Docs Corral Immune System to Battle Cancer

HPV, hepatitis B vaccines key part of cancer prevention

(NEWSER) - A sixth of all cancers worldwide are the result of potentially treatable or preventable infections caused by bacteria, viruses, and parasites, according to a new study. Researchers found that that almost 2 million new cancer cases in 2008 were caused by the human papilloma virus, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and the stomach bacterium Helicobacter pylori, and that the proportion of cancers caused by infection was three times higher in developing countries, reports the Guardian . A fifth of the 7.5 million cancer deaths worldwide in 2008 were caused by infection-related cancers, the study found. More»

New Jersey Dem still plans to finish term, run again in 2014

(NEWSER) - Frank Lautenberg, New Jersey’s 86-year-old senior senator, is set to undergo chemotherapy today, less than 24 hours after being diagnosed with treatable stomach cancer. Lautenberg is expected to recover, and says he still expects to finish out his term, and run for reelection in 2014. “This doesn’t change any of that,” said an aide. “After he receives his treatment, back to normal.” More»

Billionaire, 56, given diagnosis of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma

(NEWSER) - Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen has been given a diagnosis of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a type of cancer that affects the immune and lymphatic systems. Allen, the 56-year-old billionaire entrepreneur who owns the NFL's Seattle Seahawks and the NBA's Portland Trail Blazers, overcame Hodgkin's disease in the 1980s—a victory his sister mentioned in today's email to employees, Tech Flash reports. More»

Just 3% of adult patients take part in studies

(NEWSER) - Cancer death rates have changed little in the past 40 years, and one big reason often goes unremarked on, experts say: only 3% of adult cancer patients participate in studies of treatments, the New York Times reports. More than a fifth of trials sponsored by the National Cancer Institute couldn’t enroll a single subject, doctors found. “We can’t improve survival unless we test new treatments against established ones,” says one doc. More»

(NEWSER) - A Minnesota judge ordered today that a teen with cancer must receive an X-ray despite his family’s religious views, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports. “Daniel Hauser is a child in need of protection,” the judge said, citing state law requiring parents to provide “medically necessary care.” Countered a family lawyer: “Chemotherapy … amounts to an assault upon his body, and torture when it occurs over a long period of time.” More»