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Stigma hampering cervical cancer battle in India

Agence France-PresseMay 13, 2013 16:33
Social stigma is harming attempts to combat cervical cancer in India where more women die annually of the disease than anywhere else in the world, a new report said Friday. More than a quarter of cervical cancer deaths worldwide occur in India, representing 72,825 a year according to the report by the US-based Cervical Cancer Free Coalition, although African nations have higher mortality rates.

US studies find genetic links in aggressive cancers

Agence France-PresseMay 2, 2013 19:15
Some of the most devastating forms of cancer have genetic similarities even though they strike different body parts, according to new studies out Thursday. The new research -- one study focused on a form of leukemia, in the New England Journal of Medicine, and a second on endometrial cancer, in Nature -- could offer a pathway to new, more effective treatments. The new findings challenge the previous approach of classifying tumors based on the body part where they are first observed, and add fuel to the growing trend of differentiating tumors based on their genetic profile.

Cancer research often falls short

Agence France-PresseApril 29, 2013 17:00
Cancer research tends to involve small studies focused on a single therapy, often falling short of scientific standards seen in other medical investigations, said a study released Monday. The trend may be driven by a desire to speed treatments to market, but raises questions about how well experimental cancer-fighting therapies will work in practice, said the findings in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Breast cancer gene patents reach US high court

April 15, 2013 16:30
The US Supreme Court heard the most high-profile genetics case in history on Monday, as justices considered whether private firms should be allowed to patent human genes linked to breast cancer. The court's decision could have broad implications for research, patient health and the pharmaceutical industry, with nearly 20 percent of the approximately 24,000 human genes currently under patent, some linked to cancer and Alzheimer's disease.

Breast cancer gene patents reach US high court

April 15, 2013 14:01
The US Supreme Court heard the most high-profile genetics case in history on Monday, as justices considered whether private firms should be allowed to patent human genes linked to breast cancer. The court's decision could have broad implications for research, patient health and the pharmaceutical industry, with nearly 20 percent of the approximately 24,000 human genes currently under patent, some linked to cancer and Alzheimer's disease.

Increase in rare childhood cancers linked to air pollution exposure

April 12, 2013 10:19
Scientists from UCLA‘s Fielding School of Public Health have found a possible link between exposure to traffic-related air pollution and several childhood cancers.The results of their study, led by Julia Heck, an assistant researcher in the school‘s epidemiology department and a member of UCLA‘s Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Centre - the first to examine air pollution from traffic and a number of rarer childhood cancers - were presented on April 9 in an abstract at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research in Washington, D.C.For the study, the UCLA res

Prostate cancer metastasis switch identified

April 9, 2013 16:03
A University of Colorado Cancer Center study has described for the first time a switch that regulates the production of the protein E-Cadherin, the loss of which is a prerequisite for prostate cancer metastasis.The transcription factor SPDEF turns on and off production, leading to metastasis or stopping it cold in models of prostate cancer.“When E-Cadherin is lost, cells become ‘rouge‘ - they can detach from their surrounding tissues, move effortlessly through the circulatory system, grow and attach at new sites,” said Hari Koul, PhD, investigator at the CU Cancer Center and

"Father of targeted therapies" receives top U.S. award

April 9, 2013 09:47
Alex Matter, known as the "Father of Targeted Cancer Therapies", was granted Friday the eighth Szent-Gyorgyi Prize for Progress in Cancer Research at an award ceremony in Washington. Matter, CEO of the Experimental Therapeutic Center of Agency for Science, Technology and Research in Singapore, has been recognized for his contributions to the development of the first drug specifically targeting a molecular lesion in cancer. The first targeted cancer therapy, imatinib mesylate, or Gleevec, contributed to a major breakthrough in the treatment of Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (CML).

DOH wants pediatric cancer awareness in Bicol broadened

April 9, 2013 07:08
The regional office of the Department of Health (DOH) here is undertaking a program to broaden the awareness of Bicolanos on pediatric cancer. The program is in line with the observance this April of the "Cancer in Children Awareness Month" that intends to inform the public of facts, findings and trend surrounding this dreadful illness that attacks children from zero to 19 years old. DOH regional director Gloria Balboa on Monday said the Center for Health and Development (CHD) for Bicol, which is under her office, has been conducting since last week information dissemination ac

Number of US cancer survivors is on the rise

March 27, 2013 13:16
The number of Americans who have survived cancer is on the rise and is expected to reach 18 million people in the next decade, according to a report released Wednesday. That would be a 30 percent increase over the latest figures in January 2012, which showed 13.7 million people in the United States had survived some form of cancer, according to the American Association for Cancer Research. The forecasted increase is mainly due to the aging population, with two thirds of cancer survivors expected to be 65 or older by 2020, said the study.
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