You Say 'Tomato,' FDA Says 'Not a Cancer Cure-All'

Heinz-backed research highlights lycopene

(NEWSER) - Good news, but only if you like tomatoes: The chemical that makes them red helps fight prostate cancer, a study suggests. In a lab, lycopene was shown to stop cancer cells from attaching to a blood supply. The process can delay the cells' growth, and even kill them, the Telegraph reports. "'This simple chemical reaction was shown to occur at lycopene concentrations that can easily be achieved by eating processed tomatoes," said one of the researchers in Britain. More»

Sticking to advised limits would prevent thousands of cases

(NEWSER) - Drinking leads to at least 13,000 cases of cancer in Britain each year, a study finds—and thousands could be avoided if people would stick to alcohol guidelines. That UK-centric finding comes from a study that examined the tie between diet and cancer in eight European countries. Researchers discovered that among men, more than half of the cases of cancer of the upper digestive tract, colorectum, and liver attributed to alcohol in 2008 resulted from having more than two drinks daily; in women, more than 80% resulted from having more than one drink per day, the Guardian reports. More»

Breast cancer, ovarian cancer, melanoma yield to new approaches

(NEWSER) - New treatments for cancer—breast, ovarian, and skin—raised hopes at this weekend's meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Chicago. The findings aren't enough for Robert Langreth of Forbes , who sees "serious questions about whether big drug companies may be rushing too fast." Judge for yourself.

• A single dose of radiation administered at the site of tumor removal deterred recurrence of breast cancer as well as the standard grueling course of radiation on the entire breast, the Chicago Tribune reports.

New report focuses on disparities in funding, incidence, survival

(NEWSER) - The number of women diagnosed with lung cancer is soaring, but federal funding for research lags even though the disease is more common than cancer of the breast, prostate, and colon—combined. A new report drills down on research about women and lung cancer, sorting out findings about incidence, gender disparities, and survival. Perhaps most interesting, "all federal spending for lung cancer research amounts to $1,249 for each lung cancer death," Richard Know writes for NPR . "Spending for breast cancer research is 21 times higher—$27,480 per death." More»

Do patents on breast, ovarian cancer genes, retard new research?

(NEWSER) - A Manhattan judge yesterday heard arguments on whether human genes should be covered by patents. A company called Myriad Genetics is being sued over its patents on two genes linked to an increased risk of breast and ovarian cancer—BRCA1 and BRCA2. The suit alleges that women's health is harmed by the patents, because, as an ACLU lawyer put it, "New forms of testing and new ways of using the gene have been inhibited." More»