In Patients With Head And Neck Cancers, New Radiotherapy Approach Reduces Symptoms Of Dry Mouth
4/23/2013
Researchers have shown for the first time that it is possible to reduce the distressing symptoms of dry mouth in patients treated with radiotherapy for head and neck cancers if the radiation dose to a salivary gland (called the submandibular gland) on the opposite side to the tumour is kept to the minimum...
Discovery Of Energy-Efficient Enzyme That May Aid DNA Repair
4/23/2013
Scientists have revealed how a bacterial enzyme has evolved an energy-efficient method to move long distances along DNA. The findings, published in Science, present further insight into the coupling of chemical and mechanical energy by a class of enzymes called helicases, a widely-distributed group of proteins, which in human cells are implicated in some cancers...
Low-Dose Aspirin May Halt Breast Cancer
4/23/2013
Research done in test tubes and in mice presented at a conference in Boston in the US at the weekend suggests taking low doses of aspirin on a regular basis may stop breast cancer from growing and spreading. However, cancer campaigners urge caution as the results are very early stage and have yet to be shown in patients...
Despite Controversial USPSTF Recommendations, Mammogram Rates Have Not Declined
4/23/2013
More than three years after the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommended against routine mammogram screening for women between the ages of 40 and 49, a study from Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) finds that mammogram rates in the United States have not declined in that age group, or any other. The study results are published in the online edition of the journal Cancer...
Study Identifies Three BRCA1 Mutations Responsible For Breast And Ovarian Hereditary Cancer
4/23/2013
Researchers of the hereditary cancer research group at the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL) and the Catalan Institute of Oncology (ICO) conducted a functional and structural study of seven missense variants of the BRCA1 gene concluding that three of these variants are pathogenic, linked to the risk of suffering breast or ovarian cancer...
Seasonal Effect Revealed For Tamoxifen In Breast Cancer Treatment
4/23/2013
For women diagnosed with a form of breast cancer known as estrogen receptor positive (ER+) breast cancer, tamoxifen is an essential drug used in the treatment and prevention of recurring breast cancer. Currently, tamoxifen is used in a one-size-fits-all approach where the same dose is prescribed for every patient...
Doctors Out-Maneuvered By Mathematical Models In Predicting Cancer Patients' Responses To Treatment
4/22/2013
Mathematical prediction models are better than doctors at predicting the outcomes and responses of lung cancer patients to treatment, according to new research presented at the 2nd Forum of the European Society for Radiotherapy and Oncology (ESTRO)...
Successful Use Of Image-Guided Brachytherapy To Treat Cervical Cancer Reported In 2 Landmark Studies
4/22/2013
Two large, landmark radiotherapy studies have shown that it is possible to treat cervical cancer effectively with high doses specifically adapted to each tumour, and with fewer serious side-effects to the surrounding normal organs...
Renal Cell Tumors More Likely To Metastasize Better Identified By Chemical Shift MRI
4/22/2013
Adding "chemical shift" techniques to MRI can help differentiate clear cell renal cell carcinoma from other types of renal cell cancer, a new study shows. That differentiation can help physicians better determine treatment for these patients. The study, conducted at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, included 156 patients with proven renal cell cancer...
In Patients With Early Breast Cancer, Intensity Modulated Radiotherapy Reduces Side Effects
4/22/2013
Intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) gives better results than standard radiotherapy in patients with early breast cancer, according to results from a randomised trial presented today (Sunday) to the 2nd Forum of the European Society for Radiotherapy and Oncology (ESTRO)...