Articles

Urothelial (transitional) bladder carcinoma, the most common type of bladder cancer, has mutations in genes that function in chromatin remodeling, affecting the way DNA is packaged, duplicated, and processed during cell division. Gui et al from China examined this issue in a study just published online in Nature Genetics. Common chromatin remodeling genes include UTX, MLL-MLL3, CREBBP-EP300, NCOR1, ARID1A, and CHD6. Read More ›

Functional, psychological, and emotional well-being is of utmost importance to cancer patients. Macmillan Cancer Support has published Move More, a report highlighting the benefits of exercise for enhancing quality of life (QOL) in cancer survivors. How exercise affects functional capacity, muscular strength, body composition, nausea, fatigue, personality functioning, mood states, self-esteem, and QOL are summarized in the report. Read More ›

Music therapy can reduce anxiety in cancer patients, and it may also have positive effects on mood, pain, and quality of life according to a new Cochrane systematic review led by Dr Joke Bradt, an associate professor at the College of Nursing and Health Professions at Drexel University.

Flaxseed may guard healthy tissues and organs from the harmful effects of radiation, according to researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. The study demonstrated that a diet of flaxseed given to mice protected lung tissues before exposure to radiation and caused a noticeable reduction in damage after exposure occurred.

Individuals who smoke a cigarette soon after waking in the morning may have a higher risk of developing lung and head and neck cancers than those individuals who abstain from smoking right away, according to 2 new studies from Penn State College of Medicine.

Joshua Muscat, professor of public health sciences, and colleagues investigated whether nicotine dependence (as characterized by the time between waking and the first cigarette) affects smokers’ risk of lung and head and neck cancers.

A faulty copy of a DNA repair gene called RAD51D increases a woman’s risk of developing ovarian cancer to 1 in 11 compared to 1 in 70 in the general population, according to a study led by Professor Nazneen Rahman at The Institute of Cancer Research. Furthermore, because a class of drugs already exists that shows potential in targeting affected cells, there is hope that personalized treatment will be available soon.

Sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy, a common procedure to determine whether melanoma has spread, can be utilized safely and effectively even with tumors in the head and neck area according to a new study from the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center.

SLN biopsy is routinely offered to patients with melanoma meeting or exceeding a certain size. However, many surgeons believed the intricate anatomy combined with the crucial nerves and blood vessels in the head and neck area created an unsafe and inaccurate setting for an SLN biopsy of that region.

A recently developed urine test can assist in the early detection of and treatment decisions regarding prostate cancer, a study from the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center and the Michigan Center for Translational Pathology finds.

The test is designed to supplement an elevated PSA screening result. While defining those men at highest risk for clinically significant prostate cancer, the test could also delay or negate the need for a needle biopsy in some patients.

In its update of its technology assessment guidelines on chemotherapy sensitivity and resistance assays (CSRAs), the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) cautioned against the use of this technology to select chemotherapeutic agents for individual patients. Rather, the guidelines recommend that oncologists “make chemotherapy treatment recommendations based on published reports of clinical trials and a patient's health status and treatment preferences.”