Combo Screening Doesn’t Spot Early Ovarian Cancer
A screening regimen that combines ultrasound and a blood test to detect CA125, a marker for ovarian cancer, fails to discover the cancer in its early stages and often results in unnecessary surgery, a new study shows. This finding contrasts with another recent study that found that these same two tests did find early cancer. Taken together, experts say these studies highlight the need to find an effective... Read more
Caffeine May Kill Some Cancer Cells
A cup of joe a day may help keep skin cancer away: A new study shows that caffeine helps kill off human cells damaged by ultraviolet light, one of the key triggers of several types of skin cancer. The finding, detailed in Feb. 26 online issue of the Journal of Investigative Dermatology, could one day lead to the development of caffeine creams or ointments to help reverse the effects of UV damage in... Read more
Clean living could cut third of many cancers
Healthier living could prevent about a third of the most common cancers in rich countries and about a quarter in poorer ones, international researchers said on Thursday. Better diets, more exercise and controlling weight could also prevent more than 40 percent of colon and breast cancer cases in some countries, according to the study which urged governments and individuals to do more to cut the number... Read more
Media Influences Cancer Care
Cancer patients who research their disease on the Internet and in other media are more likely to get the latest treatments from their doctors, a new study suggests. Although studies have found that about 40 percent of cancer patients look to the Internet for medical information, it hasn’t been clear just how that information influences their choice of treatments, the researchers noted. “We... Read more
Cancer Death Rates Decline Among Blacks, But Disparities Linger
Black Americans’ cancer death rates continue to decline, an American Cancer Society report released Wednesday. However, they are still diagnosed at more advanced stages of cancer than whites, the report’s authors note, and blacks have lower survival rates at each stage of diagnosis of most types of cancers. There will be about 150,090 new cases of invasive cancer diagnosed in U.S. blacks... Read more
Menopause drug linked to breast cancer relapse: study
A synthetic steroid used to treat menopause symptoms and prevent osteoporosis significantly increases the risk of a relapse in breast cancer patients, according to a study released Tuesday. The steroid, called tibolone, should not be prescribed to a woman who has had or is suspected of having breast cancer, concluded the study, published in the British medical journal The Lancet Oncology. Women with... Read more
British reality star’s cancer sparks rise in tests
Hospitals in Britain are seeing a surge in testing for cervical cancer due to the so-called “Jade Goody Effect”, after the reality TV star who is dying from the disease, reports said Tuesday. Goody, whose publicist confirmed she plans to marry her fiance in the coming week, discovered she had cervical cancer last year and revealed last week that doctors had given her months to live. The... Read more
Japan scientists identify enzyme that may suppress cancer
Scientists in Japan have identified an enzyme which appears to suppress breast cancer and they hope the finding will spur new therapies to control the second most common cancer in the world. At issue is the enzyme CHIP, which experts say can stunt cancer growth by degrading a number of cancer-causing proteins. The enzyme occurs naturally in human breast tissue. In an article published in Nature Cell... Read more
Obesity hurts recovery after colon cancer surgery
After undergoing surgery to remove part of the colon because of cancer, morbidly obese patients face higher complication rates than do normal-weight patients, according to a new report. In a study of 3,200 colon cancer patients, Dr. Ryan P. Merkow from the University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine in Aurora, Colorado, and colleagues found that while the risk of post-op complications was high... Read more
Pregnancy May Not Affect Breast Cancer Survival
Developing breast cancer during or within a year of pregnancy may not — as previously thought — affect the severity of the disease or the chance of surviving it, according to new research. Of 652 women, 35 or younger, with breast cancer participating in a University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center study, about 16 percent had the rare pregnancy-associated breast cancer (PABC). Rates... Read more