Stories related to: cancer

Vitamin D, the "sunshine vitamin," has been getting plenty of good press lately, leading some to ask why more people aren't guzzling it to help stave off heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. But as the government looks to update its guidelines, many experts warn that bombarding people with the vitamin could be dangerous as well, the Washington Post reports. More »

A powerful new cancer drug has been developed from a fungus discovered by accident, Reuters reports. The drug, called lodamin, is dramatically effective against a range of cancers and works by starving tumors of blood, according to a new study published in the journal Nature Biotechnology. Mice infected with cancer cells were nearly cancer free within days. More »

Scientists say they will soon be able to take a simple mouth swab from women to better determine their risk of breast cancer, the Guardian reports. Researchers at Cambridge University have zeroed in on several genetic variants—with more to come—that offer a far more precise measure of a woman's risk than current tests. The development could have a profound impact on current screening procedures and the timeline for mammographies. More »

Encouraging results in experiments on mice are raising hopes of an effective colon cancer vaccine, Reuters reports. Capitalizing on the fact that the intestines have their own immune system, researchers isolated a protein that occurs only in the gut to create a vaccine. In treated mice, an average of three tumors appeared in the lungs or liver. In unvaccinated mice, the number was 30. More »

People with low levels of vitamin D are more likely to die earlier from a variety of causes than people with normal levels of the so-called "Sunshine Vitamin," according to a new study. The study is the latest to underscore the health benefits of vitamin D—and points to nearly twice the risk of early death from any cause, as well as from heart-related problems. More »

Will the real Lance Armstrong please stand up? The seven-time Tour de France champ and cancer research advocate is also a serial dater whose affairs light up gossip pages. But so far, trysts with Ashley Olsen and Kate Hudson have not hurt the cancer survivor's higher cause—which includes testifying before Congress and selling 70 million yellow Livestrong bracelets. More »

Scientists eliminated a man's late-stage melanoma by giving the body's own defenses a massive boost, Scientific American reports. They removed infection-fighting white blood cells from the patient's body, cloned them in the lab until they numbered in the billions, and injected them back into the patient. He was tumor-free 2 months later and remained so for 2 years.  More »

Regular coffee drinking has been linked to a reduced risk of fatal heart attacks, according to a new study of the health effects of coffee. Women who regularly drank three cups of coffee a day had a 25 percent lower risk of death from heart disease than women who didn't drink coffee. Some studies have found that coffee is a source of antioxidants, which may protect people from heart disease. More »

While only a third of terminally-ill cancer patients received end-of-life talks from their doctors, those who did fared better, a study has found. Doctors who hedge may think they’re protecting their patients, but patients who got the talk were no more likely to get depressed, avoided living their final days in hospitals, and didn’t spend on expensive, futile care, the AP reports. More »

The European Union has passed a series of tough new laws requiring companies to prove that the chemicals in their products are safe, the Washington Post reports. The rule is the exact opposite of US law—which requires proof that a chemical is dangerous before it can be regulated—and manufacturers say it will add billions to their costs. More »

Researchers believe the virus behind cervical cancer is also responsible for a rash of throat cancers, the Chicago Tribune reports. With baby boomers mainly falling victim to the disease, experts believe the rise in oral sex since the 1960s and '70s could be behind the small-scale epidemic—which could be more prevalent than cervical cancer within a decade. More »

Experts, including the American Cancer Society, say cell-phone use doesn’t increase the risk of cancer. So why do three prominent neurosurgeons avoid holding phones up to their ears? The debate has been reopened, the New York Times reports, by the surgeons’ recent comments on CNN and by Ted Kennedy’s diagnosis with a type of tumor critics associate with cell phones. More »

Barack Obama is in “excellent health,” his doctor of two decades wrote today, declaring the Democratic frontrunner “in overall good physical and mental health needed to maintain the resiliency required in the office of president.” Obama, 46, still faces risk factors from smoking, which he quit last year, and has a family history of cancer, the Chicago Tribune reports. More »

ABC, CBS and NBC have decided to work together to fight cancer, the New York Times reports. Each network's lead news anchor will appear on a Sept. 5 telethon broadcast on all three channels simultaneously. The principles—CBS's Katie Couric, NBC's Brian Williams and ABC's Charlie Gibson—have all lost immediate relatives to cancer. More »

Coffee and tea don't elevate risk of breast cancer, researchers report after a 22-year study involving nearly 86,000 women. Those who drank four cups of coffee or tea—caffeinated or decaf—a day had the same incidence as those who drank a cup or less. "Coffee and tea are remarkably safe beverages when used in moderation," one scientist tells Reuters. More »

McCain may be 71.8 years old on paper, but his biological age is a youthful 63.7, according to the physician who wrote You: The Owner's Manual. Dr. Michael Roizen made the estimate based on McCain's recently-released medical records (though some details on the candidate's dietary and exercise habits were missing). Only kink? One year in the Oval Office ages its inhabitant 2 biological years. More »

John McCain's campaign gave the AP the first look at 8 years of the 71-year-old senator's medical records, which show no sign of the melanoma he’s been treated for four times, although he had a lesion removed as recently as February and continues to be at risk for new skin cancers. And though he takes cholesterol medication, doctors say he scores extremely well on heart stress tests. More »

Just a few hours after leaving the hospital where he was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor, Ted Kennedy set sail off Cape Cod with his wife and their dogs, the Boston Globe reports. The senator-turned-skipper took his 50-foot schooner for a two-hour voyage on the Nantucket Sound. “It was wonderful to be on the water," the senator said on his return to the dock. "It's all it takes.” More »

Researchers have found that microscopic “wonder particles” used in a small number of materials, including bicycle parts and bumpers, have asbestos-like effects if inhaled, the Los Angeles Times reports. Consumers aren’t really at risk from the carbon nanotubes, but factory workers making the products could be, the researchers concluded. More »

Ted Kennedy waved to well-wishers and gave a smiling thumbs-up as he left Massachusetts General Hospital and headed for home this morning, a day after the discovery of a malignant brain tumor. “Senator Kennedy has recovered remarkably quickly from his Monday procedure and therefore will be released from the hospital today ahead of schedule,” his doctors said in a statement. The senator will recuperate in his Cape Cod home while doctors devise a treatment plan. More »