Cancer

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 »

New Findings Point to Potential New Cancer Targets

LA JOLLA, CA, December 5, 2007—Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have found that a specific type of white blood cell carries with it an unusually potent catalyst of tumor growth. The catalyst promotes angiogenesis, the formation of new blood vessels, which are critical to tumor growth.

The study was published in an advance online edition of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) this week.    » read more »

November 27, 2007 -- ROCHESTER, Minn. — Cryoablation, a procedure most commonly associated with destroying kidney and prostate tumors by freezing them, has been shown to offer durable pain relief of cancer that has spread to bone. The procedure freezes and shrinks or destroys cancerous tumors in or near bone.    » read more »

November 25, 2007 -- ROCHESTER, Minn. — A review of 62 Mayo Clinic patients who underwent cryoablation to treat cancerous kidney tumors shows that the patients are cancer free for up to two and a half years after having had the procedure.

Also called cryotherapy or cryosurgery, cryoablation is a procedure in which extreme cold is applied to the tumor using a cryoprobe, a hollow needle-like device filled with argon gas. The gas rapidly freezes the targeted tumor.    » read more »

November 15, 2007 --Washington, DC – The U.S. Senate last night approved legislation sponsored by U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) 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 61 additional Senators.

According to a recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) report, the Breast Cancer Research Stamp has raised more money than any other fund-raising stamp.    » read more »