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Transcript: Against all odds, Elizabeth Marek is alive, she has a device that attacks brain cancer cells with electric fields to thank. Elizabeth has glioblastoma, a deadly and aggressive form of brain cancer with no cure and a life expectancy of just over two years. 26 weeks pregnant with her second child, 3 years after a small tumor was found in her brain, Elizabeth began suffering from extreme headaches. She thought it was migraines, but it wasn't. SOUNDBITE (English) ELIZABETH MAREK, BRAIN CANCER PATIENT, SAYING: "It ended up being a tumor that was the size of my fist on the...

Two years ago, long-time Phillies catcher Darren Daulton was diagnosed with glioblastoma, a form of brain cancer the American Brain Tumor Association characterizes as being "highly malignant." He had successful surgery to remove a pair of brain tumors in July 2013. Daulton, now 53, has undergone extensive chemotherapy and radiation treatment in the 19 months since the surgery. On Thursday he passed along some good news:

Abstract Here, we propose a new strategy for the treatment of early cancerous lesions and advanced metastatic disease, via the selective targeting of cancer stem cells (CSCs), a.k.a., tumor-initiating cells (TICs). We searched for a global phenotypic characteristic that was highly conserved among cancer stem cells, across multiple tumor types, to provide a mutation-independent approach to cancer therapy. This would allow us to target cancer stem cells, effectively treating cancer as a single disease of “stemness”, independently of the tumor tissue type. Using this approach, we identified a conserved phenotypic weak point – a strict dependence on mitochondrial biogenesis for...

A man diagnosed with the same form of brain cancer that led Brittany Maynard to kill herself last weekend says he chose a different path because of his faith in God. Thirteen years ago, David Williams of Newport, Arkansas was told by his doctors that he had a progressive brain tumor called glioblastoma multiforme, and that he had 6 months to a year to live. Williams told WMC TV that although he trusted his doctors, he refused to believe that he couldn't fight the disease and live. As a result of his determination he's undergone surgeries, chemotherapies, takes daily medication,...

SPARTANBURG, S.C. -- It is an incredible story of a girl with a rare and deadly form of cancer seemingly saved by a shocking experimental treatment at Duke Medical Center. Don't let her easy disposition fool you. She smiles a lot, laughs easily. But doctors will tell you Stephanie Lipscomb should be dead right now. “The odds weren’t good. They didn’t expect me to live more than two years I don’t think.” The University of South Carolina nursing student was just 20, a sorority girl, part time waitress, and all around girl next door when she began having migraines. She...

Seve Ballesteros, the charismatic Spanish golfer who won the Masters twice and the British Open three times and helped propel Europe’s rise in the Ryder Cup competition with the United States, died early Saturday at his home in northern Spain, where his struggle with brain cancer had gained wide attention in the sports world. He was 54.

Enlarge ImageTelling tumor. A genetic mutation could help doctors diagnose deadly tumors in the brain.Credit: Photograph courtesy of Duke Photopath While survival rates for many cancers have improved over the years, brain cancers often remain stubbornly unresponsive to treatment. Now, researchers are turning to genetics and have hit on a gene mutation that can be used to differentiate between the deadliest brain cancers. The find could help doctors more accurately diagnose these devastating tumors. The most common brain tumor, glioblastoma, is also the deadliest. These tumors occur in two forms: primary, in which patients suddenly develop large and highly...

Enlarge ImageIn a bubble. Tracking tiny vessicles of genetic material emitted by tumor cells could help doctors better diagnose and treat brain cancer patients. Credit: Skog et al., Nature Cell Biology Doctors may soon be able to use blood tests rather than invasive biopsies to figure out what type of brain tumors their patients have. The findings, which come thanks to new insights about how tumor cells communicate with their environment, may also bring physicians closer to the goal of more personalized medicine. Cells are chatty, constantly exchanging proteins or electrical signals with their neighbors. For example, tumor cells...