Cancer

5/8/2008 -- Demonstrating Hillary’s strong commitment to breast cancer awareness, the Clinton campaign today unveiled its ‘Hats off for Hillary’ drive in Kentucky. The drive, which will take place until May 20, will encourage women across the state to donate their Kentucky Derby hats to charity.

Derby hats: Photo by Steve Ryan (CC)    » read more »

Urges Passage of Legislation to Spur Life-Saving Research

April 21, 2008 -- Washington, DC – Senator Hillary Clinton today condemned Republican efforts to block debate and passage of the Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Act, of which Senator Clinton is an original co-sponsor. She urged her colleagues to join her in supporting this important legislation.

Senator Hillary Clinton: Photo by Marc Nozell (CC)    » read more »

Washington, D.C. -- April 15, 2008 -- Senator Arlen Specter today announced that he has been diagnosed with an early recurrence of Hodgkin’s disease. Hodgkin’s disease is a cancer of the lymph system.

Senator Specter’s recurrence was diagnosed based on a routine follow-up PET scan (Positron Emission Tomography) which showed small lymph nodes in his chest and abdomen.

Senator Arlen Specter: Photo by musicFIRSTcoalition (CC)

A follow-up biopsy of one of the chest lymph nodes was positive for recurrence. A bone marrow biopsy was negative.    » read more »

April 13, 2008 -- SAN DIEGO — Smoking puts older women at significant risk for loss of DNA repair proteins that are critical for defending against development of some colorectal cancers, according to research from a team led by Mayo Clinic scientists.

In a study being presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), the researchers found that women who smoked were at increased risk for developing colorectal tumors that lacked some or all of four proteins, known as DNA mismatch repair (MMR) proteins.

Smoking: Photo by JonF119 (CC)    » read more »

04/07/2008 -- California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today issued the following statement regarding the announcement by University of California, San Diego researchers about a new drug to treat a rare blood disorder that can lead to leukemia. Stem cell research, funded by the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), led to the discovery of this new treatment.

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger: Photo by Andrew (CC)    » read more »

03 April 2008 -- Three independent teams of researchers have found genes that may explain why some smokers get cancer and others do not, and why some people who never smoke also get the disease. Investigators say the discoveries could lead to better ways to prevent and treat one of the most lethal forms of cancer.

Cigarette smoking is the number one risk factor for lung cancer: Photo by Raul Lieberwirth (CC)

The teams in the United States, France and Iceland scoured the DNA of thousands of white smokers and non-smokers of European descent,with and without lung cancer, looking for genes that have been linked to smoking.    » read more »

Mouse study shows dopamine blocks tumor-feeding blood vessels

March 13, 2008 -- ROCHESTER, Minn. — A study published in the March 13 online issue of The Journal of Clinical Investigation (http://www.jci.org/) shows that dopamine, a drug currently used to treat Parkinson's disease and other illnesses, also might work in cancer patients. The study, which was done in mouse and laboratory models, shows that dopamine could possibly prevent new blood vessels from growing and as a result, slow cancer progression.    » read more »

Disparities in screening still persist in certain populations

March 13, 2008 -- The percentage of U.S. adults aged 50 years and older getting screened for colorectal cancer is increasing according to a study released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention‘s (CDC) Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. The study uses state-level Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey (BRFSS) data that have been combined to estimate that 60.8 percent of adults were current with colorectal cancer screening recommendations in 2006, compared with 53.9 percent in 2002.    » read more »

March 13, 2008 -- ESPN Major League Baseball analyst Rick Sutcliffe has been diagnosed with cancer. A routine test during a physical revealed that Sutcliffe has a treatable and curable form of colon cancer. He will undergo chemotherapy and surgery over the next few months and he is hoping to make a healthy comeback later this year.

“I deeply appreciate the support of the ESPN family and my family and friends around the country,” said Rick Sutcliffe.    » read more »

February 28, 2008 -- Washington, DC— A bill sponsored by Nevada Senator Harry Reid to study the possible links between breast cancer and the environment passed an important milestone. Despite the threat of fifteen amendments that were filed to the Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Act by Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK), the bill passed out of the Senate Health, Environment, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee in tact.    » read more »

NEWPORT NEWS, VA, Jan. 28 - A new medical imager for detecting and guiding the biopsy of suspicious breast cancer lesions is capable of spotting tumors that are half the size of the smallest ones detected by standard imaging systems, according to a new study.    » read more »

Study finds boost in vitamin D could outweigh skin cancer risks in certain populations

January 7, 2008 -- UPTON, NY - A new study by scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory and colleagues in Norway suggests that the benefits of moderately increased exposure to sunlight - namely the production of vitamin D, which protects against the lethal effects of many forms of cancer and other diseases - may outweigh the risk of developing skin cancer in populations deficient in vitamin D.    » read more »

$14.5 Million in Awards Granted Today

January 7, 2008 -- New York Governor Eliot Spitzer and Lieutenant Governor David A. Paterson today announced the first grant awards of New York State's new $600 million multi-year stem cell research program, offering new hope to people who suffer from debilitating and life threatening diseases and ailments such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and cancer. The awards -- totaling $14.5 million -- were approved today at a meeting in New York City of the Funding Committee of the Empire State Stem Cell Board.    » read more »

December 19, 2007 -- The veil has finally been lifted on an enzyme that is critical to the process of DNA transcription and replication, and is a prime target of antibacterial and anticancer drugs. Researchers with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and the University of California (UC) at Berkeley have produced the first three-dimensional structural images of a DNA-bound Type II topoisomerase (topo II) that is responsible for untangling coiled strands of the chromosome during cell division.    » read more »

Bill now goes to President to be signed into law

December 14, 2007 -- Washington, DC – The U.S. Senate has approved legislation sponsored by U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) to extend the sale of the highly successful Breast Cancer Research Stamp for four additional years beyond the current expiration date of December 31, 2007. The legislation is cosponsored by a bipartisan coalition of 62 additional Senators.    » read more »