More Americans Urged to Get Cancer Screenings

Screening for breast, cervical and colon cancer saves lives, but too few Americans are getting the recommended screens or getting them regularly enough, a new report shows. The rate of screening for breast and cervical cancers has stayed about the same since 2000, while the rate of colorectal cancer screening has increased but not as fast as experts had hoped, according to the report released Thursday... Read more

New anti-psychotic medications as risky as older ones: study

Newer anti-psychotic medications used to treat schizophrenia, dementia and other psychiatric disorders appear to double a patient’s risk of sudden heart failure, research published Thursday in the New England Journal of Medicine found. The major study is the latest in recent months to show that these newer drugs, dubbed “atypical medications,” are not much safer than the older generation... Read more

With Depression, Vets Face Higher Suicide Risk

About a third of the veterans treated in Veterans Affairs hospitals suffer from depression, putting them at much greater risk of suicide than non-depressed veterans, University of Michigan researchers report. But is that risk greater at certain times, and might it be related to their use of antidepressants, the researchers wondered? Their five-year study of veterans with depression revealed a spike... Read more

Gene Fusions May Drive Certain Cancers

Researchers say they have discovered genes in prostate cancer cells that fuse when their chromosomes trade places with each other, an occurrence that may initiate the development of some cancers. The mutations, identified by researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center, appear only in cancer cells, a finding that may serve as a marker for diagnosing cancer or a target for future... Read more

Depression may underlie “transmission” of poverty

Children from poor families are more likely than their peers to be depressed as teenagers, with effects that can ultimately make it harder to climb out from poverty, a new study suggests. The study, which followed nearly 500 Iowa families for a decade, found that children in poorer families were at greater risk of depression symptoms by adolescence. These teenagers, in turn, were more likely to “grow... Read more

Diet pills from Brazil pose health risks: report

A new report highlights the potentially serious health risks of using imported Brazilian-made prescription diet pills that combine amphetamines and other prescription medicines, such as anti-anxiety agents and antidepressants. Banned amphetamine-based weight loss pills are easily available via the Internet and are being illicitly imported into the United States, warns the report’s author, Massachusetts-based... Read more

Coffee may protect against oral cancers

New research indicates that drinking coffee lowers the risk of developing cancer of the oral cavity or throat, at least in the general population of Japan. The consumption of coffee in Japan is relatively high, as is the rate of cancer of the esophagus in men. To look into any protective effect of coffee drinking, Dr. Toru Naganuma of Tohoku University, Sendai, and colleagues, analyzed data from the... Read more

Obesity Linked to Ovarian Cancer

Obese postmenopausal women who have never used hormone replacement therapy may face an increased risk of ovarian cancer, compared to normal-weight women, a new study suggests. Interestingly, obese women who have used hormone replacement therapy (HRT) for symptoms of menopause may not face increased risk for this type of malignancy. The study findings are published in the Feb. 15 issue of the journal... Read more

Study sheds light on deadly childhood cancer

A gene involved in cell division also helps fuel a deadly childhood cancer called neuroblastoma and could offer a new way to develop drugs to treat the disease, German researchers said on Monday. The study published in the journal Cancer Cell found that a protein produced by the AURKA gene feeds a different gene called MYCN, which scientists know plays a key role in fuelling tumor growth in children... Read more

British woman to deliver baby screened for breast cancer

A woman is to give birth this week to the first baby in Britain which has been selected to be free of a gene which greatly increases the risk of breast cancer, experts said. The 27-year-old woman, who wants to remain anonymous, decided to take the step because several of her husband’s close female relatives suffered from breast cancer. But one campaign group warned that such selection takes science... Read more

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