

Higher-than-normal amounts of a selenium-containing enzyme could promote type 2 diabetes

A study by researchers at Cornell University suggests that higher-than-normal amounts of a selenium-containing enzyme could promote type 2 diabetes.

10 Jun 2004

Improving access to mammographies offers greatest potential for reducing lives lost to breast cancer

While new technologies hold promise for increasing the accuracy of breast cancer detection, improving access to mammography and broadening the pool of medical personnel who can interpret mammograms offer the greatest potential for immediately reducing the number of lives lost to breast cancer in the United States

10 Jun 2004

Prostate cancer immunotherapy vaccine hits clinical trials

Scientists at the Austrlia's, Queensland Institute of Medical Research (QIMR) are currently trialing an experimental "immunotherapy" treatment for men with advanced prostate cancer.

10 Jun 2004

Drug may benefit patients suffering deep scarring after radiation treatment

Cancer patients who suffer from a progressive, deep scarring of tissue following radiation treatment might benefit from a drug that’s FDA-approved to treat vascular disease, according to a University of Rochester study published in this month’s Journal of Clinical Oncology.

10 Jun 2004

Early hormone therapy for metastatic prostate cancer increases life expectancy

Men with aggressive, metastatic prostate cancer who receive immediate early hormone therapy live on average three to four years longer than others who delay similar treatment, according to researchers at the University of Rochester.

10 Jun 2004

New British guidelines to protect the safety of frozen sperm, eggs and embryos

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, UK has announced strict new guidelines to protect the safety of frozen sperm, eggs and embryos stored at fertility clinics throughout the UK.

10 Jun 2004

Accurately estimating the life expectancy of persons with advanced dementia

A model has been created that can help determine the risk of death within six months for nursing home patients with advanced dementia, according to a study in the June 9 issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

10 Jun 2004

Non-aspirin pain drugs may help men with recurrent prostate cancer

Early results from a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine study may determine if drugs called Cox-2 inhibitors, a newer type of non-aspirin pain medicine now widely prescribed for arthritis symptoms, may benefit men with recurrent prostate cancer.

10 Jun 2004

New drugs ease treatment of multiple myeloma

Science is increasingly commuting the death sentence that is a diagnosis of multiple myeloma. A cancer of the plasma cells that primarily strikes the elderly, multiple myeloma has been deadly because patients have been unable to withstand the aggressive treatment necessary to combat it.

10 Jun 2004

High vitamin C intake may protect against rheumatoid arthritis

A high vitamin C intake may protect against the development of painful widespread rheumatoid arthritis indicates research published in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases.

10 Jun 2004

£20 million funding for stem cell research in the UK

Scientists at Oxford will benefit from a share of a £20 million cross-research council investment in stem cell research which was announced last month.

9 Jun 2004

Gemcitabine/paclitaxel combination helps breast cancer patients live longer

Breast cancer patients with advanced disease live longer when treated with a new drug, gemcitabine, in combination with paclitaxel, a traditional drug, according to results of a landmark global phase III study

9 Jun 2004

New blood test may help detect breast cancer

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas have developed a blood test that can detect amplification of a certain gene found in circulating cells associated with breast cancer.

9 Jun 2004

Only half of gemcitabine dose may be activated in cancer patients

The study, presented in a poster discussion session by Jason Fisher, a student at the University of Pittsburgh School of Engineering, analyzed data from 31 cancer patients given 30-minute infusions of gemcitabine to determine what percentage of the drug dose was associated with concentrations that exceeded the body's ability to activate the drug.

9 Jun 2004