At first blush, the news sounds at worst neutral: more life-saving chemotherapy can be administered to increase longevity. "  But, for cancer survivors who have experienced chemotherapy, it means that their remaining years are characterized by increased debilitation and low quality of life. At the recent annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology,"  doctors filled a huge auditorium for a debate on whether it is time to adopt maintenance therapy for lung cancer, the nation’s leading cause of cancer death. Other cancers for which maintenance therapy is being used or tried include ovarian cancer, multiple myeloma and non-Hodgkin’s…

<!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> The strange and outright tragic truth behind the ulterior motives for the creation and continuance of Breast Cancer Awareness Month are both startling and eye-opening. On one hand, a cancer survivor may feel cheated or threatened, but at the same time there is a call to action when confronted with the fact that, for many pharmaceutical and chemical manufacturing companies, BCAM is merely another notch on the…

Are Fertility Drugs a Cancer Risk? "  Fertility medications appear to increase the development of uterine cancer, as well as some other forms of disease. Drugs used to stimulate ovulation have been used for quite some time to help women conceive children, but the drugs’ impact on the overall health of patients has never been clarified. Original studies conducted in response to this issue were inconclusive and led to few, if any, concrete findings. Whether these medicines actually contributed to a rise in ovarian or breast cancer has been hidden since these medicines came into existence many years ago. The…

In the closing stages of a hunt that has lasted over 15 years, researchers at the London Research Institute in Great Britain believe they have finally located the well-hidden cell "danger receptor." The danger receptor, found on certain specialized cells within the human body, is capable of sensing cell death, abnormalities, or malignant tissue, and signaling the mobilization of the boy’s immune system. These findings may shed light on the previously unknown workings of several cancer-fighting drugs that simulate the signaling of these receptors, thereby causing the immune system to respond and act against certain intruding cells. The researchers believe…

Prostate Cancer - New Information from the National Cancer Institute "  Recent findings concerning prostate cancer were published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. A lengthy direct quote from the source has been included below as a means of relating this information as straightforwardly as possible. The NCI research stated that, "The mitogenic and growth-stimulatory effects of insulin-like growth factors appear to play a role in prostate carcinogenesis, yet any direct association of circulating insulin levels and risk of prostate cancer remains unclear. We investigated the relationship of the level of serum insulin, glucose, and surrogate indices of…

In 1972, Jerry T. Thornthwaite presented a poster session with Professor, Dr. Bob Leif, at the annual Reticuloendothelial Society Meeting. The poster presented very unusual cells from the spleen (and later from the lymph nodes) of non-immunized mice that destroyed sheep red blood cells (SRBC) on contact. Thornthwaite came close to publishing the article in Science, but the conclusion proved it was more suitable for immunology journals and was later accepted. Defining the name of these cells was a challenge, but he was able to develop a way of enumerating them, determining density and enrichment in the linear bovine serum…

"  Ann Arbor, MI - As early as one week after beginning treatment for" brain tumors, a new imaging analysis method was able to predict which patients would live longer, researchers from the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center have found. Scans showing gliomas that did not (left) and did (right) respond to treatment. Top images are parametric response maps superimposed onto pre-treatment MRIs. Graphs show distribution of relative cerebral blood volume for entire tumor volume." Meet the ExpertsBrian Ross, Ph.D.Craig Galbán, Ph.D.Read the ReportDownload the images "  The method uses a standard" magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI, protocol to monitor changes over…

"  At the American Association for Cancer Research 100th Annual Meeting 2009 in Denver, National Cancer Institute (NCI) Director John E. Niederhuber, M.D., announced major details, such as funding more grants, development of a platform for personalized cancer care, and an accelerated cancer genetics program, that will move cancer research forward in this new economic environment. NCI is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). "We must hasten our progress against cancer by conducting exciting new science, which this year's increase in funding, in addition to anticipated funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, will help make possible,"…