Cancer is not just one disease, but a large group of almost one hundred diseases. Its two main characteristics are uncontrolled growth of the cells in the human body and the ability of these cells to migrate from the original site and spread to distant sites. If the spread is not controlled, cancer can result in death.
Lung cancer patients who quit smoking double their survival chances – People diagnosed with early stage lung cancer can double their chances of survival over five years if they stop smoking compared with those who continue to smoke.
First successful use of expanded umbilical-cord blood units to treat leukemia – Scientists at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center have cleared a major technical hurdle to making umbilical-cord-blood transplants a more widely-used method for treating leukemia and other blood cancers.
Green tea could modify the effect of cigarette smoking on lung cancer risk – Drinking green tea could modulate the effect of smoking on lung cancer. Results of this hospital-based, randomized study conducted in Taiwan were presented at the AACR-IASLC Joint Conference on Molecular Origins of Lung Cancer, held here from Jan_11-14, 2010.
Genetic variant associated with aggressive form of prostate cancer – Researchers at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center and colleagues have identified the first genetic variant associated with aggressive prostate cancer, proving the concept that genetic information may one day be used in combination with other factors to guide treatment decisions.
Johns Hopkins researchers say vaccine appears to ‘mop up’ leukemia cells Gleevec leaves behind — Team cautions that results are very preliminary and they cannot yet rule out other reasons for success – Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center researchers say preliminary studies show that a vaccine made with leukemia cells may be able to reduce or eliminate the last remaining cancer cells in some chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) patients taking the drug Imatinib mesylate (Gleevec).
Natural compounds in pomegranates may prevent growth of hormone-dependent breast cancer – Eating fruit, such as pomegranates, that contain anti aromatase phytochemicals reduces the incidence of hormone-dependent breast cancer, according to results of a study published in the January issue of Cancer Prevention Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.
New SBI and ACR recommendations suggest breast cancer screening should begin at age 40 – Breast cancer screening should begin at age 40 and earlier in high-risk patients, suggested by the Society of Breast Imaging (SBI) and the American College of Radiology (ACR).
Assessing lead time of selected ovarian cancer biomarkers – Concentrations of the biomarkers CA125, human epididymis protein 4 (HE4), and mesothelin began to rise 3 years before clinical diagnosis of ovarian cancer, according to a new study published online December 30 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
GSK study showed targeted therapy combination achieved 14 month overall survival in patients with advanced breast cancer – An investigational combination of TYKERB (lapatinib) plus HERCEPTIN (trastuzumab) proved a median survival of 14 months in women with an aggressive form of breast cancer.
Studies quantify radiation doses, cancer risks from CT scans — Variable doses of radiation raise safety concerns for CT procedures. – Radiation doses from common CT procedures vary widely and are higher than generally thought, raising concerns about increased risk for cancer, according to a new study led by UCSF imaging specialists.
Mayo Clinic researchers say breast cancer survival improves Herceptin used with chemotherapy – Using Herceptin with chemotherapy clearly improves treatment of women with HER2+ breast cancer, and should be the new standard of care, says a Mayo Clinic researcher.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) detects breast cancer at earlier stage – Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) coupled with mammography detects almost all cancers at an early stage, thereby reducing the incidence of advanced stage breast cancer in high-risk women.
