Oncology news

Cancer Research UK has joined with the British Association of Dermatologists, Diabetes UK, the Multiple Sclerosis Society, the National Heart Forum, the National Osteoporosis Society and the Primary Care Dermatology Society to issue a joint position statement on vitamin D.

People should be warned that cancer is linked to obesity and alcohol, rather than urged to eat more fruit and vegetables to protect against the disease.

Around one in 100 deaths worldwide each year is due to passive smoking, which causes more than 600,000 people to die each year worldwide. Some 165 000 of these deaths are among children. These are the conclusions of an article published in an upcoming edition of The Lancet, written by Dr Annette Prüss-Ustün, WHO, Geneva, Switzerland, and colleagues. The study is the first to assess the global impact of second-hand smoke.

Giving women younger than 50 years who have a family history of breast cancer a mammogram every year will detect more cancers and could save lives, according to an article published in The Lancet Oncology.

Patients with head and neck cancer who have never smoked have much better survival rates after radiation therapy than patients with a history of smoking, new research from UC Davis Cancer Center has found.

The risk of radiation-induced breast cancer from mammography screening is slight in comparison to the benefit of expected lives saved, according to a new study appearing online and in the January issue of the journal Radiology.

Women who have had the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine could need only two HPV screening tests for the rest of their lives according to new calculations being presented at the NCRI Cancer Conference in Liverpool.

Ninety percent of children who lived in a house where an adult smoked had evidence of tobacco-related carcinogens in their urine, according to research presented at the Ninth AACR Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research Conference, held here from Nov 7-10, 2010.

Some Czech hospitals do not admit new cancer patients in reaction to a recent announcement by the General Health Insurance Company (VZP), the largest health insurer in the country, that money for oncological treatment has been exhausted, daily Mlada fronta Dnes (MfD) writes today.

Comprehensive analyses of mutation patterns in human tumours is essential for a full understanding of the biochemical processes underlying the disease, but the scale of these has so far been limited by the sequencing technology available to either a small number of samples or a small number of genes.

The first results from the EPIC study provide valuable insights into the influence of food groups and nutrients in gastric cancer, colorectal cancer, lung cancer, breast cancer and prostate cancer, reports the European Journal of Cancer.

Eight human papillomavirus (HPV) types (16, 18, 45, 33, 31, 52, 58, and 35) are responsible for over 90% of all cervical cancer cases worldwide, and should be the target of the next generation vaccines, according to the largest study of HPV genotypes to date, published Online First in The Lancet Oncology.

There is an association between type 2 diabetes mellitus and colorectal cancer (CRC) among men, but not women, according to a new study in Gastroenterology, the official journal of the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) Institute.

Leading a healthy lifestyle can help women reduce their risk of breast cancer even if they have a family history of the disease, it has been claimed.

Ubiquitin D (UBD) could serve as a new prognostic factor for forecasting colorectal cancer progression and disease recurrence, according to research first published in the British Journal of Cancer online (August 31, 2010).

Women who exercise and keep active are around 30 per cent less likely to develop womb cancer than couch potatoes - according to a new study published in the British Journal of Cancer today.

Both male and female relatives of women diagnosed with breast cancer before the age of 35 are at an increased risk of other cancers even if they do not carry faulty BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, scientists have discovered.

Even low doses of aspirin may help to prevent bowel cancer, a new study from the University of Edinburgh suggests.

Scientists have discovered for the first time that studying calcium deposits in the breast, often detected through screening, could help doctors diagnose breast cancer more effectively.

Although overall mortality from cancer is decreasing in the European Union, its incidence increased by almost 20%, from 2.1 million new cases in 2002 to 2.5 million in 2008, says a special issue of the European Journal of Cancer (the official journal of ECCO – the European CanCer Organisation) on cancer prevention, published today.

A new multinational study suggests that regular blood testing to measure levels of prostate specific antigen (PSA) is more effective at detecting prostate cancer in men with a genetic predisposition to the disease.

Postmenopausal women diagnosed with colon cancer may be at increased risk of death if they fail to maintain a healthy body weight before cancer diagnosis, according to a study published in the September issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

Patients with colon cancer who used multivitamins during and after being treated with post-surgical chemotherapy did not reduce the risk of the cancer returning or their dying from it, according to researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

Long-term use of bone-strengthening drugs - used to treat fractures - may boost the risk of oesophageal cancer, Oxford University research suggests.

According to results of a study published in the September issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, selenium intake is associated with decreased risk of bladder cancer.

Girls eating a high-fat diet during puberty, even those who do not become overweight or obese, may be at a greater risk of developing breast cancer later in life, according to Michigan State University (MSU) researchers.

A novel mechanism used by adenovirus to sidestep the cell's suicide program, could go a long way to explain how tumour suppressor genes are silenced in tumour cells and pave the way for a new type of targeted cancer therapy, report researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in the Aug. 26, 2010 issue of Nature.

The eight unexplained symptoms most closely linked to cancer have been highlighted by researchers.

A new study suggests that tobacco companies may be using online video portals, such as YouTube, to get around advertising restrictions and market their products to young people.

UK scientists at the University of Oxford have discovered that vitamin D can affect the activity of more than 200 genes of cells grown in the lab. Some of these genes are known from previous studies to be involved in diseases like diabetes and cancer.

When nicotine binds to the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAchR), it is known to promote smoking addiction and may also directly promote the development of breast cancer, according to a study published online August 23 in The Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

A US study, published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, has confirmed suggestions that certain types of breast cancer are more common among women who regularly drink alcohol.

A key step in understanding the origins of familial breast cancer has been made by two teams of scientists at the University of California, Davis. The researchers have purified, for the first time, the protein produced by the breast cancer susceptibility gene BRCA2 and used it to study the oncogene's role in DNA repair.

Dr Paul Symonds from the Department of Cancer Studies and Molecular Medicine at the University of Leicester, UK, has demonstrated that the use of a particular drug in collaboration with radiotherapy gives significantly better results than radiotherapy alone.

An experimental vaccine based on a virus that causes encephalitis in the wild appears to block tumour growth in some cases of advanced cancer, according to researchers at Duke University Medical Center.

Researchers at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, have for the first time identified 12 genes that could be associated with aggressive breast tumours. The discovery could result in more reliable prognoses and better treatment strategies for patients [1].

A US study has found that a daily dose of aspirin may reduce the risk of prostate cancer, but Cancer Research UK has noted that regular use of aspirin can cause serious side-effects and should not be undertaken unless recommended by a doctor.

A test using a patient’s breath could be developed to detect lung, breast, bowel and prostate cancers, a team of scientists have discovered.

Cancer Research UK scientists have discovered that a gene called POLQ is linked to an eight-fold risk of breast cancer returning. Developing drugs to block POLQ could increase survival and stop the cancer coming back, according to research published in OncoTarget.

The reduced effectiveness of mammographic screening in women in their forties is primarily due to lower detectability instead of faster tumour growth rate, according to a study published online July 27 in The Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

A new predictive marker which could help doctors to decide whether breast cancer patients would benefit from chemotherapy has been identified by a team of scientists.

Three quarters of British adults support the removal of shop displays of tobacco (73 per cent) and a complete ban on cigarette vending machines (77 per cent) according to a new survey commissioned by Cancer Research UK this weekend.

A new study by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has provided further evidence that professional painters may face a higher risk of developing bladder cancer than the general population.

Results of a new US study published today have looked at whether cleaning products are linked to an increased risk of breast cancer. They appear to show that women who say they used such products in the past are more likely to have breast cancer.

The cervical cancer vaccine could prevent even more cases of the disease in England than previously thought, UK scientists have found.

Childhood cancer survivors may have an increased risk of death from other forms of cancer, cardiac and cerebrovascular causes more than 25 years after their initial illness, UK scientists have found.

A recent report in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, adds to the growing evidence that fish oil supplements may play a role in preventing chronic disease.

A new study suggests that the test used in the Italian national bowel cancer screening programme may be less likely to spot cancerous changes in summer than it is in winter.

Olaparib, a new type of experimental drug called a PARP inhibitor, has shown promising results against inherited forms of breast and ovarian cancer in two small clinical trials led by scientists at the Breakthrough Breast Cancer Research Unit at King's College London.

Men who carry a faulty BRCA2 gene have a 1 in 15 chance of developing breast cancer by the time they reach 70, suggests the largest study of its kind, published online in the Journal of Medical Genetics.

A new test could predict which women have an aggressive form of breast cancer in the milk ducts (DCIS) and spare other women from unnecessary radiotherapy, according to research published in the British Journal of Cancer today (Wednesday).

People with higher blood levels of vitamin B6 and the amino acid methionine appear to have a lower risk of lung cancer, a French study has found. But more research is needed to understand if higher levels of the nutrients directly protect against the disease.

A new drug, based on a natural extract from sea sponge, may help to extend the lives of women with advanced breast cancer, UK scientists have found.

Women who have high blood levels of a hormone called insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) are more likely to develop breast cancer, according to a Cancer Research UK study published in the Lancet Oncology today (Monday).

People who drink even large amounts of coffee or sugar-filled fizzy drinks are unlikely to increase their risk of bowel cancer, a large US study has concluded.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a new 'cancer vaccine' for treating men with advanced prostate cancer.

Cigarettes in Australia will soon have to be sold in plain packaging to prevent consumers – and particularly children – from being influenced by tobacco advertising.

Two studies suggest that testing for the human papillomavirus (HPV) - the major cause of cervical cancer - could be used in national cervical cancer screening programmes.

Young people who regularly use sunbeds often display signs of addiction to using them, a US study has found.

Men with prostate cancer, particularly those receiving hormone therapy, may face an increased risk of blood clots or 'thromboembolism', scientists at King's College London have found.

For every woman overdiagnosed by breast screening, two deaths will be prevented, according to a study published today (Wednesday).

Rates of oropharyngeal cancer have increased by around 50 per cent in the last 20 years, according to a report in the British Medical Journal.

A new unique book was released in March 2010 that representatively desribes recent status and future trends in Czech cancer care in the widest sense. The book entitled "Czech Cancer Care in Numbers 2008-2009" is written in English and was released by Grada Publishing.

Testing for the human papillomavirus (HPV) - the major cause of cervical cancer - may not help to identify women who are at risk of the disease, a new UK study suggests.

Men who start losing their hair at an early age may be less likely to develop prostate cancer in the future, new research suggests. But Cancer Research UK said that the results contradict those of previous studies and that further research is needed to provide more reliable evidence.

More cases of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection - the major cause of cervical cancer - could be detected if home-testing kits were given to women who cannot attend conventional cervical screening, a Dutch study has found.

A vaccine against mesothelioma, a cancer associated with exposure to asbestos, has shown early promise in its first clinical trial.

A drug commonly used to prevent and treat bones losing density and becoming brittle – known as osteoporosis – may also help reduce the risk of breast cancer by one third or more according to new research published in the British Journal of Cancer today (Wednesday).

Cancer Research UK this week launches a new trial for patients with bowel cancer that has spread to the liver to see whether a new radiotherapy treatment technique is more effective than standard chemotherapy.

Cancer patients with in the Czech Republic were treated in 2009 on the same medical level as those in the old EU member states. However, not all patients who would have needed it got to specialised centres, as Professor Jiri Vorlicek, President of the Czech Society for Oncology, told reporters today.

Changes in the way that stem cells divide in the gut could lead to cancer, according to a new study funded by the Bobby Moore Fund for Cancer Research UK.

Nicotine that accumulates on indoor surfaces long after a person has put out their cigarette is converted into cancer-causing chemicals, US scientists have warned.

People with early-stage lung cancer may double their chances of surviving for longer than five years by giving up smoking, UK scientists have found.

People with higher levels of vitamin D appear to be significantly less likely to develop bowel cancer, a new European study has found.

The need for more research into the long-term health effects of electronic cigarettes has been highlighted by scientists in the British Medical Journal.

A large European trial has cast doubt over the viability of prostate cancer screening, concluding that one in eight men receive a positive test result when they do not have the disease.

Cancer Research UK funded scientists have found that a group of rogue genetic messengers, produced by DNA sequences commonly known as ‘junk DNA’, could help diagnose breast and bowel cancer. Their research is published in the journal Genomics.