Cancer Research

(Newser) - Former Boston mayor Ray Flynn, who’s been fighting skin cancer, collapsed during a speech last night and remains hospitalized, the Globe reports. He is in fair condition. “He hasn’t been feeling well in a long time,” his son said, adding that Flynn, 69, is also grieving the death last month of a younger brother. “He’s been under a lot of stress the last month.” More »

(Newser) - A new study has found a virtual colonoscopy to be almost as effective as a conventional invasive procedure in detecting colon cancer, USA Today reports. Virtual colonoscopies, using scans and computer imaging, discovered 90% of the cancers located by regular colonoscopies, in which a scope is physically passed through the colon, according to the study in the New England Journal of Medicine .     More »

(Newser) - Researchers have discovered a key gene that may contribute to the growth of colon cancer and could provide a target for new therapies, Bloomberg reports. The gene, CDK8, controls a cell growth switch that researchers think might spur the development of many tumors. The discovery may help up to 50% of people with colon cancer, researchers predict. More »

(Newser) - Common pain relievers like aspirin and ibuprofen belong to a class of drugs that lowers protein levels doctors use to test for prostate cancer, the second-most-common cancer found in men. But researchers say it's not clear if the drugs are lowering the risk of developing the cancer or just making it harder to detect, Reuters reports. More »

(Newser) - The all-star TV benefit that ran on three US networks and reached 170 countries worldwide has raised $100 million for cancer research, Reuters reports. Friday's Stand Up to Cancer  telecast, which drew a modest but apparently generous audience of 10.3 million in the US. It attracted 100 celebs, some of whom, like Christina Applegate and Patrick Swayze, have undergone cancer treatment. More »

(Newser) - Dozens of Hollywood's finest got together for a historic hour-long, three-network telethon in support of cancer research last night, reports AP. They included cancer survivors Elizabeth Edwards, Christina Applegate and Lance Armstrong, among several others, who made passionate pleas for funding to fight the disease. Cancer kills 550,000 Americans and 6 million worldwide each year—"the equivalent of 9/11 every two days," said Armstrong. More »