Cancer News and Research

Latest Cancer News and Research

£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

New statistical techniques for cancer diagnosis

CSIRO statisticians have developed a new way to subtype paediatric Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (ALL), the most common form of cancer in children under 12.

9 Jun 2004

SU11248 proves effective in the treatment of gastrointestinal stromal tumors

A drug originally developed to block the formation of blood vessels in tumors has been shown to overcome resistance to treatment with Gleevec in patients with gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST).

9 Jun 2004

Lovastatin and Simvastatin have a significantly reduced risk of prostate cancer

Men who take even small amounts of common cholesterol-lowering drugs such as Lovastatin and Simvastatin have a significantly reduced risk of prostate cancer, according to a new study by Oregon Health & Science University Cancer Institute researchers.

9 Jun 2004

Untreated prostate cancer can turn to lethal disease over long-term

New findings from a long-term study of men with early-stage, initially untreated prostate cancer suggests that the risk of progression to more aggressive and lethal disease increases significantly in the long-term, according to a study published in the June 9 issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

9 Jun 2004

Junk food manufacturers should be banned from targeting unhealthy products at children

The BMA's Annual Conference of Public Health Medicine called on the government to ban television advertising of junk foods before the watershed, and on all channels aimed at children.

7 Jun 2004

750,000 low-income adults in Los Angeles County live with hunger

More than three-quarters of a million low-income adults in Los Angeles County live with hunger or make daily decisions about whether to eat or pay for other essential needs such as shelter or clothing, according to a new UCLA Center for Health Policy Research report.

7 Jun 2004

Changing practices may raise African American women's breast cancer risk

A new study finds African American women derive similar breast cancer risk reductions associated with multiple births and breastfeeding as white women, but that recent trends may lead to a rising risk.

7 Jun 2004

Elderly leukemia patients benefit from intensive treatment

Contrary to popular belief, patients over the age of 75 with acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) do just as well as younger patients with similar chemotherapy regimens. A new study published June 7, 2004 in the online edition of CANCER

7 Jun 2004

Gene mutation found in some women may decrease effectiveness of tamoxifen breast cancer drug

Researchers from the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center, Indiana University and the University of Michigan have found that some women have a gene mutation that may decrease the effectiveness of tamoxifen, a commonly used breast cancer drug.

7 Jun 2004

Chemotherapy regimen more effective and more toxic in Japanese patients than in American patients

A chemotherapy regimen commonly used to treat non-small cell lung cancer is both more effective and more toxic in Japanese patients than in American patients, researchers reported Saturday at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncologists.

7 Jun 2004

Atrasentan reduces cancer risk by 20 percent in men with advanced hormone-resistant prostate cancer

Recent clinical studies led by Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center researchers have found that a drug called atrasentan reduces the risk by 20 percent that cancer will progress in men with advanced hormone-resistant prostate cancer.

7 Jun 2004

A biological agent used without chemotherapy appears to offer a disease-free future to patients with rare leukemia

A biological agent — a drug that wraps vitamin A inside bubbles of fat — used without chemotherapy appears to offer as many as one-third of patients with a rare form of leukemia an opportunity for a long-term, disease-free future, say researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.

7 Jun 2004

Herceptin shows real promise in treatment of HER-2 positive breast disease

According to a study conducted at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, more than twice as many women with early stage, HER-2 positive breast disease who received Herceptin as part of their pre-surgery chemotherapy had their tumors completely disappear compared to like patients who received only chemotherapy.

7 Jun 2004

Experimental human monoclonal antibody shows striking benefit in patients with advanced melanoma

Early testing of an experimental human monoclonal antibody showed a striking benefit in patients with advanced melanoma, say researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, who presented their findings at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

7 Jun 2004

Sunbeds ARE bad for your health

The sunbed industry is ignoring warnings by the World Health Organisation and Cancer Research UK about sunbed use despite the incidence of skin cancer doubling in the last ten years, says Which? today (5.6.04).

7 Jun 2004

Serum estrogen receptor modulator's (SERM's) may help reduce postmenopausal breast cancer risk

Newest research findings were presented on the possible benefits they may provide for postmenopausal breast cancer risk reduction. SERMs are a class of drugs that can block the cell's ability to use estrogen to stimulate the development of breast cancer.

7 Jun 2004