The latest in Cancer

Experts say US doctors overtesting, overtreating

2010-03-12T10:00:43Z

<div id="subtitle">Less is more: Rash of reports says too many Americans get too many medical tests despite risks</div><div><p>Too much cancer screening, too many heart tests, too many cesarean sections. A spate of recent reports suggest that too many Americans — maybe even President Barack Obama — are being overtreated.</p><p>Is it doctors practicing defensive medicine? Or are patients so accustomed to a...

Guidelines: Do medical tests later, less often

2010-03-12T02:45:19Z

<div id="subtitle">Are some medical tests overused? Some guidelines are scaling back on frequency, timing</div><div><p>Recent reports and guideline changes suggest some medical tests should be delayed, avoided, or done less often:</p><p>_ MAMMOGRAM: Most women don't need a mammogram in their 40s and they should get one every two years starting at 50, according to the Pfizer says Sutent fails to meet key goals in 2 late-stage breast cancer studies</div><div><p>Pfizer Inc. said Thursday the cancer drug Sutent did not meet key goals in two late-stage studies focusing on advanced breast cancer.</p><p>The drug is already sold as a treatment for advanced kidney cancer and gastrointestinal stromal cancer, which aff...

Pfizer ends study on potential lung cancer drug

2010-03-11T15:30:17Z

<div id="subtitle">Pfizer ends study on potential lung cancer drug, committee says it won't meet treatment goal</div><div><p>Pfizer Inc. said Thursday it discontinued a late-stage study of the drug candidate figitumumab in patients with late-stage lung cancer, citing a lack of effectiveness.</p><p>The company said an independent monitoring committee recommended stopping the study. It concluded that figitumu...

Watson says FDA approves 6-month dose Trelstar

2010-03-11T15:00:28Z

<div id="subtitle">Watson Pharmaceuticals says FDA approves 6-month dose of prostate cancer drug Trelstar</div><div><p>Watson Pharmaceuticals Inc. said the Food and Drug Administration approved a six-month dose of the prostate cancer drug Trelstar, which already was available in one- and three-month d...

Colorectal Cancer: What Increases Your Risk

2010-03-11T19:04:56Z

Colorectal cancer or large bowl cancer is the cancer in the colon, rectum and appendix.<br><br>These are abnormal growth of polyps that later develop cancerous.<br><br>The diagnosis is done through colonoscopy. The treatment is done by the surgery followed by chemotherapy.<br><br>Factors contributing towards colorectal cancer<br><br>Age: People in the age of 60s ? 70s have higher chances of developing this cancer as the risk increases with age.&...

Prostate test 'public health disaster': discoverer

2010-03-10T14:18:31Z

<div><p>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The most commonly used tool for detecting prostate cancer, routine PSA screening, has become "a hugely expensive public health disaster," its discoverer said on Wednesday.</p><p>Dr. Richard Ablin of the University of Arizona joined the ongoing deb...

Researchers back cancer-fighting properties of papaya

2010-03-09T12:18:52Z

<div><p>Researchers said Tuesday that papaya leaf extract and its tea have dramatic cancer-fighting properties against a broad range of tumors, backing a belief held in a number of folk traditions.</p><p>University of Florida researcher Nam Dang and colleagues in Japan, in a report published in the Journal of E...

Experiment seeks blood test for breast cancer

2010-03-09T11:30:16Z

<div><p>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An experimental approach that looks for the DNA leaking out from dead and dying cells may provide a route to a blood test for breast cancer, U.S. researchers reported on Tuesday.</p><p>An initial study showed the test detected 70 percent of breast cancer cases, and correctly cleared 100 percent of women who did not have...

sidebyside

2010-03-08T18:02:48Z

Liz Hurley visits Selfridges in honour of Breast Cancer Awareness to sign purchases from the Estee Lauder Pink Ribbon collection London, England - 16.10.08

Copyright 2008 US, European regulators</div><div><p>ImmunoGen Inc. said Monday the Food and Drug Administration and European regulators gave the company's potential cancer drug IMGN901 "orphan drug" statu...

Quest Diagnostics to offer new ovarian cancer test

2010-03-08T14:15:43Z

<div id="subtitle">Quest Diagnostics selling presurgical ovarian cancer test, cites improved treatment potential</div><div><p>Medical lab operator Quest Diagnostics Inc. said Monday it is selling the OVA1 blood test, which aims to better assess a woman's likelihood for ovarian cancer.</p><p>The OVA1 test, which was approved by the Reuters Health) - People with Parkinson's disease face an increased risk of the most deadly type of skin cancer, new research confirms.</p><p>Exams of more than 2,000 people with Parkinson's disease found that about 1 percent currently had melanoma, Dr. John M. Bertoni of the

Specialty may bias doctors' prostate cancer advice

2010-03-08T13:46:23Z

<div><p>NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - New research suggests that the type of specialist a prostate cancer patient sees -- rather than the patient's own preference -- may determine the treatment he receives.</p><p>This is problematic, the study's authors say, because none of the options now available for treating localized prostate cancer have been shown to be any better than the others.</p><p>"The...

Smoking tied to lung cancer in women with HIV

2010-03-05T13:30:18Z

<div><p>NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Women infected with HIV or at risk of becoming infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, appear more likely to develop lung cancer than women in the general population, possibly because they are much more likely to smoke cigarettes, study findings hint.</p><p>People with HIV have a much higher risk for many cancers. Still, it is unclear whether HIV infection plays a ...

Plant-focused diet may curb breast cancer risk

2010-03-04T13:30:09Z

<div><p>NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Diets high in vegetables, fruits and soy might cut the risk of developing breast cancer by 30 percent, new research suggests.</p><p>In a study, Dr. Lesley M. Butler, of Colorado State University and colleagues, noticed a trend of "dec...

Bladder tumor risk higher after childhood cancer

2010-03-04T13:18:06Z

<div><p>NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Childhood cancer survivors are at a four-fold increased risk of developing new cancers of the bladder later in life, new research shows.</p><p>But their risk is still very small; based on the findings, fewer than one-half of a percent of all childhood cancer survivors will be diagnosed with bladder cancer by age 55.</p><p>About three-quarters of children diagn...

Cancer society casts more doubt on prostate tests

2010-03-04T00:45:40Z

<div id="subtitle">American Cancer Society casts more doubt on value of regular testing for prostate cancer</div><div><p>Months after experts discounted the importance of routine mammograms and Pap smears for many women, the American Cancer Society is warning more explicitly than ever that regular testing for prostate cancer is of questionable value too, and can do men more harm than good.</p...

Sanofi drug shows promise against prostate cancer

2010-03-03T15:16:06Z

<div id="subtitle">Experimental drug modestly boosts survival in men with advanced prostate cancer, study finds</div><div><p>For the first time, an experimental drug has extended the lives of men with advanced prostate cancer who are no longer responding to other treatments and are out of options for fighting the disease, a company-led study found.</p><p>The benefit was modest — an extra 10 weeks — but cancer specialists were excited because no chemotherapy un...

Should men be tested for prostate cancer?

2010-03-03T13:46:03Z

<div id="subtitle">New advice on prostate cancer screening stresses talking about pros, cons before deciding</div><div><p>The American Cancer Society revised its guidelines for prostate cancer screening on Wednesday. The advocacy group is one of many organizations that make such recommendations. Some questions and answers:</p><p>Q: What's the advice?</p><p>A: The bottom l...