A multistate study led by researchers at the University of Utah has revealed that the risk for childhood cancer is moderately increased among children and young adolescents with certain types of major birth defects. Children born with nonchromosomal birth defects have a two-fold higher risk of...
A new analysis has found that a type of radiation therapy called carbon ion radiotherapy can control cancer growth and prolong survival in patients with spinal tumors. The study, published online in Cancer, indicates that the treatment is a promising alternative for patients whose spinal tumors...
Although small clinical studies of adoptive T-cell therapy in the treatment of advanced forms of leukemia have shown positive results, including putting some patients into complete remissions, progress in the development of this type of immunotherapy is limited by the lack of readily available,...
According to a new study published in the journal Cancer, the survival outcome of patients with Burkitt lymphoma has improved substantially over the past decade, with notable exceptions. To help doctors and researchers better understand who responds well to treatment and who does not, the study...
For the first time, scientists have directly observed events that lead to the formation of a chromosome abnormality that is often found in cancer cells. The abnormality, called a translocation, occurs when part of a chromosome breaks off and becomes attached to another chromosome. The results of...
Researchers at the Moffitt Cancer Center have identified four inherited genetic variants in patients with non–small cell lung cancer that can help predict survival and treatment response. Their findings, published in Carcinogenesis, could help lead to more personalized treatment options and...
Genomic sequencing experts at Johns Hopkins partnered with pharmacologists at Stony Brook University to reveal a striking mutational signature of upper urinary tract cancers caused by aristolochic acid, a plant compound contained in herbal remedies used for thousands of years to treat a variety of...
Minimal data are available on outcomes of second allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation from unrelated donors after first hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in patients with hematologic relapse of acute leukemia. In a study reported in Journal of Clinical Oncology, Maximilian...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today approved the first rapid human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) test for the simultaneous detection of HIV-1 p24 antigen as well as antibodies to both HIV-1 and HIV-2 in human serum, plasma, and venous or fingerstick whole blood specimens. Approved for...
A new study by thoracic surgeons and pathologists at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center shows that a specific pattern found in the tumor pathology of some lung cancer patients is a strong predictor of recurrence. Knowing that this feature exists in a tumor's pathology could be an important...
A recent study published in the Journal of Oncology Practice assessed the feasibility and value of incorporating patient reported outcomes into oncology practice. Although previous research has shown that using patient-reported outcomes in oncology can improve physician-patient communication and...
Researchers at Mayo Clinic in Florida have revealed the process by which pancreatitis—chronic inflammation of the pancreas—morphs into pancreatic cancer. They say their findings point to ways to identify pancreatitis patients at risk of pancreatic cancer and to potential drug therapies...
Patients with advanced chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) often receive allogeneic transplants that effectively “reboot” their own immune defenses, which then attack and potentially cure the hard-to-treat disease. However, there is a high rate of relapse in these patients, and the...
Organized mailing campaigns could substantially increase colorectal cancer screening among uninsured patients, according to a study published online in JAMA Internal Medicine. The research also suggested that a noninvasive colorectal screening approach, such as a fecal immunochemical test, might be ...
A team of researchers at the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center at Columbia University Medical Center has identified 18 new genes responsible for driving glioblastoma multiforme, the most common—and most aggressive—form of brain cancer in adults. The study was published online...
Deciphering the body's complex molecular pathways that lead to disease when they malfunction is highly challenging. Researchers at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute now have a more complete picture of one particular pathway that can lead to cancer and diabetes. In a study published in...
Scientists at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital have discovered a way to target the immune system to shrink or eliminate tumors in mice without causing autoimmune problems. Researchers also found evidence that the same mechanism may operate in humans. The study was published online today...
An international research team led by scientists at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI) discovered that by preventing cancer cells from entering a state of cellular sleep, cancer drugs are more effective, and there is a lower chance of cancer recurrence. The findings, published...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is informing the public that acetaminophen has been associated with a risk of rare but serious skin reactions. These skin reactions, known as Stevens-Johnson Syndrome, toxic epidermal necrolysis, and acute generalized exanthematous pustulosis, can...
Scientists at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center who identified a protein’s dual role in cancer promotion have discovered a way to shut it down, opening a potential new avenue for cancer treatment. Reporting their findings in the journal Cell, the researchers describe the first ...
Blocking dietary sugar and its activity in tumor cells may reduce cancer risk and progression, according to researchers from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York. The study, conducted in fruit flies and published in the August issue of Cell, provides insight as to why...
A new study led by researchers at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute reveals how a promising anticancer compound called SMIP004 specifically kills prostate cancer cells by compromising their ability to withstand environmental stress. The study, recently published in Oncotarget, uncovered...
In a report in Journal of Clinical Oncology, Sonali M. Smith, MD, of University of Chicago Hospitals, and colleagues analyzed outcomes in a large cohort of autologous or allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation recipients with the most common T-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma histologies. Their ...
Scientists studying acute myeloid leukemia (AML) have discovered that rather than displacing hematopoietic stem cells in the bone marrow as previously believed, the cancer is in fact inhibiting production of downstream hematopoietic cells, effectively putting them to sleep. The findings were...
The addition of tomosynthesis to standard digital mammography resulted in a 30% reduction in overall recall rates among women being screened for breast cancer, according to a new study published online in Radiology. The results demonstrate that digital tomosynthesis is an effective tool in reducing ...
Surgery is not always necessary for women with a type of breast tissue abnormality associated with a higher risk of cancer, according to a new study published online in Radiology. Researchers said that periodic imaging and clinical exam are effective in these patients when radiology and pathology...
Researchers from UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center (JCCC) have discovered that specific types of bacteria that live in the gut are major contributors to lymphoma. The study, led by Robert H. Schiestl, PhD, Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Environmental Health Sciences, and...
Men who decide to be screened for prostate cancer and those who forgo PSA screening stick with their decisions after receiving materials explaining the risks and benefits of the test, according to a study published in JAMA Internal Medicine. The study examined both Web-based and printed tools aimed ...
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force posted its final evidence report and draft recommendation statement on screening for lung cancer. The Task Force is providing an opportunity for public comment on this draft recommendation statement; comments can be submitted from July 30 to August ...
The incidence of a non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) is significantly higher in regions near facilities that release the chemical benzene into the environment, according to a new study published early online in Cancer. This and other studies like it will be critical to identifying and enacting public...
Patients diagnosed with thymoma, a rare cancer of the thymus gland, may be able to avoid certain cancer treatments associated with severe adverse events if the results of a new test reveal they are at low risk of metastasis, according to a study published in PLOS ONE. The study, by researchers at...
Intratumoral injections of plasmid DNA encoding interleukin-12 (IL-12), facilitated in its delivery by electroporation, results in tumor regression in patients with both metastatic melanoma and Merkel cell carcinoma, according to findings reported at the 2013 World Cutaneous Malignancies Congress...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced today that oral ketoconazole should not be used as first-line treatment for any fungal infection and should only be used for the treatment of endemic mycoses when alternative antifungal therapies are not available or tolerated. The use of...
A family history of cancer increases the risk of other members of the family developing not only the same, or concordant, cancer but also a different, or discordant, cancer, according to a large study of 23,000 people in Italy and Switzerland. The study, published in Annals of Oncology, provides a...
Scientists have identified a protein that could play a crucial role in recognizing whether patients with colorectal cancer are candidates for chemotherapy due to a high risk of their cancer spreading, according to a new study published in the British Journal of Cancer. Scientists at the University...
Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital have used digital versions of a standard molecular biology tool to detect a common tumor-associated mutation in the cerebrospinal fluid of patients with brain tumors. In a report published in Molecular Therapy – Nucleic Acids, the...
In an analysis of 5-year survival rates among black and white women diagnosed with breast cancer between 1991 and 2005, black women continued to have a lower rate of survival, with most of the difference related to factors including poorer health of black patients at diagnosis and more advanced...
A multidisciplinary team at UT Southwestern Medical Center has found that measuring the oxygenation of tumors can be a valuable tool in guiding radiation therapy, opening the door for personalized therapies that keep tumors in check with oxygen enhancement. In a study examining tissue oxygenation...
Researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida, and Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital in China have discovered a gene-expression signature that may lead to new immune therapies for patients with lung cancer. Their findings, published in The Journal of Clinical...
In an open-label phase III trial (ASPECT) reported in Lancet Oncology, Manfred Westphal, MD, of University Hospital Eppendorf in Hamburg, and colleagues assessed the effects of locally applied adenovirus-mediated gene therapy with sitimagene ceradenovec followed by intravenous ganciclovir after...
A set of proteins involved in the body’s natural defenses produces a large number of mutations in human DNA, according to a study led by researchers at the National Institutes of Health. The findings, published in Nature Genetics, suggest that these naturally produced mutations are just as...
The protein TAp73 shares extensive common gene sequences with the tumor-suppressor protein p53, and previous studies have suggested that it may function similarly to p53 to prevent tumor formation. However, unlike p53, the most commonly mutated gene in human tumors, TAp73 is rarely mutated and is...
Cancer patients who receive chest radiation should be screened for heart disease every 5 to 10 years, according to the European Association of Cardiovascular Imaging (EACVI) of the European Society of Cardiology and the American Society of Echocardiography. Their recommendations are outlined in the ...
The American Psychosocial Oncology Society (APOS) has announced recommendations to support a new criterion for cancer center accreditation. In 2015, the American College of Surgeons (ACoS) Commission on Cancer (CoC) will require cancer centers to implement screening programs for...
Researchers from Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center recently discovered that the most frequently used cancer cell lines in ovarian cancer research are not suitable models of ovarian cancer. Their findings are the result of a detailed review of genomic data that recently became publicly...
The NCI-60 cell lines, which represent cancers of lung, colon, brain, ovary, breast, prostate, and kidney as well as leukemia and melanoma, are the most frequently studied human tumor cell lines in cancer research and have generated the most extensive cancer pharmacology database worldwide. As...
An analysis assessing whether depression and anxiety are more common in long-term survivors of cancer compared with their spouses and with healthy control subjects has found that anxiety, rather than depression, is most likely to be a lingering problem for both cancer survivors and their spouses....
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today approved the tyrosine kinase inhibitor afatinib (Gilotrif) for the first-line treatment of patients with metastatic non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) whose tumors express epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) exon 19 deletions or exon 21...
Improvements in radiation therapy and the development of chemotherapy regimens, such as MOPP (mechlorethamine [Mustargen], vincristine, procarbazine [Matulane], and prednisone), and ABVD (doxorubicin, bleomycin, vinblastine, and dacarbazine), in the treatment of Hodgkin lymphoma have made the...
Scientists at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital have discovered that a protein used by cancer cells to evade death also plays a vital role in heart health. This dual role complicates efforts to develop cancer drugs that target the protein, but may lead to new therapies for heart muscle...