Patients treated for early stage colon cancer fared significantly better if they exercised regularly at the level of an hour’s walk six times a week, according to a study to be presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.
A person’s risk of having a cancer recurrence or dying was lowered by 40 to 50 percent in the 2 1/3 to 3 years following surgery and chemotherapy for stage III colon cancer, reported a team headed by Jeffrey Meyerhardt, MD, MPH, of Da

Latest findings indicate one- and two-year study results not as predictive as longer-term studies

In their efforts to explore more effective and efficient ways to conduct clinical trials, Mayo Clinic cancer researchers will present new recommendations about how long studies should track results when evaluating new cancer therapies. An analysis led by Daniel Sargent, Ph.D., director of statistics for Mayo Clinic Cancer Center, shows that many study results garnered after three years

Boosting the immune system, cutting off tumor oxygen supply, may be keys to patients living longer

When melanoma of the eye spreads to the liver, patients have few good options. Surgery is frequently impossible, and chemotherapy hasn’t proven effective. But now, by simultaneously revving up the immune system and choking off the tumor’s oxygen supply, oncologists at Jefferson Medical College and the Kimmel Cancer Center at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia may have found a

New brain monitoring method would pinpoint babies at risk for seizures

Confusion and speech problems are frequent signs of seizures, but babies offer few such clues as to what ails them. Now scientists at the Evelyn F. and William L. McKnight Brain Institute of the University of Florida report they have found a mathematical way to translate complicated brain wave readings into simple terms to help doctors and nurses more easily identify babies at risk for epilepsy. Epilepsy des

Data suggest that it may pack an improved punch against gastric cancer

A new combination chemotherapy appears to battle advanced stomach cancer harder than other platinum-based therapies, while offering patients more convenience and potentially less discomfort, according to results announced at the 2005 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology. Researchers studied the combination of a new drug, called S-1, and the platinum-based chemotherapy called cisplatin in p

St Mary’s NHS Trust and Imperial College London are piloting a scheme where medical robots will cover ward rounds.

Remote Presence (RP6) Robots allow a medical expert to visually examine and communicate with a patient from anywhere in the world, via the machine, using wireless technology. The robots (nicknamed by staff Sister Mary and Dr Robbie) can also be used for surgical teaching and even videoconferencing.

The robots are controlled with a joystick from a remote

The blood-thinning drug Warfarin tops the list of drug side-effects in Sweden. Patient sensitivity to Warfarin varies, which can lead to over-dosage and in certain cases to death. A study led by Mia Wadelius at Uppsala University in Sweden, together with researchers in Cambridge, indicates that two genes may be the explanation. The findings are being published in the latest issue of The Pharmacogenomics Journal.

Warfarin is used to prevent blood clots, but a side-effect can be seve

A new way to identify gastric carcinoma patients with high probability of develop a more aggressive form of disease has just been described on the latest issue of the journal Glycobiology.

Researchers have found that the peptide sequence* of mucins – a group of proteins expressed by epithelial cells -seemed to be directly associated with the expression of tumour markers linked to very severe gastric carcinomas. Because peptide sequences are genetically determined, not only this

Large-scale comparative and functional genomics study characterizes bacterial pathogen responsible for major vegetable crop losses worldwide

Scientists at four major genomics and plant pathology laboratories in China have collaborated on a project to characterize the causative agent of “black rot” disease, which is the most serious disease of vegetable crops worldwide. Their study, which represents the largest comparative and functional genomics screen for a plant or animal bacter

An antibody that targets the blood vessels nourishing tumors significantly reduced breast cancer formation and growth in mice when combined with a current cancer drug, according to researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center. Their work appears in today’s issue of Cancer Research.

“This antibody could enhance the therapeutic efficacy of the drug docetaxel in breast cancer patients,” said Dr. Philip Thorpe, professor of pharmacology at UT Southwestern and senior author of

Findings demonstrate that abnormal expression of the BCL6 gene causes lymphoma

Researchers at Columbia University Medical Center have created the first mouse model that develops a lymphoma the same way that humans do. This advancement has the potential to significantly speed the development of new, improved therapies for diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL), the most common type of human B cell lymphoma. Human B cell lymphomas cause 85 percent of non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas, the

A University of Alberta researcher is strapping tiny backpacks to toads in an effort to discover why one species is in serious decline.

Connie Browne, a PhD student in the Department of Biological Sciences, is spending this summer haunting the ponds and sloughs in northern Alberta, Canada, using tiny radio transmitter backpacks to track Canadian and Western toads.

Browne hopes to capture 12 of each kind and using soft surgical tubing, she will belt the toads into tin

The drug DFMO prevents cancer in laboratory models of lymphoma but fails to kill existing cancerous cells that have lost the ability to self-destruct, according to investigators at St. Jude

Drugs that block the enzyme Odc prevent the onset of cancers that would otherwise be triggered by a family of cancer-causing genes called Myc, according to investigators at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. The researchers showed that disabling Odc disrupts the ability of Myc genes to

Dutch researcher Sebastiaan Herber has developed a sensor which can detect poor blood circulation in the stomach. A high level of carbon dioxide in the stomach is a characteristic of this so-called gastrointestinal ischaemia. By measuring this concentration the sensor can indicate how good or bad the circulation in the stomach wall is.

The main components of the sensor are a pH-sensitive polymer (hydrogel) and a micro pressure sensor. The polymer contains a large quantity of

A new type of drug originally developed for lung cancer can reduce the size of breast cancer tumours when taken in combination with other drugs. A London-based group of scientists, reporting today (Tuesday 17 May) in The Lancet Oncology, say that taking the new drug combination prior to surgery could make breast cancer surgery less invasive and more effective, and reduce the risk of cancer spreading to other parts of the body.

Around 80% of breast cancers depend on the hormone oestrogen t

Trained eyes needed to spot small cancers, blood clots and aneurysms early

Nearly half of all patients who get their hearts scanned with a high-speed CT scanner may get a shocking surprise: a diagnosis of a serious problem that has nothing to do with their heart. New research from the University of Michigan shows that 43 of 98 patients who had a CT heart scan to look for clogged arteries were also found to have significant or potentially significant signs of problems with their