http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. Women undergoing treatment for breast cancer can experience cognitive declines, such as decreased verbal fluency or loss of memory and attention. Often experienced by patients undergoing chemotherapy, the declines have become known as "chemo brain." However, a health psychologist at the University of Missouri says "chemo brain" isn't always to blame. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-stress-contributes-cognitive-declines-women.html Psychology & Psychiatry Wed, 11 Apr 2012 14:09:14 EST news253372146 A naturally-occurring harmless human virus may be able to boost the effects of two standard chemotherapy drugs in some cancer patients, according to early stage trial data published in Clinical Cancer Research. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-harmless-human-virus-boost-effects.html Cancer Tue, 03 Apr 2012 16:53:50 EST news252690820 Researchers and doctors at the North Shore-LIJ Health System and the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research have discovered that blood can help determine the best treatment plan for patients with ovarian cancer. More specifically, a genetic marker embedded in deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), called microRNA, indicates if a patient with ovarian cancer has a benign or cancerous tumor, and that she will benefit from chemotherapy after surgery on the tumor. This data will be presented at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting to be held from Saturday through Wednesday (March 31- April 4) in Chicago, IL. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-dna-marker-ovarian-cancer-treatment.html Cancer Tue, 03 Apr 2012 16:09:14 EST news252688146 Although cancer recurrence may be the overriding fear for many survivors, nearly half of survivors from a recently presented study died from other conditions. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-cancer-survivors-died-conditions.html Cancer Tue, 03 Apr 2012 15:20:01 EST news252684211 Johns Hopkins investigators are testing a way to use drugs that target a cholesterol pathway to enhance the cancer-killing potential of standard chemotherapy drugs. Their tests, in mouse models of pancreatic cancer, may yield new and more effective combinations of current and possibly new anti-cancer drugs. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-chemo-boost-cholesterol-related-drug.html Cancer Tue, 03 Apr 2012 09:44:11 EST news252665045 Gene scans for everyone? Not so fast. New research suggests that for the average person, decoding your own DNA may not turn out to be a really useful crystal ball for future health. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-gene-fast.html Genetics Mon, 02 Apr 2012 12:47:19 EST news252589619 Rush University Medical Center will begin offering in late March a new stereotactic radiosurgery treatment program with the latest radiation therapy technology available. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-cancer-treatment-sculpts-tumor.html Cancer Mon, 26 Mar 2012 11:45:32 EST news251981123 A study by University of Kentucky researchers showed that in Appalachia, colorectal cancer screening rates were higher in the population with multiple morbidities or diseases compared to those who had no morbidities at all. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-colorectal-cancer-screening-high-patients.html Cancer Tue, 20 Mar 2012 15:52:38 EST news251477520 (Medical Xpress) -- A Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine study has revealed details of the complex molecular process involving a protein that enables cancer cells to establish tumors in distant parts of the body. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-reveals-protein-enables-cancer-cells.html Cancer Wed, 14 Mar 2012 10:40:02 EST news250939145 A study has revealed that injectable contraceptives that are widely used around the world influence the risk of developing several types of cancer. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-reveals-contraceptive-cancer.html Cancer Wed, 07 Mar 2012 08:50:01 EST news250331426 Scientists have long known that calcium leaches from the bones both during lactation and in certain types of cancer. The driver behind these phenomena is a molecule called parathyroid hormone related protein (PTHrP), which is secreted by the mammary glands. The signal that regulates the secretion of PTHrP, and where this other unknown molecule exerts its influence, has remained a mystery. Now, in a new study using cells and tissues from mice, cows, and people, a team of researchers at the University of Cincinnati have identified this mystery molecule as serotonin, a neurotransmitter most often recognized for its role in happiness and well-being. The scientists also identified the specific receptor that serotonin acts on in mammary tissue. Understanding these two findings more deeply could lead to better ways to combat bone loss, potentially by using drugs that affect serotonin signaling. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-serotonin-large-role-bone-loss.html Medical research Tue, 21 Feb 2012 13:00:01 EST news249046859 A simple blood test is being developed by researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) and Soroka University Medical Center in Beer-Sheva, Israel that may provide early detection of many types of cancer. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-blood-early-cancer.html Cancer Tue, 21 Feb 2012 10:15:52 EST news249041742 (AP) -- A government panel favors expanding an aid program for people sickened by World Trade Center dust to include people who have at least some types of cancer. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-panel-favors-wtc-cancer.html Health Thu, 16 Feb 2012 14:40:01 EST news248624251 Researchers from the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Cancer Center have identified a new potential strategy for treating colon tumors driven by mutations in the KRAS gene, which usually resist both conventional and targeted treatments. In a paper appearing in the Feb. 17 issue of Cell, the team reports that targeting a later step in the pathway leading from KRAS activation to tumor growth may be able to halt the process. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-potential-treatment-kras-mutated-colon-cancer.html Cancer Thu, 16 Feb 2012 12:00:20 EST news248613313 Researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Fla., have discovered that the immune response regulator IKBKE (serine/threonine kinase) plays two roles in tobacco-related non-small cell lung cancers. Tobacco carcinogens induce IKBKE and, in turn, IKBKE induces chemotherapy resistance. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-important-role-tobacco-related-lung-cancers.html Cancer Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:55:37 EST news248014519 A mutant protein found in nearly all pancreatic cancers plays a role not only in the cancer's development but in its continued growth, according to a new study from University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center researchers. The finding suggests a possible target for developing new ways to treat this deadly disease. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-gene-linked-pancreatic-cancer-growth.html Cancer Tue, 31 Jan 2012 11:08:43 EST news247230516 Could preventing colon cancer be as simple as developing a taste for yerba mate tea? In a recent University of Illinois study, scientists showed that human colon cancer cells die when they are exposed to the approximate number of bioactive compounds present in one cup of this brew, which has long been consumed in South America for its medicinal properties. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-compounds-tea-death-colon-cancer.html Cancer Mon, 23 Jan 2012 13:25:22 EST news246547517 An inherited mutation in a gene known as the guardian of the genome is likely the link between exploding chromosomes and some particularly aggressive types of cancer, scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), the German Cancer Research Centre (DKFZ) and the University Hospital, all in Heidelberg, Germany, have discovered. Their study, published online today in Cell, also presents the first whole genome sequence of a paediatric tumour: medulloblastoma, a brain cancer which is the second most common cause of childhood mortality in developed countries, where only car accidents cause more deaths in children. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-rigged-inherited-mutation-links-chromosomes.html Cancer Thu, 19 Jan 2012 12:52:43 EST news246199952 (Medical Xpress) -- Researchers from Newcastle University have identified a gene variation carried by 20% of the population which can significantly affect how patients with a rare type of blood cancer will respond to treatment. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-scientists-genetic-key-cancer-patients.html Cancer Thu, 05 Jan 2012 09:20:01 EST news244976719 Lithocholic acid (LCA), naturally produced in the liver during digestion, has been seriously underestimated. A study published in the journal Oncotarget shows that LCA can kill several types of cancer cells, such as those found in some brain tumors and breast cancer. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-cancer-killing-compound-healthy-cells.html Cancer Wed, 04 Jan 2012 12:22:53 EST news244902162 Treating ovarian cancer with the drug bevacizumab ("Avastin") delays the disease and may also improve survival, show the results of an international clinical trial co-led by Drs. Amit Oza of the Princess Margaret Cancer Program, University Health Network and Timothy Perren, St James's Institute of Oncology, Leeds, UK. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-ovarian-cancer-drug-disease-survival.html Cancer Wed, 28 Dec 2011 17:00:03 EST news244293005 Targeted drugs, which block or disrupt particular molecules involved in the growth of tumors, have been shown to be effective treatments against many types of cancer. A new phase 3 clinical trial conducted by the Gynecologic Oncology Group (GOG) showed that a targeted therapy called bevacizumab (Avastin) effectively delayed the progression of advanced ovarian cancer. Patients with newly diagnosed advanced ovarian cancer now typically undergo surgery and chemotherapy, but the new research suggests an additional avenue of treatment. The results of the trial appear in the December 29 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-therapy-progression-free-survival-patients-advanced.html Cancer Wed, 28 Dec 2011 17:00:01 EST news244292529 People who have the most common type of adult muscular dystrophy also have a higher risk of getting cancer, according to a paper published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-muscular-dystrophy-patients-cancer.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Tue, 13 Dec 2011 16:00:05 EST news243004453 (Medical Xpress) -- More than 50% of men diagnosed with cancer in Australia are turning to complementary and alternative medicine to help find a cure, or to improve their health, according to new research from the University of Adelaide. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-male-cancer-patients-alternative-treatments.html Cancer Tue, 13 Dec 2011 06:20:01 EST news242978521 Three new locations for Crohn's Disease genes have been uncovered by scientists at UCL using a novel gene mapping approach. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-personalized-treatment-crohn-disease-closer.html Genetics Thu, 08 Dec 2011 12:57:06 EST news242571383 Acupuncture may help ease the severe nerve pain associated with certain cancer drugs, suggests a small preliminary study published in Acupuncture in Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-acupuncture-ease-severe-nerve-pain.html Health Tue, 06 Dec 2011 04:40:03 EST news242367516 A research team led by UT Southwestern Medical Center scientists has identified an atypical metabolic pathway unique to some tumors, possibly providing a future target for drugs that could reduce or halt the spread of cancer. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-tumor-specific-pathway.html Cancer Tue, 22 Nov 2011 10:04:08 EST news241178637 Drug companies currently developing therapeutic cancer vaccines may be determining the cancers they target based on the number of annual cases, not the number of deaths they cause. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-cancer-vaccine-impact-limited-drug.html Cancer Mon, 21 Nov 2011 16:38:09 EST news241115880 (Medical Xpress) -- A class of drugs used to treat breast cancers which overproduce a protein called HER2 could also treat other types of cancer – particularly head and neck cancers, according to research presented at the National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) Cancer Conference in Liverpool this week. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-class-breast-cancer-drugs.html Cancer Wed, 09 Nov 2011 07:27:23 EST news240046034 Mayo Clinic researchers have discovered why measles, perhaps the most contagious viral disease in the world, spreads so quickly. The virus emerges in the trachea of its host, provoking a cough that fills the air with particles ready to infect the next host. The findings may also help in the fight against ovarian, breast and lung cancers. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-measles-quickly.html Medical research Wed, 02 Nov 2011 14:00:01 EST news239461145