Health Diaries > Health News > Cancer News > March 2005
March 29, 2005
Grapes Inhibit Cancer Cells
Components in grapes, including some newly identified ones, work together to dramatically inhibit an enzyme crucial to the proliferation of cancer cells, say scientists at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. (Medical News Today)
Posted by news editor at 8:25 PM | Comments (0)
March 27, 2005
Coffee May Prevent Liver Cancer
A Japanese study, published in a recent issue of Journal of the National Cancer Institute, suggested that drinking two or three cups of coffee a day may help prevent liver cancer. (FoodConsumer.org)
Posted by news editor at 10:07 PM | Comments (0)
March 26, 2005
Prostate Cancer Often Overshadowed
Prostate cancer is often overshadowed by breast cancer in the media.
It's the most common major cancer in America, even though it affects only one sex. Lifetime odds of getting it are 1 in 6. Testing for it is controversial, and treating it robs many of a body part that's important to their sexuality. (ABC News)
Posted by news editor at 5:42 PM | Comments (0)
March 25, 2005
Silica Dust and Esophageal Cancer
Research in China provides further evidence that exposure to silica dust raises the risk of cancer of the esophagus, the organ that connects the mouth with the stomach. (UPMC Cancer Centers)
Posted by news editor at 8:35 PM | Comments (0)
Pfizer and Coley to Develop ProMune Cancer Drug
Pfizer has agreed to pay $50 million to Coley Pharmaceutical Group with the potential for up to $455 million in additional milestone payments, plus royalties, in an exclusive global license agreement to develop, manufacture and commercialize Coley's anti-cancer drug ProMune (CPG 7909). (Daily News Central)
Posted by news editor at 4:31 PM | Comments (0)
March 23, 2005
Endometrial Cancer More Aggressive in African-American Women
In two studies of African-American women with endometrial cancer, a group of investigators from Walter Reed Army Medical Center and the National Cancer Institute has found that African-American women with advanced endometrial cancer have more aggressive tumors than Caucasian women, potentially leading to worse outcomes. (News-Medical.net)
Posted by news editor at 3:19 PM | Comments (0)
Tamoxifen Raises Uterine Sarcoma Risk
One possible tamoxifen side effect may be a rare cancer called uterine sarcoma. "Women who take tamoxifen to guard against the return of breast cancer face a six-fold increase in the risk for uterine sarcoma, a rare malignancy of the muscles and supporting tissue of the uterus." Researchers were quick to add, however, that tamoxifen benefits may outweigh the risks.
Posted by news editor at 2:22 PM | Comments (0)
March 15, 2005
Avastin for Lung Cancer
Avastin, a groundbreaking anti-angiogenesis drug, significantly improves survival in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer, the most common form of lung cancer.
Posted by news editor at 9:04 PM | Comments (0)
Green Tea and Cancer
Researchers at the University of Murcia in Spain and the John Innes Center in Norwich, England have shown that a compound called EGCG in green tea prevents cancer cells from growing by binding to a specific enzyme." (MSNBC)
Posted by news editor at 3:42 PM | Comments (0)
March 11, 2005
Lycopene and Pancreatic Cancer
"A diet rich in tomatoes and products with high lycopene content may help reduce pancreatic cancer risk, conclude the Canadian authors of a new study."
Posted by news editor at 10:19 PM | Comments (0)
March 9, 2005
Chris LeDoux Loses Battle with Cancer
"Chris LeDoux died Wednesday (March 9) at the age of 56 due to complications from ongoing treatment for cancer of the bile duct. The singer, songwriter, and rodeo champion was surrounded by family and friends at the time of his death at Casper Medical Center in Casper, Wyoming."
Posted by news editor at 8:08 PM | Comments (0)
Mesothelioma Awareness in the UK
According to the article, the death rate from mesothelioma is rising steadily in the UK, where activists say there needs to be more awareness in the medical community and in the general population about this deadly disease. "The death rate is expected to keep rising until 2015. By 2050 90,000 people are expected to have died from the cancer."
Posted by news editor at 3:30 PM | Comments (0)
March 8, 2005
Diabetes Increases Risk for Liver Cancer
It appears that diabetes is a strong risk factor for liver cancer, raising the risk two- to three-fold, investigators report. (UPMC Cancer Centers)
Posted by news editor at 8:14 PM | Comments (0)
Canadian Scientists Studying Acrylamides in Foods
In 2002, Health Canada alerted Canadians to the presence of acrylamide in some foods, following reports by scientists in Sweden. Since then, Health Canada scientists have participated in international research efforts aimed at understanding how acrylamide is formed in foods and the health implications. (News-Medical.net)
Posted by news editor at 7:16 PM | Comments (0)
March 5, 2005
Prostate Cancer and Vitamin E
High blood levels of either alpha-tocopherol or gamma-tocopherol, both forms of vitamin E, appeared to halve the risk of prostate cancer in a new analysis of the ATBC trial, which supports earlier results showing that the vitamin protects against the cancer, writes Dominique Patton. (Food Navigator)
Posted by news editor at 1:52 PM | Comments (0)
March 4, 2005
Vaccine for Prostate Cancer
For the first time, researchers have found that a novel immunologic therapy increases survival by nearly 18 percent in men with advanced prostate cancer that no longer responds to hormone therapy.
The therapeutic cancer vaccine, called APC8015 (Provenge), is likely to become a new standard of care for patients with metastatic prostate cancer. The UCSF-led study is the first to demonstrate a survival benefit from immunologic therapies or vaccines in patients with advanced prostate cancer. (Science Daily)
Posted by news editor at 6:45 PM | Comments (0)
Scorpion Venom for Tumors
"A Central Florida cancer patient credits a new scorpion venom treatment with saving his life after being diagnosed with an extremely serious brain tumor."
Posted by news editor at 12:36 PM | Comments (1)
March 3, 2005
Chemotherapy for Older Breast Cancer Patients
"Older breast cancer patients benefit from aggressive chemotherapy, and age alone should not curtail its use, according to research published yesterday in the Journal of the American Medical Association."
Posted by news editor at 9:44 AM | Comments (0)
Testicular Cancer Test
Scientists have discovered a new method that could help to detect very early signs of testicular cancer by looking for a specific protein in semen.
Posted by news editor at 9:24 AM | Comments (0)
March 2, 2005
Thalidomide for Multiple Myeloma
"The Japan branch of the International Myeloma Foundation has repeatedly asked the government to approve thalidomide, saying that thousands of myeloma sufferers who could be saved through its use are dying every year."
Posted by news editor at 10:24 AM | Comments (0)
Plant Derivative Kills Leukemia Cells
"Parthenolide, a chemical derived from the feverfew plant, destroys acute myeloid leukemia cells, leaving normal bone marrow cells relatively unscathed."
Posted by news editor at 10:00 AM | Comments (0)
Tamoxifen and Endometrial Cancer Risk
A new study confirms tamoxifen can boost the risk of endometrial cancer in pre-menopausal and postmenopausal women. The risk increases the longer a woman takes the drug.
Posted by news editor at 9:03 AM | Comments (0)