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Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in men worldwide, accounting for more than 1.4 million new cases each year. For many patients, radiotherapy is a standard treatment option that offers outcomes comparable to surgery, particularly for localized disease. As an outpatient procedure, it allows men to maintain much of their daily routine during treatment. However, traditional radiotherapy schedules typically span several weeks, which can be burdensome for patients and put pressure on health care structures and radiotherapy capacity. A major clinical trial (HYPO-RT-PC) has shown that a significantly shorter course of radiotherapy for localized prostate cancer is just...

Exercise can counter the detrimental effects of cancer treatment, such as heart and nerve damage and brain fog, suggests an overarching review. Exercise also seems to boost psychological well-being and overall quality of life, say the researchers. The researchers carried out an umbrella review of the existing pooled data analyses of randomized controlled trial results, published between 2012 and July 2024. The review included 485 associations from 80 articles, all evaluated as being of moderate to high quality. Among these associations, the types of exercise of any length, intensity, and duration included mind-body (138, 28.5%), such as Qigong, tai chi,...

Walls was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of blood cancer in 2023Aussie rules legend Robert Walls has died aged 74 after using voluntary assisted dying laws. Walls won three premiership titles with Carlton Football Club as a player and a coach. He was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of blood cancer, named acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, in 2023. The Age reports that Walls decided not to go through another round of chemotherapy after being told he had months to live earlier this year. “Having battled cancer for more than two years, Robert did it his way and...

The monarch also had a 'frightening' health update.King Charles still plans to meet with US President Donald Trump. The monarch previously expressed interest in meeting him shortly after he was inaugurated. Prince Charles wrote a letter to President Trump with the intent of another state dinner. After it was shared by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Trump shared the contents of the letter: “Quite apart from this presenting an opportunity to discuss a wide range of issues of mutual interest, it would also offer a valuable chance to plan a historic second state visit to the United Kingdom. As you...

An international team of scientists has identified similarities in the mechanisms of diabetes and cancer: as the researchers show, the protein PPARγ, which is central to the regulation of metabolic processes, can also influence the growth of prostate cancer cells. PPARγ is already known to be a target of certain drugs used to treat type 2 diabetes. The results of the study indicate that such drugs could also represent a promising approach for the treatment of prostate cancer. PPARγ has been known in diabetes research for quite some time, as it has an influence on insulin sensitivity. For more than...

Thursday was inauguration day in Venezuela. Hugo Chavez — who has dominated Venezuelan politics one way or another for 14 years — was again sworn in as President. Only this time, the authoritarian populist could not take the oath in person. He departed for cancer surgery in Cuba on Dec. 10, 2012, and has not been seen in public since. This latest surgery is his fourth round of treatment in Cuba. Few expect Chavez to serve out this next six-year presidential term.

People who pay more in taxes could be less likely to die from cancer. The link was revealed in a new study published in JAMA Network Open, which aimed to explore how state-level tax revenue impacts cancer screenings and mortality in the U.S. Researchers from The Ohio State University, Emory University in Georgia and the University of Verona in Italy analyzed 1,150 state-years of tax data over a 23-year period, between 1997 and 2019. (A state-year refers to one year of data from one state.) They also reviewed population-level cancer screening rates and cancer-related deaths from Centers for Disease Control...

A new study has revealed that a common and usually harmless virus may positively influence how skin cancer patients respond to current treatments. Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is a common virus that, while typically asymptomatic, is carried for life by around 50–60% of UK adults. In healthy individuals, CMV is kept in a dormant state by the immune system. However, this process profoundly reshapes how the immune system operates. The study explored how CMV affected the immune responses of 341 melanoma patients receiving immunotherapy, a form of cancer treatment that helps harness the immune system to recognize and fight cancer. This research...

Scientists have discovered a surprising new connection between gut health and blood cancer risk—one that could transform how we think about aging, inflammation, and the early stages of leukemia. As we grow older—or in some cases, when gut health is compromised by disease—changes in the intestinal lining allow certain bacteria to leak their byproducts into the bloodstream. One such molecule, produced by specific bacteria, acts as a signal that accelerates the expansion of dormant, pre-leukemic blood cells. The study suggests that this mechanism may reach beyond leukemia to influence risk for other diseases and among older people who share a...

How would you summarize your study? Cisplatin is a chemotherapy drug used globally for the treatment of several cancers; however, it is also highly toxic to the kidneys. Beyond general supportive measures, there is minimal data from clinical trials regarding preventive treatments for cisplatin-associated kidney damage. Animal studies suggest magnesium may help the kidneys excrete cisplatin in the urine, thereby protecting the kidneys from damage. However, data from larger studies in humans is lacking. What question were you investigating? We examined whether receipt of IV magnesium on the same day as the first dose of IV cisplatin was associated with...

A growing number of transgender musicians have cancelled events in the U.S. over President Donald Trump’s transgender policies even as the U.K. Supreme Court rules that transgender women are not legally biological women. Over the last few weeks, two Canadian singers have cancelled concert appearances in the U.S. claiming that they fear being “targeted” due to the president’s policies. Last month, Halifax trans non-binary pop artist T. Thomason announced that he was pulling out of All Roads Festival in Belfast, Maine, scheduled for May 16, because he is upset over the Trump administration’s policy that the U.S. government will only...

One scorpion produces at most just two milligrams of venom at a time. Credit: Tola Kokoza, Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 ***************************************************************** The most expensive liquid in the world is venom from a scorpion which has potential medical applications, but its extraction and processing are highly specialized and dangerous. The deathstalker is one of the most dangerous scorpions on the planet, and what makes it so dangerous also happens to be the most expensive liquid in the world. This stuff costs $39 million per gallon. The reason is because the liquid is hard to get. Scorpions are milked by hand,...

Last week, the Trump administration put three children who are U.S. citizens on deportation flights with their mothers. According to the family lawyer, “one of them is a 4-year-old boy with stage 4 cancer who was deported without medication or the ability to contact their doctors.”

Hyperbaric oxygen treatment provides long-term relief for patients suffering from late radiation-induced injuries after treatment of cancer in the lower abdominal area. Five years after hyperbaric oxygen therapy, the positive effects remain. Radiation therapy is a component of many cancer treatments in organs such as the prostate, colon, ovaries and cervix. While tumor cells are destroyed, 5%–10% of patients experience severe side effects due to healthy tissue being affected by the radiation therapy. Symptoms may include urinary incontinence, bleeding and severe pain in the lower abdomen that becomes both physically and socially disabling. These problems can occur several years after...

Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Virginia), a longtime liberal voice representing Northern Virginia in Congress, announced Monday that he would not be seeking reelection next year after his esophageal cancer returned following treatment.

Scientists could be on the verge of a medical breakthrough in understanding what's driving a rise in blood cancers among older adults. Research has long suggested that the colony of trillions of bacteria living in our digestive systems – known as the gut microbiome – could be the key to our overall health. The more diverse those microscopic colonies are, the better our immunity to a host of diseases from heart disease to dementia. But US researchers have now discovered that patients with leukemia — an aggressive form of blood cancer — have higher levels of one specific bacteria in...

Recently, researchers have discovered an increasing correlation between some liver cancers and non-viral chronic liver disease (CLD). One liver cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), is associated with CLD in about 15%–25% of cases. In order to investigate how healthy liver tissue differs from that of HCC patients with CLD, scientists analyzed which metabolites were present in CLD and normal tissue to identify metabolic pathways that may be dysregulated. By investigating differences in gene expression and metabolites, the investigators were able to identify possible disease-causing pathways and potential therapeutic targets for HCC prevention. "The molecular mechanisms underlying the development of HCC from...

Investigators have validated a test that can accurately predict which patients with prostate cancer are at higher risk of developing long-lasting urinary side effects after receiving radiation therapy. The test, called PROSTOX, is the first of its kind to use microRNAs to predict toxicity from cancer therapy. It could help prevent the burden of long-term complications by identifying patients most at risk before treatment even begins. The team validated PROSTOX's ability to predict long-term urinary side effects. "What makes PROSTOX different is that it looks at a patient's unique genetics to estimate their personal risk of developing side effects from...

Sustained research funding is essential to progressI don't usually talk about my cancer diagnosis. But as a physician-scientist who survived leukemia at 18 years old and now cares for people facing their own cancer diagnoses, I feel compelled to share my story -- because it speaks directly to what's at stake in medicine today. The clinical trial that saved my life wouldn't have existed without robust investment in biomedical research. And as debates over federal research funding continue, I think about whether future patients will have access to the same life-saving opportunities I did. It was the summer of 2007....

Fasting has shown its potential to reduce colorectal cancer risk by triggering cellular changes that may slow tumor growth, with a study demonstrating a 20% improvement in overall survival. However, lifestyle changes alone aren't enough for prevention. Fasting has been shown to activate autophagy, the body's natural process of cleaning out damaged cells and regenerating healthy ones. According to a review, autophagy plays a key role in preventing cancer development by maintaining cellular health and reducing oxidative stress. By clearing away cells that might otherwise turn cancerous, fasting may help the body maintain a more stable and resilient internal environment....