Health - Cancer latest news

So-called 'intelligent' computer-based methods for classifying patient samples, for example, have been evaluated with the help of two methods that have completely dominated research for 25 years. Now Swedish researchers at Uppsala University are revealing that this methodology is worthless when it comes to practical problems. The article is published in the journal Pattern Recognition Letters.

By introducing a genetic switch in mice it is possible to increase or decrease the production of specific protein molecules in their kidneys. Thus, researchers can study the influence of specific proteins on disease development. Scientists of the German cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ), Heidelberg University Hospitals and other research institutes have published this model of investigating severe kidney diseases in the latest issue of Nature medicine.

New research published in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons shows African Americans are more than twice as likely as Caucasians to die in the hospital after surgical removal of part of the liver -- an increasingly used procedure for the treatment of liver cancer. In recent years, a large body of evidence has emerged revealing significant racial disparities in health care and outcomes in the United States.

Mammalian fatty acid synthase is one of the most complex molecular synthetic machines in human cells. It is also a promising target for the development of anti-cancer and anti-obesity drugs and the treatment of metabolic disorders. Now researchers at ETH Zurich have determined the atomic structure of a mammalian fatty acid synthase. Their results have just been published in Science magazine.

Cancer cells have multiple ways to avoid apoptosis, programmed cell death the means by which organisms deal with defective cells. One defense is to produce quantities of phosphatic acid, a phospholipid constituent of cellular membranes. Unlike other phospholipids, phosphatidic acid also acts as a signaling molecule for cells promoting cellular growth and preventing apoptosis.

Celgene Corporation (NASDAQ: CELG) announced that Amrubicin has been granted Fast Track product designation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of small cell lung cancer after first-line chemotherapy.

Hollywood took a break from the norm last night to raise awareness about cancer. Stand Up to cancer aired in over 50 countries, on every national broadcast station in...

AFP - US scientists have unveiled the most complete genetic profile ever attempted of glioblastoma, a common and deadly form of the brain cancer that US Senator Edward Kennedy is battling.

Reuters - Women with newly diagnosed breast cancer who get an MRI scan wait about three weeks longer before their surgery and are far more likely to get a mastectomy than women who have only a mammogram, U.S. researchers said on Saturday.