Cancer

Primary Tumors Fuel Growth of Cancer Cells

Thu, 12 Jun 2008 12:01:02 GMT

Primary tumors can fuel the growth of stray cancer cells elsewhere in the body say researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In experiments with mice the MIT team found that primary tumors derived from human breast cancers...

Facility Characteristics Influence Mammography Accuracy

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 18:00:35 GMT

The accuracy of mammography screening is affected by certain characteristics of the facility where its performed a U.S. study finds. Researchers looked at data from 44 sites that performed 484463 screening mammograms on 237669 women bet...

DNA Coding May Make Bowel Prone to Cancer

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 14:00:55 GMT

Subtle changes in the DNAs chemical coding may make the bowel more susceptible to cancer by making the cells addicted to turning the switch on in abnormal genes a new study suggests. Scientists at the Institute of Food Research who publi...

Raloxifene Cuts Risk of Certain Type of Breast Cancer

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 10:00:55 GMT

A drug already approved to reduce the risk of breast cancer in highrisk women also seems to cut the risk for other women. A new analysis finds that those who took raloxifene Evista regularly over a number of years were less likely to de...

Researchers Update RiskofDeath Charts

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 18:00:26 GMT

Regardless of the cause American men have a greater chance of dying then women and smoking increases any adults risk of death just as if five years were suddenly added to their age according to new risk of death charts. The charts to b...

Medicare Costs for Cancer Treatment Soar

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 18:00:26 GMT

Costs for treating Medicare patients with cancer increased substantially from 1991 to 2002 researchers report. The upward trend seen with breast lung and colorectal cancer in particular reflects the fact that more patients are receiving...

Decline in Cigarette Sales Offset by Use of Alternative Products

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 18:00:26 GMT

Cigarette sales in the United States have declined in recent years but sales of noncigarette tobacco products have risen and offset the decline in cigarette sales by 30 percent a Harvard School of Public Health study finds. Researchers a...

Family History Plays Role in Black Colon Screen Rates

Mon, 9 Jun 2008 10:00:39 GMT

Blacks with a family history of colorectal cancer are less likely to be screened than either their white counterparts or other blacks at average risk for the disease a new study reports. The authors of the study published in the July 15 ...

Blood Cancer Drug Shows Promise Against Lupus

Sun, 8 Jun 2008 18:00:25 GMT

A drug used to treat multiple myeloma a cancer of the white blood cells may also be a treatment for the chronic autoimmune disease lupus German researchers report. The drug Velcade bortezomib which is a proteasome inhibitor worked ...

Method for Treating Cervical Lesions May Pose Pregnancy Risks

Fri, 6 Jun 2008 18:00:35 GMT

A popular type of surgery for removing abnormal cells from the cervix a problem that could lead to cervical cancer if left untreated may put women at risk of pregnancy complications. Women who had this procedure known as loop electr...

Fruits Vegetables Teas May Cut Smokers Cancer Risk

Thu, 5 Jun 2008 18:00:34 GMT

Eating fruits and vegetables rich in flavonoids and drinking tea may help protect smokers from lung cancer say researchers from the University of California Los Angeles UCLA. Flavonoids are watersoluble plant pigments that have antioxi...

Diabetes Boosts Liver Cancer Risk in Hepatitis Cirrhosis Cases

Thu, 5 Jun 2008 16:00:32 GMT

Diabetes doubles the risk of liver cancer in patients with chronic hepatitis C with advanced fibrosis or cirrhosis a Dutch study reports. Researchers at the Erasmus MC University Medical Center in Rotterdam analyzed data on 541 European...

Family History Might Improve Odds Against Colon Cancer

Tue, 3 Jun 2008 18:00:35 GMT

The genetic makeup that increases the risk of developing colorectal cancer also seems to improve the chances of survival after treatment a new study indicates. People with colorectal cancer who had close relatives with the malignancy were ...

Androgen Production Continues in Prostate Cancer Tumors

Tue, 3 Jun 2008 18:00:35 GMT

U.S. researchers have uncovered new information about how metastatic prostate cancer becomes resistant to androgendeprivation therapy which suppresses circulating testosterone the hormone that promotes prostate cancer growth. Androgen th...

Dangerous Side Effect Found in Cancer Immunotherapy Research

Tue, 3 Jun 2008 14:00:24 GMT

When scientists first began looking into using the bodys own immune system to target malignancies it was hoped that the therapy would be able to zero in on a specific cancer without affecting healthy tissue. While the original theory is s...

Chronic Stomach Inflammation Boosts Cancer Risk

Tue, 3 Jun 2008 10:00:22 GMT

A persons risk of cancer increases if he or she suffers from DNAdamaging chronic inflammation of the intestine or stomach such as ulcerative colitis according to scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Their findings c...

Smokers With Colon Cancer Face High Recurrence Risk

Mon, 2 Jun 2008 18:00:31 GMT

Longterm smokers treated for advanced colon cancer are at increased risk for cancer recurrence a DanaFarber Cancer Institute study shows. Researchers analyzed data from 965 people treated for stage III colon cancer and found that those ...

Black Cancer Patients Choose More Aggressive EndofLife Care

Mon, 2 Jun 2008 14:00:23 GMT

Terminally ill black cancer patients are more likely than white patients to choose aggressive endoflife care according to researchers at DanaFarber Cancer Institute in Boston. Their study included 231 white and 61 black patients with st...

Vaccine May Boost Survival of Brain Cancer Patients

Mon, 2 Jun 2008 14:00:23 GMT

An experimental cancer vaccine is showing promise against the same general type of brain tumor diagnosed in Sen. Edward Kennedy researchers are reporting. The vaccine when given with chemotherapy more than doubled progressionfree surviv...

US Childhood Cancers Vary by Sex Region

Mon, 2 Jun 2008 10:00:22 GMT

A sweeping government study of childhood cancers has found numerous differences in cancer types depending on a childs age sex race and where he or she lives in the United States. White children had the highest incidence of all cancers...

3Drug Combo Improves Advanced Pancreatic Cancer Outcomes

Mon, 2 Jun 2008 10:00:22 GMT

A combination therapy of gemcitabine capecitabine and bevacizumab improves outcomes in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer according to a multicenter study led by researchers at Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo N.Y. The stu...

Erbitux Works Well for TwoThirds of Colon Cancer Patients

Sun, 1 Jun 2008 18:00:22 GMT

Colon cancer patients who have the normal version of a particular gene are more likely to benefit from a combination treatment that includes adding the targeted therapy Erbitux to chemotherapy. Some twothirds of colon cancer patients have ...

Anemia Drugs May Speed Tumor Growth in Some Cancer Patients

Sun, 1 Jun 2008 18:00:22 GMT

Drugs used widely to treat anemia in cancer patients may actually speed progression of the cancer in certain individuals but researchers report they may found a way to determine who those individuals are. We may have a test to predict wh...

Combo Therapy Knocks Out Melanoma Tumors

Sun, 1 Jun 2008 18:00:22 GMT

Chemotherapy may be more effective on melanoma tumors if a protein frequently found in the growth can first be disabled a new study reports. Researchers at the Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center found the drug ADH1 which makes it difficul...

Celebrex May Reduce Levels of Lung Cancer Biomarker

Sun, 1 Jun 2008 16:00:14 GMT

A widely prescribed pain reliever may one day have value in helping to prevent lung cancer. Researchers report that Celebrex celecoxib the last remaining cox2 inhibitor on the U.S. market may reduce levels of a biomarker indicating ris...

Young Hodgkin Survivors Face Later Risk of Second Cancers

Sun, 1 Jun 2008 10:00:14 GMT

People who survived Hodgkin disease when they were children or adolescents are much more likely than other people to develop certain cancers says a new study. Hodgkin disease HD a cancer of the lymph nodes has a cure rate of more than...

Acupuncture Eases Side Effects of Head Neck Cancer Treatments

Sun, 1 Jun 2008 10:00:14 GMT

Two of the more common and unpleasant side effects of treatment for head and neck cancer patients may be relieved by the ancient Chinese practice of acupuncture. A new study found significant reductions in both dry mouth and pain and should...

Erbitux Plus Chemo Improves Lung Cancer Outcomes

Sat, 31 May 2008 18:00:25 GMT

The longawaited results of a trial of the biologic drug Erbitux on patients with advanced nonsmall cell lung cancer show it prolonged survival by about five weeks when combined with chemotherapy. Medical professionals have known the drug...

New Hope for ToughtoTreat Cancers

Sat, 31 May 2008 18:00:25 GMT

Patients diagnosed with pancreatic cancer which historically carries a grim prognosis nearly doubled their overall survival when the cancer drug Gemzar was used after surgery new research shows. Unfortunately only about 15 percent o...

Hodgkin Lymphoma Kids Face Greater Risk of Future Problems

Sat, 31 May 2008 18:00:25 GMT

People who survived Hodgkin lymphoma as children have an increased risk of developing and dying from another cancer or cardiovascular disease as adults according to a new report. The treatment for Hodgkin chemotherapy and radiation ...

Avastin Added to Chemo Helps Women With Advanced Breast Cancer

Sat, 31 May 2008 18:00:25 GMT

Adding the drug Avastin to chemotherapy lengthened progressionfree survival in women with advanced breast cancer new research shows. Previous studies have found that adding Avastin bevacizumab to the chemotherapy drug Taxol paclitaxel...

Avastin Added to Chemo Helps Women With Advanced Cancer

Sat, 31 May 2008 14:00:17 GMT

Bone Drug Lowers Risk of Breast Cancer Recurrence

Sat, 31 May 2008 12:00:14 GMT

A drug used to treat osteoporosis lowered the risk of breast cancer recurrence in premenopausal women with early breast cancer. The Austrian researchers also found that women who took Zometa zoledronic acid had a 30 percent lower risk of...

Chemo May Limit Fertility in Breast Cancer Survivors

Sat, 31 May 2008 10:00:17 GMT

Chemotherapy may reduce fertility in breast cancer survivors according to a study led by researchers at Bostons DanaFarber Cancer Institute. They found that premenopausal breast cancer survivors treated with chemotherapy following surger...

Certain Tests in ERs Raise Cancer Risk for Some

Thu, 29 May 2008 16:00:30 GMT

Longterm buildup of radiation resulting from repeated emergency room Xrays and scans may be placing some patients at an increased risk for developing cancer new research suggests. At issue are routine testing procedures currently in w...

Initiative Links Celebrities to Cancer Research

Thu, 29 May 2008 14:00:29 GMT

Celebrities from both the entertainment industry and Major League Baseball gathered Wednesday in Los Angeles to launch a nationwide initiative that will fund the brightest researchers to complete both basic and advanced cancer research. Den...

Type of Tomato Product Determines Power Against Prostate Cancer

Thu, 29 May 2008 10:00:34 GMT

Dried tomatoes anyone? A study in the June 1 issue of Cancer Research finds that the type of tomato product you eat may play a role in whether it can fight prostate cancer. Specifically an organic carbohydrate kno...

Paclitaxel Plus Chemo Improves Outcomes in Early Breast Cancer

Tue, 27 May 2008 18:00:25 GMT

Adding paclitaxel to standard chemotherapy improved diseasefree survival in women with earlystage breast cancer a Spanish study finds. The phase III trial included 1246 women with early nonmetastatic breast cancer who were randomly as...

Cancer Patients Should Steer Clear of Antioxidants

Tue, 27 May 2008 18:00:25 GMT

A new review of existing research suggests that cancer patients undergoing radiation or chemotherapy avoid supplements with high levels of antioxidants. Although multivitamins may be all right in some cases even green tea and vitamin A or ...

Common Genetic Variant Tied to Lung Cancer Risk

Tue, 27 May 2008 16:00:22 GMT

A common genetic variant increases the risk of lung cancer even in nonsmokers researchers report. The findings that certain forms of the alpha1antitrypsin gene double someones risk of developing lung cancer regardless of whether he o...

Gum Disease Might Boost Cancer Risk

Tue, 27 May 2008 10:00:23 GMT

There may be another good reason to floss each day: A new study finds that gum disease could raise the risk for cancer. Men with history of periodontal disease had a 14 percent higher risk of cancer than those who did not have periodontal ...

Laser Therapy a New Option for VocalCord Cancers

Mon, 26 May 2008 14:00:14 GMT

A new laser treatment for early vocalcord cancer targets tumor blood vessels while preserving and restoring patients voices according to Massachusetts General Hospital researchers who noted that radiotherapy or surgery can permanently damage voca...

Lowering Cholesterol May Also Lower Prostate Cancer Risk

Wed, 21 May 2008 20:00:26 GMT

Men who keep their cholesterol down might also help lower their levels of prostate specific antigen a protein that can warn of prostate cancer a new study says. Prostate cancer is controlled by the male hormone testosterone. The main mol...

Beer Drinking May Speed Pancreatic Cancer Onset

Wed, 21 May 2008 14:00:26 GMT

Heavy smoking and drinking especially beer may hasten the onset of pancreatic cancer according to researchers who presented their data Tuesday at the Digestive Disease Week 2008 conference in San Diego. Beer appears to exert a stronger i...

Radiation Improves Survival for Advanced Prostate Cancer

Tue, 20 May 2008 18:00:24 GMT

Men with advanced prostate cancer that hasnt spread beyond the gland should receive radiation therapy as soon as the prostate has been removed a new longterm study says. What we are showing today is that there is a significant differenc...

Hormone Therapy Safe Effective for Women Entering Menopause

Tue, 20 May 2008 18:00:23 GMT

Many women and even some physicians quickly abandoned the use of hormone replacement therapy in 2002 after the large Womens Health Study suggested that the treatment might harm women who were long past menopause. But now a team of inte...

Repeat Colonoscopies Underused in HighRisk Patients

Tue, 20 May 2008 16:00:26 GMT

The people who most need to have repeat colonoscopies to detect precancerous growths are less likely to get the potentially lifesaving procedures new research shows. We are doing more colonoscopies among the lowrisk groups and not enough...

Ventilator Relieves Lung Cancer Pain in Final Hours

Tue, 20 May 2008 14:00:29 GMT

New research suggests that a mechanical ventilator can ease suffering and help lung cancer patients avoid sedation at the end of life. A large percentage of these patients didnt want to have anything to do with a ventilator which requires...

Repeat Colonscopies Underused in HighRisk Patients

Tue, 20 May 2008 14:00:29 GMT

Radiation for Prostate Cancer Raises Risk of Other Cancers

Mon, 19 May 2008 18:00:27 GMT

Men undergoing external beam radiation for localized prostate cancer may have a slightly increased risk of developing other cancers researchers report. The findings could have implications for men trying to decide which treatment is best f...

Blood Test for Early Lung Cancer Shows Promise

Mon, 19 May 2008 14:00:26 GMT

Lung cancer patients may be one step closer to the day when the disease can be detected early with a simple blood test. Scientists slated to report their findings Tuesday at the American Thoracic Societys conference in Toronto say the tes...

Firefighters May Face Higher Risk of Bladder Cancer

Mon, 19 May 2008 14:00:26 GMT

Firefighters may be at increased risk for bladder cancer and should be considered for routine annual screening say University of California San Francisco researchers. The team tested 1286 active and retired San Francisco firefighters w...

Protein Helps ID Thyroid Cancer Nodules

Mon, 19 May 2008 10:00:27 GMT

Testing thyroid nodules for the presence of a lectin molecule called galectin3 could help improve identification of nodules with cancer and reduce the number of unnecessary surgeries according to an Italian study. The standard method of ...

Kidney Cancers More Likely to Be Diagnosed Early

Mon, 19 May 2008 10:00:27 GMT

Compared to a decade ago kidney cancer patients in the United States are much more likely to be diagnosed with smaller tumors in the earliest most treatable stage of the disease resulting in a slightly higher survival rate. Researchers ...

Replacement Bladder Grown From Bodys Own Cells

Sun, 18 May 2008 14:00:19 GMT

Using regenerative medical techniques it may be possible to create replacement bladders for people whove had their bladder removed due to cancer. Thats the conclusion of U.S. researchers who tested this approach in large mammals. ...

Prostate Cancer Vaccine Looks Promising in Early Trial

Sun, 18 May 2008 10:00:39 GMT

A therapeutic vaccine to treat prostate cancer appears safe and may be effective according to the results of an early trial. The vaccine could give hope to men with metastatic prostate cancer by activating their immune systems to fight the...

Gene Signature May Predict Recurrence of Lung Cancer

Fri, 16 May 2008 18:00:25 GMT

A panel of 15 genes may help determine which patients with earlystage nonsmall cell lung cancer will experience a recurrence and therefore benefit the most from chemotherapy a new study shows. By extension the same genetic signature ...

Outcomes Similar for Laparoscopic Open Colon Cancer Surgeries

Fri, 16 May 2008 18:00:25 GMT

Minimallyinvasive laparoscopic surgery and open surgery for colon cancer produce similar outcomes according to researchers who reviewed findings from 12 international studies involving over 3300 patients. For a long time many surgeons...

Not All Colon Cancer Patients Need Chemotherapy Study

Fri, 16 May 2008 16:00:21 GMT

Colon cancer patients with a specific subset of the disease dont need to receive chemotherapy. In fact not only does chemotherapy not benefit this group of patients it may actually harm them a new study found. If you are found to have ...

Partnerships Effective Communicators of Cancer Advances

Fri, 16 May 2008 16:00:21 GMT

Partnerships between major academic cancer centers and community hospitals are a quick and effective way to spread cancer treatment advances say researchers at Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia. Most new cancer treatments are created...

New Therapy Kills Human Leukemia Cells in Mice

Fri, 16 May 2008 14:00:24 GMT

FRIDAY May 16 HealthDay News A treatment that uses natural killer NK immune system cells from umbilical cord blood effectively destroys human leukemia cells in mice researchers say. The NK cells reduced by 60 percent to 85 percent h...

Childhood Cancer Survivors Prone to Early Heart Trouble

Fri, 16 May 2008 14:00:24 GMT

Adults who had cancer as children or teens are more likely to experience cardiovascular disease a new study found. And the heart problems surface at a much earlier age than in people who did not suffer cancer as children. Childh...

Mastectomies on the Increase

Fri, 16 May 2008 10:00:28 GMT

After years of declining rates the number of mastectomies performed on women with breast cancer is on the rise again the Mayo Clinic now reports. The increase coincided with heavier usage of magnetic resonance imaging MRI before surge...

Blood Test Helps Docs Assess Breast Cancer Treatment

Fri, 16 May 2008 10:00:28 GMT

A simple blood test to check levels of circulating tumor cells can help doctors more accurately assess how well treatments are working in women with metastatic breast cancer according to a Georgetown University Medical Center study. It c...

Low Levels of Vitamin D Spell Trouble for Breast Cancer Patients

Fri, 16 May 2008 10:00:28 GMT

Women with breast cancer who have a vitamin D deficiency at the time of diagnosis are more likely to have a recurrence or to die from their disease a new study shows. Surprisingly the researchers also found that only 24 percent of the pa...

Chemo for Mesothelioma Offers Limited Survival Benefits

Thu, 15 May 2008 20:00:22 GMT

Adding chemotherapy to other treatments being giving to patients with mesothelioma a lung cancer usually linked to asbestos exposure does not appear to improve either survival or quality of life. Malignant pleural mesothelioma MPM whic...

Genes Play Part in Prostate Cancer Among Races

Thu, 15 May 2008 16:00:33 GMT

Genetic differences may explain why white men have a higher prostate cancer risk than Hispanic men information which may help doctors identify men who are more likely to develop the disease U.S. researchers say. They collected blood sampl...

Embryonic Pathways Induce Stem Cell Traits

Thu, 15 May 2008 14:00:35 GMT

Scientists have found that normal cells and cancer cells that acquire the ability to use long dormant pathways to migrate through the body may gain properties of adult stem cells including the ability to selfrenew. The finding helps resea...

Hot Flashes Reduced by Neck Injection

Thu, 15 May 2008 10:00:37 GMT

An injection of a local anesthetic into the nerves of the neck that regulate temperature could give breast cancer patients longterm relief from hot flashes and sleep deprivation a new study suggests. Severe hot flashes often accompany tre...

Lowering Dietary Fat May Help Prevent Prostate Cancer

Thu, 15 May 2008 10:00:36 GMT

Eating less polyunsaturated fat the kind often found in baked and fried goods helps prevent prostate cancer in mice according to researchers. The finding by University of California Los Angeles scientists is believed to be the first of...

HPV Tied to Better Tongue Tonsil Cancer Outcomes

Wed, 14 May 2008 18:00:29 GMT

Tonsil and tongue cancers linked to human papillomavirus HPV are most responsive to current chemotherapy and radiation treatments while those that express high levels of a growth factor called EGFR are the least responsive and most deadly a new s...

HighTech Imaging No Better for Diagnosing HeadNeck Cancers

Tue, 13 May 2008 18:00:22 GMT

An advanced imaging technique to detect head and neck cancer may not boost a patients odds of receiving an early or more accurate diagnosis of the disease new findings suggest. Positron emission tomography with a radioactive tracer 18F...

Coupled With Mammography Ultrasound Finds More Breast Cancers

Tue, 13 May 2008 18:00:22 GMT

While undoubtedly lifesaving for many women mammography is far from perfect. But undergoing breast ultrasound in addition to standard mammography can find more cancers in highrisk women particularly those with dense breast tissue a new study fou...

Familial Breast Cancer Risk Lasts a Lifetime for Sisters

Tue, 13 May 2008 18:00:22 GMT

New research has found both bad news and good news on breast cancer risk. The bad news is a risk factor you cant change: Women whose sisters were diagnosed with breast cancer face an increased risk of breast cancer throughout their lives...

Black Rectal Cancer Patients Less Likely to Get Chemo Radiation

Tue, 13 May 2008 18:00:22 GMT

Even though black and white rectal cancer patients have similar referral rates to oncologists blacks are less likely to receive chemotherapy or radiation therapy new research shows. In their study researchers from the University of Michi...

Newer Prostate Cancer Treatment Similar to Traditional Surgery

Fri, 9 May 2008 20:00:19 GMT

Clinical practice may be trumping science when it comes to treatments for prostate cancer. According to a new study many patients are getting a newer minimally invasive surgery because they think it is better than conventional surgery e...

Mood Disorders Put Breast Cancer Patients at Risk for PTSD

Fri, 9 May 2008 16:00:25 GMT

Breast cancer patients are more than twice as likely to develop posttraumatic stress disorder if they have had previous mood and anxiety disorders new research suggests. About 16 percent of the 74 breast cancer patients studied by researc...

Outside Workers Least Likely to Get Skin Exams

Thu, 8 May 2008 16:00:28 GMT

Workers who face the greatest risk of developing skin cancer from overexposure to the sun are the least likely to get regular exams to detect its early warning signs a new report says. Then again the rest of the workforce isnt doing tha...

Breast Cancer Tends to Grow Faster in Younger Women

Thu, 8 May 2008 10:01:02 GMT

While the rate at which breast cancer tumors grow varies among patients that growth tends to be faster among younger women Norwegian researchers report. These findings may help in planning and evaluating screening programs clinical trial...

Gene Variation Linked to Neuroblastoma a Childhood Cancer

Wed, 7 May 2008 18:00:28 GMT

For the first time a gene linked to the often fatal childhood cancer neuroblastoma has been identified researchers report. This is the first paper that helps us understand what causes this childhood cancer said lead researcher Dr. John...

Protein May Trigger Colon Cancer

Mon, 5 May 2008 14:00:21 GMT

The overproduction of a protein may be what starts harmless colon polyps on their journey to becoming malignant tumors Finnish researchers report. The University of Helsinki research published online in Cancer Cell reveals that P...

BRCA Mutations Dont Spot All HighRisk Women

Mon, 5 May 2008 10:00:23 GMT

In women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer having a known mutation in the BRCA 1 or 2 genes raises the risk of a second cancer and many of these women choose to have their second breast removed before that has a chance to happen.

Many Moms Unwilling to Have Younger Daughters Get HPV Vaccine

Sun, 4 May 2008 10:00:18 GMT

New research shows that only half of American mothers intend to have their teenaged daughters vaccinated against human papillomavirus HPV if the girls are under the age of 13 despite government guidelines that suggest the opposite. HPV ...

New Targets Found That Stop Tumor Growth

Fri, 2 May 2008 18:00:28 GMT

A number of potential new targets for treatments that block tumor blood vessel formation a key step in tumor growth and metastasis have been identified by researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The use of the ...

Treating Stomach Infection Early Protects Against Cancer

Fri, 2 May 2008 12:00:47 GMT

Prompt treatment of a common stomach infection reverses the damage that can lead to gastric cancer according to tests on mice done by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology MIT. The findings should put a stop to any que...

Biomarker Spots Which Lesions Likely to Progress to Prostate Cancer

Fri, 2 May 2008 10:00:30 GMT

Spanish researchers report they may have found a way to tell which suspicious prostate lesions are likely to develop into cancer. The findings published in the May 1 issue of Clinical Cancer Research show a link between highgrade ...

Daily Aspirin May Reduce Breast Cancer Risk

Thu, 1 May 2008 20:00:24 GMT

Women who take an aspirin each day may reduce their risk of developing the most common type of breast cancer by 16 percent according to the results of a large study. Estrogen receptorpositive breast cancer accounts for some 75 percent of ...

Complications Found in Proposed Prostate Cancer Treatment

Thu, 1 May 2008 14:00:33 GMT

The idea that prostate cancer can be treated successfully just by blocking the activity of a protein called insulinlike growth factor IGF1 has been undermined by two new studies. IGF1 blockage is a goal being pursed by a number of drug...

Health Tip Maintain a Healthy Lifestyle

Thu, 1 May 2008 10:00:36 GMT

No one knows precisely why people get cancer and theres no surefire cure. But if you maintain a healthy lifestyle you can help reduce your risk. Here are some suggestions courtesy of AARP:

Eat a healthy diet including ...

Genetic Changes May Dictate Course of Acute Myeloid Leukemia

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 18:00:27 GMT

Breakthroughs in understanding the extremely fine genetic underpinnings of acute myeloid leukemia may allow doctors to quickly decide which existing therapies will most benefit individual patients. This can now help the bedside physician ...

Too Few Cancer Survivors Pursue Healthy Lifestyles

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 10:00:38 GMT

Cancer survivors who eat more fruits and vegetables stay physically active and avoid tobacco have a higher quality of life than those who dont do these things. The bad news is that many cancer survivors arent eating right and arent exer...

Medicare Costs Soar for Cancer Care

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 17:01:57 GMT

Treating elderly cancer patients for five years costs Medicare $21.1 billion and these costs are expected to increase dramatically as the population ages a new study says. The costs for treating patients varies by type of cancer with exp...

Cervical Cancer Screens Effective But More Can Be Done

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 17:01:57 GMT

Screening for cervical cancer reduces the risk for all types of the disease in women of all ages say Swedish researchers. They also concluded that better followup of women who have cervical cancer screening could lower rates of the disease. ...

International Consortium Will Hunt Down Genetics of Cancer

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 17:01:57 GMT

The launch of the International Cancer Genome Consortium was announced Tuesday by research organizations from around the world. The consortium was created to produce highquality genomic data on up to 50 types of cancer. Each cons...

Lip Balms and Glosses May Boost Skin Cancer Risks

Sat, 26 Apr 2008 10:00:20 GMT

Shiny lip balms and glosses may attract ultraviolet rays and increase the risk of skin cancer warns a dermatologist at Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas. Dr. Christine Brown noted that protecting your lips from harmful sun rays is...

Possible Viral Links to Lung Cancer Risk Uncovered

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 16:00:20 GMT

Although smoking is wellestablished as an independent risk factor for lung cancer two new studies suggest that two different viral infections might boost a smokers already substantial risk for developing the disease. While the specific v...

ImmuneBoosting Lung Cancer Therapy Shows Promise

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 16:00:20 GMT

An immuneboosting treatment for lung cancer patients reduces the risk of cancer relapse after surgery to the same extent as chemotherapy but without the risk of unpleasant side effects says a Phase II study by Belgian researchers. The st...

FDR Might Have Had Melanoma

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 10:00:27 GMT

Though shrouded in secrecy during his lifetime historians have gone to great lengths to posthumously chronicle the mysterious circumstances surrounding the health of Franklin Delano Roosevelt the 32nd president of the United States. That ...

Health Tip Protect Yourself Against Cervical Cancer

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 10:00:27 GMT

A prime cause of cervical cancer is human papillomavirus which includes more than 30 types that can be transmitted sexually. A Pap test can find changes on the cervix caused by an HPV infection. Here are suggestions on how to protect yours...

Stored Ovarian Tissue Needs Testing Before ReImplantation

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 10:00:41 GMT

Cancer can return in patients who have been successfully treated if ovarian or testicular tissue they had stored in hope of regaining fertility is transplanted back into their bodies without it being adequately checked for cancer cells according to ...

Scientists Discover How Stomach Tumors Form

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 16:00:44 GMT

Scientists say they may have discovered how tumors develop in the stomach a finding that could lead to new treatments for gastric cancer. In a study done on mice scientists at the Melbourne Branch of the International Ludwig Institute for...

Gene Predicts Breast Cancer Prognosis

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 16:00:44 GMT

A protein that stops the spread of breast cancer tumors in mice can predict which malignancies might spread a new study suggests. The gene called bromodomain protein Brd4 when added to breast cancer cells in mice produced a unique gen...

Scan Detects Oxygen Levels in Tumors

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 10:00:41 GMT

New research suggests that scientists are close to developing a simple way to measure oxygen levels in tumors giving doctors a headsup about what kind of treatment is best for individual patients. The findings fit into an emerging trend ...

New Anal Cancer Therapy Fails to Improve Outcomes

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 18:00:24 GMT

Compared to the standard treatment regimen for anal canal cancer the use of the chemotherapy drug cisplatin before other treatments didnt improve diseasefree survival and resulted in a higher rate of colostomy procedures says a U.S. study. ...

Factors in Cancer Death Rates Stay Stagnant

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 16:00:29 GMT

The factors behind cancer death rates seem to have stagnated a new report shows as the smoking prevention and mammography screening efforts that fueled recent declines in cancer deaths appear to have leveled off. Weve run into plateaus...

Cancer Death Rates Stay Stagnant

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 14:00:17 GMT

Cancer death rates seem to have stagnated a new report shows as the smoking prevention and mammography screening efforts that fueled recent declines appear to have leveled off. Weve run into plateaus in terms of people smoking and gett...

Larger Skin Lesions More Likely to Be Melanoma

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 10:00:47 GMT

Skin lesions larger than six millimeters in diameter are more likely than smaller lesions to be melanoma skin cancer a new study suggests. The finding supports the current widespread use of diameter guidelines to screen for melanoma resea...

Mammograms Still a Good Idea for Elderly Women

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 20:00:17 GMT

In women aged 80 and older regular mammograms reduce the risk of being diagnosed with latestage breast cancer but only about 20 percent of U.S. women in this age group have regular screenings a new study shows. The study is published on...

Melanomas on Scalp and Neck More Deadly

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 18:00:18 GMT

The most deadly melanoma skin cancers occur on the scalp and neck says a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill UNC study. Researchers analyzed 51704 melanoma cases in the United States and found that patients with scalp or neck me...

Many Cancer Survivors Are Overweight and Sedentary Study

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 10:00:40 GMT

A healthy lifestyle may help cancer survivors prevent recurrence of the disease and live longer yet cancer survivors have rates of obesity and physical inactivity similar to those of the general population according to new research. The ...

Treatment Bias Can Skew Results of Observational Studies

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 10:00:40 GMT

Certain biases may compromise the findings of observational studies that compare the outcomes of different cancer treatments a new study shows. Researchers at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston said observationa...

Exercise Combats Cancer Fatigue

Fri, 18 Apr 2008 20:00:17 GMT

Exercise may help improve fatigue caused by cancer and its treatments new research says. A lot of time the medical response to patients is that they should expect to be fatigued that it is a normal side effect. If patients are told tha...

Dealing Cervical Cancer a Knockout Blow

Fri, 18 Apr 2008 18:00:21 GMT

For the first time a doctors arsenal now includes a vaccine that can actually prevent cancer. Gardasil targets human papillomavirus or HPV which causes virtually all cases of cervical cancer and is present in one in four American...

Talk Therapy Proves Effective for Terminal Cancer Patients

Fri, 18 Apr 2008 16:00:55 GMT

Talk therapy can help treat depression symptoms in patients with terminal cancer according to Japanese researchers who reviewed the results of six studies that included a total of 517 patients with incurable cancer and depression. The pri...

Gleevec Pushes Advanced Melanoma Into Remission

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 20:00:17 GMT

The cancer drug Gleevec has forced metastatic melanoma into remission for the first time report researchers at the DanaFarber Cancer Institute in Boston. The case involves a 79yearold woman with melanoma tumors in several parts of her a...

Mouth Swab May One Day Diagnose Lung Cancer

Wed, 16 Apr 2008 20:00:29 GMT

Doctors may some day be able to accurately rapidly and noninvasively diagnose lung cancer with nothing more than a quick swab of the mouth a new study suggests. Oral cavity tissue damage at the molecular level appears to be a high...

Weekly Doses of Taxol Prolonged Lives of Breast Cancer Patients

Wed, 16 Apr 2008 18:00:32 GMT

Women who take the drug Taxol weekly after receiving chemotherapy for 12 weeks live longer and live longer without a recurrence of their breast cancer compared to women who take four taxol treatments every three weeks. The study also evalu...

Chemo May Not Affect Memory in Breast Cancer Patients

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 20:00:26 GMT

The stress of being diagnosed with breast cancer not the chemotherapy treatment to combat it may be responsible for patient complaints about problems with memory and concentration two new studies suggest. This is an important issue...

Extra Drug Improves Rectal Cancer Treatment

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 18:00:31 GMT

Adding the cancer drug Avastin to radiation and chemotherapy improves results for patients with rectal cancer. And adding the contraceptive drug mifepristone RU486 the socalled abortion pill to chemotherapy kills ovarian cancer cells t...

Breast Cancer Unchanged in Black Women Despite Drop in HRT Use

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 18:00:31 GMT

Although the overall incidence of breast cancer dropped dramatically after millions of American women stopped using hormonereplacement therapy in 2002 that decline doesnt seem to have benefited black women. In fact the rates of invasive...

Drug Proves Effective in Slowing Melanomas

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 18:00:31 GMT

The drug riluzole approved in the United States to treat amyotrophic lateral sclerosis ALS slows the growth of highly aggressive melanoma skin cancer according to a new study. A common feature of both melanoma and ALS also called Lou...

Space Radiation a Risk for Astronauts

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 18:00:31 GMT

Astronauts may be at increased risk of colon cancer and premature aging from the highenergy radiation found in space a new report says. The study expected to be presented Tuesday during the American Association for Cancer Research annual...

Experimental Cancer Vaccines Show Promise

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 16:00:30 GMT

A germ that commonly causes food poisoning may be the next weapon in the fight against cervical cancer a major cause of death among women worldwide. A new trial shows that a live Listeria vaccine called Lovaxin C is safe and even showed so...

New HPV Vaccine Promising in Mice

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 10:00:33 GMT

Researchers say theyve created a synthetic vaccine that can be delivered as a nasal spray for human papillomavirus the source of the most common sexually transmitted disease in the United States and a cause of cervical cancer. The exper...

Womens Awareness of Cancer Risk Linked to Race Ethnicity

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 10:00:33 GMT

Racial and ethnic variations in how women perceive their cancer risk may influence how likely they are to get screened for cancer particularly colon cancer says a University of California San Francisco study. The researchers interviewed...

New Drug Duo Helps Cut Colon Cancer Risk

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 10:00:33 GMT

A new drug duo might help prevent colorectal cancer and the powerful new cancer drug Sutent may slow the progression of liver cancer. So conclude two studies presented Monday at the American Association for Cancer Research annual meeting i...

New Treatments Help Fight Liver Colon Cancer

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 20:00:26 GMT

Detecting Diagnosing Breast Cancers

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 16:00:30 GMT

New studies into breast cancer imaging techniques reinforce the importance of these procedures in detecting and treating tumors in the young and the elderly. The findings all expected to be presented during the American Roentgen Ray Societ...

Stem Cell Marker Controls Pair of Key Cancer Pathways

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 14:00:39 GMT

New findings by researchers suggest breast cancer may arise from stem cells and that targeting a certain gene linked to these cells may be a key to treatment. Researchers from Georgetown University Medical Center report that the Musashi1 M...

Celebrex Plus Lipitor Could Fight Prostate Cancer

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 14:00:39 GMT

Two widely used drugs one lowers cholesterol and one is an antiinflammatory may be useful in controlling prostate cancer. New research being presented at the American Association for Cancer Research annual meeting in San Diego finds ...

Molecule Disrupts DNA Sequence in Ewings Sarcoma

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 10:00:54 GMT

A molecule that disrupts the oncogene that causes Ewings sarcoma has been identified by Georgetown University Medical Center researchers. Ewings sarcoma is a rare cancer that strikes children and young adults and can cause tumors to gro...

Drinking May Raise Breast Cancer Risk

Sun, 13 Apr 2008 18:00:27 GMT

Alcohol consumed even in small amounts increases the risk of breast cancer and particularly estrogenreceptor and progesteronereceptor positive breast cancer a new study shows. The findings expected to be presented Sunday at the annual...

Breast Cancer Vaccine Works Against Deadlier Form of Disease

Sun, 13 Apr 2008 18:00:27 GMT

A breast cancer vaccine significantly reduced the risk of recurrence for patients who have a high expression of the protein HER2neu. This type of breast cancer representing about onequarter of all cases tends to be deadlier than other ...

Biomarker May Predict Response to Cancer Therapy

Sun, 13 Apr 2008 18:00:27 GMT

A biomarker that may help doctors monitor the effectiveness of common treatments for kidney cancer and nonsmall cell lung cancer has been identified by researchers in the Netherlands. The researchers found that CD34bright/CD133neg candida...

Cancer Drug Trials Often Halted Early

Fri, 11 Apr 2008 14:00:30 GMT

An increasing number of clinical trials for new cancer treatments are being halted before the risks and benefits have been fully evaluated say Italian researchers who warn that this growing trend could put patients at risk of harm from new therapie...

New Drug Protects Against Radiation Damage

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 16:00:30 GMT

A modified version of a natural intestinal protein has protected animals against the damage caused by the kind of radiation used in cancer therapy researchers report. A first human trial of the protective treatment could start later this y...

HighDose Chemo Fails Against Small Cell Lung Cancers

Wed, 9 Apr 2008 18:00:31 GMT

Highintensity chemotherapy does not improve the survival rate of patients with small cell lung cancer SCLC a new Swiss study concludes. Testing on 140 patients in a randomized trial showed no statistically significant differences in sur...

Cancer Stem Cells Created in Lab

Wed, 9 Apr 2008 14:00:26 GMT

Researchers at Stanford University have succeeded in transforming skin cells into what appear to be cancer stem cells in a feat that could propel cancer research forward. Cancer stem cells are thought to start the unhindered proliferation ...

Breast Cancer Lymph Node Biopsy May Need Closer Look

Wed, 9 Apr 2008 10:00:27 GMT

A new longterm analysis of breast cancer patient survival suggests it might be time to update the way pathologists test lymph node biopsies. A team of New York City physicians found about one in four patients originally declared to be free...

Two Liver Cancer Treatments Better Than One

Tue, 8 Apr 2008 18:00:31 GMT

By combining a special type of chemotherapy TACE with another treatment called radiofrequency ablation RFA Chinese researchers boosted the survival of people with advanced liver cancer by an average of 13 to 15 months compared to either treatmen...

Scientists Block Prostate Cancer Cells Spread

Tue, 8 Apr 2008 18:00:31 GMT

Interrupting communication between cancer cells and cells that promote inflammation blocks an early step in prostate cancer cells spread a U.S. study finds. According to researchers from Northwestern Universitys Feinberg School of Medici...

Estrogen Supplements May Raise Odds of Benign Breast Disease

Tue, 8 Apr 2008 18:00:31 GMT

Women who took a common form of estrogen as hormone replacement therapy during menopause more than doubled their risk for certain types of benign breast disease compared with women who took a placebo researchers say. One such condition ...

Green Tea Mushroom Extract Combo Slows Sarcomas

Tue, 8 Apr 2008 18:00:31 GMT

A combination of the active ingredients in reishi mushrooms and green tea inhibited the growth of tumors and extended survival time of mice with sarcomas two Chinese studies show. Sarcomas are cancers of the bone cartilage fat muscle b...

Food as Medicine

Tue, 8 Apr 2008 14:00:24 GMT

Caffeine green tea and tart cherries may guard against multiple sclerosis cancer and cardiovascular troubles respectively new research suggests. All three findings which confirm the healthy properties of these foods were presented thi...

Did Medicare Reimbursement Changes Affect Prostate Cancer Treatment

Mon, 7 Apr 2008 10:00:26 GMT

In 2004 Medicare reduced its reimbursement rates to doctors for drugs that treat prostate cancer by blocking the activity of male hormones. Coincidentally or not the use of surgery castration to accomplish that same goal started to ...

Nanomachine Releases Anticancer Drugs Inside Cells

Fri, 4 Apr 2008 18:00:31 GMT

A nanomachine that can kill cancer cells has been developed by researchers at the University of California Los Angeles. The nanoimpeller collects and stores anticancer drugs inside tiny pores and releases the drugs into cancer cells in ...

Patient Navigators Boost Colon Screens in Urban Minorities

Fri, 4 Apr 2008 18:00:31 GMT

Two new studies make the case that more personal guidance and encouragement will help increase the numbers of lowincome and minority patients getting recommended screening for colorectal cancer. The studies published in current issue of <...

Most Cancer Survivors Say Chemo Fears Unfounded

Fri, 4 Apr 2008 10:00:28 GMT

Although most cancer survivors polled in a recent survey said they had been fearful of undergoing chemotherapy most also said the treatments were much less trying than they had expected. In fact 94 percent said they would advise others to...

Anemia Triples Risk of Local Recurrence in Breast Cancer Patients

Thu, 3 Apr 2008 16:00:34 GMT

Breast cancer patients who develop anemia during chemotherapy face almost three times the risk of a recurrence in the same area of the affected breast new research suggests. The Austrian study was a reanalysis of information from a clinic...

Molecular Cause of Breast Cancer Metastasis Discovered

Thu, 3 Apr 2008 14:00:33 GMT

Certain cancers tend to spread to specific tissues and now researchers have gained a molecular handle on how that happens. Working with breast tumors Joan Massague chairman of the Cancer Biology and Genetics Program at Memorial SloanKet...

Topical Cream Treats Precancerous Lesions of Vulva

Wed, 2 Apr 2008 18:00:31 GMT

A topical cream appears to be a highly effective treatment for precancerous lesions on the vulva Dutch researchers report. Rather than directly targeting the disease itself the cream works by helping the bodys own immune system fight off...

Gene Variants Linked to Lung Cancer Identified

Wed, 2 Apr 2008 16:00:28 GMT

Scientists have pinpointed an area on chromosome 15 that has three nicotine receptor genes that appear to increase the risk for lung cancer. This finding offers yet more evidence that lung cancer is tied to genetics and not just smoking. Ho...

New Scan Sees Tumors Deep Inside Body

Wed, 2 Apr 2008 10:00:26 GMT

Stanford University researchers have developed a new imaging system that illuminates tumors deep inside the body and lets doctors view details 1000 times smaller than previously possible. Raman spectroscopy uses tiny nanoparticles injecte...

Report Claims Clinical Trials Miss Many Populations

Tue, 1 Apr 2008 18:00:15 GMT

A new analysis of the American clinical trial process suggests that the system for testing new drugs has routinely excluded or underrepresented women older people minorities disabled individuals and rural populations for decades. Weve...

Fasting Before Chemo Protects Healthy Cells

Tue, 1 Apr 2008 18:00:15 GMT

Fasting for two days before chemotherapy might protect cancer patients against the toxic side effects of these powerful drugs by shielding healthy cells while dooming malignant cells to destruction new research suggests. The side effects ...

Genomic Profiling of Breast Cancers a Better Treatment Tool

Tue, 1 Apr 2008 16:00:13 GMT

Determining the genetic profile of a breast tumor along with an assessment of a patients clinical characteristics can help predict prognosis and guide treatment choices a Duke University study concludes. Our goal is to treat patients o...

Many Women Unclear About Breast Cancer Treatments

Mon, 31 Mar 2008 10:00:09 GMT

Only half the women diagnosed with earlystage breast cancer clearly understand the risks and benefits of a mastectomy versus a breastconserving lumpectomy plus radiation even after they have one of the procedures according to a new study. ...

iYoui May Be the Key to Cancer Prevention

Sat, 29 Mar 2008 10:00:08 GMT

Imagine therapies that could cut cancer deaths in half. Well these breakthrough treatments are here according to a recent American Cancer Society report that said as many as 50 percent of cancer deaths could be prevented with lifestyle ...

Radon The Silent Home Invader That Can Kill

Fri, 28 Mar 2008 18:00:12 GMT

You cant see smell or taste radon. The gas emanates naturally from the soil seeping up into homes that rest on the ground. The only way to avoid it really is to have a house on stilts. But the radioactive gas is the leading c...

Special MRI Spots When Brain Tumors Turn Deadly

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 14:00:20 GMT

A sophisticated imaging technique can detect the changes in blood flow in the brain that often herald the emergence of highly malignant brain tumors researchers report. The British researchers said the discovery could one day help doctors ...

NowBanned Hair Dyes Linked to Bladder Cancer

Wed, 26 Mar 2008 16:00:25 GMT

Hairdressers and barbers who used nowbanned hair dyes that had high concentrations of coloring ingredients appear to be at a slightly elevated risk of bladder cancer a new report contends. The authors said the findings confirm what was fi...

Some Cancer Trials Overstate Findings Analysis Claims

Tue, 25 Mar 2008 18:00:10 GMT

The effectiveness of public campaigns or efforts to prevent cancer can often be overstated in certain kinds of cancer trials because of inappropriate statistical analysis a new report claims. The review published in the March 25 online is...

DNABased HPV Tests More Accurate Than Pap Smears

Tue, 25 Mar 2008 18:00:09 GMT

A new study confirms previous findings that human papillomavirus HPV DNAbased tests are more accurate than Pap smears in detecting precancerous lesions. It was already known that the HPV test uncovered more infections and precancerous l...

HRT Raises Recurrence Risk Among Breast Cancer Survivors

Tue, 25 Mar 2008 18:00:09 GMT

European researchers report more grim news concerning women and hormone replacement therapy: Not only do healthy women run the risk of developing breast cancer while taking the therapy breast cancer survivors who do the same face a higher risk of a ...

Identical Genes From Parents May Raise Cancer Risk

Tue, 25 Mar 2008 18:00:09 GMT

People who have two identical copies of certain genes one inherited from the mother and one from the father seem to be at greater risk of developing a number of common types of cancer research shows. Although the findings need to be ...

Gaps Persist in Use of Less Invasive Breast Cancer Procedure

Tue, 25 Mar 2008 18:00:08 GMT

TUESDAY March 25 HealthDay News The use of a less invasive form of sentinel lymph node biopsy SLNB during breast cancer surgery increased substantially in the United States from 1998 to 2005 researchers say. However there are still dispari...

HighRisk Blacks Less Likely to Get Colonoscopies

Tue, 25 Mar 2008 16:00:11 GMT

Even when there is a family history of colon cancer blacks are much less likely to get colonoscopies than their white counterparts are a new study finds. While blacks who have an increased chance of developing colon cancer continue to lag...

MRI Can Be Predictor of PostTreatment Prostate Cancer Spread

Tue, 25 Mar 2008 16:00:11 GMT

Magnetic resonance imaging MRI can help predict the risk of cancer recurrence in prostate cancer patients who are about to have radiation therapy a new U.S. study says. Researchers from the University of California San Francisco conduct...

Health Tip Get Screened for Cancer

Tue, 25 Mar 2008 10:00:21 GMT

Early detection by way of regular screening is one of the best ways to beat cancer. The American Cancer Society offers these guidelines for cancer screenings:

Women starting at age 40 should get an annual mammogram to s...

Womans Abdominal Organs Removed in Unique Cancer Surgery

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 20:00:06 GMT

Brooke Zepp a 63yearold South Florida woman was diagnosed last May with leiomyosarcoma a rare cancerous tumor deep inside her abdomen that had wrapped itself around her aorta and other arteries that supply blood to vital organs such as the stoma...

Many Phase 3 Cancer Drug Trials Yield Effective Medicines

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 18:00:10 GMT

From 25 percent to 50 percent of new cancer treatments tested in phase 3 randomized clinical trials are eventually found to be effective say American researchers who analyzed data from 624 phase 3 trials involving more than 216000 patients. ...

Researchers Gain Insights Into OnOff Switch for Cells

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 14:00:12 GMT

New insights about an onoff switch that controls cell growth could one day help identify targets for drugs to treat cancer and other diseases that involve unnatural cell growth researchers are reporting. The researchers at the Duke Instit...

Obese Women Less Likely to Be Tested for Some Cancers

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 10:00:09 GMT

A new review of 32 studies suggests that obese women particularly white women are more likely than others to skip screenings for breast and cervical cancer. No one knows why extra pounds lessen the likelihood that women will avoid ma...

FullBody Scans May Help the Highly CancerProne

Fri, 21 Mar 2008 18:00:12 GMT

Fullbody PET/CT scans identified unsuspected treatable tumors in three of 15 patients with a rare genetic condition that greatly increases the risk of cancer say researchers at the DanaFarber Cancer Institute in Boston. In most people w...

Family Discussion Plays Role in Breast Cancer Awareness

Fri, 21 Mar 2008 14:00:07 GMT

The willingness of relatives to discuss a familys cancer history has a major impact on the awareness of genetic counseling and testing among women at moderate risk for breast cancer according to a preliminary U.S. study. Previous research...

Cancer Poses Challenges for Husbands Frame of Mind

Thu, 20 Mar 2008 18:00:15 GMT

For couples coping with cancer the physical health of the husband as either patient or caregiver appears particularly influenced by the wifes frame of mind new research suggests. The finding suggests that a husband is particularly ...

Treanda Treats Rare Cancer

Thu, 20 Mar 2008 18:00:15 GMT

The Cephalon drug Treanda bendamustine hydrochloride has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat chronic lymphocytic leukemia a rare cancer that affects the blood and bone marrow. CLL is expected to strike some 15...

Quality of Life an Issue in Prostate Cancer Treatment

Wed, 19 Mar 2008 17:05:30 GMT

Qualityoflife issues should be weighed carefully when prostate cancer patients are considering the thicket of treatment options available to them new research suggests. Different therapies can have a very different impact on aspects of ...

Environmental Toxins Radiation May Be Tied to Breast Cancer

Wed, 19 Mar 2008 16:05:28 GMT

In the decades following World War II both breast cancer rates and the use of synthetic chemicals soared in the United States and a new report contends theres a strong connection between the two. Produced by the Breast Cancer Fund a ...

Breast Cancer Radiation Therapy Works in Fewer But Higher Doses

Tue, 18 Mar 2008 19:05:37 GMT

The use of radiation therapy in fewer but higher doses appears to be just as effective as conventional doses for women recovering from breast cancer British researchers report. Because fewer treatments are needed the overall amount of ...

Head and Neck Cancer Outcomes a Mixed Bag

Tue, 18 Mar 2008 17:05:31 GMT

In the year after their first treatment headandneck cancer patients experience decreases in their physical quality of life but improvements in their mental health quality of life says a U.S. study. In background information in the stud...

TissueFreezing Technique Effective Against Prostate Cancer

Tue, 18 Mar 2008 09:05:36 GMT

Freezing the prostate to kill cancer a procedure called cryotherapy may be as effective as more common treatments such as radiation U.S. researchers report in the first such followup study spanning 10 years. In this procedure thin need...

Frying Tumors Can Boost Lung Cancer Survival

Mon, 17 Mar 2008 12:06:22 GMT

Needledelivered frying or freezing technologies can be useful weapons against both lung and kidney cancers new research shows. In one study conducted in France patients with advanced lung cancer who were not candidates for surgery underw...

Health Tip Sun Safety

Mon, 17 Mar 2008 09:05:24 GMT

Protecting yourself from too much sun exposure involves more than just a dab of sunscreen. The U.S. National Safety Council offers these suggestions to protect your skin from sun damage:

Wear sunscreen that blocks UVA and U...

Parkinsons Drug May Fight Cancer

Sat, 15 Mar 2008 09:05:13 GMT

The drug dopamine currently used to treat patients with conditions such as Parkinsons disease pituitary tumors and heart attack may also prove effective in cancer patients a Mayo Clinic study finds. In laboratory and mouse tests r...

Combo Treatment Ups Survival When Cancer Spreads to Abdominal Lining

Fri, 14 Mar 2008 17:05:31 GMT

In certain patients with cancer that has spread to the peritoneum the membrane lining the abdominal cavity surgery combined with a special kind of chemotherapy can improve survival rates Wake Forest University researchers report. The...

Obesity Linked to Poor Prognosis for Some Breast Cancer Patients

Fri, 14 Mar 2008 14:05:32 GMT

Women who are overweight or obese when diagnosed with locally advanced breast cancer face a higher chance of recurrence and a shorter life expectancy than either normal or underweight patients a new study suggests. The researchers also fou...

Fallout From Atomic Bombs Still Causing Health Problems

Fri, 14 Mar 2008 12:05:48 GMT

Among Japanese survivors of the atomic bombs dropped by the U.S. on Hiroshima and Nagasaki those exposed to radioactive fallout as young children appear to face a greater risk of developing adult cancers than those exposed while still in the womb n...

Fighting Cancer With a Pen

Fri, 14 Mar 2008 09:05:20 GMT

When 69yearold Carl Irwin arrived at Georgetown Universitys Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center for treatment of lymphoma he was handed a blank notebook and asked to write about how his cancer had changed him and how he felt about those changes....

Radioimmunotherapy After Chemo Safe for Common Lymphoma

Thu, 13 Mar 2008 17:05:28 GMT

Radioimmunotherapy after chemotherapy is safe and effective for patients with follicular nonHodgkin lymphoma NHL according to an Italian study. It found that radioimmunotherapy with the radioactive drug yttrium90 90Y ibritumombab tiu...

FDA Panel Supports Anemia Drugs for Cancer Patients

Thu, 13 Mar 2008 16:05:31 GMT

A U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisory panel voted Thursday to recommend continued use of bloodboosting drugs for cancer patients on chemotherapy with the caveat that certain cancer sufferers should steer clear of the medications. ...

Womens Risk for a Certain Skin Cancer Varies by Geography

Thu, 13 Mar 2008 12:05:37 GMT

An American womans risk of developing the skin cancer called squamous cell carcinoma appears to increase if she lives in areas where UV radiation is high such as in the South a new study found. The risk of developing another type of skin...

FDA Panel Weighs Safety of Anemia Drugs for Cancer Patients

Thu, 13 Mar 2008 09:05:25 GMT

When a U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisory panel meets Thursday to weigh whether bloodboosting drugs are safe to use in cancer patients suffering from anemia the question will not be an easy one to answer. According to FDA briefin...

Genetic Markers May Predict Lung Cancer Recurrence

Wed, 12 Mar 2008 17:05:39 GMT

Certain genetic alterations in tumors and tissue from patients with earlystage lung cancer may identify those at greatest risk for cancer recurrence say researchers at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center. They said the finding could al...

Doctors See How Cancer Drug Can Damage Kidneys

Wed, 12 Mar 2008 17:05:39 GMT

The sometimes controversial cancer drug Avastin can cause kidney damage by doing what its supposed to but in the wrong place a study shows. Avastin whose generic name is bevacizumab is the first member of a family of drugs designed t...

Crime Boss Gene May Spur Breast Cancer

Wed, 12 Mar 2008 14:05:29 GMT

Scientists have identified a gene they say can promote aggressive breast cancer by acting as a kind of crime boss capable of changing the behavior of more than 1000 genes within tumor cells. So far the research has been limited to mice...

PostOp Chemo Fails to Boost Survival in Stomach Cancers

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 17:05:32 GMT

Chemotherapy following surgery does not improve survival in stomach cancer patients says an Italian study. Currently surgery is the only treatment that can potentially cure nonmetastatic gastric cancer according to background informatio...

Specialized Care for Ovarian Cancer Improves Outcomes

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 16:05:32 GMT

Treatment at semispecialized or specialized hospitals improved survival time for ovarian cancer patients a Dutch study found. For the study the researchers examined data on 8621 ovarian cancer patients treated in the Netherlands between...

Late Use of Aromatase Inhibitor Still Effective Against Breast Cancer

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 12:05:32 GMT

Theres good news for the 60 percent of women with breast cancer whose malignancies are estrogendriven: Researchers say taking the aromatase inhibitor AI drug letrozole Femara can cut risk of a recurrence by more than half. That benef...

Outcomes Improve for NonHodgkin Lymphoma Patients

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 09:05:25 GMT

Between 1990 and 2004 five and 10year survival rates for nonHodgkin lymphoma patients in the United States improved a new study finds. Researchers at the German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg analyzed data from the Surveillance ...

Gulf War Illness Strongly Linked to Chemical Exposure

Mon, 10 Mar 2008 17:05:25 GMT

A new scientific review finds a strong association between exposure to certain chemicals and the Gulf War illness suffered by many veterans. The class of chemicals known as acetylcholinesterase inhibitors AChEIs are found in pesticides...

New Drug for Brain Cancer Too Dangerous for Pediatric Patients

Mon, 10 Mar 2008 12:05:28 GMT

A cuttingedge drug for brain cancers may place pediatric patients at risk for bone damage and stunted growth an animal study suggests. The new red flag concerns a signal transduction inhibitor STI medication known as HhAntag a drug d...

PSA Test Losing Diagnostic Value Study Says

Mon, 10 Mar 2008 09:05:30 GMT

Changes in medical practice have undermined the value of the prostatespecific antigen PSA test as a diagnostic tool for prostate cancer a new study asserts. However that assertion was immediately challenged by other experts in the fiel...

Yoga Eases Menopause Symptoms in Breast Cancer Survivors

Sat, 8 Mar 2008 12:05:15 GMT

Yoga helps ease hot flashes and other menopausal symptoms in breast cancer survivors a U.S. study says. Some of the 37 women whod had early stage breast cancer took part in an eightweek Yoga of Awareness program while others were assi...

Researchers Design Promising Cancer Drug

Fri, 7 Mar 2008 16:05:22 GMT

A drug that targets a protein interaction involved in many types of cancer has been created by University of Michigan researchers. In cell cultures the smallmolecule inhibitor MI219 was highly effective at preventing the tumorsuppressor...

Estrogen Levels in Blood Predict Breast Cancers Return

Thu, 6 Mar 2008 09:05:22 GMT

New research shows that women who experienced a recurrence of their breast cancer had almost twice as much estrogen in their blood as women who remained cancerfree after treatment. This indicates that circulating estrogen levels contribut...

Soaking Potatoes Before Frying Cuts Suspected Carcinogen

Thu, 6 Mar 2008 09:05:22 GMT

Soaking potatoes in water before frying cuts down on the formation of the suspected carcinogen acrylamide says a a new British study. Acrylamide is created when starchrich foods are cooked at high temperatures such as frying baking gr...

Gleevec May Disrupt Ovarian Function

Wed, 5 Mar 2008 17:05:42 GMT

Although its a much more targeted treatment than standard chemotherapy the effective and muchtouted leukemia drug Gleevec isnt without side effects. In women still in their reproductive years imatinib Gleevec might damage the chan...

NonPolyp Colon Lesions Hard to Detect

Tue, 4 Mar 2008 16:05:27 GMT

While the majority of colon cancers were thought to develop from polyps a new study challenges that assumption and points out that socalled nonpolypoid flat or depressed lesions in the colon are also likely to turn into cancer. A stu...

Treatment Combo for Pancreatic Cancer Has Limited Benefit

Tue, 4 Mar 2008 16:05:27 GMT

In patients who had surgery for pancreatic cancer adding the chemotherapy drug gemcitabine to chemoradiation prolonged survival but the improvement was not statistically significant a new study finds. Among patients who have surgery to r...

Raised Breast Cancer Risk Persists After Combo HRT Stopped

Tue, 4 Mar 2008 16:05:27 GMT

An increased risk of breast cancer lingers after a woman stops taking combination hormone replacement therapy a new study shows. The finding published in the March 5 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association was ba...

Embryonic Stem Cell Protein Inhibits Melanoma

Mon, 3 Mar 2008 17:05:23 GMT

A protein called Lefty that regulates development of human embryonic stem cells can inhibit the growth and spread of deadly melanomas and aggressive breast cancers says a study by researchers at Northwestern University in Chicago. The find...

Breast Cancer Drug Might Treat Bipolar Disorder

Mon, 3 Mar 2008 16:05:29 GMT

A drug commonly used to treat breast cancer may one day help manage symptoms of mania or the high phase experienced by people with bipolar disorder researchers say. Men and women who took tamoxifen for three weeks experienced a signific...

Carb Intake Obesity Tied to Rise in Esophageal Cancers

Fri, 29 Feb 2008 17:05:21 GMT

There may be a link between rising rates of carbohydrate intake and obesity and the increasing number of esophageal cancer cases in the United States a new study says. Researchers noted that cases of esophageal cancer increased from 30000...

Chemo Break Benefits Some Men With Prostate Cancer

Fri, 29 Feb 2008 16:05:27 GMT

Some men with advanced prostate cancer can safely take a break from chemotherapy says a study by researchers at the Oregon Health amp; Science University Cancer Institute. The study included 250 men with metastatic androgenindependent p...

Vitamin E Supplements May Raise Lung Cancer Risk

Fri, 29 Feb 2008 09:05:20 GMT

Vitamin supplements wont protect people against lung cancer and taking vitamin E may even heighten the risk a new study finds. The survey covered the supplementtaking habits and lung cancer incidence of almost 78000 adults in the state ...

Heart Hormones Beat Back Cancers in Mice

Thu, 28 Feb 2008 17:05:26 GMT

New research offers early evidence that hormones produced by the heart to control both blood pressure and volume could be harnessed to treat and possibly cure a wide range of cancers. Following a month of intravenous treatment with an...

Broccoli Sprout Extract Hinders Bladder Cancer Development

Thu, 28 Feb 2008 16:05:24 GMT

A concentrated extract of freezedried broccoli sprouts reduced bladder tumor development by more than half in laboratory rats according to a new study. Researchers said the finding supports human epidemiologic studies indicating that eat...

Scientists Find Cancer Culprits in Cigarette Smoke

Thu, 28 Feb 2008 12:05:33 GMT

Its long been known that smoking causes lung cancer but a new study is the first to show that the hydrogen peroxide in cigarette smoke is what actually causes healthy lung cells to turn cancerous. Researchers from the University of Calif...

Study Finds Variations in Doses of Radiation Therapy

Tue, 26 Feb 2008 17:05:44 GMT

Procedures to carry out a highly refined complex radiation treatment for killing tumors and sparing healthy tissue may vary more widely from one medical center to the next than previously thought a new study suggests. This study raises ...

Cost of Breast Cancer Can Include Paycheck

Tue, 26 Feb 2008 17:05:43 GMT

In the first year after being diagnosed with breast cancer working women lose an average of 27 percent of their income a new study finds. Researchers from Laval University in Quebec interviewed 829 women at one six and 12 months after th...

Anemia Drugs for Cancer Patients Increase Death Risk

Tue, 26 Feb 2008 16:05:35 GMT

Drugs designed to fight fatigue and other symptoms associated with cancer treatmentrelated anemia may do more harm than good especially if given in the wrong doses. The drugs erythropoiesisstimulating agents ESAs increase the ris...

Web Tool Aids Men in Prostate Decisions

Tue, 26 Feb 2008 12:05:50 GMT

Men considering prostate cancer screening who used an interactive Webbased decisionmaking tool knew more about the disease and were less likely to choose screening than men who got information from credible Web sites a U.S. study concludes. ...

HRT Can Lead to Abnormal Mammograms Biopsies

Mon, 25 Feb 2008 16:05:31 GMT

Women who take combined hormone therapy for about five years have a higher risk of abnormal mammograms and breast biopsies. This in turn may decrease the effectiveness of these methods of detecting breast cancer according to a new study ...

Earlier Colon Cancer Screens Urged for Smokers

Fri, 22 Feb 2008 19:05:14 GMT

Smokers and people with significant exposure to secondhand smoke should start getting screened for colon cancer five to 10 years earlier than the current recommended age of 50 a new study says. Researchers at the University of Rochester Me...

FDA OKs Avastin for Advanced Breast Cancer

Fri, 22 Feb 2008 17:05:21 GMT

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration went against the recommendation of its own advisory panel on Friday and approved the cancer drug Avastin for women with advanced breast cancer. The agency cleared the drug made by Genentech and already...

Cancer Death Rates Still Declining

Wed, 20 Feb 2008 09:06:05 GMT

Good news continues to come forth from the cancer front: U.S. death rates from the disease have declined by 18.4 percent among men and by 10.5 percent among women since mortality rates first started going down in the early 1990s. In 2008...

Combo Treatment Best for Melanoma Advanced Ovarian Cancer

Tue, 19 Feb 2008 12:05:34 GMT

Combining periodic infusions of antibodies with a widely used cancer vaccine appears to be more effective and less harsh with melanoma and advanced ovarian cancer patients than using either treatment on its own a new study shows. Besides d...

Timely Cancer Diagnosis Linked to Insurance Status

Mon, 18 Feb 2008 09:05:30 GMT

People who either have no health insurance or rely on Medicaid are more likely to be diagnosed with advanced cancers than people who have private health insurance researchers from the American Cancer Society report. At a time when more tha...

Chemotherapy After Breast Cancer Surgery Effective for Older Women Too

Sun, 17 Feb 2008 09:05:27 GMT

Its clear that chemotherapy after breast cancer surgery increases survival rates. But many older women arent being offered this potentially lifesaving treatment. But age shouldnt be a deciding factor an older womans general health a...

Daily Stress May Raise Womens Risk of Cervical Cancer

Fri, 15 Feb 2008 19:05:26 GMT

High levels of daily stress could explain why some women infected with malignancylinked types of human papillomavirus HPV develop cervical cancer a new study suggests. Scientists at Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia tested 74 wom...

Daily Stress May Raise Womens Risk of Cervical Cancer

Fri, 15 Feb 2008 16:05:27 GMT

Obesity Raises Cancer Risk

Fri, 15 Feb 2008 09:05:23 GMT

The more weight you carry on your body the greater your odds of developing cancer British researchers report. This is true not only of fairly common cancers such as colon and breast but also of lesser known varieties including gallbladd...

Viral Therapy Slows Pediatric Tumors in Mice

Fri, 15 Feb 2008 09:05:23 GMT

A laboratoryengineered virus can successfully slow the growth of two types of hardtotreat pediatric tumors without harming healthy tissue a new study shows. The targeted viral therapy dubbed rQT3 slowed neuroblastoma and peripheral ne...

Scientists Show Stem Cells Dont Cause Cancer

Thu, 14 Feb 2008 14:05:34 GMT

A major concern with using stem cells to treat disease has been the possibility that the retrovirus used to implant the cells might cause cancer but now a group of scientists appears to have solved that problem. In November two groups of ...

DDT Compound Speeds Breast Cancer Growth

Thu, 14 Feb 2008 12:05:34 GMT

A new Canadian study may finally explain how a key compound found in the U.S.banned insecticide DDT accelerates the growth of breast cancer tumors. The new report published in the open access journal Breast Cancer Research suggest...

Many Prostate Cancers Will Not Need Treatment

Wed, 13 Feb 2008 12:05:47 GMT

One of the largest studies of its kind concludes that most older men with early prostate cancer do not shorten their survival odds if they adopt a waitandsee approach to the disease. In fact most such patients will die of other causes...

Kidney Cancer Drug Linked to Higher Rate of Heart Problems

Wed, 13 Feb 2008 09:05:24 GMT

A greater percentage of patients than previously thought may develop heart failure when taking the breakthrough cancer drug Sutent researchers report. The drug was approved for advanced kidney cancer and a rare form of gastrointestinal can...

Precancerous Breast Lesions Cause Unnecessary Worry

Tue, 12 Feb 2008 16:05:33 GMT

Many women diagnosed with a precancerous breast lesion known as ductal carcinoma in situ DCIS are highly anxious about their prognosis even though they face a low risk of a recurrence or of developing invasive breast cancer a new study finds....

HPVPositive Head and Neck Cancers Fare Better

Tue, 12 Feb 2008 16:05:32 GMT

Head and neck cancer patients whose tumors test positive for human papillomavirus HPV tend to survive longer and respond better to treatment than those who test negative a new study says. HPV a common virus with strains believed to be r...

Ovary Removal Protects Some HighRisk Women

Tue, 12 Feb 2008 14:05:23 GMT

Women who carry the BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations that raise the risk for both breast and ovarian cancer should weigh a new finding that suggests having your ovaries removed provides greater protection against breast cancer if you have the BRCA2 mutation....

Corneal Transplants Can Carry Infection Risk

Tue, 12 Feb 2008 12:05:28 GMT

People who donate corneas are giving the gift of sight but they may also be passing along a serious infection to the recipients a new study finds. This infection called endophthalmitis most commonly comes from donors who die in a hospit...

More Gene Variations Found That Raise Prostate Cancer Risk

Mon, 11 Feb 2008 09:26:40 GMT

Scientists have uncovered at least 10 new genetic variations associated with an increased risk for prostate cancer. The new findings double the number of genetic variants that are known to be associated with prostate cancer. Three reports d...

Most Breast Cancer Web Pages Contain Reliable Information

Mon, 11 Feb 2008 09:26:40 GMT

Just 5 percent of Web pages devoted to breast cancer contain inaccurate information. But pages focused on complementary or alternative medicine are 15 times more likely to make misleading claims and contain other false information a new study says.<...

PET Scans Best for Measuring Response to Sarcoma Treatment

Fri, 8 Feb 2008 16:05:20 GMT

Positron emission tomography PET is more accurate and sensitive than standard scans for measuring treatment response in sarcoma patients UCLA researchers report. The study reported in the Feb. 1 issue of Clinical Cancer Research ...

Pathology Reports Good for Breast Cancer Studies

Thu, 7 Feb 2008 16:05:24 GMT

In epidemiological studies of women with breast cancer pathology reports offer an acceptable alternative to repeated central laboratory testing for determining the estrogenreceptor status of participants new research suggests. The use of...

Gene Plays JekyllandHyde Role in Deadly Brain Cancer

Thu, 7 Feb 2008 14:05:25 GMT

A gene called STAT3 acts like Jekyll and Hyde in glioblastoma brain cancer according to a study led by Harvard Medical School researchers. The finding may help improve treatment of people with the deadly disease. Glioblastoma ...

Natural Secretion Marks Difference Between Ordinary Mole and Melanoma

Thu, 7 Feb 2008 12:05:38 GMT

An anticancer protein thats naturally produced and secreted by the body can make the difference between a common mole and deadly melanoma skin cancer a new study says. If this IGFBP7 protein can be produced and delivered to tumors it ma...

Transparent Fish Gives New Window on Disease

Wed, 6 Feb 2008 12:05:30 GMT

Medical researchers can now get a clearer view into human biology and disease with a newly developed totally transparent breed of zebrafish a common model for medical research. According to the Childrens Hospital Boston researchers who d...

Less Invasive Way to Stage Lung Cancer Shows Promise

Tue, 5 Feb 2008 19:05:23 GMT

Less invasive approaches for determining how far lung cancer has spread may be better than traditional invasive procedures. Although the finding published in the Feb. 6 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association need...

Sorafenib Slows Growth of Some Leukemias

Fri, 1 Feb 2008 17:05:16 GMT

The drug sorafenib shows promise in the treatment of people with acute myeloid leukemia who have specific gene mutations say U.S. researchers. Previous research has shown that sorafenib currently used to treat kidney and liver cancer ...

Experimental Vaccine Halts Prostate Cancer in Mice

Fri, 1 Feb 2008 09:05:16 GMT

An experimental prostate cancer vaccine has stopped the progress of the disease in 90 percent of the mice who got it California researchers report. The vaccine turned the cancer into a chronic manageable disease said W. Martin Kast le...

Personality Traits Dont Affect Breast Cancer Risk

Wed, 30 Jan 2008 17:05:29 GMT

A womans personality traits do not affect breast cancer risk a followup study finds. In 1996 researchers at The Netherlands Cancer Institute identified a weak association between development of breast cancer and antiemotionality a la...

HighDose Chemo Helps Beat Rare Brain Cancer

Wed, 30 Jan 2008 16:05:26 GMT

Most people suffering from a rare brain cancer appear to benefit from high doses of the chemotherapy drug methotrexate a small study finds. Primary central nervous system lymphoma PCNSL is a type of nonHodgkin lymphoma that affects the ...

Protein Linked With Poor Prognosis in EarlyStage Breast Cancer

Wed, 30 Jan 2008 14:05:20 GMT

High levels of a protein called Ki67 are associated with poor prognosis in women with earlystage breast cancer but this protein may not be useful in identifying patients who would benefit from additional chemotherapy an Italian study suggests.

MicroRNAs May Predict Colon Cancer Prognosis

Tue, 29 Jan 2008 17:05:26 GMT

Knowing whether or not a particular cancer will be aggressive allows doctors to more effectively treat their patients and a newly found class of molecules called microRNAs may help doctors do just that. Recent research has honed in on a pa...

Sex Hormones Dont Seem to Affect Prostate Cancer Risk

Tue, 29 Jan 2008 17:05:26 GMT

A mans risk of prostate cancer is not related to the amount of sex hormones circulating in his bloodstream a new British analysis suggests. The conclusion was based on a review of 18 studies representing 95 percent of all available res...

Surgeons Characteristics Influence Breast Cancer Care

Tue, 29 Jan 2008 17:05:26 GMT

Individual surgeon characteristics such as gender and medical training may influence whether a women receives radiation after breast conservation cancer surgery a U.S. study suggests. Many breast cancer patients dont receive radiation ...

Health Tip Risk Factors for Melanoma

Tue, 29 Jan 2008 09:05:20 GMT

HealthDay News Melanoma is the most serious type of skin cancer. While it can be treated when caught early it can spread and become deadly over time. It is important to inspect your skin carefully and regularly to check for any new or ...

Health Tip Use Sunscreen YearRound

Mon, 28 Jan 2008 09:05:25 GMT

HealthDay News While you may remember to use sunscreen before you head to the beach during the summer heat your skin should be protected any time you are in the sun even during winter. Here are suggestions for how and when to use su...

Teens Young Adults Missing Out on Latest Cancer Advances

Fri, 25 Jan 2008 12:05:17 GMT

When it comes to getting cuttingedge treatments for cancer teens and young adults might be missing out. In a study of young oncology patients researchers found that 38 percent of those under 15 participated in a clinical trial while ju...

Oral Contraceptives Cut Ovarian Cancer Risk

Fri, 25 Jan 2008 09:05:16 GMT

Woman who take oral contraceptives greatly reduce their risk of developing ovarian cancer and the longer they take them the greater the protection a new study confirms. The use of oral contraceptives has long been connected with reduction...

Next Generation of Parents More Likely to Back Genetic Testing

Thu, 24 Jan 2008 16:05:34 GMT

Even though most U.S. medical groups are opposed many people support genetic testing of children for mutations that predispose them to developing breast and/or ovarian cancer later in life a new study says. Dr. Angela Bradbury of the Fox...

New Colon Cancer Test Might Spot Trouble Earlier

Thu, 24 Jan 2008 09:05:21 GMT

Researchers say they have zeroed in on a biomarker that could detect colorectal cancer in its earliest stages in a simpler less invasive and more accurate way than existing blood tests. The marker called colon cancerspecific antigen2 C...

Melanomas Present Unique Appearance

Wed, 23 Jan 2008 16:27:01 GMT

Melanoma may look noticeably different like ugly ducklings in fact compared to other irregular skin moles that are benign say researchers at the Memorial SloanKettering Cancer Center in New York City. Rates of melanoma are increa...

Implants Double Infection Risk After Breast Reconstruction

Tue, 22 Jan 2008 17:05:24 GMT

Breast cancer patients who undergo reconstruction surgeries after a mastectomy are twice as likely to suffer an infection at the surgery site if they receive an implant instead of their own tissue a new study finds. Researchers at the Wash...

Hormone Therapy Only Helps Some Older Men With Prostate Cancer

Tue, 22 Jan 2008 16:05:19 GMT

Adding hormone therapy to radiation treatment for fastmoving prostate cancer can save lives but the benefit often doesnt apply to men who have other serious medical problems a new study shows. The new message from this study is that t...

Liver Cancer Drug Raises Blood Pressure

Tue, 22 Jan 2008 09:20:41 GMT

A drug that prolongs the lives of patients with kidney or liver cancer also increases the risk of developing high blood pressure. Patients taking Nexavar sorafenib need to be carefully monitored and treated said the authors of a study...

Caffeine May Lower Ovarian Cancer Risk

Tue, 22 Jan 2008 09:20:41 GMT

Drinking alcohol doesnt seem to boost a womans risk of ovarian cancer while caffeine may help protect against the disease a new study found. In the same study smoking cigarettes wasnt linked with an increase in the most common types o...

Mislabeled Supplement Spurred Prostate Cancer Report

Fri, 18 Jan 2008 19:05:15 GMT

A mislabeled overthecounter product described as a dietary supplement appears to have contributed to the development of aggressive prostate cancer in two men researchers report. There were things on the label that were not in the produc...

Mislabled Supplement Spurred Prostate Cancer Report

Fri, 18 Jan 2008 16:05:24 GMT

Report Urges More Research Into Cell Phones

Thu, 17 Jan 2008 17:05:21 GMT

As cell phone technology and use continues to expand and evolve a new report says not enough is known about the potential health risks associated with longterm exposure to radiofrequency energy. Placing an emphasis on the health of childr...

Study Gets Closer to Origins of Leukemia

Thu, 17 Jan 2008 14:05:23 GMT

By studying blood cells in a young pair of twins scientists say theyre gaining new insight into how some children are poised to develop leukemia even before birth. The researchers report in a new study that both twins one who developed...

Biological Link Between BRCA1 and Breast Cancer Detailed

Thu, 17 Jan 2008 09:05:25 GMT

A newly discovered role played by the breast cancer gene BRCA1 in repairing damaged DNA may help explain why women who inherit a mutated version of the gene are more likely to develop breast and ovarian cancer. The finding reported by Duke...

Genetic Mutations Boost Prostate Cancer Risk

Wed, 16 Jan 2008 17:05:45 GMT

A new blood test that looks at five genetic variants could one day predict the risk of developing prostate cancer a new study says. Researchers found that among men with four of the five variants the risk of prostate cancer is increased 4...

Researchers Hone in on Cancer Stem Cells for Melanoma

Wed, 16 Jan 2008 14:05:46 GMT

Melanoma has joined the list of cancers that can arise from a rare population of primordial cancer stem cells Harvard researchers report. Even more importantly the scientists demonstrated for the first time that targeting these cells can...

HRT Raises Risk of Lobular Breast Cancer

Wed, 16 Jan 2008 12:05:37 GMT

Not only does hormone replacement therapy raise the risk of breast cancer in postmenopausal women it really raises the risk of a specific type of malignancy: lobular breast cancer. The authors of a new study which is published in the Janu...

Genetic Breast Cancer Test Approved

Wed, 16 Jan 2008 12:05:37 GMT

A new genetic test that helps assess the risk of tumor recurrence and longterm survival for patients with relatively highrisk breast cancer has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The TOP2A/FISH pharmDx is the first ap...

Combo Treatment Best for Elderly Lymphoma Patients

Tue, 15 Jan 2008 14:05:39 GMT

Treatment that combines the monoclonal antibody rituximab with six cycles of chemotherapy improves survival in elderly patients with aggressive lymphoma German doctors report. Their research was published in the Jan. 15 online issue of

Vaccines for Ovarian and Breast Cancer in Early Trials

Fri, 11 Jan 2008 19:05:31 GMT

Therapeutic vaccines to fight ovarian and breast cancer are in the first stage of clinical trials to determine their safety and effectiveness researchers report. The vaccine for ovarian cancer developed by Dr. George Coukos an assistant ...

Sun Savvy Sadly Lacking Among Americans

Fri, 11 Jan 2008 09:05:33 GMT

Think youre doing all you can to protect your skin when youre out in the sun? Think again. Most people fall short miserably short in reducing their risk of getting skin cancer a new study from Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia cl...

SmokeFree Workplace Laws Cigarette Taxes on the Rise

Thu, 10 Jan 2008 09:05:31 GMT

Antitobacco campaigns registered some significant gains in 2007 with more states banning smoking in public places. But theres still too little federal and state funding for smokingprevention and cessation programs and many states haven...

Tiny RNA Molecules Control Breast Cancers Spread

Wed, 9 Jan 2008 14:05:40 GMT

Researchers have zeroed in on a handful of tiny ribonucleic acid RNA molecules that seem to control whether or not breast cancer travels to the lung and bone. These microRNAs essentially serve as brakes on the proliferation of cancer. W...

BRCA Mutations Dont Raise Breast Cancer Risk Equally

Tue, 8 Jan 2008 16:05:34 GMT

Not all carriers of the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genetic mutations show the same risk for developing breast cancer. In fact a new study finds wide variation in risk among families carrying the mutations indicating that the mutations are influenced...

Team Finds 118 Genes That Might Play Role in Cancer

Mon, 7 Jan 2008 17:05:29 GMT

An international team of scientists has pinpointed 480 genes that play a role in cell division and in the process they also discovered that more than 100 of those genes show an abnormal pattern of activation in cancer cells. The findings ...

No Change in Cancer Care Race Gap Since 1990s

Mon, 7 Jan 2008 09:05:20 GMT

Black cancer patients continue to be significantly less likely than white patients to receive treatment for lung breast colon and prostate cancers new research finds. The study also showed that few gains have been made in the provision o...

Fatherhood Tied to Higher Prostate Cancer Risk

Mon, 7 Jan 2008 09:05:20 GMT

Men who father children may be at higher risk of prostate cancer compared to those who forego the life experience a Danish study suggests. The largescale study looked at all men born in Denmark between 1935 and 1988. It found that childle...

Localized Breast Cancer Cells Have Potential to Spread

Fri, 4 Jan 2008 17:05:23 GMT

Early breast cancer tumors that have not yet spread contain cells with a predisposition to migrate to new tissue a new study finds. So just because a cancer has not yet spread doesnt mean its cells lack the ability or inclination to do s...

Not All Women Need Digital Mammograms

Fri, 4 Jan 2008 14:05:28 GMT

Preliminary results from a landmark trial released in 2005 concluded that digital mammography screening was better at catching breast cancers than conventional film mammography was. But a new study published this week in the Annals of I...

Body Abnormalities Childhood Cancer May Share Genes

Thu, 3 Jan 2008 17:05:34 GMT
Dutch scientists have discovered that children who have cancer also have more body anomalies such as asymmetric limbs and curvature of the spine. This suggests that the same genetic defect underlies both the cancer and the anomaly raisin...

FDA Reports New Risks Posed by Anemia Drugs

Thu, 3 Jan 2008 14:05:25 GMT
Two new studies offer further evidence of the health risks posed by the anemia drugs known as erythropoiesisstimulating agents ESAs U.S. officials announced Thursday. The studies showed that patients with breast or advanced cervical can...

Combo Therapy Cuts Prostate Cancer Death Rates

Thu, 3 Jan 2008 09:05:26 GMT
New research suggests that a common but controversial treatment for prostate cancer reduces longterm death rates without greatly boosting patients risk of heart problems as some specialists had feared. In patients with severe cases of p...

Breast Cancer Gene Might Extend Ovarian Cancer Survival

Thu, 3 Jan 2008 09:05:26 GMT
Ashkenazi Jewish women with ovarian cancer live significantly longer if they carry specific mutations of the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes known to raise risks for breast cancer. After five years of following a group of Ashkenazi Jewish women with ...

Genetic Variation Doubles Risk of Liver Cancer

Wed, 2 Jan 2008 14:05:34 GMT
A single change in the epidermal growth factor EFG gene may double the risk of developing liver tumors especially among people with cirrhosis new research suggests. Hepatocellular carcinoma is a liver tumor that is the third leading ca...

Research Yields Clues to Recurrent Prostate Cancer

Wed, 2 Jan 2008 09:05:33 GMT
Cancer researchers have identified a link between a cellular signaling protein and the hormone androgen that could play a role in hormoneresistant prostate cancer. According to researchers at Thomas Jefferson Universitys Kimmel Cancer Cen...

Colon Cancer Gene Traced to Arrival in United States

Wed, 2 Jan 2008 09:05:33 GMT
Mr. and Mrs. George Fry sailed from the Old World to the New World around 1630 on a ship most likely named the William amp; Mary. Along with at least two of their four children they most certainly brought with them a unique genetic...

Aspirin Hormone Therapy Combo Can Shorten Lives of Prostate Cancer Patients

Wed, 26 Dec 2007 17:05:22 GMT
Men undergoing hormone therapy for prostate cancer who take baby aspirin to protect their heart run a significantly higher risk of dying new research suggests. Apparently baby aspirin interacts with the hormone therapy to elevate liverfu...

Malaria Drug Promising Against Cancer

Wed, 26 Dec 2007 16:05:23 GMT
A common antimalaria drug called chloroquine can also prevent the development of certain types of human cancers in mice a U.S. study finds. The finding may help lead to new kinds of cancer treatments researchers say. Scientists...

Class of Chemotherapy Drugs Helps Certain Breast Cancer Patients

Wed, 26 Dec 2007 12:05:23 GMT
WEDNESDAY Dec. 26 HealthDay News Chemotherapy drugs known as anthracyclines help boost survival for women with HER2positive breast cancer who have undergone surgery but they may not offer any survival benefit for those with HER2negative tumor...

BRCA1 Mutation Prevalent Among Hispanic Younger Black Women

Wed, 26 Dec 2007 09:05:20 GMT
The gene mutation BRCA1 which is known to increase the risk of breast cancer is prevalent among Hispanics and young black women with breast cancer researchers report. The mutation is known to heighten the risk for Ashkenazi Jews so the ...

LowIncome Womens Cancer Screenings Cost Effective Report

Fri, 21 Dec 2007 17:05:16 GMT
Screening tests for breast and cervical cancer for under or uninsured lowincome U.S. women cost about $150 annually per woman screened according to a new government analysis. The total cost per woman each year including administrative ...

FDA Renews Warnings on PainRelief Patch

Fri, 21 Dec 2007 14:05:19 GMT
For the second time in two years U.S. health officials are warning of reports of deaths and dangerous side effects tied to misuse of fentanyl skin patches that are prescribed to treat chronic pain. The patches deliver a potent pain killer ...

Breast Cancer Surgeons Dont Discuss Reconstruction Options

Fri, 21 Dec 2007 09:05:14 GMT
FRIDAY Dec. 21 HealthDay News Only a third of breast cancer patients get to discuss their breast reconstruction options with their general cancer surgeon before the tumor is removed new research finds. In the study more than 70 perce...

Hormone Could Ease Painful Lymphedema

Thu, 20 Dec 2007 17:05:26 GMT
A hormone called adrenomedullin may prove an effective drug target for treating lymphedema a painful swelling of the limbs that can follow breast cancer or other cancer treatment U.S. researchers say. It may also help prevent the spread o...

Race Gender Affect Laryngeal Cancer Survival

Thu, 20 Dec 2007 14:05:14 GMT
A patients sex and race along with the type of treatment they receive can impact their survival after a diagnosis of advanced laryngeal cancer say U.S. researchers. They analyzed data from a national cancer registry on more than 7000 p...

Uninsured More Likely to Die From Cancer Following Diagnosis

Thu, 20 Dec 2007 09:05:22 GMT
People diagnosed with cancer who dont have health insurance are more likely to die because they are less likely to get screening tests and so are typically diagnosed with advanced disease a new study from the American Cancer Society finds. <...

Area Around Breast Tumor May Predict Cancers Spread

Wed, 19 Dec 2007 17:05:31 GMT
Supposedly innocent cells in the area surrounding cancerous tumors in the breast are definitely not always innocent and can predict whether or not the cancer spreads to the lymph nodes new research suggests. The finding of alterations in...

Microchip Spots Stray Tumor Cells in the Bloodstream

Wed, 19 Dec 2007 14:05:41 GMT
A U.S. team has developed a microchip device that can detect rare tumor cells lingering in the bloodstream. The device has a silicon chip with about 80000 microscopic posts. Each post is coated with an antibody to a particular protein expr...

Cancer Docs Bedside Manner Often Lacks Empathy

Wed, 19 Dec 2007 09:05:32 GMT
Most cancer specialists do not respond to the emotional concerns of their patients with verbal expressions of empathy and support a new study reveals. The finding suggests that cancer patients quality of life might be significantly improv...

Robotic Surgery Treats Tonsil Cancer

Tue, 18 Dec 2007 12:05:31 GMT
A new robotic surgical system shows promise in the removal of cancer involving the tonsils researchers say. According to a team at the University of Pennsylvania the transoral robotic surgery TORS system includes three instrumentholdin...

Cancer Care Advances in 2007 Offer Hope

Tue, 18 Dec 2007 09:05:32 GMT
Advances in breast cancer screening and new treatments for liver kidney head and neck and lung cancers are among this years most important breakthroughs in cancer care the American Society of Clinical Oncology says in a new report. H...

Sunlight Helps Put Lung Cancer in the Shade

Mon, 17 Dec 2007 19:05:26 GMT
Something as common and available as sunlight may help prevent some lung cancers researchers say. A new study finds that lower levels of the suns ultraviolet B UVB rays are associated with a higher incidence of lung cancer across 111 co...

Cancer Killed Almost 8 Million Worldwide in 2007

Mon, 17 Dec 2007 09:05:39 GMT
MONDAY Dec. 17 HealthDay News Cancer continues to cut a deadly swath across the globe with the American Cancer Society reporting 12 million new cases of malignancy diagnosed worldwide in 2007 with 7.6 million people dying from the disease.

Even Tiny Breast Tumors May Need Aggressive Treatment

Mon, 17 Dec 2007 09:05:38 GMT
Even if theyre very small 1 centimeter or less certain kinds of breast cancer tumors can still be aggressive and require maximum therapy U.S. researchers say. A team at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville Fla. found that outcomes for wom...

Arimidex Beats Tamoxifen in Keeping Breast Cancer at Bay

Fri, 14 Dec 2007 17:05:25 GMT
The aromatase inhibitor drug Arimidex continues to outpace the old standard tamoxifen when it comes to preventing recurrences of hormonereceptorpositive breast cancers in postmenopausal women. Even three years after treatment was stopped...

Breast Cancer Genes Also Raise Mens Risk for Malignancy

Fri, 14 Dec 2007 12:05:24 GMT
Men whose mothers sisters or daughters test positive for a breast cancercausing mutation in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes may also have the mutation and be at increased risk for cancer a new study finds. Most of those men are unaware of the ...

New Cancer Drug Tied to Heart Problems

Thu, 13 Dec 2007 19:05:21 GMT
The new and powerful cancer drug sunitinib Sutent which fights stomach tumors can also create heart problems for some patients a new study finds. All patients taking sunitinib but especially those who have risks for heart disease ne...

Cell Addiction to Growth Factors May Help Spur Cancers

Thu, 13 Dec 2007 14:05:29 GMT
Addiction to certain growth factors contributes to the development of cancers caused by epigenetic changes such as the inappropriate activation of a normally silent gene scientists say. The team of Johns Hopkins University researchers b...

HighDose Chemo Provides Little Benefit to Breast Cancer Patients

Thu, 13 Dec 2007 12:05:34 GMT
Highdose chemotherapy has only a minimal effect on survival in breast cancer patients with nodepositive disease new research shows. Its pretty clearly established that highdose chemotherapy is a false hope said study author Donald...

Researchers Find Great Granddaddy of All Blood Cells

Thu, 13 Dec 2007 09:05:23 GMT
The greatgrandparent of all human blood cells has been identified by Stanford University researchers who said the finding could lead to new treatments for blood cancers and other blood diseases. The researchers said this cell the multi...

Cancer Patients Hold Fast to Belief That Opioids Mean Death

Wed, 12 Dec 2007 12:05:25 GMT
Many cancer patients endure unnecessary suffering when they resist treatment with morphine and other opioid painkillers because they believe the use of these drugs signifies imminent death a new British study suggests. If we are to employ...

Gene Variant Tied to More Aggressive Prostate Cancer

Tue, 11 Dec 2007 16:05:25 GMT
Men with a variant in the tumor suppressor gene DAB2IP may have an increased risk of aggressive prostate cancer say researchers who examined genetic clues in Swedish and American men with and without the disease. The researchers identifie...

Diagnostic Mammogram Readings Vary by Radiologist

Tue, 11 Dec 2007 16:05:25 GMT
Radiologists are human too and vary widely in their interpretations of diagnostic mammograms a new study found. The differences werent due to differences in patients so much as they were due to differences in the radiologists experienc...

High Meat Consumption Linked to Heightened Cancer Risk

Tue, 11 Dec 2007 09:05:29 GMT
A quarterpound hamburger or a small pork chop eaten daily could put you at increased risk for a variety of cancers U.S. government health researchers report. The more red meat and processed meat you eat the greater your risk the resear...

Mutated Suppressor Gene Leads to a Type of Breast Cancer

Mon, 10 Dec 2007 14:05:30 GMT
Scientists believe theyve discovered how mutations in the cancersusceptibility gene called BRCA1 can cause some breast cancers. Basallike breast cancers BBCs represent 10 percent to 20 percent of all breast cancers. BBCs generally have...

Most Medicare Recipients Ignore Colorectal Cancer Screening

Mon, 10 Dec 2007 12:05:46 GMT
The majority of Americans in Medicare arent getting screened for colorectal cancer a major killer even though the screening is free a new study finds. In fact the percentage of enrollees in Medicare the federal health insurance progra...

Immigrants Less Likely to Report Family History of Cancer

Mon, 10 Dec 2007 09:05:22 GMT
Immigrants in the United States may be less likely to report a family history of cancer which may result in inadequate cancer screening and prevention strategies for that group of patients a new study says. Reporting in the Jan. 15 issue...

Possible Cure for Rare Lymphoma Reported

Sun, 9 Dec 2007 17:05:16 GMT
Danish researchers are reporting what appears to be a cure for a rare type of lymphoma that has been regarded as incurable until now. A complex regimen that included immunochemotherapy produced a fiveyear eventfree survival rate of bette...

Blood Test to Detect Lung Cancer Being Eyed

Fri, 7 Dec 2007 19:05:21 GMT
It may be possible to use a blood test to detect lung cancer according to a Duke University Medical Centerled study. Publishing in the Dec. 10 issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology researchers said a test for four blood ...

GeneBased Sunscreen Might Someday Prevent Skin Cancer

Fri, 7 Dec 2007 16:05:24 GMT
Research is shedding new light on sunscreens that might someday prevent or treat skin cancer by reversing dangerous gene mutations caused by overexposure to the sun. Working with hairless mice researchers found that a synthetic compound ca...

Everyday Choices Can Influence Cancer Risk

Fri, 7 Dec 2007 12:05:17 GMT
While genes and environment can affect your risk for cancer so can everyday lifestyle choices on things such as diet exercise and smoking new research shows. The findings were to be presented Friday in Philadelphia at an American Associa...

Obesity Diabetes Linked to Cancers

Fri, 7 Dec 2007 12:05:17 GMT
Obesity and diabetes risk factors so often linked to heart disease can also affect the incidence and severity of cancer a collection of four new studies suggests. The findings presented Friday at the American Association for Cancer ...

Green Tea Fruit Extracts Touted as Potential Cancer Fighters

Thu, 6 Dec 2007 19:05:24 GMT
A gel derived from black raspberries a fruit beverage and oldfashioned green tea all hold potential promise as ways to treat or prevent different types of cancer preliminary research suggests. Until now foods have not been considered g...

Blackberries Broccoli Sprouts Battle Cancer

Thu, 6 Dec 2007 16:05:18 GMT
Your local farmers market might hold the key to cancer prevention since new research shows that black raspberries broccoli sprouts and some raw vegetables reduce the risk of esophageal and bladder cancers. Data from three studies on the ...

Common Household Chemical Could Raise Breast Cancer Risk

Thu, 6 Dec 2007 12:05:26 GMT
A chemical found in many plastic products used in households caused accelerated breast development and genetic changes in newborn female lab rats a condition that might predispose the animals to breast cancer later in life a new study says. ...

Research Shows What Works to Cut Smoking Rates

Thu, 6 Dec 2007 12:05:26 GMT
Graphic warning labels on packages bans on cigarette advertising legislating smokefree areas boosting cigarette prices and preventing smuggling and counterfeiting of tobacco products are among the most effective ways to discourage smoking accor...

Black Women Wait Longer for Breast Cancer Surgery

Thu, 6 Dec 2007 09:05:15 GMT
A womans age and race can influence how quickly she receives surgery after a breast cancer diagnosis U.S. researchers report. A team at the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions in Baltimore also found that a lengthy delay in surgery for bre...

FDA Panel Says No to Avastin for Advanced Breast Cancer

Wed, 5 Dec 2007 16:05:26 GMT
A U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisory panel recommended Wednesday that the cancer drug Avastin should not be used to treat women with advanced breast cancer. In a close vote 54 the advisers decided the drugs ability to slow down ...

Night Shift Work May Heighten Risk for Cancer

Wed, 5 Dec 2007 09:05:27 GMT
Workers on the night shifts at bars convenience stores hospitals and other venues may be putting themselves at heightened risk for cancer. Thats the conclusion of an international group of experts who plan to add night shift work to the ...

Health Tip Get the Most From Your Mammogram

Wed, 5 Dec 2007 09:05:27 GMT
HealthDay News A mammogram is an essential tool to protect women from newly diagnosed or recurring breast cancer. Here are suggested ways to get the most accurate results from a mammogram courtesy of breastcancer.org:

...

Diets May Raise Cancer Risk for Poor Urban Women

Fri, 30 Nov 2007 14:05:13 GMT
It can be difficult for women in Americas inner cities to eat in ways that may help prevent cancer. Thats the conclusion of a Johns Hopkins University study that looked at the dietary habits of 156 black women living in 11 public housing ...

Cancer Patients Gain From Reporting Symptoms Online

Fri, 30 Nov 2007 09:05:21 GMT
Having cancer patients report to doctors on their symptoms and side effects online may improve their care a new study finds. Even the sickest cancer patients are willing and capable of reporting their symptoms online says a team from Memo...

Studies Reveal Why Breast Cancer Hits Black Women Harder

Thu, 29 Nov 2007 17:05:23 GMT
Biology and genetics over and above socioeconomic factors appear to influence how black women fare after being diagnosed with breast cancer U.S. researchers are reporting. One new study found discrepancies in survival rates between ...

Research Can Help Close Cancer Race Gap

Thu, 29 Nov 2007 17:05:23 GMT
Collaborations between researchers and community groups can help ease cancer disparities among minority populations researchers report. They based their conclusions on the results of U.S. initiatives launched in Nashville Tenn. and among ...

Fewer Women Getting Mammograms

Thu, 29 Nov 2007 12:05:26 GMT
A mammogram isnt the easiest medical exam to endure sometimes painful and often embarrassing to the woman. And thats thought to be one potential reason why mammography rates have declined in women over age 40 after decades of steady inc...

Rise in CT Scans Poses Cancer Risk

Wed, 28 Nov 2007 17:05:23 GMT
The number of CT scans performed in the United States has increased dramatically since the 1980s and that means an increased risk of cancer for patients caused by exposure to high doses of radiation a new report contends. Today more tha...

Genes May Explain Role of Race in Colon Cancer Risk

Wed, 28 Nov 2007 17:05:23 GMT
WEDNESDAY Nov. 28 HealthDay News Genes may contribute to disparities in colorectal cancer rates between ethnic and racial groups a new U.S. review suggests. The research team led by investigators at the University of Pittsburgh an...

CancerSuppressing Gene Tied to Female Fertility

Wed, 28 Nov 2007 14:05:21 GMT
WEDNESDAY Nov. 28 HealthDay News A gene long linked to suppressing the growth of cancer may also play a vital role in human reproduction researchers report. In experiments with mice researchers found that females lacking the p53 gen...

3D Breast Imaging May Improve Cancer Detection

Wed, 28 Nov 2007 12:05:22 GMT
A 3D view of breast tissue may give women a more accurate method of detecting breast cancers according to a trial of a new technology called stereoscopic digital mammography. Falsepositive results were almost cut in half with stereo mamm...

PET Scans Could Boost Lung Cancer Diagnosis

Tue, 27 Nov 2007 17:05:15 GMT
The use of PET imaging may improve the diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer say Canadian researchers who reviewed several recent studies. Tumor imaging is frequently used to diagnosis lung cancer and to make treatment decisions. Imaging ...

Combo PETCT Scan Helps Spot Breast Cancers Spread

Tue, 27 Nov 2007 16:05:24 GMT
A technique that combines a PET scan with a CT scan can help spot the spread of inflammatory breast cancer a rare but very aggressive form of the disease researchers report. It is a quicker way of assessing everything said lead researc...

NonWhite Women More Prone to Breast Cancer Pain

Mon, 26 Nov 2007 17:05:19 GMT
Nonwhite women are more likely than white women to suffer severe pain linked to metastatic breast cancer according to a study looking at more than 1100 patients in 19 countries. The women all with metastatic breast cancer and bone met...

Understanding of Mammography Differs Among Races

Mon, 26 Nov 2007 14:05:21 GMT
Ethnicity culture and background shape womens attitudes toward mammography say Boston University Medical Center researchers who surveyed 1011 women who underwent screening mammography at the center. The women were asked about their und...

Special MRI Shows Secondhand Smoke Damages Lungs

Mon, 26 Nov 2007 12:05:30 GMT
Using a special type of magnetic resonance imaging MRI U.S. researchers have identified structural damage to the lungs caused by secondhand smoke. This is the first study to produce evidence of such a link they added. Its lo...

Urban Women May Have Greater Breast Cancer Risk

Mon, 26 Nov 2007 12:05:30 GMT
Women who live in urban areas appear to have more dense breast tissue than their suburban or rural counterparts new research suggests. The finding is potentially important because women with more dense breasts have a higher risk of breast ...

Prostate Cancer Treatments Often Compound Existing Health Problems

Mon, 26 Nov 2007 09:05:24 GMT
More than a third of prostate cancer patients may receive treatments that are inappropriate because of problems they are already having with urinary bowel or sexual function a new study suggests. These mismatches might occur because pati...

Fetal Exposure to Arsenic Affects Genes

Fri, 23 Nov 2007 09:05:17 GMT
Children of women exposed to arseniccontaminated water during pregnancy have gene expression changes that may result in cancer and other diseases later in life a Massachusetts Institute of Technology study suggests. The researchers who ...

Drug Combo Boosts Multiple Myeloma Survival

Wed, 21 Nov 2007 17:05:41 GMT
A combination drug regimen that includes a derivative of thalidomide extended survival as well as the time it took for the disease to reappear in patients with multiple myeloma. The combination of Revlimid lenalidomide and dexamethasone...

PET Scans Can Spot Cervical Cancers Return

Tue, 20 Nov 2007 16:05:33 GMT
Wholebody positron emission tomography PET scans three months after cervical cancer patients have completed therapy can help determine whether theyre cancerfree or require further treatment U.S. researchers say. It can be difficult to...

Why Obese Men Post Lower PSA Levels

Tue, 20 Nov 2007 16:05:33 GMT
In recent years doctors have learned that they need to adjust the results of blood tests to properly diagnose prostate cancer in obese men but now researchers think they know why. It turns out that larger men have more blood which dilute...

Cannabis Compound May Stop Metastatic Breast Cancer

Mon, 19 Nov 2007 14:05:40 GMT
A nontoxic nonpsychoactive compound in marijuana may block the progress of metastatic breast cancer according to a new study by researchers in California. This is a new way to treat a patient that is not toxic like chemotherapy or radi...

Cell Insights May Predict Breast Cancers Spread

Fri, 16 Nov 2007 14:05:24 GMT
U.S. researchers believe theyre on the way to solving a major question about breast cancer: Which women have a type of lesion in their breast duct that will progress to invasive disease? Its an exciting step forward people have been t...

Ultrasound Beats Blood Test for Gauging Ovarian Cancers Study

Thu, 15 Nov 2007 14:05:21 GMT
Ultrasound exams are better than blood tests at identifying whether ovarian tumors are benign or malignant a team of international researchers reports. Ultrasound correctly identified 93 percent of tumors as benign or cancerous while the ...

Drug Helps Fight LateStage Colon Cancer in Some Patients

Wed, 14 Nov 2007 17:05:27 GMT
A highly targeted biologic drug called cetuximab Erbitux is the first to extend the survival of patients with advanced colon cancer who have otherwise proved resistant to conventional chemotherapy Canadian researchers confirmed. But the ...

Cell Structure Helps Direct Cancer Gene Switch

Wed, 14 Nov 2007 14:05:26 GMT
U.S. scientists say theyve have uncovered a biological switch for key genes in cancer cells. They found that genes in cancer cells are silenced by distinct changes in the density of structures called nucleosomes within the cells. ...

NicotineReduced Cigarettes Could Boost Quitting

Wed, 14 Nov 2007 12:05:23 GMT
Providing smokers with cigarettes of gradually decreasing levels of nicotine over a number of weeks can help cut their nicotine addiction a U.S. study finds. The study conducted by researchers at the University of California San Francisc...

Study Challenges Colon Cancer Surgery FollowUp

Tue, 13 Nov 2007 16:05:22 GMT
A new study is questioning the conventional wisdom of checking on the health of 12 lymph nodes after colon cancer surgery. These postop checks have been thought to be a good indicator of patient survival but new data is casting that notio...

LowCarb Diet May Slow Prostate Tumor Growth

Tue, 13 Nov 2007 12:05:35 GMT
In mice a lowcarbohydrate diet slowed prostate tumor growth possibly because fewer carbohydrates leads to a drop in insulin production U.S. researchers say. This study showed that cutting carbohydrates may slow tumor growth at least i...

Obesity Linked to Prostate Cancer Death Rates

Mon, 12 Nov 2007 14:05:19 GMT
In another sign that too much weight spells health problems new research suggests that fat men are twice as likely to die after being diagnosed with prostate cancer than men of normal weight. The research doesnt confirm a causeandeffect...

Pill Poses Little Cervical Cancer Risk

Fri, 9 Nov 2007 09:05:21 GMT
Women taking oral contraceptives are at a slightly increased risk for developing cervical cancer but a decade after stopping the pill even this very small risk disappears a new British study suggests. However that finding doesnt change ...

FDA Issues New Warnings for Anemia Drugs

Thu, 8 Nov 2007 16:05:16 GMT
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday approved new black box warnings on labels of erythropoiesisstimulating agents which are drugs used to treat certain types of anemia. The warnings cover the drugs Aranesp Epogen and Proc...

Doctors Report High Survival Rates for Hodgkins Disease

Wed, 7 Nov 2007 17:05:25 GMT
Heres an example of progress in cancer treatment: a trial that produced longterm survival rates better than 90 percent and that is described as outmoded because its been replaced by treatments that get even better results with fewer side effects.<...

Excess Pounds Raise Womens Cancer Risk

Wed, 7 Nov 2007 09:05:27 GMT
A study of more than 1 million British women finds that overweight or obesity is to blame for about 5 percent of all cancer cases. Thats about 6000 out of the 120000 cancers affecting British women each year. The study by rese...

Experimental Drug Fights Prostate Cancer

Wed, 7 Nov 2007 09:05:27 GMT
In mice an investigational agent called VN/141 proved effective in treating human prostate cancer say researchers at the University of Maryland in Baltimore. The fiveweek study found that daily injections of VN/141 in mice implanted wi...

Health Tip People With Cancer Can Exercise

Wed, 7 Nov 2007 09:05:27 GMT
HealthDay News Not everyone recovering from cancer is physically or mentally able to exercise. For those who want to try with a doctors consent the American Cancer Society offers these possible benefits of regular exercise:

Obesity Leaves More Americans With Physical Limitations

Tue, 6 Nov 2007 16:05:18 GMT
If youre one of the millions of Americans carrying excess weight a pair of new studies has good news and bad news for you. It turns out that a little extra weight may not shorten your life but may make it harder to perform everyday activities as y...

Gene Variant Doubles Risk of Prostate Cancer in Black Men

Fri, 2 Nov 2007 17:05:15 GMT
A variant of a gene that doubles the risk of prostate cancer in black men has been identified and researchers say the discovery could lead to new treatments. Almost twice as many black men develop prostate cancer as white men researchers ...

Radiation Seed Treatment Helps Younger Men Fight Prostate Cancer

Fri, 2 Nov 2007 16:05:12 GMT
Radiation seed implants known as brachytherapy are just as effective for treating prostate cancer in men 60 and younger as they are for older men a new study finds. Brachytherapy is a minimally invasive procedure in which small radioact...

Better Prostate Cancer Survival for Men Taking Statins

Wed, 31 Oct 2007 16:05:33 GMT
Men who were taking statins to lower their cholesterol had a 10 percent greater chance of being cured of prostate cancer by radiation therapy 10 years after diagnosis a new study finds. Its an intriguing and very interesting finding bu...

Obesity Linked to Increased Cancer Risk

Wed, 31 Oct 2007 16:05:33 GMT
Weight management exercise and proper nutrition are key to reducing your risk of cancer. And the earlier in life you adopt these practices the better off youll be a new study suggests. Factors such as birth weight childbearing breast...

Little Evidence Silicone Breast Implants Harm Health

Wed, 31 Oct 2007 14:05:32 GMT
Silicone breast implants do not increase the risk of cancers connective tissue diseases or other serious chronic diseases according to U.S. researchers. A team from the International Epidemiology Institute in Rockville Md. and the Vand...

Virus Shows Some CancerKilling Abilities

Tue, 30 Oct 2007 17:05:35 GMT
While most people associate viruses with human illness a new study suggests that at least one virus might have cancerfighting abilities that could be used to treat some metastatic cancers. Reporting in the Nov. 7 issue of Journal of t...

Quality of Life Predicts Lung Cancer Survival

Tue, 30 Oct 2007 17:05:35 GMT
Quality of life is the most important predictor of survival for patients with locally advanced nonsmall cell lung cancer U.S. researchers report. In the past weve considered the stage of disease or tumor size along with other empirical...

Vitamin D Wont Help Prevent Most Cancers

Tue, 30 Oct 2007 16:05:46 GMT
High blood levels of vitamin D did not lower the overall cancer death rate in a longterm study researchers report. However they did note a marked reduction in colorectal cancer deaths linked to the vitamin. The findings by a t...

High Dose Radiation for Prostate Cancer Wont Raise Sexual Dysfunction

Tue, 30 Oct 2007 12:05:40 GMT
Among prostate cancer patients undergoing a hightech form of radiation therapy exposure to a higher amount of radiation over a shorter time span poses no added risk for impaired sexual function new research reveals. For men getting a hi...

Tasigna Approved for Chronic Myeloid Leukemia

Mon, 29 Oct 2007 17:05:36 GMT
Tasigna nilotinib has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat chronic myeloid leukemia CML in people who are resistant or intolerant to other therapies maker Novartis AG said Monday. CML among the most common f...

Smoking Does Not Worsen Breast Cancer

Mon, 29 Oct 2007 16:05:35 GMT
It may be unhealthy in many other ways but smoking does not appear to raise the odds that a woman with breast cancer will have more aggressive or laterstage malignancy at the time of diagnosis researchers report. Their results come from ...

Prostate Cancer Radiotherapy Wont Affect Sexual Function

Mon, 29 Oct 2007 14:05:03 GMT
MONDAY Oct. 29 HealthDay News Highdose precision radiation therapy doesnt harm the sexual function of prostate cancer patients U.S. researchers say. A team at Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia tracked 155 men with intermediate...

New Guidelines Should Improve Ovarian Cancer Detection

Sun, 28 Oct 2007 09:05:25 GMT
Ovarian cancer has long had a reputation as a silent killer because many people believed it gave no warning signs until far advanced. But women suffering from the disease knew differently. They knew they had certain symptoms that were comm...

Survey Finds Many Women Misinformed About Cancer

Fri, 26 Oct 2007 14:05:34 GMT
Sixtythree percent of American women think that if theres no family history of cancer youre not likely to develop the disease a new survey found. In fact most people who develop cancer have no family history of cancer according to th...

Precancerous Lesions Raise Cervical Cancer Risk

Fri, 26 Oct 2007 12:05:13 GMT
Women who have had advanced precancerous lesions of the cervix are still at risk for invasive cancers up to 25 years later Swedish researchers report. Currently the American Cancer Society recommends that women who have had precancerous l...

Broccoli May Help Fight Skin Cancer

Thu, 25 Oct 2007 09:06:14 GMT
Whats good for your diet may also guard against skin cancer. Scientists have discovered that an extract of broccoli sprouts protects the skin against the suns harmful ultraviolet rays. Thats not the same as calling the extract ...

Three Chemo Drugs Better Than Two for Advanced HeadNeck Cancers

Wed, 24 Oct 2007 17:05:58 GMT
The addition of the chemotherapy drug docetaxel to the standard twodrug regimen used for head and neck cancers improved the efficacy of the treatment while reducing the toxicity two new studies report. The triple drug chemotherapy regim...

More Dollars Dont Boost Lung Cancer Survival

Tue, 23 Oct 2007 09:05:43 GMT
Although it can cost more than $1 million to give a lung cancer patient an added year of life overall survival from the disease hasnt increased significantly a new study finds. On average lifeexpectancy for Americans with lung cancer i...

More Women Choosing Preventive Double Mastectomy

Mon, 22 Oct 2007 19:07:42 GMT
Women diagnosed with breast cancer who have a mastectomy are increasingly choosing to have their other healthy breast removed as a preventive measure. The rate of the procedure called a contralateral prophylactic mastectomy more than dou...

Blood Test Catches Secret Smokers

Mon, 22 Oct 2007 14:14:08 GMT
If youre sneaking smokes when no ones looking beware: One lung doctor says a common device can determine whether someone is a smoker. The blood carbon monoxide detector could be used to ferret out people who hide a cigarette habit sai...

Emotional State Doesnt Affect Cancer Survival

Mon, 22 Oct 2007 09:06:37 GMT
Neither positive nor negative emotional states predict how long a person with cancer will survive a new study finds. University of Pennsylvania researchers say that among head and neck cancer patients emotional health good or bad is...

Best BreastCancer Care Eludes Older Women

Sun, 21 Oct 2007 09:05:45 GMT
As women live longer lives the number of breast cancer cases among older patients is rising too. Yet many older women are being underdiagnosed and undertreated for the disease studies show. Often age rather than health status is...

Protein Gives Clues to Pancreatic Cancer

Fri, 19 Oct 2007 17:05:50 GMT
Researchers say theyve identified a protein that could play a key role in the development of pancreatic cancer. According to a team at the Kimmel Cancer Center at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia the protein called pp32 i...

TwoDrug Combo Fights Brain Tumors

Fri, 19 Oct 2007 12:05:57 GMT
A combination of the drug bevacizumab brand name Avastin and the standard chemotherapy agent irinotecan may benefit patients with a type of deadly brain tumor called glioblastoma multiforme GBM says a Duke University pilot study. This ...

HPV Test Bests Pap Smear in Studies

Wed, 17 Oct 2007 17:05:52 GMT
A test to detect human papillomavirus HPV which causes most cervical cancers was far better than the standard Pap smear at catching malignancies two new studies show. Whats unclear however is whether or not the HPV test should t...

Ixempra Approved for Breast Cancer

Wed, 17 Oct 2007 16:05:47 GMT
A new chemotherapy drug called Ixempra has received U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval to treat women with advanced breast cancer who havent responded to three other types of chemotherapy. The drug made by BristolMyers Squibb Co....

Initial Colonoscopy Key to Cancer Detection

Tue, 16 Oct 2007 14:06:46 GMT
A firsttime colonoscopy to remove precancerous polyps plays a bigger role in reducing the risk of dying from colon cancer than do followup screenings done years later a new study suggests. Researchers found that patients who forego follo...

Researchers ID New Gene Linked to Lung Cancer

Tue, 16 Oct 2007 09:05:47 GMT
A new gene associated with human lung cancer has been identified. The finding about the Dmp1 gene may help improve understanding of what goes wrong at the cellular level to cause lung cancer. The Wake Forest University School of Medi...

Hycamtin Approved for Relapsed Small Cell Lung Cancer

Mon, 15 Oct 2007 14:05:45 GMT
Hycamtin topotecan capsules have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat relapsed small cell lung cancer SCLC maker GlaxoSmithKline said Monday. About 15 percent of lung cancer patients have SCLC a fastgrowing...

US Cancer Death Rate Continues to Fall

Mon, 15 Oct 2007 09:06:39 GMT
Death rates from cancer are dropping more quickly across the United States offering what an expert called a glimmer of hope against a leading killer. According to a new report cancer death rates fell by 2.1 percent each year from 2002 t...

Breast Cancer Radiation Wont Hurt Immune Health

Fri, 12 Oct 2007 16:05:46 GMT
Neither of two commonly used radiation treatments for earlystage breast cancer has any negative effect on a patients immune system concludes a Loyola University Health System pilot study. One of the first questions a woman newly diagnos...

Experts Offer Answers on Colonoscopy Options

Fri, 12 Oct 2007 12:05:40 GMT
Two recent studies comparing the use of conventional optical colonoscopy and CT virtual colonoscopy for colorectal cancer screening may raise questions among people considering the test says the American College of Gastroenterology ACG. ...

Obesity Boosts Esophageal Cancer Risk

Thu, 11 Oct 2007 14:05:35 GMT
Obese people are six times more likely to develop esophageal cancer than people with healthy weight says an Australian study that looked at 800 people with esophageal tumors and 1600 people without the disease. People with a body mass ind...

Immune Proteins Warn of Early Lung Cancer

Thu, 11 Oct 2007 12:05:54 GMT
British researchers say theyve spotted key immune system proteins that could give doctors early warning of lung cancer. A team at Nottingham City Hospital analyzed blood samples from 104 people with different types of lung cancer and 50 ot...

Drug a New Weapon Against One Form of Breast Cancer

Wed, 10 Oct 2007 17:05:50 GMT
When added to a standard chemotherapy the drug paclitaxel Taxol cuts the recurrence of breast cancer by 41 percent in women with a particular form of tumor a new study finds. Those tumors are called HER2positive because their cells p...

More Fiber Less Fat Help Prevent Ovarian Cancer

Tue, 9 Oct 2007 17:05:26 GMT
Older women who stick to a lowfat highfiber diet could cut their odds for deadly ovarian cancer new research shows. In fact postmenopausal women who stayed on the regimen for more than eight years reduced their risk for the disease by ...

Hormone Therapy for Prostate Cancer Linked to Heart Risks

Tue, 9 Oct 2007 17:05:26 GMT
Prostate cancer patients receiving androgendeprivation therapy a common form of hormone treatment proven to slow tumor growth and prolong life may face a nearly threefold higher risk of dying from heart disease a new study suggests. The...

3 New Lung Cancer Genes Identified

Tue, 9 Oct 2007 12:11:33 GMT
Three genes that appear to work together are associated with 20 percent of lung cancers and these same genes are linked to fetal lung development researchers report. Understanding how these genes mesh could be an important step in stoppin...

Surgery Best Bet for Prostate Cancer Survival

Mon, 8 Oct 2007 17:04:08 GMT
Surgery may offer the best chance of longterm survival for prostate cancer patients a Swiss study suggests. Researchers at Geneva University found that prostate cancer patients who had surgery were less likely to die of the disease within...

Womans Hips Might Indicate Daughters Breast Cancer Risk

Mon, 8 Oct 2007 14:04:40 GMT
The size and shape of a womans hips may affect her daughters breast cancer risk an international group of researchers report. The study of 6370 Finnish women found that breast cancer rates were nearly three times higher among those born...

Medicare Changes Didnt Alter Cancer Care

Mon, 8 Oct 2007 14:04:40 GMT
A 2003 overhaul of Medicare that changed the way oncologists are reimbursed for their services did not alter cancer patients perceptions of their quality of care a new survey found. The poll also found that cancer patients are waiting the...

Black Women Get Less Breast Cancer Treatment

Mon, 8 Oct 2007 12:05:46 GMT
Black women with breast cancer that has spread to the lymph nodes are less likely to undergo supplemental potentially lifesaving therapies such as tamoxifen or chemotherapy than white women with the same level of disease are a new study finds....

Prostate Cancer Survival Varies by Season

Sun, 7 Oct 2007 12:05:30 GMT
Men diagnosed with prostate cancer in the summer and fall have a better chance of survival than those diagnosed in the spring and winter a new study of Norwegian men suggests. Summer and autumn months correspond to times when vitamin D is...

PSA Testing Still Valuable for Prostate Cancer

Sun, 7 Oct 2007 12:05:30 GMT
For several years doctors have debated the value of the prostatespecific antigen test to determine a mans risk for prostate cancer. But now a consensus seems to be emerging its not the level of the antigen in the blood that helps pr...

GeneBased Screen Spots Cervical Cancer Earlier

Thu, 4 Oct 2007 12:05:32 GMT
Compared to conventional tests human papillomavirus HPV DNA testing enables earlier detection of lesions that lead to cervical cancer Dutch researchers say. That means women could go longer between screenings say researchers at the VU ...

Virtual Colonoscopy an Effective Option Study

Wed, 3 Oct 2007 19:05:30 GMT
A new study supports the effectiveness of an innovative form of colonoscopy that relies on a CT scanner thats sent through a patients colon. When it comes to detecting polyps that might become malignant this socalled virtual colonosco...

Gene Tests Match Up Lung Tumors Best Treatment

Wed, 3 Oct 2007 19:05:30 GMT
Identifying a lung tumors genetic profile may help doctors determine the best chemotherapy for patients U.S. research suggests. We were able to predict which tumors would be most likely to respond to standard firstline therapy and which...

Congress Starts Hearings on FDAs Control of Tobacco

Wed, 3 Oct 2007 12:05:44 GMT
Wednesdays hearings on Capitol Hill on whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration should regulate tobacco have relit a longsmoldering debate. Those on both sides of the issue remain divided on whether the bill will impact tobacco use ...

Health Tip Nicotine Withdrawal

Wed, 3 Oct 2007 12:05:44 GMT
HealthDay News Nicotine is an extremely addictive substance that causes physical and psychological reactions in the body when it is no longer available. The highly addictive nicotine in cigarettes is what makes quitting smoking so dif...

Study Supports Change to Prostate Cancer Biopsy

Tue, 2 Oct 2007 16:05:44 GMT
Adding an extra step to the standard test for prostate cancer might improve treatment for some men a new study finds. Doctors now use whats known as the Gleason test named for the physician who developed it as a major tool in judgin...

Health Tip Quitting Smoking Has Immediate Benefits

Tue, 2 Oct 2007 12:05:44 GMT
HealthDay News Most people know that in the long term quitting smoking offers enormous health benefits. But within weeks and even hours after quitting smoking your body has already shown health improvements. The Canadi...

Accordions Breathe Easier Since Smoking Ban

Thu, 27 Sep 2007 19:05:36 GMT
Banning smoking in bars is not only salve for the lungs it is music to the ears. A smoking ban in Irish workplaces has improved air quality in Irish pubs as well as the health of musical instruments such as accordions and the people ...

Wine Beer Spirits Boost Breast Cancer Risk Equally

Thu, 27 Sep 2007 12:05:26 GMT
Three or more drinks a day boosts a womans risk for breast cancer by 30 percent. And it doesnt seem to matter which form of alcohol wine beer or spirits is consumed researchers report. The majority of previous studies have found...

Doctors See Return of Kaposis Sarcoma in Handful of AIDS Patients

Wed, 26 Sep 2007 17:06:01 GMT
San Francisco doctors say theyve seen a small number of longtime HIV patients with mild cases of Kaposis sarcoma a potentially dangerous condition that once plagued people with AIDS. Its not clear why Kaposis sarcoma is making a comeba...

Fruits Veggies Wont Lower Colon Cancer Risk

Wed, 26 Sep 2007 14:11:36 GMT
Although eating lots of fruits and vegetables is good for your health doing so will not reduce your risk for colon cancer a Canadian study finds. But fruits and veggies can still help ward off heart diseases and other cancers one expert ...

1 in 12 Outpatient Visits Is for Prevention Study

Tue, 25 Sep 2007 17:05:20 GMT
In the United States preventive health exams account for about 1 in 12 adult outpatient visits to doctors says a study that found that each year between 2002 and 2004 about 63.5 million adults had a preventive health or gynecological checkup at...

Study Links Coronary Disease Colon Cancer

Tue, 25 Sep 2007 16:05:34 GMT
People newly diagnosed with coronary artery disease had nearly double the normal incidence of colorectal tumors and cancers a study by Hong Kong researchers found. Both the tumors and the heart disease probably develop through the mechani...

Fecal Blood Tests Effective at Spotting Colon Cancer

Tue, 25 Sep 2007 16:05:33 GMT
A new generation of fecal blood tests can screen for colon cancer with unprecedented accuracy researchers report. But the tests although easily available are greatly underused said study author Dr. James Allison an investigator with th...

Breast Cancer Death Rates Continue to Fall

Tue, 25 Sep 2007 12:05:23 GMT
Breast cancer death rates continue to decline more than 2 percent annually a longrunning trend that can be traced to early detection and better treatments according to a new American Cancer Society report. However the death rates are no...

More Prostate Cancers Might Be Prevented

Mon, 24 Sep 2007 14:05:19 GMT
Prostate cancer prevention studies conducted since the 1990s are poised to revolutionize the field in the next five years a Canadian analysis concludes. I am optimistic that for the coming generation beginning with men in their 20s and 3...

Doctors Office Outreach Boosts Colon Cancer Screening

Mon, 24 Sep 2007 12:13:18 GMT
Simple personalized outreach in doctors offices can improve colorectal cancer screening rates a new study finds. Colorectal cancer is the third most common kind of cancer and the third leading cause of cancer death in the United States. ...

Experts Offer Tips on Easing Mammogram Discomfort

Sun, 23 Sep 2007 12:05:09 GMT
Mammograms can be uncomfortable causing some women to skip the potentially lifesaving annual exam. But experts at Baylor Health Care System in Texas offer tips on how to ease any possible discomfort during the procedure. Dont drink coffee...

Pelvic Exams Can Help Spot Ovarian Cancer

Sat, 22 Sep 2007 09:05:31 GMT
Ovarian cancer the silent killer may not always be so silent experts say. Thats why women need to get regular pelvic exams and pay attention to possible symptoms of ovarian cancer according to a team of University of Michigan Compreh...

Clues to Cell Death Could Fight Disease

Fri, 21 Sep 2007 17:05:14 GMT
New information about a process called unplanned cell death or necrosis could help in the fight against heart disease cancer stroke and other lifethreatening conditions scientists say. Necrosis is not the same as apoptosis natural...

Gene Chip Data Can Boost Cancer Outcomes

Fri, 21 Sep 2007 16:05:26 GMT
DNA microarray chip analyses of tumors may help improve treatment for some patients with incurable cancers a new study finds. Dr. Eric P. Lester president of Oncology Care Associates in St. Joseph Mich. had seven patients with advanced...

Experts Compare Colon Cancer Treatment Outcomes

Thu, 20 Sep 2007 19:05:58 GMT
The current chemotherapy regimens of irinotecan oxaliplatin and moleculartargeted treatments are helping patients with advanced colorectal cancer live several months longer than they did a few years ago when these therapies werent available Gre...

Gene Test Could Boost Myeloma Treatment

Thu, 20 Sep 2007 14:05:06 GMT
Analyzing the activity of a small subset of genes may help identify patients with the worst cases of multiple myeloma U.S. researchers say. It may also help guide their treatment noted the team from the Myeloma Institute for Research and ...

Hushed Genes Might Mean Higher Lung Cancer Risk

Wed, 19 Sep 2007 12:05:17 GMT
If the collective activity of 15 genes that protect against lung cancer is too quiet it could mean that theyre being suppressed a situation that may lead to lung malignancy U.S. researchers warn. A team at the University of Toledo in...

Tiny Sensor Could Spot Cancer Early

Tue, 18 Sep 2007 16:05:11 GMT
A small cheaply produced device could hold the key to detecting cancer at its earliest and most curable stage developers say. Graduate students say theyve created an acoustic sensor aimed at detecting minute amounts of mesothelin a mole...

Cancer Care Might Impair Driving

Mon, 17 Sep 2007 16:05:18 GMT
Side effects of treatment for head and neck cancer may cause patients to experience problems with driving skills a new study suggests. Reduced head and neck mobility cognitive impairment pain and psychological distress are among the side...

Gene May Influence Breast CancerEstrogen Link

Mon, 17 Sep 2007 12:24:06 GMT
U.S. researchers say theyve found a gene that plays a crucial role in the ability of breast cancer cells to respond to estrogen. The finding that transcription factor AP2C TFAP2C controls multiple pathways of estrogen signaling may lead ...

Genetics Hold Promise Challenges for Cancer Care

Sun, 16 Sep 2007 12:05:02 GMT
Someday in the future people may routinely have doctors scan their personal genomes looking for this or that aberrant gene to help prevent spot or treat a cancer. We are in the midst of both an evolution and a revolution in cancer care...

FDA Approves Osteoporosis Drug to Cut Breast Cancer Risk

Fri, 14 Sep 2007 14:05:20 GMT
Drug maker Eli Lilly and Company said Friday that its osteoporosis drug Evista has received U.S. approval for use in preventing breast cancer in certain groups of highrisk women. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval covers postm...

Osteoporosis Drug Evista Approved to Cut Risk of Breast Cancer

Fri, 14 Sep 2007 14:05:20 GMT
The Eli Lilly drug Evista raloxifene has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to reduce the risk of invasive breast cancer among postmenopausal at high risk for the disease and among postmenopausal women with osteoporosis. ...

Tomato Diet Cant Guarantee Prostate Health Study

Fri, 14 Sep 2007 12:05:42 GMT
Men whove been adding vitamin E or the tomato nutrient lycopene to their diets to cut their risk of prostate cancer may need to think again. According to a new study neither carotenoids such as lycopene retinol nor tocopherols forms ...

Tamoxifen Helps Treat Bipolar Disorder

Wed, 12 Sep 2007 12:05:30 GMT
The breast cancer drug tamoxifen helps control the manic phase of bipolar disorder and works faster than many standard medications used to treat the chronic mental illness a new study has found. One of the problems with existing treatmen...

Education Linked to Cancer Death Rates

Wed, 12 Sep 2007 12:05:30 GMT
If you have a college degree you have up to a 76 percent reduced risk of dying from cancer a new study found. Higher education lowers the risk for black and white women and men according to the report in the Sept. 11 online edition of th...

6 Years Later 911 Health Questions Linger

Tue, 11 Sep 2007 12:06:02 GMT
No one doubts the impact of the Sept. 11 2001 World Trade Center disaster on rescue and cleanup workers hearts lungs and minds. First workers inhaled a toxic cocktail of soot metals and other particles deep into their lungs during 12...

Experts Offer Tips on Lung Cancer Prevention

Mon, 10 Sep 2007 17:05:59 GMT
People especially smokers should not rely on vitamin and mineral supplements to prevent lung cancer say members of the American College of Chest Physicians in their second annual guide to lung cancer prevention care and treatment. <...

LongTerm Fatigue Plagues Cancer Survivors

Mon, 10 Sep 2007 12:05:50 GMT
Half a year after their treatment ends breast cancer survivors still report more days of fatigue and more intense fatigue than their peers. The fatigue is likely a longterm effect of chemotherapy according to a recent study. Fa...

Study Questions DeadEnd Cancer Clinical Trials

Mon, 10 Sep 2007 12:05:49 GMT
Little more than one in eight phase II cancer clinical trials with encouraging results go forward to the larger phase III stage thats needed to bring a new therapy to patients a new study finds. In many cases the researchers conducting...

Mental Health Woes Strike Half of Cancer Patients

Mon, 10 Sep 2007 12:05:49 GMT
Half of all people with advanced or terminal cancer suffer from depression anxiety or adjustment disorders and could use their oncologists help getting treatment according to a new study. Physicians treating the cancer can screen for th...

New Ovarian Cancer Drug Trial Under Way

Fri, 7 Sep 2007 14:05:44 GMT
Ovarian cancer patients whose cancer has become resistant to traditional chemotherapy can now logon to a new Web site to learn about a trial of a new drug phenoxodiol. In previous studies phenoxodiol has shown some success in helping tra...

Workouts a Boon for Breast Cancer Patients

Thu, 6 Sep 2007 17:05:54 GMT
Exercise may be the last thing breast cancer patients want to do especially if theyre fatigued. But workouts can improve quality of life boost selfesteem during a difficult time and even help women get through their chemotherapy treatments on sc...

Barbershop Talks Cut Black Mens Prostate Cancer Risk

Thu, 6 Sep 2007 16:05:57 GMT
For thousands of black American men getting a haircut now means cutting their risk for prostate cancer too. Thats because a new program inspired by a motion picture has already enlisted 4000 barbers nationwide to provide prostate ...

Filtered Cigarettes Blamed for Huge Rise in Type of Lung Cancer

Thu, 6 Sep 2007 14:05:44 GMT
The introduction of filtered and lowtar cigarettes in the 1950s coincided with a steady rise in the incidence of a oncerare type of lung cancer thats now the most common form of the disease a new study finds. Decades ago squamous cell ...

Vitamin C Plus Fat Might Spur Cancer

Thu, 6 Sep 2007 12:05:44 GMT
When fat is present in the stomach vitamin C transforms from a cancerfighter to a possible contributor to malignancy new research suggests. Researchers at Western Infirmary in Glasgow Scotland analyzed the interaction between vitamin C...

Studies Shed New Light on Breast Cancer Treatment

Thu, 6 Sep 2007 12:05:44 GMT
New studies from the first annual Breast Cancer Symposium shed light on racial differences in breast cancer how not sticking with treatment can affect survival and how nagging side effects cause people to stop their therapies. The symposi...

Knee Pain May Signal Lung Cancer

Wed, 5 Sep 2007 12:06:03 GMT
WEDNESDAY Sept. 5 HealthDay News Heavy smokers with knee arthritis may be experiencing an early sign of a difficulttotreat lung cancer research shows. Researchers at Prato Hospital in Italy reviewed the case files of 296 patients wi...

Test Spots Genetic Damage Done by Smoking

Wed, 5 Sep 2007 12:06:03 GMT
An experimental lung cancer screening test designed to look for precancerous genetic damage could help better identify patients at risk for the disease while opening up the possibility for earlier diagnoses and preventive treatments a new study sug...

Direct Anesthetic Infusion Helps Colorectal Cancer Patients

Thu, 30 Aug 2007 09:05:28 GMT
A technique that delivers local anesthetic directly to the surgical wound of colorectal cancer surgery patients helps control postoperative pain and shortens recovery time a French study says. The anesthetic is delivered through a special ...

SelfExams of Feet Can Catch Early Melanoma

Wed, 29 Aug 2007 14:05:30 GMT
Taking an extra 60 seconds to examine your feet when you clip your toenails could save your life says the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons. Routine selfexamination of feet can help detect deadly melanoma skin cancer at an early...

RA Drugs Linked to Slight Skin Cancer Risk

Wed, 29 Aug 2007 09:05:34 GMT
People taking rheumatoid arthritis drugs such as etanercept Enbrel or infliximab Remicade may be at a slightly increased risk for skin cancer researchers report. However the risk is probably not significant enough to outweigh the bene...

Frequent Prostate Screens Fail to Improve Aggressive Cancer Diagnoses

Tue, 28 Aug 2007 16:05:59 GMT
Being screened for prostate cancer more often does improve disease detection overall but it doesnt help doctors spot aggressive cancers better a new study finds. The researchers looked at more than 17000 men who had prostate specific an...

Oral Sex Implicated in Some Throat and Neck Cancers

Mon, 27 Aug 2007 14:06:58 GMT
Human papillomavirus HPV which is believed to be responsible for most cervical cancers may also be at the root of many cancers of the mouth and throat new research suggests. Although the rate of most head and neck cancers has been de...

Smoking Boosts Risk for Head Neck Cancers

Mon, 27 Aug 2007 12:05:17 GMT
Current and past smokers are at significantly increased risk for head and neck cancers such as cancers of the larynx voice box nasal passages/nose oral cavity and throat says a U.S. National Cancer Institute study that looked at data collected ...

Health Tip Are You at Greater Risk For Cervical Cancer

Fri, 24 Aug 2007 09:05:41 GMT
The most common cause of cervical cancer is infection with the human papillomavirus. Before cancer develops in the cervix cervical cells begin to develop abnormally a process known as dysplasia. These abnormal cells can be detected by a test cal...

FDA Proposes New Rules for Sunscreens

Thu, 23 Aug 2007 16:05:26 GMT
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration FDA proposed Thursday a new rating system for sunscreens that would for the first time alert consumers as to how well they block dangerous ultraviolet A UVA rays. Right now most commercial sunscr...

Health Tip Breast SelfExams

Thu, 23 Aug 2007 09:05:27 GMT
Women should examine their breasts regularly to detect lumps or abnormalities that could signal breast cancer. An exam should be done once a month several days after the last day of a womans period. Here are the five basic steps to a bre...

Insurance Impacts Laryngeal Cancer Detection

Wed, 22 Aug 2007 16:05:49 GMT
Medicaid recipients and people with no health insurance are more likely than those with private insurance to be diagnosed with advanced laryngeal voice box cancer a U.S. study finds. Each year about 10000 men and women in the United St...

Melanoma Diagnosis Often Delayed for Rural Poor

Wed, 22 Aug 2007 12:05:31 GMT
The farther a patient has to travel to see the doctor who diagnoses their melanoma the more likely they are to have thicker and more lethal skin cancer at the time of diagnosis a new study warns. Patient income also makes a differen...

Health Tip Before a Colonoscopy

Wed, 22 Aug 2007 09:07:45 GMT
A colonoscopy used to detect colon cancer and other potential problems involves use of a long flexible tube with a camera that takes images of the colon. Before having a colonoscopy you should follow certain dos and donts to ensu...

Acrylamide Wont Raise Breast Cancer Risk

Tue, 21 Aug 2007 14:10:49 GMT
There seems to be little or no link between breast cancer and acrylamide a substance found in many baked and fried foods according to the largest epidemiological study on the subject conducted to date. The data are accumulating and it a...

Cranberry Could Juice Up Ovarian Cancer Treatment

Tue, 21 Aug 2007 12:08:06 GMT
Gulping down a glass of cranberry juice might greatly boost an ovarian cancer patients sensitivity to chemotherapy a new study suggests. In laboratory experiments pretreating ovarian tumor cells with the juice bumped up the cancerkilli...

Hispanic Teens Take More Skin Cancer Risks

Mon, 20 Aug 2007 16:06:19 GMT
HispanicAmerican teens are more likely than their white peers to take risks that boost their odds for skin cancer a new survey finds. Reporting in the August issue of the journal Archives of Dermatology a team at the University of...

Antioxidant Supplements May Raise Womens Skin Cancer Risk

Mon, 20 Aug 2007 14:09:01 GMT
Taking antioxidant supplements wont protect against skin cancer and may actually boost the risk at least in women according to a new French study. Taking into consideration our results we are particularly concerned by the use of longt...

Coloring Compound in Fruits Veggies May Cut Colon Cancer Risk

Sun, 19 Aug 2007 09:05:35 GMT
Compounds called anthocyanins which give color to most red purple and blue fruits and vegetables may help protect against colon cancer an Ohio State University study says. In laboratory tests on rats and on human colon cancer cells the...

Use Two Drugs at Once to Beat Leukemia Study

Thu, 16 Aug 2007 17:05:44 GMT
Simultaneous treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia CML patients with a combination of the drugs Gleevec imatinib and Sprycel dasatinib may decrease the chance of cancers return or at least increase the length of time before relapse U.S. resea...

Healthy Lifestyle Key To Cancer Prevention

Thu, 16 Aug 2007 09:05:40 GMT
While the number of deaths from cancer have been declining many malignancies could be prevented by exercising eating right maintaining a healthy weight and not smoking a new federal report finds. The Presidents Cancer Panel issues a re...

Brain Radiation Treatment Boosts Lung Cancer Survival

Wed, 15 Aug 2007 17:05:48 GMT
Radiation treatment focused on the brain boosts the survival of people with lung cancer that has spread significantly a Dutch study shows. Thats because lung cancer often spreads to the brain forming tiny colonies that are too small to b...

Molecule May Predict Prostate Cancers Return

Wed, 15 Aug 2007 09:05:34 GMT
For the first time scientists say they have identified an immune molecule that may predict prostate cancer recurrence after surgery. We discovered a protein that shows up in prostate cancer cells and this protein is thought to be involve...

Cervical Cancer Vaccines Wont Fight Existing HPV Infection

Tue, 14 Aug 2007 16:06:37 GMT
Cervical cancer vaccines that prevent infection with the human papillomavirus HPV do not reduce or eliminate preexisting infections a new study suggests. That means that shots such as Gardasil or a similar yettobeFDAapproved vaccin...

Healthy Diet Guards Against Return of Colon Cancer

Tue, 14 Aug 2007 16:06:37 GMT
Colon cancer patients who eat a diet rich in fruits vegetables poultry and fish can significantly lower the risk of their cancer returning new research suggests. We know a lot about how certain dietary things affect the risk of develop...

Decline in US Breast Cancers Tied to Drop in Hormone Use

Tue, 14 Aug 2007 14:06:40 GMT
A decline in womens use of hormone therapy not any drop in mammographylinked detection is likely responsible for the recent U.S. drop in breast cancers says new research. Ours is the only study that has looked at a purely screened pop...

Scientists Create Breast Tumor Stem Cells

Mon, 13 Aug 2007 12:06:25 GMT
U.S. scientists say theyve succeeded in growing breast cancer stem cells from normal tissue. Since it is suspected that these types of cells give rise to cancers spread isolating them could prove invaluable in the fight against the disea...

Most Asian Men Have Better Prostate Cancer Survival Rates

Mon, 13 Aug 2007 09:06:19 GMT
Your prognosis for surviving prostate cancer may depend on your racial and ethnic background a new study suggests. Asian men have better survival rates than white males while South Asians have the worst survival rates according to resul...

Cosmetic Breast Surgeries Tied to Increased Suicide Risk

Thu, 9 Aug 2007 12:06:59 GMT
Women who undergo cosmetic breast augmentation surgeries are three times as likely to commit suicide as those who dont have surgically enhanced breasts a new study finds. The increase in suicide risk does not emerge until about 10 years o...

Health Tip Before a Pap Smear

Thu, 9 Aug 2007 09:06:45 GMT
A pap smear is used to detect changes in the cells of a womans cervix that could indicate cancer. The test is usually recommended for all women age 21 and older and women younger than 21 if they have been sexually active for three or more years.

Avastin Plus Chemo May Raise Clot Risk

Wed, 8 Aug 2007 12:06:17 GMT
Treating cancer patients with the cancer drug Avastin in conjunction with chemotherapy boosts their risk of blood clots in arteries compared to giving chemotherapy alone a new study finds. The risk of blood clots in veins was not increased...

Health Tip Risk Factors for Prostate Cancer

Wed, 8 Aug 2007 09:06:10 GMT
Prostate cancer is one of the most common cancers that affect men. While most cases arent fatal it is important to understand the risk factors for the disease to help recognize symptoms and begin treatment early. The U.S. National Cancer...

Red Meat Dairy Nutrient May Raise Colon Cancer Risk

Tue, 7 Aug 2007 16:06:18 GMT
New research suggests that a nutrient in red meat poultry and dairy products may contribute to the development of intestinal polyps which can lead to colon cancer. The study which involved women only was preliminary and no one is yet s...

Fused Genes Might Fuel Prostate Tumors

Wed, 1 Aug 2007 14:09:27 GMT
U.S. researchers say theyve spotted special gene fusions that help trigger prostate cancer. Researchers at the University of Michigan UM Comprehensive Cancer Center found that pieces of two chromosomes can trade places with each other...

Test Brings Early Pancreatic Cancer to Light

Wed, 1 Aug 2007 12:06:11 GMT
A lightbased test that doesnt focus on the pancreas itself may be the first safe means of accurately spotting early pancreatic cancer in people at high risk for the lethal illness researchers say. The screening requires a routine endosco...

Hormones Might Help Treat Colon Cancer

Wed, 1 Aug 2007 12:06:11 GMT
Hormone deficiency is a prime cause of colon cancer which means that it may be possible to treat the disease with hormone replacement therapy a new study suggests. In experiments with mice a team at the Kimmel Cancer Center at Thomas Jef...