Cancer Research

$600M Windfall Aims to Boost Risky Research

Washington Post  |  May 27, 08 2:07 PM CDT

(Newser) - American medical research got a big boost today, courtesy of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. The philanthropic body, one of the world’s largest, committed $600 million to fund the research of 56 scientists that it thinks can change the world. The institute hopes to back high-risk, high-reward research that normal grants wouldn’t touch, the Washington Post reports. More »

Coffee, Tea Not Seen to Boost Breast Cancer Risk

Reuters  |  May 27, 08 12:27 PM CDT

(Newser) - 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 »

Battle Brews Over Medical Marijuana, Organ Transplants

Los Angeles Times  |  May 19, 08 2:27 PM CDT

(Newser) - Potential organ recipients who are using medically prescribed marijuana are being removed from transplant waiting lists, raising serious questions about transplant programs' screening processes, reports the LA Times . A Seattle man died last month after being denied a donor liver, and a critically ill man in Washington state has been bumped from two lists because he uses pot prescribed by a doctor. More »

Doggy Wants a Bone...Transplant

Seattle Post-Intelligencer  |  May 18, 08 12:50 PM CDT

(Newser) - Doggy wants a bone, and he deserves it too. Canines will soon be lining up at Washington State University for bone marrow transplants, enjoying a little payback after pooches made the procedure possible in people, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports. But the cancer treatment won't come cheap: WSU will treat man’s best friend for about $15,000 to $20,000 each. More »

Vitamin D May Curb Breast Cancer: Study

Globe and Mail  |  May 16, 08 7:28 AM CDT

(Newser) - Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to the spread of breast cancer tumors to other parts of the body, reports the Toronto Globe and Mail. Women diagnosed with breast cancer were twice as likely to see it spread and 73% more likely to die early if they had low levels of the vitamin, a new study says. More »

To Lower Breast Cancer Risk, Get Moving

Reuters  |  May 13, 08 7:45 PM CDT

(Newser) - Exercising regularly while still young may cut the risk of premenopausal breast cancer, a new study shows. Women who were the most physically active were 23% less likely to develop the cancer than the women who were the least active, Reuters reports. Exercising between the ages of 12 and 22 was the most beneficial, the study shows. More »

Robot Worms Offer Cancer Hope

ABC News  |  May 13, 08 2:31 PM CDT

(Newser) - Little mechanical “worms” offer the latest hope for early detection—and eradication—of cancer. Researchers have created tiny machines that travel through the body, find tumors that are too small to see in normal scans, and then deliver drugs to kill them. The method has worked to spot tumors in mice, but it’s still years from human use, ABC reports. More »

HPV Linked With Lung Cancer, But Many Still Fight Vaccine

ABC News  |  Apr 28, 08 3:33 PM CDT

(Newser) - The human papillomavirus, or HPV, has been linked to increased risk of lung cancer, but conservatives are standing firm in opposition to the new vaccine. Parents and activists charge that Gardasil encourages promiscuous sex, ABC News reports. "If you give kids the vaccine, you're giving them a license to go have sex," insists the head of an abstinence advocacy group. More »

Gene Variants Increase Breast Cancer Risk

Bloomberg  |  Apr 28, 08 10:42 AM CDT

(Newser) - Scientists have identified versions of a gene that confer a 50% greater chance of developing estrogen-responsive tumors, Bloomberg reports. The study, published in Nature Genetics , found two common gene variants on chromosome 5 that correlated with higher incidences of the types of cancer that respond to estrogen levels. Genetic testing could indicate which women might benefit most from hormone-blocking therapy. More »

New Cancer Scan Promising, But Much Testing Remains

New York Times  |  Apr 24, 08 5:40 PM CDT

(Newser) - A study claiming to dramatically reduce the risk of lung-cancer death is the object of intense scientific debate, Philip Boffey writes in the New York Times . Researchers screened asymptomatic smokers with spiral CT scans, which are more sensitive than the traditional chest X-ray. They estimate 92% of those found to have early-stage tumors, and get them removed, would survive the next decade. More »

Skin Cancer of Scalp, Neck Deadlier

Time  |  Apr 22, 08 6:07 AM CDT

(Newser) - Melanoma is the rarest, deadliest form of skin cancer, but new research shows that a tumor's location is an indicator of survival chances. An analysis of 50,000 cases over a decade shows patients with lesions on the scalp and neck died twice as quickly as patients with lesions elsewhere, reports Time . More »

Predicting Cancer Is All in Your Head

Reuters  |  Apr 14, 08 1:28 PM CDT

(Newser) - A simple test on cells from the mouth could help doctors predict which smokers will develop lung cancer, Reuters reports. In a test group, 95% of subjects with the genetic damage associated with cancer in their lungs had the same damage in their mouths. More »

Alcohol Linked to Breast Cancer

Reuters  |  Apr 14, 08 9:44 AM CDT

(Newser) - Alcohol can increase the risk of breast cancer in older women by more than 50%, according to a new study. In an analysis of data from more than 184,000 post-menopausal women, those who had one or two drinks a day were 32% more likely to develop breast cancer tumors, researchers found. Three or more drinks a day raised the risk 51% higher.   More »

New Drug Protects Body From Radiation

BBC  |  Apr 11, 08 2:15 PM CDT

(Newser) - A promising new drug that protects animals from damaging radiation is ready for clinical trials in humans, the BBC reports. The drug interferes with the protein that ordinarily causes cell suicide in the presence of radiation, meaning it could be useful in treating cancer patients undergoing radiation as well as victims of a dirty bomb or nuclear attack. More »

As Mammograms Go Digital, Docs Call More Women Back

New York Times  |  Apr 10, 08 9:28 AM CDT

(Newser) - As more radiologists switch from film to digital mammogram imaging, they must learn new interpretation techniques—and that means more healthy women face a dreaded recall for further testing, the New York Times reports. During the changeover, “there’s an increase in the rate of things you think are abnormal,” says a doctor. But over time, clearer digital images should cut the number of callbacks, experts say. More »

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