Newsroom
6/1/2017
Tea, the world's most popular beverage (not counting water), has been shown to cause changes to the genomes of women. The changes are subtle, slight modifications, called 'epigenetic' changes. Changes were seen in genes known to be involved in controlling the activity of the hormone estrogen. The… more
5/30/2017
For the first time, a cancer drug has been approved based on a genetic defect instead of a specific type of cancer. The drug, pembrolizumab (Keytruda®), works by preventing cancer cells from stopping the immune system. The end result is immune activity against cancer. Up until now cancer drugs were… more
5/7/2017
Immunotherapy can lead to long-lasting remission, but most people don’t benefit from this type of therapy and it does not always work. One way this type of therapy works is by stimulating the immune system to create T cells that go into tumors to kill the diseased cells. However, the environment… more
5/6/2017
Immunotherapy is a tremendous breakthrough in cancer treatment, but it does not always work. Researchers at Emory University have developed a test to quickly tell if a specific immunotherapy drug will work for lung cancer patients. The test will let doctors change treatments if necessary,
4/28/2017
Many people believe that the occurrence of cancer is solely due to things that the patient can control (i.e. diet, exercise, smoking). However, according to researchers at Johns Hopkins University, cancer frequently occurs due to random errors made by dividing cells. It just happens by chance!… more
4/28/2017
Using the best technology is extremely important in cancer. The introduction of new technologies can provide better diagnosis, treatment and overall results. That is why the a new PET scanner could be an important innovation. The new PET scanner can quickly scan the entire body, while using much… more
4/15/2017
A 12 year old in Georgia has made discoveries about the cancer-fighting properties of green tea. For Georgia’s Science and Engineering Fair, Stephen Litt divided 100 worms into 4 groups. From his reading, he thought that a chemical called EGCG, found in green tea, could prevent tumor formation in… more
3/16/2017
At the University of Adelaide, researchers have discovered a new pathway that regulates the way prostate cancer spreads around the body. This is important because, prostate cancer, like many other cancers, is most dangerous when the cancer has spread (metastasized).
The research team showed that… more
3/16/2017
Everyone gets stressed sometimes. It seems that cancer cells get stressed too. In the case of the cells, the stress is 'real' and is caused the friction or pressure that cells encounter when they move through the body. Researchers at the University of Rochester want to know how stress affects… more
3/16/2017
Are mammograms leading to the overdiagnosis of breast cancer? In a recently published study of women in Denmark, up to a third of women who were flagged by mammograms as having cancer either lacked malignant cancer or had slow-growing cancer that did not need immediate treatment. Also, some more… more
2/10/2017
Infection with human papillomaviruses (HPV) is the cause of about 5% of all cancers worldwide and is the second leading
HPV hijacks cells using 2 main proteins, E6 and E7. Many people have worked to develop drugs targeting these proteins, thinking that this would be an effective treatment for… more
2/10/2017
We can learn a lot from our canine pals.
Comparative oncology is the study of naturally occurring cancers in pets and humans in order to better understand the disease and potential treatment options. In fact, cancer is the number one killer of pets older than ten years.
Dogs are physiologically… more
12/13/2016
A study of 45,000 Danish women who had been diagnosed with breast cancer between1998 and 201 showed that women who had taken antidepressants were less likely to receive recommended cancer treatments than women who had never taken antidepressants.
Additionally, women who had taken antidepressants… more
12/6/2016
Two studies, one from NYU, and one from Johns Hopkins have shown that a single dose of psilocybin (sil-o-sigh-bin) was enough to reduce the symptoms of depression and anxiety associated with a cancer diagnosis.
The drug comes from a mushroom, and has been used for many years for its hallucinogenic… more
11/29/2016
When treating a brain tumor, MRI’s can be tricky to read: sometimes, it is difficult to tell whether the image shows dead brain cells due to the effects of radiation, called radiation necrosis, or if a brain tumor has returned. These two situations require very different treatments. However, a… more
11/29/2016
Middle-age spread linked to increased cancer risk.
Weight gain can cause an increase in cancer risk. Men only need to gain 35 pounds and women only need to gain 49 pounds to be at risk. The reason as to why weight gain is such a risk is unclear, but it may be because the excess fat produces… more
11/29/2016
By sequencing the entire genomes of 610 tumors, and examining large parts of thousands more, scientists have created a map of the DNA damage (mutations) caused by smoking. The research addresses 17 different types of smoking-associated cancers.
Smoking definitely causes many genetic changes! This… more
11/29/2016
See what happens when you have sex with a Neanderthal?!
The Neanderthals gave our ancestors their genetic material, and possibly, a sexually transmitted disease!
Spanish, French, and Brazilian scientists studied 118 sequences of the human papillomavirus (HPV) 16 strain in order to create a… more
10/28/2016
Can we get a "two for one" when treating cancer?
A new drug discovered at Emory University can stop the interaction between two proteins that drive cancer!
The two compounds are MDM2, a pro-survival protein that is over-expressed in many cancer cells, and XIAP, another protein that stops… more
10/28/2016
In a new study conducted at Harvard School of Public Health, a smokeless tobacco product called snus was related to higher death rate in prostate cancer patients.
Tobacco products are some of the most dangerous and common cancer-causing agents worldwide. This study shows that not only does… more
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