Healing Psyche

Low levels of LDL cholesterol as well as high levels are associated with cancer in patients with type 2 diabetes, found a prospective cohort study published in CMAJ.

Factors such as age at menopause as well as a woman's breastfeeding practices can influence her risk of developing certain types of breast cancer.

Two independent research groups have found that simultaneous inhibition of two signaling pathways -- mTOR and MAPK signaling pathways -- results in substantially enhanced antitumor effects when compared with inhibition of either pathway alone in mouse models of prostate and breast cancer.

New research may explain why breast cancer tends to be more aggressive in women with denser breast tissue. Breast cancer cells grown in dense, rigid surroundings step up their invasive activities, according to a new article in Current Biology.

Feelings of happiness and optimism play a positive role against breast cancer. New research suggests that while staying positive has a protective role, adverse life events such as the loss of a parent or close relative, divorce or the loss of a spouse can increase a woman's risk of developing the disease.

Breast cancer patients and their physicians may make more informed, long-term treatment decisions using risk assessment strategies to help determine probability of recurrence, researchers reported.

The use of doxorubicin followed by zoledronic acid reduced tumor size substantially in a mouse model of breast cancer that does not have bone metastases.

Breast cancer survivors continue to have a substantial risk of disease recurrence after five years of systemic therapy, according to a study in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Among breast cancer patients who were cancer-free five years after initiating systemic therapy, 89 percent remained recurrence-free at five years (approximately 10 years after a woman's initial diagnosis) and 80 percent remained recurrence free at 10 years (approximately 15 years after diagnosis).

Scientists have identified a way to "switch off" a molecule, a key player in the molecular processes that trigger breast cancer and certain forms of leukaemia.

The discomfort of a mammogram can drive some women to avoid the valuable screening, occasionally with dire consequences. Now a new procedure, dedicated breast computed tomography (CT), promises to take the pain out of breast cancer detection.

Human Genome Sciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: HGSI) announced that it has completed the enrollment and initial dosing of patients in a randomized Phase 2 trial of HGS-ETR1 (mapatumumab) in combination with the chemotherapy agents paclitaxel and carboplatin as first-line therapy in advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Chemical engineers from Johns Hopkins University have broken the "mucus barrier," engineering the first drug-delivery particles capable of passing through human mucus - regarded by many as nearly impenetrable - and carrying medication that could treat a range of diseases. Those conditions include lung cancer, cervical cancer and cystic fibrosis, the research noted in a presentation scheduled for the 236th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society.

NovaRx Corporation announced that the company initiated its pivotal Phase III clinical trial of Lucanix(R) (belagenpumatucel-L) in the treatment of advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The first patient enrolled in the study was treated by Dr. Lyudmila Bazhenova the trial's principal investigator at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine.

New research suggests that cadmium is one of the critical ingredients causing emphysema, and even low-level exposure attained through second-hand smoke and other means may also increase the chance of developing lung disease. The University of Michigan School of Public Health study suggests that higher cadmium levels in the body as much as double the risk of developing a pulmonary disease diagnosis such as emphysema or chronic bronchitis.

Researchers at Van Andel Institute (VAI) and Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research have identified an important enzyme required for cancer cell survival. Lowering levels of the enzyme caused a wide variety of cancer cells to die, reduced proliferation of cancer cells, and sensitized cancer cells to commonly used chemotherapeutic agents, such as the drug Taxol. The cells in the study included pancreatic, prostate, and lung cancer cells.

A previously unrecognized group of air pollutants could have effects remarkably similar to harmful substances found in tobacco smoke, Louisiana scientists are reporting in a study scheduled for presentation at the 236th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society. Inhaling those pollutants exposes the average person up to 300 times more free radicals daily than from smoking one cigarette, they added.

Accuray Incorporated (Nasdaq: ARAY), a global leader in the field of radiosurgery, announced that emerging clinical data continues to support CyberKnife radiosurgery for the treatment of lung cancer, following a study published in the July 2008 issue of Clinical Lung Cancer.

Cangen Biotechnologies, Inc. and Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd. (DNP) of Japan are pleased to announce that they will move forward with a clinical trial phase of an early stage lung cancer diagnostic.

A combination of chemotherapy agents that have been tested in other tumor types appears to be a promising alternative to standard treatment for advanced non-small cell lung cancer, according to a report in the August 15 issue of Clinical Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

Shahriyour Andaz, MD, FACS, FRCS, Director of Thoracic Oncology at South Nassau Communities Hospital, is the co-author of two studies that earned honors at the Brooklyn and Long Island Chapter of the American College of Surgeons Murry Friedman Surgical Resident Competition.