Scientists affiliated with the BIG-98 trial comparing Femaraandreg; (letrozole) to Nolvadexandreg; (tamoxifen) have reported that longer follow-up confirms the superiority of Femara in postmenopausal women with early, hormone-positive breast cancer. The details of this follow-up study were presented at the 2006 annual European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) meeting in Istanbul in October……..
Scientists have known that a woman’s natural hormone levels can affect her risk of developing breast cancer. A new study from the University of Southern California (USC) has observed that the natural levels of estrogens in post-menopausal women varies by ethnicity and race, and may explain the differences in the groups’ breast cancer rates. The study appears in the recent issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention……..
Researchers at The University of Manchester have been awarded £130,000 to develop new techniques to reduce the need for animals in drug testing. Current checks to establish whether a new drug is carcinogenic can be inconclusive and require further testing on live animals to establish whether they are harmful or not……..
The bacteria Helicobacter pylori substantially increase the risk of cancer in the lower stomach, but it may decrease the risk of cancer near the junction between the esophagus and the stomach, as per a research studyin the October 19 Journal of the National Cancer Institute. This finding may help explain the changing rates and distributions of these cancers in Western countries over the past century……..
Female childhood cancer survivors may face pregnancy problems, including early deliveries and low birth weight children, as per a research studyin the October 19 Journal of the National Cancer Institute. New therapies for childhood cancer patients have increased survival, but a number of researchers are concerned about the long-term effects of the therapys, especially for patients exposed to radiation and chemotherapy……..
Three-dimensional computed tomography (CT) colonography, also known as virtual colonoscopy, is an accurate screening method for colorectal cancer, as per a research studyreported in the recent issue of the journal Radiology. In addition, when covered by third-party payers, virtual colonoscopy may entice more people to be screened……..
Elderly breast cancer patients who received care in a community hospital setting may have been under-diagnosed, under-staged and under-treated, as per a report in the recent issue of Archives of Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. The number of older patients with breast cancer has increased along with overall elderly population, as per background information in the article. About half of patients with breast cancer are older than 65 years and 35 percent are older than 70; 77 percent of breast cancer deaths occur in women older than 55. Choosing the appropriate therapy for older patients is a challenge, because a number of have other serious illnesses in addition to their cancer that may threaten their health and shorten their lives. Questions remain about the best screening protocols for elderly women, as well. Some current guidelines suggest that women stop having mammograms at age 70, while others provide no upper limit……..
Vitamin D may help curb breast cancer progression, as per a research studypublished recently in the Journal of Clinical Pathology. The authors, from Imperial College London, measured the levels of vitamin D in the blood serum of 279 women with invasive breast cancer. The disease was in its early stages in 204 of the women, and advanced in the remaining 75……..
Scientists at the University of Missouri-Columbia can now detect the spread of skin cancer cells through the blood by literally listening to their sound. The unprecedented, minimally invasive technique causes melanoma cells to emit noise, and could let oncologists spot early signs of metastases — as few as 10 cancer cells in a blood sample — before they even settle in other organs. The results of the successful experimental tests appear in the Oct. 15 issue of the journal Optics Letters, published by the Optical Society of America……..
The newly established Berkeley Cancer Genome Center, led by members of the Life Sciences Division in the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, is one of seven Cancer Genome Characterization Centers to receive awards from the National Cancer Institute and the National Human Genome Research Institute. Earlier today the two institutes, both part of the National Institutes of Health, announced a three-year, $35 million project which will seek to identify important genetic changes involved in lung, brain, and ovary cancers through genome analysis……..