Cancer

Fibroids unlikely to Turn Cancerous

Women should get a second medical opinion if they are told to consider a hysterectomy because they have fibroid tumors that could become cancerous.//'It is very, very rare that a fibroid tumor could become cancerous,' said Dr. Nelson Teng, chief of gynecologic oncology at the Stanford University School of Medicine.Fibroids are benign growths in the uterus which sometimes cause discomfort,...

Virus Level could Predict Cervical Cancer Risk

Cervical cancer is one of the most common cancers in women. If it is caught and treated early, it is curable in most cases.// The Pap smear is the standard screening method for the disease. It is used to detect unusual, precancerous changes in cervical cells. Two strains of the human papilloma virus (HPV) are associated with an increased chance of getting the cancer, but not all women who tes...

Cancer Doctors Okays Controversial Prostate Therapy

A controversial treatment for prostate cancer in which radioactive seeds are implanted in the prostate to destroy the tumor received support Friday from doctors writing therapy guidelines for the prestigious 17-hospital National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) meeting in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. This type of therapy is known as brachytherapy, the procedure has been performed for years by researc...

Potential New Cancer Gene Identified

A Johns Hopkins University research team has discovered a new family of genes that contributes to the process of malignancy, shedding new light on the abnormalities that give rise to the aggressive childhood cancer, Burkitt's lymphoma - as well as lymphoma, leukemia, prostate, ovarian, lung, and breast cancer. Characterized by rapidly growing abdominal tumors, Burkitt's lymp...

Vitamin B12 can help in detecting cancers

In some of the cancer patients the Tumors can't be easily deected. A new procedure being done at Mayo Clinic using vitamin B12 that helps doctors locate hard to find tumors. During the processes a patient is injected with radioactive vitamin B12. After three hours a gamma camera takes pictures of the body. Dr. Collins treated a patient with breast cancer and he says that, "The cancer stands out a...

More Accurate "PROSTATE CANCER" Test can save Unnecessary Biopsies

Prostate cancer can effect men over the age of 40 years and is the second commonest cancer among men after lung cancer. Usually it goes undetected till it is advanced and beyond cure. However a lot of awareness has been created about this condition and now men over the age of 40 years can be screened regularly to detect the cancer. One of the most promising "tumour markers" in medicine...

Consensus on "Combination Therapy" for Breast Cancer

Breast cancer is the commonest cancer among women in the world. There has been some on going controversy on certain aspects of treatment modalities of this cancer. Besides surgery there are other options to treat the cancer including radiation, chemotherapy and hormonal therapy. Now at a three-day conference at the National Institutes of Health doctors have agreed to a consensus on the combinati...

Cancers of Colon & Rectum linked to Cigarette Smoking

The risks of smoking are well known. Besides causing 160,000 deaths annually from lung, mouth, bladder and other cancers, smoking also increases the risk of death from cancer of the colon or rectum, according to results of a large new study from the American Cancer Society. As many as 12% of all colorectal cancer deaths in the US may be caused by tobacco smoking. "Colorecta...

Life Saving Cancer Drugs – From Chicken! Possible Says 'Dolly’ Creatos

In what can be a watershed in cancer research, Scottish scientists along with US Biotech Company Viragen Inc., have used nuclear transfer technology to harvest life saving drugs to treat many serious diseases including cancer. The same team had earlier cornered world wide fame and glory (and a lot of criticism!) for creating Dolly – the world’s first cloned mammal: Using the same nuclear transfe...

The Cancer Rumour mill working over time

The single most important word to make people sit up and take notice in health care apart from AIDS or HIV should be cancer!!!!!!!!!! The mere mention of the word is enough to bolster people to sit up and listen. But should we really accept all that is heard and said about the disease? Or should we use our gray cells and analyse the pros and cons and then decide? Should we believe all that is wri...

Want skin cancer? Please have a cigarette

The January first issue of the Journal of clinical oncology has come out with a damning indictment of smoking. It says smokers have a three-fold chance of developing skin cancer than people who have not smoked before. The report is based on a study conducted by Dr. Jan N. Bouwes Bavinck from Leiden University Medical Center in the Netherlands and colleagues. The authors found a significa...

New hope for cancer victims – will vaccine cure the deadly bug

One very deadly form of cancer is pancreatic cancer, though it isn’t very common. Globally it kills lakhs of people every year. And now there is some hope for the unfortunate victims. A new vaccine has been successfully tested on the pancreatic cancer victims and it has increased the survival rates in many. Vaccines are typically thought of as a way of preventing disease. In cancer, howe...

Clinton's new problem - Is the outgoing American president suffering from skin cancer?

The outgoing U.S. president Bill Clinton will be remembered as one of the most controversial presidents ever. He created history by becoming the first American president in history to be impeached by the House of Representatives. Only because he managed to win at the senate did he save himself and his country further damage. He has been the center of many burning controversies throughout...

Are cancer patients being taken for a ride?

One issue that always raises many uncomfortable questions and more troubling answers is that of drug trials. Drug testing has always been an ethical issue and has kindled a lot of heated arguments for and against it. Recent studies have revealed that cancer victims suffer the most when it comes to drug testing when sometimes very toxic new anti cancer drugs are tested on unsuspecting victims in...

Cancer drugs in development nearly doubled since 1995

The number of drugs being developed for the treatment of cancer has nearlydoubled during the past six years, according to a new survey of pharmaceuticalcompanies.Currently, 170 pharmaceutical and biotechnology firms various CancerInstitutes are investigating 402 compounds for the treatment of variouscancers, up from 215 in 1995. Many of the drugs are alternatives to standardradiatio...

Breast cancer treatment to be determined by gene test

Women newly diagnosed with breast cancer, may opt for mastectomy over breast-conserving lumpectomy if they test positive for a breast cancer gene mutation, researchers said California on Monday. About 5% to 10% of all breast cancers are caused by an inherited genetic susceptibility. The majority of these cancers are linked to mutations or alterations in two genes, BRCA1 and BRCA2. It is...

Ductal lavage may detect early breast cancer

At times when the breast lumps are too small to be picked up by a mammogram, the patient may be unaware that she is a potential candidate for breast cancer. But to offset this problem, scientists at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore headed by Dr. Saraswathi Sukumar, have devised a new method of detecting early stages of breast cancer by using a new method called ductal la...

Beware of the oral patch! It could be cancer!!!

Oncologists have warned that the common white patches found inside the mouth can lead to oral cancer in many cases. A simple genetic test can help pinpoint if the patches could become cancerous or not.Scientists at the University of Oslo spearheaded this research. If identified early and treated, leukoplakia, as the patches are known, can be cured and the occurrence of cancer prevented....

New drug helps boost cancer treatment

Researchers at the Sloane Kettering Cancer Center, New York have achieved a breakthrough of sorts in cancer treatment, by designing a new drug, which attaches itself to a key position on cancer cells and gives new potency to failing chemotherapy drugs thereby extending survival of advanced colorectal cancer patients. IMC-C225, the new drug which is actually a monoclonal antibody, is desi...

Antidepressants come in handy for patients on treatment for hepatitis, cancers and multiple sclerosis

The sad part in the treatment of certain cancers, hepatitis and multiple sclerosis with interferon therapy is that while the treatment can extent life, it can seriously spoil its quality. Alpha interferon a drug used to fight these diseases can cause crippling depression. A new research now shows that the use of an antidepressant before starting the treatment can avoid this problem. Al...

Radioactive Seeds used in Prostate Cancer treatment can migrate with the body

In a shocking disclosure, Dr. Murali Ankem, a resident in Urology at the Robert Wood Johnnson Medical Centre of the University of New Jersey Medical and Dental School, New Brunswick, has said that radiactive seeds used in prostate cancer treatment can migrate to other parts of the body including the lungs. In a procedure called Brachytherapy, tiny metal pellets are implanted in and aroun...

Cancer patients turning to Internet for information

Many cancer patients, according to a recent study, are increasingly turning to the Internet for information about their disease. In this context physicians need to be aware of various Internet medical sites so they can guide the patients to the most reliable, accurate and updated information. Dr. James M.Metz of the University of Pennsylvania Cancer Center in Philadelphia echoed these ideas at...

ZD1839 Proves Effective - A Breakthrough in fighting Lung Cancer

Lung cancer, the header among all forms of cancer, is avenged now by the new proven effective ZD1839. It has been shown that ZD1839, an epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor, has confirmed, durable responses and safety in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) as monotherapy and in combination with standard chemotherapy agents after segmental scrut...

Smoking spreads Cancer

Smoking among women is on the rise. But the alarm bells are soaring against the same when the researchers identify that female smokers with breast cancer face an increased risk of their tumors spreading to the lungs and other organs than do nonsmokers "There is a relationship between smoking and the spread of the disease," says study author Susan Murin, MD, associate professor of medici...

Lose stomach for Life....Preventive removal of stomach saves the risk of cancer

This is a story about five gentlemen with a rare genetic mutation that confers a very high risk of stomach cancer. Yes! Dr. David G. Huntsman of the British Columbia Cancer Agency in Vancouver, Canada and colleagues report on five members of two families with a rare form of hereditary gastric cancer caused by a mutation of the E-cadherin gene. These people had a very bad family history with...

Risk of Cancer can be reduced to 40% with a High Fiber Diet

A study was conducted with 400,000 people from nine countries, who were divided into five sets according to their consumption of fiber and presented at an International Conference in France. This study showed that fiber was particularly important in reducing cancer of the colon and rectum. Medical experts believe up to 30% of all cancers in the developed world are associated with n...

Drinking arsenic water leads to cancer

According to a press release about one third the population of Bangladesh are at risk of getting cancer from arsenic deposits in well water. Drinking arsenic tainted water for prolonged periods results in skin lesions and cancer of kidney, skin, lung and bladder said the study.// At least 100,000 cases of debilitating skin lesions have already occurred, according to World Hea...

New scalpel probes into cancer

A smart scalpel which is able to detect the presence of cancer cells beneath layers skin, blood and muscle have been developed by US researchers. The bottle-top sized microcavity laser developed by the US department of Energy will enable surgeons to operate more accurately on tumours without cutting large amounts of tissue.// This device could detect which cells were cancerou...

Better prostate cancer detection

Recently a more extensive biopsy detecting technique for prostate cancers has been found out by researchers. At Ohio State University, researchers said that it is better to take more samples.// Dr.Robert Bahn...

Protective effects of tomatoes in prostate cancer

Diets rich in tomato products, such as tomato sauce and ketchup, have long been associated with a reduced risk of various cancers, especially prostate cancer, but the reason for such an action is yet to be found. Clinical trials have suggested that lycopene, which is found in tomato products and other natural plant nutrients may be effective in preventing prostate cancer and treating t...

Starch fights cancer

A type of starch, previously thought to be just 'empty calories', actually helps prevent bowel cancer. At the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), researchers have revealed that resistant starch could be as important as fibre in the fight against bowel cancer. They have noted that people in Africa, Japan and China have low rates of bowel c...

Early detection of prostate cancer

A new study, conducted by teams in Stockholm and Boston, looked at the relationship between prostate-specific antigen, or PSA (the chemical currently used as a ‘marker’ for prostate cancer progression), and two other blood proteins. It was found that men with prostate cancer who could not be detected by the PSA test could potentially be picked up by measuring levels of the two oth...

Garlic a day keeps cancer away

To reduce your risk of bowel cancer, a single raw clove of garlic can do wonders say the researchers from Boston University. Garlic is best known for staying off heart disease and it also has powerful anti-cancer properties.A substance called diallyl disulfide in garlic is known to make the gut produce enzymes that clear out cancer-causing particles. Now two New Zealand s...

Cancer Inheritance

Family History is an important risk factor for most cancers, says a Stanford University Medical Centre researcher.Cancers that occur early in life are more likely to have a genetic component than those diagnosed later. Rare thyroid and testicular cancers, are even more likey to be familial than breast and lung cancer.// The model assumed that cancers were the result of either only o...

Male infertility in relation to cancer

Researhers from Britain examining the relationship between increasing rates of testicular cancer and decreasing sperm quality, have concluded men who have infertility problems have an increased risk of developing cancer. As reported in the issue of the British Medical Journal (BMJ), the study found a strong association between men with infertility problems and the subsequent risk of...

Ovarian cancer in relationship with Hormone therapy

A major US study has found that women who have taken postmenopausal oestrogens for ten years or more are at substantially greater risk of fatal ovarian cancer. The risk persists for many years after therapy is discontinued, researchers from the American Cancer Society report// in the Journal of the American Medical Association.The study followed 201,681 postmenopausal women from 1982 t...

Need for Colon cancer screening

Colon cancer should be screened periodically once in 5 years in older people (above 50).The usual test is the fecal occult blood test (FOBT) which looks for traces of blood shed by a tumour, or the sigmoidoscopy - an examination of the lower colon. According to researchers at the Finland Affairs Medical Centre in the US, death rate from colon cancer has been decreased due to the routine screening...

Obesity a risk for pancreatic cancer

A new study reveals that obesity raises the risk of pancreatic cancer, but this can be modified by exercise.Only one person in 20 can expect to live for more than five years after pancreatic cancer has been diagnosed and little has been known about how to prevent it (although smoking is a risk factor). So it's encouraging to learn that you can do something to lower your risk of this h...

Estrogen lowers cancer risk

Italian scientists have found that women had about a 20 percent lower chance of developing cancer if they used oral contraceptives. This new research bolsters the theory that the female hormone estrogen might protect women from colorectal cancer. Dr. Carlo La Vecchia, who led the study said "For a while now we have suspected that estrogen in the pill could protect against bowel c...

Flaxseed fights cancer risk

A new study suggests that flaxseed lowers female hormone levels and may thereby reduce breast cancer risk.The flax plant has been used for thousands of years - the fibres to make linen and the ground seeds in bread and cereal.The seeds are rich in lignans, which resemble the female hormone oestrogen.// High levels of oestrogen are linked to breast cancer and lignans may lower levels b...