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Screening older patients for cancer provided minimal benefit at considerable cost and increased use of invasive procedures, reported investigators in two separate studies. "It is particularly important to question screening strategies for older persons," Gross continued. "Patients with a shorter life expectancy have less time to develop clinically significant cancers after a screening test and are more likely to die from noncancer health problems after a cancer diagnosis."

A Nigerian woman with cancer who died in the Emirati capital had shown signs “that may be consistent with Ebola,” the Health Authority of Abu Dhabi said on Sunday. The 35-year-old woman was travelling to India from Nigeria via Abu Dhabi to seek treatment for advanced cancer when her health deteriorated during her time in transit at Abu Dhabi’s airport, the authority said in a statement according to the state WAM news agency. “It was noted at the time of resuscitation that she had shown signs that may be consistent with Ebola virus infection, although her existing medical condition provided...

A scientist at the University of Illinois, Dipanjan Pan, and his team say they may have found a way to stop cancer cell growth, according to a paper presented at the American Chemical Society conference this week. The work is in very early stages, but has shown success in stopping breast cancer and melanoma cell growth in lab tests. Pan's technique uses nanotechnology to deliver a synthesized element similar to the venom found in bees, snakes and scorpions.

When scientists injected spores of a weakened form of the bacterium Clostridium novyi directly into the soft-tissue tumors of dogs and that of a single human subject, the results were not only abscesses, fever and pain at the site--all inflammatory responses that showed the immune system had been drawn to the area. In a matter of hours, the bacterial spores quickly found their way into these tumors' necrotic cores and began replicating madly, in several cases killing the malignant tissue. In three of 16 dogs treated with the C. novyi, tumors disappeared altogether and the animals were cured. In three...

A scientist at the University of Illinois, Dipanjan Pan, and his team say they might have found a way to stop cancer cell growth, according to a paper presented at the American Chemical Society conference this week. The work is in very early stages, but has shown success in stopping breast cancer and melanoma cell growth in lab tests. Pan’s technique uses nanotechnology to deliver a synthesized element similar to the venom found in bees, snakes and scorpions. Ancient texts show doctors have used venom to treat aliments for years. In 14 BC, the Greek writer Pliny the Elder described...

The Food and Drug Administration on Monday approved the first screening test for colon cancer that uses patients' DNA to help spot potentially deadly tumors and growths. The Cologuard test from Exact Sciences detects irregular mutations in stool samples that can be an early warning sign of cancer. Patients who test positive for the mutations should undergo a colonoscopy to confirm the results. Doctors have long used stool tests to look for hidden blood that can be a warning sign of tumors and precancerous polyps. But company studies of Cologuard showed that it was more accurate at detecting cancerous tumors...

Classifying cancer tumors by their molecular structure rather than the tissue or organ where they were found, such as the breast or bladder, may lead to more accurate diagnoses and potentially better treatments and outcomes for patients, a new study finds. In the largest undertaking to analyze and compare different cancer types based on genomic sequencing, researchers found at least 10 percent of tumors - and possibly as high as 30 to 50 percent - would be identified differently if oncologists determined their diagnoses by a tumor's molecular makeup. "The old system classifying cancer by the tissue of where it...

SYLVIA GREEN's health scare turned out to be a blessing in disguise when it revealed she had lung cancer that would have otherwise remained hiddenWhen Sylvia Green was rushed into hospital with severe chest pains she could not have imagined what lay ahead. The 75-year-old had suffered a heart attack and had to spend her wedding anniversary and Christmas in hospital. However the heart attack and subsequent tests would turn out to be a blessing in disguise, revealing Sylvia had cancer which would otherwise have remained hidden. “I had a chest X-ray and the doctor said, ‘We have found a...

If you don't eat chili peppers or hot curry much you may want to reassess that given new research that claims the peppers and curry can play a role in reducing the risk of colorectal and bowel tumors, as well as extend a person's lifespan by 30 percent. The study claims the active ingredient in chili peppers, called dietary capsaicin, decreases the cancer risk as it triggers chronic activation of an ion channel called TRPV1, which is a sensory neuron that protects the intestine against acidity and spicy chemicals. In essence adding chili peppers and hot curries to the diet...

Exposure to light at night, which shuts off nighttime production of the hormone melatonin, renders breast cancer completely resistant to tamoxifen, a widely used breast cancer drug, says a new study by Tulane University School of Medicine cancer researchers. The study, "Circadian and Melatonin Disruption by Exposure to Light at Night Drives Intrinsic Resistance to Tamoxifen Therapy in Breast Cancer," published in the journal Cancer Research, is the first to show that melatonin is vital to the success of tamoxifen in treating breast cancer. Principal investigators and co-leaders of Tulane's Circadian Cancer Biology Group, Steven Hill and David Blask, along...

More than 2,500 Ground Zero rescuers and responders have come down with cancer, and a growing number are seeking compensation for their illnesses, The Post has learned. The grim toll has skyrocketed from the 1,140 cancer cases reported last year. In its latest tally, the World Trade Center Health Program at Mount Sinai Hospital counts 1,655 responders with cancer among the 37,000 cops, hard hats, sanitation workers, other city employees and volunteers it monitors, officials told The Post. The tragic sum rises to 2,518 when firefighters and EMTs are added. The FDNY, which has its own WTC health program, said...

Mike Cutler, a 63-year-old grandfather, allegedly killed his cancer cells with homemade cannabis oil, after receiving his second liver cancer diagnosis in five years. The cancer survivor was first diagnosed with liver cancer in 2009 after he blacked out at work, after which he then received an organ transplant in November of that year. However, last year, his health took a turn for the worst when he found out new cancerous cells were attacking his new organ. A liver transplant and a second cancer diagnosis later, Cutler decided to buy marijuana from a dealer and make his tablets from the...

Credit: Jess Hamilton (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0). Lincoln, Neb., Jul 21, 2014 / 12:07 pm (CNA).- In an upcoming issue of The Linacre Quarterly, the official journal of the Catholic Medical Association, an article entitled, “The Breast Cancer Epidemic: 10 Facts,” will explore the scientific evidence that connects artificial contraception to breast cancer. Father Christopher Kubat, executive director of Catholic Social Services of southern Nebraska and a medical physician, is one of the co-authors. He was asked to contribute a small portion of the article by two of the main authors, A. Patrick Schneider II, M.D., M.P.H., and Christine Zainer, M.D....

Obamacare’s emphasis on cost-benefit has apparently granted permission for the medical technocrats to conjure all kinds of healthcare rationing schemes.And the Medical Establishment is apparently playing along. From, “The Cancer Death-Panel App,” by Robert Goldberg in the NY Post: The latest innovation in cancer care isn’t a medical breakthrough but an app to ration new drugs. It’ll measure care in terms of what it costs health plans, instead of what it means for patients’ lives.That it’s being developed under the auspices of the American Society for Clinical Oncology, or ASCO, the world’s leading oncology association, is a grim warning about...

Vasectomy linked with aggressive prostate cancer risk Thursday 10 July 2014 - 3am PST Prostate / Prostate Cancer Men's Health Cancer / Oncology In the largest and most comprehensive study of its kind, researchers from Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, MA, find that vasectomy is associated with a small increased risk of prostate cancer, and a larger increased risk for advanced or lethal prostate cancer. Prostate cancer is a major cause of cancer-related deaths in men in the US, where vasectomy is a common form of contraception, with around 15% of American men having the minor procedure, which...

Vasectomy can increase risk of developing lethal prostate cancer Scientists have identified a link between having a vasectomy and developing lethal forms of prostate cancer Laura Donnelly, and Claire Carter 10:00PM BST 10 Jul 2014 Men who have a vasectomy face an increased chance of developing prostate cancer and a higher risk of contracting the most aggressive form of the disease, a study has found. The Harvard research on 50,000 men, the largest study to examine the link between sterilisation and cancer, found that those who had the procedure had a 10 per cent greater chance of developing the disease....

Obesity-related diseases such as Type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome are triggered by a lack of oxygen in adipose cells, according to a study led by UC San Diego researchers. An excess of fatty acids causes an increase in oxygen consumption, which outstrips the supply, triggering hypoxia, the study found. This leads to inflammation in the adipose cells, which in turn leads to insulin resistance, obesity and related diseases. And that's the short version. The full chain of events is even more complicated. The study, performed in mice, points to possible therapies in people, said researchers led by Dr. Jerrold...

Scientists led by Dr David Fairlie from the University of Queensland, Australia, have found abnormal amounts of an inflammatory protein called PAR2 in the fat tissues of overweight and obese rats and humans. PAR2 is also increased on the surfaces of human immune cells by common fatty acids in the diet. When obese rats on a diet high in sugar and fat were given a new oral drug that binds to PAR2, the inflammation-causing properties of this protein were blocked, as were other effects of the high-fat and high-sugar diet, including obesity itself. "This important new finding links obesity and...

JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO, FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas, July 3, 2014 -- When doctors told Yesenia Ruiz-Rojo she was terminally ill, the pregnant 21-year-old put all thoughts of herself aside. Just save my baby, she asked. Less than four months into her pregnancy, she was facing aggressive liver cancer and given two to four months to live. But rather than give up, the Army wife and her team of providers at Brooke Army Medical Center decided they were going to beat the odds. Four months later, Ruiz-Rojo gave birth to a healthy boy named Luke. "I love spending time with...

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) says acrylamide in food potentially increases the risk of developing cancer for consumers in all age groups. The authority has launched a public consultation on its draft scientific opinion about the substance. Acrylamide is a chemical compound that typically forms in starchy food products such as potato crisps, chips, bread, biscuits and coffee, during high-temperature processing (above 150°), including frying, baking and roasting. […] Acrylamide has previously been linked to cancer. In 2002, Swedish researchers found the compound by coincidence and had a strong suspicion that acrylamide was a carcinogenic agent. But EFSA acknowledges...