Cancer News and Research

Latest Cancer News and Research

Estimated increase of 10,000 qualifed nurses

New figures published by Health Minister, John Hutton, show that there are big increases in the numbers of doctors and nurses training and working in the NHS. Targets are being met and in many cases exceeded.

26 Jul 2004

Light-sensitive probe to help doctors spot breast cancer

A light-sensitive probe is being developed to help doctors spot breast cancer in some of the 70,000 American women each year whose malignancies fail to show up in needle biopsies.

26 Jul 2004

Cervical cancer greater threat to women with low incomes and educational levels

Despite a backdrop of declining rates, a new study concludes cervical cancer continues to be a more serious threat to women with low incomes and educational levels.

26 Jul 2004

Physical symptoms such as nausea and shortness of breath, may predict shorter survival for patients with terminal cancer

A new study published July 26, 2004 in the online edition of CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, finds a patient's symptoms and results of quality of life assessments may provide important clues to an individual patient's prognosis. Psychosocial factors, such as anxiety or spiritual distress, did not predict shorter survival.

26 Jul 2004

How ulcer bugs stick to stomach

Scientists working to develop a vaccine for the bacterium Helicobacter pylori, the primary cause of ulcers and a contributor to stomach cancers, have uncovered new intricacies in the way the bacterium sticks to the lining of the human stomach.

26 Jul 2004

Eating salad vegetables with some added fat promotes the absorption of lycopene, alpha- and beta-carotenes

A recent study conducted by Wendy White, associate professor of food science and nutrition at Iowa State University, shows that eating salad vegetables with some added fat promotes the absorption of lycopene, alpha- and beta-carotenes, all of which aid in the fight against cancer and heart disease.

26 Jul 2004

Emerging nanomedicine technologies could dramatically transform medical science

Emerging nanomedicine technologies could dramatically transform medical science as we know it today with their potential to address unmet medical needs and provide targeted therapy.

23 Jul 2004

Surprising differences in the DNA of normal cells from different people

A new study by Michael Wigler’s group at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory has, in collaboration with researchers from Karolinska Institutet, revealed surprising differences in the DNA of normal cells from different people.

23 Jul 2004

Combined, heart disease and stroke account for over 50% of all deaths among Los Angeles County women

The Los Angeles County Office of Women’s Health and the American Heart Association have launched a joint heart-health education and stroke prevention program targeting low-income women. Combined, heart disease and stroke account for over 50% of all deaths among Los Angeles County women.

23 Jul 2004

Preliminary tests of the new method, which can detect cancer in a sample with as few as 50 cells

Finding cancer in a tiny drop of body fluid containing relatively few cells now may be possible with a new method of analyzing multiple genes in small samples of DNA, the cellular building blocks of our genetic code.

23 Jul 2004

Cancers of the gut amongst the most preventable through changes in diet

Cancers of the gut are one of the major causes of death from cancer, but a review published this week shows that they are also amongst the most preventable through changes in diet.

23 Jul 2004

New cream treatment for common form of skin cancer

The US Food and Drug Administration has approved a new treatment for some people with a very common form of skin cancer. Imiquimod cream, sold as Aldara, can now be used to treat superficial basal cell carcinoma.

23 Jul 2004

New information guide on cervical cancer

Information and support charity CancerBACUP has launched an up-to-date guide to cervical cancer.

22 Jul 2004

ImClone quarterly sales reach $71.4 Million

Total revenues for the second quarter of 2004 were $71.5 million as compared with $17.9 million for the second quarter of 2003 and $109.6 million in the first quarter of 2004.

22 Jul 2004

Outdoor activities are exposing us to higher levels of harmful ultraviolet rays than previously thought

The present estimate of UV exposure, the UV index, is based on measuring how much radiation hits a horizontal surface. But this often underestimates how much UV hits a vertical surface when the sun is low in the sky, says Peter Hoeppe, a biometeorologist at Geo Risk Research in Munich, Germany.

22 Jul 2004

Researchers discover how world’s most serous tropical diseases - Leishmaniasis is spread

Researchers at the University of Dundee with colleagues at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine have discovered how the sand-fly spreads one of the world’s most serous tropical diseases - Leishmaniasis.

22 Jul 2004

Natural organohalogens have potent anticancer and antibacterial activity

Human made chemical compounds called organohalogens get loads of attention as they are best known for their often harmful effect on the environment - substances like the CFCs (the ozone-damaging chemicals), dioxin (found in the herbicide Agent Orange), PCBs (industrial fluids) and several pesticides.

22 Jul 2004

Erbitux (cetuximab) combined with irinotecan offers another option for patients who have colorectal cancer

Erbitux (cetuximab), offers another option for patients who have colorectal cancer that resists standard chemotherapy treatment, according to an article written by two Mayo Clinic cancer researchers published in the current edition of the New England Journal of Medicine.

21 Jul 2004

Researchers discover a mechanism that blocks replication of a retrovirus

A team of scientists led by University of Georgia researchers has discovered a naturally occurring mechanism that blocks a critical step late in retrovirus replication.

21 Jul 2004

Bladder-sparing treatment shows promise against cancer

For patients with invasive bladder cancer, treatment has typically meant an operation to remove the bladder and nearby organs. This requires up to a week in the hospital and leaves patients with a reconstructed bladder or urostomy bag.

21 Jul 2004