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People battling advanced esophageal cancers should get doses of chemotherapy both before and after tumor-removing surgeries, a new study suggests. "There is considerable disagreement as to whether giving all adjuvant [chemo] therapy upfront versus 'sandwich' adjuvant therapy before and after surgery is the better standard of care" for people whose tumors can be removed with surgery, explained researcher Dr. Jennifer Tseng. According to the American Cancer Society, more than 22,000 Americans will be diagnosed with esophageal cancer this year and over 16,000 will die of the illness. The question of when to administer chemotherapy for esophageal cancer has been a...

Study could have an impact in fighting head and neck cancersCurcumin, the main component in the spice turmeric, suppresses a cell signaling pathway that drives the growth of head and neck cancer, according to a pilot study using human saliva by researchers at UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center. The inhibition of the cell signaling pathway also correlated with reduced expression of a number of pro-inflammatory cytokines, or signaling molecules, in the saliva that promote cancer growth, said Dr. Marilene Wang, a professor of head and neck surgery, senior author of the study and a Jonsson Cancer Center researcher. "This study...