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(Fred Hutchinson cancer Research Center) Women who suffer from migraines may take at least some comfort in a recent, first-of-its-kind study that suggests a history of such headaches is associated with a significantly lower risk of breast cancer.

(American Association for cancer Research) New behavioral science research published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, found that constantly emphasizing the negative consequences of a lack of cancer screening among minorities can actually make them less likely to go for screening.

(American cancer Society) A new American Cancer Society study finds that recent progress in closing the gap in overall cancer mortality between African-Americans and whites may be due primarily to smoking-related cancers, and that cancer mortality differences related to screening and treatment may still be increasing.

For the first time, scientists have decoded the complete DNA of a cancer patient and traced her disease - acute myelogenous leukemia - to its genetic roots. A large research team at the Genome Sequencing Center and the Siteman Cancer Center at Washington University School of medicine in St. Louis sequenced the genome of the patient - a woman in her 50s who ultimately died of her disease and the genome of her leukemia cells, to identify genetic changes unique to her cancer.

An anti-brain tumor agent developed from a genetically engineered herpes simplex virus has been shown to be safe when given in two doses and injected directly into the brain of patients with malignant glioma. New research from UAB (University of Alabama at Birmingham) published online in Molecular Therapy, also showed that the drug, G207, appeared to prompt an immune response in patients and showed signs of actively pursuing and killing cancer cells.

A multi-center research team, led by Columbia University Medical Center, has uncovered a major contributor to the cause of stomach cancer the second leading cause of cancer-related mortality in the world. The team described for the first time, that elevated levels of a single proinflammatory cytokine, an immune system protein called interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β), can start the progression towards stomach cancer. These results are published in the Nov. 4, 2008 issue of Cancer Cell.

Age is not an independent factor in cancer survival rates and should not influence decisions about how to treat older patients, according to a study in the November issue of IJCP, the Independent Journal of Clinical Practice. A team of hospital and University-based researchers from Barcelona, Spain, carried out a detailed study of more than 200 patients diagnosed with cancer.

Women who suffer from migraines may take at least some comfort in a recent, first-of-its-kind study that suggests a history of such headaches is associated with a significantly lower risk of breast cancer. Christopher I. Li, M.D., Ph.D., and colleagues at Fred Hutchinson cancer Research Center report these findings in the November issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention.

A very difficult-to-treat child leukemia may benefit from the discovery of a small but potent epigenetic change that launches the cancer - but could potentially be reversed relatively easily, preventing cancer-promoting genes from being turned on. The study, led by researchers at Children's hospital Boston and the

(Institute for Quality and Efficiency in health Care) Opting for less damaging treatments, staying active and learning about the warning signs of lymphedema: that's how women with breast cancer can avoid developing chronic lymphedema, according to the German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care. Women can learn more about how to protect themselves from this common and distressing adverse effect of treatment as well as handle the condition at the Institute's website.