Lung cancer deadliest tumor for Australia women
Lung cancer has overtaken breast cancer as the biggest killer of Australian women with cancer, as females who started smoking in the 1970s and 1980s as they gained equal rights with men are diagnosed with the deadly disease. More than 50 Australian women lost their battle with lung cancer every week in 2005 and the number will rise to almost 65 female deaths a week in 2010, said a report released on... Read more
Obesity risk might turn teens off smoking
Telling teenage would-be smokers that lighting up may make them fat down the road may be a more effective deterrent than harping on the risks of heart disease and cancer from smoking, hints research published in the latest issue of the American Journal of Public Health. In a study, Finnish researchers found that smoking during adolescence strongly predicted the development of abdominal obesity in adulthood,... Read more
Fruits, veggies slash breast cancer risk
Certain breast cancer survivors who load up on fruits and vegetables, eating far more than current U.S. guidelines, can slash their risk the tumors will come back by nearly a third, according to a U.S. study released on Monday. The finding only held for women who did not have hot flashes after their cancer therapy, the researchers said — a finding that suggests fruits and vegetables act on estrogen. Their... Read more
Pancreatic Cancer May Have a New Foe
Proteins produced by a particular gene may provide a new target for treating deadly pancreatic cancer, researchers say. Experiments at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine in Minnesota show the “Seven-In-Absentia-Homolog” (SIAH) protein can shut down a key pathway in another gene that, in a mutated form, has been previously linked to excessive growth of pancreatic cancer. Pancreatic cancer... Read more
Vitamins Do Not Prevent Prostate Cancer, Study Finds
Wouldn’t it be great if preventing cancer were as easy as taking vitamins every day? It certainly makes sense; cancer results from oxidative damage to the DNA of cells, and many vitamins are powerful antioxidants that can curb that dangerous process. That’s the theory that two groups of researchers decided to test with respect to prostate cancer. But after more than 13 years of combined... Read more
When a Loved One Has Cancer
If you have a family member or friend who has been diagnosed with cancer, you may be puzzled about how you can help. The American Cancer Society offers these suggestions: Prepare meals to keep on hand, or deliver meals each day at certain times, so the person doesn’t have to worry about what to eat. Help out with the kids by driving them to and from school, practices and other activities. Drive... Read more
Screening for Colorectal Cancer Saves Lives
The use of fecal occult blood testing to screen for colorectal cancer reduces the number of deaths caused by the disease, according to an Italian study. Researchers at the Institute for the Study and Prevention of Cancer in Florence examined colon cancer incidence and deaths in two regions of Italy that introduced colorectal screening at two different times. The Empolese-Mugello district introduced... Read more
Screening for Colorectal Cancer Saves Lives
The use of fecal occult blood testing to screen for colorectal cancer reduces the number of deaths caused by the disease, according to an Italian study. Researchers at the Institute for the Study and Prevention of Cancer in Florence examined colon cancer incidence and deaths in two regions of Italy that introduced colorectal screening at two different times. The Empolese-Mugello district introduced... Read more
Cancer to Surpass Heart Disease as World’s Leading Killer
By 2010, cancer will be the leading killer in the world, surpassing heart disease, causing more deaths than AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined. Unless new treatments are found, there could be 27 million people with cancer by 2030, and 17 million cancer deaths annually. And, there could be 75 million people living with cancer within five years after diagnosis, according to a new report, 2008 World... Read more
Glowing Substance Lights Up Cancer in Mice
A substance that glows and sticks to viable cancer cells, making them easy for doctors to spot, has been successfully tested in mice, researchers report. The man-made compound, a combination of the breast cancer drug Herceptin and a fluorescent molecule called BODIPY, binds to the HER2 protein contained on the surface of some breast cancer cells. It only glows, or fluoresces, when inside living cells... Read more