Music therapy improves coping skills in young cancer patients
1/27/2014
A new study has found that a form of music therapy, which involves writing song lyrics and producing videos, is beneficial in helping young cancer patients develop coping skills.Being diagnosed with and undergoing treatment for cancer can be a very traumatic experience, especially for young people.
Rivals' relative expression levels in cancer cells could be biomarkers for prognosis, treatment
1/27/2014
Consider two drivers, each with a key that fits the same car. Driver 1 wants simply to turn on the ignition and leave the vehicle idling, ready and waiting to roll. Driver 2 wants to take it on a destructive joy ride.
How will the Affordable Care Act affect cancer survivors?
1/27/2014
In 2010, the total cost of cancer care in the United States reached $125 billion. Globally, the economic toll from cancer is nearly 20 percent higher than the leading cause of death, heart disease. Cancer patients are also living longer today, which is further increasing the cost of their continued care.
Genetic changes mapped that drive tumors in a common pediatric soft-tissue cancer rhabdomyosarcoma
1/27/2014
Scientists have mapped the genetic changes that drive tumors in rhabdomyosarcoma, a pediatric soft-tissue cancer, and found that the disease is characterized by two distinct genotypes. The genetic alterations identified in this malignancy could be useful in developing targeted diagnostic tools and treatments for children with the disease.
Novel approach to stay a step ahead of breast cancer
1/27/2014
Cancer isn't a singular disease, even when talking about one tumor. A tumor consists of a varied mix of cells whose complicated arrangement changes all the time, especially and most vexingly as doctors and patients do their best to fight it.
Leukemia pill 'can melt away' cancer cells
1/27/2014
According to the National Cancer Institute, there were an estimated 48,610 new cases of leukemia last year, with 23,720 deaths from the condition. Now, new research suggests that a pill taken twice daily could turn the blood cancer into a treatable disease and allow patients to avoid chemotherapy.
African-American dialysis patients with sickle cell trait require more anemia drugs
1/26/2014
The presence of sickle cell trait among African Americans may help explain why those on dialysis require higher doses of an anemia medication than patients of other ethnicities, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN). Additional studies are needed to determine the long-term health consequences of this increased dosing.
Transmissible dog cancer genome sheds light on cancer evolution
1/24/2014
The genome of the world's oldest continuously surviving cancer - an 11,000-year-old genital cancer in dogs that can be transmitted during mating - is helping scientists understand underlying factors that drive cancer evolution in general.The latest study, in which researchers describe the genome and evolution of the cancer, has been published in the journal Science.
Cancer survivors who exercise live longer
1/24/2014
Earlier diagnosis and medical improvements means many cancer survivors are living longer. Now, a new study of over 1,000 male cancer survivors suggests being physically active may add even more years to their lives.
Can personalized tumor vaccines improve interleukin-2 treated metastatic melanoma?
1/24/2014
New Rochelle, NY, January 22, 2014-Metastatic melanoma has a poor prognosis, but treatment with high-dose interleukin-2 (IL2) can extend survival.