Oncology news

Nanoparticles amplify tumor signals, making them much easier to detect in the urine. Results of the new research have just been published in Nature Biotechnology.

The Lancet publishes the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010 (GBD 2010), the largest ever systematic effort to describe the global distribution and causes of a wide array of major diseases, injuries, and health risk factors.

Researchers have shown that an inherited gene fault influences the chances of some women surviving breast cancer. It also increases the risk of women developing a second breast cancer. The research is published in this week’s Journal of Clinical Oncology.

Bowel screening is detecting more cancers when they are less mature and have less aggressive biological characteristics according to new research presented at the NCRI Cancer Conference in Liverpool this week.

Giving some bowel cancer patients six weeks of chemotherapy before surgery can significantly shrink their tumour, making it easier to remove and potentially reducing the chances of the cancer coming back, according to results from a major Cancer Research UK-funded pilot study published this month in Lancet Oncology.

Routine smear tests have considerably reduced the number of cases, but despite intensive screening 250 women in Sweden still die from cervical cancer every year. Researchers at Sahlgrenska Academy have developed new methods of minimising the number of missed cases and making diagnosis more reliable.

Use of colonoscopy for colorectal cancer screening could explain a significant decrease in the cancer's incidence over the past decade, according to a new study from researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine.

Comparing levels of specific proteins that the drug Avastin targets could identify patients with advanced bowel cancer who will benefit from the treatment, according to research published in Clinical Cancer Research today.

Researchers may have discovered a new explanation as to why obese patients with cancer often have a poorer prognosis compared with those who are lean. The potential explanation is based on data reported in Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

A simple blood test could one day be a more accurate way to test for the early signs of breast cancer than using mammograms to spot a lump say researchers today (Tuesday), as Breast Cancer Awareness Month gets underway.

The CRCgene database, which gathers all genetic association studies on colorectal cancer, allows for researchers to accurately interpret the risk factors of the disease and provides insight into the direction of further colorectal cancer research, according to a study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

Women with type II diabetes are nearly 30 per cent more likely to get breast cancer, according to results of a comprehensive review published in the British Journal of Cancer today (Friday).

A major review of breast cancer screening services in Europe, jointly led by researchers at Queen Mary, University of London, has concluded that the benefits of screening in terms of lives saved outweigh the harms caused by over-diagnosis.

Cancer Research UK scientists have discovered how a key protein fuels breast cancer growth by boosting numbers of cancer stem cells in tumours that have low levels of a protein called claudin, accounting for up to 10 per cent of all breast cancers.

Women with faults in BRCA genes are more likely to develop breast cancer if they are exposed to chest X-rays before they are 30, according to a study published in the BMJ online today (Friday).

An active lifestyle such as doing housework, brisk walking and gardening helps to reduce the chance of getting breast cancer, new research shows today.

Women who have breast cancer and are treated with two chemotherapy drugs may experience more cardiac problems like heart failure than shown in previous studies, according to a new Cancer Research Network study by Group Health researchers and others in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

A new drug treatment could offer hope to patients with advanced colorectal cancer who were intolerant of or did not respond to standard treatments, according to an article published in The Lancet Oncology.

One of the world’s largest catalogues of scientific evidence relating to cancer and lifestyle factors that influence the disease will be showcased at the World Cancer Congress today (Tues Aug 28).

Extra pounds – even within the overweight but not obese range – are linked to a higher risk of recurrence of the most common type of breast cancer despite optimal cancer treatment, according to a new study published early online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society.

Ministers of Health and leading international figures at the 2012 World Cancer Leaders’ Summit (WCLS) today committed to reduce the burden of cancer through supporting wider uptake of national cancer control plans (NCCPs) and, in consequence, tackle the staggering economic and social costs of the disease.

Almost 30 years after discovery of a link between alcohol consumption and certain forms of cancer, scientists are reporting the first evidence from research on people explaining how the popular beverage may be carcinogenic.

High mammographic breast density, which is a marker of increased risk of developing breast cancer, does not seem to increase the risk of death among breast cancer patients, according to a study led by Gretchen L. Gierach, Ph.D., of the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health. The research was conducted in collaboration with investigators from the NCI-sponsored Breast Cancer Surveillance Consortium (BCSC).

Despite efforts to control the use of tobacco, it is still consumed by 852 million people worldwide, according to US researchers.

The babies of breast cancer patients who undergo chemotherapy while pregnant do not appear to be at higher risk of complications, according to an article published in The Lancet Oncology.

The long-term health of young Australians is the real winner from today’s High Court ruling in favour of the federal government’s tobacco plain packaging laws, Cancer Council Australia said today (15 August).

Women who smoke increase their risk of developing certain cancers of the blood, immune system, and bone marrow new research shows today (Friday).

The natural plant compound phenethyl isothiocyanate (PEITC) hinders the development of mammary tumors in a mouse model with similarities to human breast cancer progression, according to a study published August 2 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

Testing women's smear test samples for the human papillomavirus (HPV) can predict who will develop early signs of cervical cancer up to 18 years later, US researchers have found.

Bowel cancer patients whose disease was found through screening have a better chance of beating their disease than those diagnosed after developing symptoms, new research shows today (Wednesday).

Every year, sunbeds cause more than one in twenty cases of the most serious type of skin cancer in Europe, French and Italian research has revealed.

The pattern of genomic alterations in colon and rectal tissues is the same regardless of anatomic location or origin within the colon or the rectum, leading researchers to conclude that these two cancer types can be grouped as one, according to The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) project's large-scale study of colon and rectal cancer tissue specimens.

A calculator which predicts a patient’s risk of having bowel cancer could help doctors decide when to refer patients make better referral decisions rather than relying on individual symptoms, a new study shows today.

A molecular 'post-it note' added to a breast cancer gene could flag up the risk that the disease will spread in patients, according to research published in the BJC today.

A unique multi-target experimental drug could treat a range of cancer types, according to research published in Clinical Cancer Research today.

The HPV vaccine not only has resulted in a decrease in human papillomavirus infection in immunized teens but also in teens who were not immunized.

A new analysis has found that physical activity – either mild or intense and before or after menopause – may reduce breast cancer risk, but substantial weight gain may negate these benefits.

Bowel cancer cells develop resistance to new targeted cancer treatments by developing changes in a gene called KRAS, according to new research.

After a week-long meeting of international experts, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), which is part of the World Health Organization (WHO), today classified diesel engine exhaust as carcinogenic to humans (Group 1), based on sufficient evidence that exposure is associated with an increased risk for lung cancer.

Only certain types of cells in a woman's cervix are vulnerable to infection by human papillomavirus (HPV) and lead to cancer, new research suggests.

The global cancer burden is set to surge more than 75% by 2030, according to new research published in the Lancet Oncology.

Scientists have shown for the first time that one of the sex chromosomes is involved in the development of a cancer that can afflict both genders, according to a Cancer Research UK-funded study in Nature Genetics. The finding may help explain why men have higher rates of bowel cancer than women.

Physical activity is associated with reduced breast and colon cancer mortality, but there is insufficient evidence on the association for other cancer types, according to a study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

Around one in six worldwide cancers - two million new cases every year - are caused by infections, according to a French study.

A major study carried out by Cancer Research UK scientists could revolutionise the way women with breast cancer will be diagnosed and treated in the future, by reclassifying the disease into 10 completely new categories based on the genetic fingerprint of a tumour.

People who received frequent dental x-rays in the past have an increased risk of developing the most commonly diagnosed primary brain tumor in the United States.

Research on an investigational DNA methylation test for colorectal cancer demonstrated that the only clinical variable that influenced test results was age, according to results presented at the AACR Annual Meeting 2012, held here March 31 - April 4.

In a landmark study, researchers have linked the long-term use of estrogen plus progesterone and estrogen-only hormone therapy with a higher risk for developing breast cancer.

Combining the experimental drug Avastin (bevacizumab) with the diabetes drug Metformin almost doubles its ability to reduce skin cancer growth, according to a study in Cancer Discovery [1].

Two studies that may provide a useful resource for efforts to develop personalised cancer therapies are published in Nature.

Many people are misled into thinking that shisha pipes (also called hookahs) are safer than cigarettes due to their exotic smells and attractive waterpipes, according to the British Heart Foundation (BHF).

More than three quarters of people asked to list possible warning signs and symptoms of cancer failed to mention pain, coughing or problems with bowels or bladder according to a Cancer Research UK report, Delay Kills,* funded by Tesco and published today (Tuesday).

A team of scientists from NPL and the University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust have successfully completed an initial trial of a new, potentially more reliable, technique for screening breast cancer using ultrasound, and are now looking to develop the technique into a clinical device.

Supplemental vitamin A intake may be associated with a reduced risk of developing melanoma, according to a study published online this week in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology. The research suggests that taking supplements of retinol, a form of vitamin A, could hold promise as a chemoprotective agent against melanoma.

New figures published estimate that there will be nearly 1.3 million deaths from cancer in 2012 in the European Union (EU) – 717,398 men and 565,703 women. Although the actual numbers have increased, the rate (age-standardised per 100,000 population) of people who die from the disease continues to decline.

For the first time, a new study has shown that removing polyps by colonoscopy not only prevents colorectal cancer from developing, but also prevents deaths from the disease. Patients in the study were evaluated for up to 23 years after having the procedure, providing the longest follow-up results to date. The collaborative study, led by Memorial Sloan-Kettering researchers, was published in the February 23 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) is the most lethal form of breast cancer. It spreads easily through the lymphatic and blood vessels, forming metastasis which can lead to multi-organ failure. New research published in Cell Communication and Signaling demonstrates how IBC cells use IL-8, secreted as part of the anti-inflammatory response by a specific set of white blood cells (monocytes), to increase fibronectin expression.

Treatment with three relatively new "targeted" cancer drugs has been linked to a slightly elevated chance of fatal side effects, according to a new analysis led by scientists at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. They added that the risk remains low, but should be taken into account by physicians and patients.

The launch of the Global Colon Cancer Alliance (GCCA) was announced today at the ASCO Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium in San Francisco, California. The newly formed alliance unites two leading advocacy organizations: the Colon Cancer Alliance, a patient advocacy organization based in the United States and its European counterpart, EuropaColon. GCCA will effectively address the issues and provide information surrounding colorectal cancer to clinicians, patients and caregivers across the globe.

Eating too much processed meat may increases the risk of pancreatic cancer, new research published in the British Journal of Cancer finds today (Friday).

Lithocholic acid (LCA), naturally produced in the liver during digestion, has been seriously underestimated. A study published in the journal Oncotarget shows that LCA can kill several types of cancer cells, such as those found in some brain tumours and breast cancer.