Health - Cancer latest news

New research suggests that cadmium is one of the critical ingredients causing emphysema, and even low-level exposure attained through second-hand smoke and other means may also increase the chance of developing lung disease. The University of Michigan School of Public health study suggests that higher cadmium levels in the body as much as double the risk of developing a pulmonary disease diagnosis such as emphysema or chronic bronchitis.

The first national report detailing survival for teenagers and young adults with cancer shows that survival rates climbed by around 11 per cent over two decades. The findings, published in the British Journal of Cancer*, looked at survival across all cancers in people aged 13 to 24 between 1979 and 2001.

Five UCSF stem cell scientists have received New Faculty grants from the California Institute for Regenerative medicine, support that will allow them to pursue lines of investigation ultimately aimed at developing treatment strategies for such conditions as cancer, heart disease, tooth regeneration, liver disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. The UCSF grants, which range from about $2 million to $3 million each, total $13.

The first clinical trial to use an HIV drug as cancer therapy has shown that it can help increase chances of recovery from pancreatic cancer. When given in combination with the usual chemotherapy and radiotherapy, Nelfinavir helped shrink previously inoperable tumours so that they could be surgically removed.

Stem cell scientists have developed a more accurate way of identifying aggressive forms of bowel cancer, which should eventually lead to better treatment and survival rates. Bowel cancer is the third most common cancer in the UK. The UK-led team, headed by scientists from Durham University and the North East England Stem Cell Institute, (NESCI*), studied tissue samples from 700 colorectal (bowel) cancer patients and tracked their progress.

A recent report from the Fresh Produce Consortium has suggested that just 12 per cent of us are having at least five portions of fruit and vegetables a day. As well as all the other health benefits, eating plenty of fruit and vegetables probably reduces risk of cancer. This is why World cancer Research Fund (WCRF) recommends people eat at least five portions a day of a variety of fruit and vegetables.

The Institute of cancer Research's scientist, Dr Gerhardt Attard has just been awarded a Young Investigator Award by the Prostate Cancer Foundation (PCF) for his ongoing work into developing the prostate cancer drug abiraterone. Designed to encourage the most innovative research thinkers to continue their careers in prostate cancer research, the awards provide recipients with $75,000 annually for three years to support specified research programs.

The PTEN tumor suppressor gene controls numerous biological processes including cell proliferation, cell growth and death. But PTEN is frequently lost or mutated; in fact, alteration of the gene is so common among various types of human cancer that PTEN has become one of the most frequently mutated of all tumor suppressors.

Cancer cells are deadly traitors, good cells gone bad. They evade the body's defense systems, passing themselves off as organisms that pose no threat. But researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Eshelman School of Pharmacy are working on a way to blow their cover. Moo J. Cho, Ph.D.

Scientists in the US have found that skin cancer has a distinctive smell that can be detected by sensitive laboratory equipment and they hope the discovery opens the door to developing a new non-invasive way to diagnose basal cell carcinoma and other cancers of the skin using "odor profiles". The research was led by scientists at the Monell Chemical Senses Center, a nonprofit basic research institute based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.