SCCA Cancer News Watch 
SCCA's compilation of important cancer news from around the world.
| 2009
Eating Mix of Fruits, Veggies May Cut Lung Cancer Risk
A new study, published this week in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, finds that eating a diverse diet of veggies and fruit can decrease your risk of developing lung cancer, especially if you are a smoker. Read more
Palliative Care Extends Life
In a study that sheds new light on the effects of end-of-life care, doctors have found that patients with terminal lung cancer who began receiving palliative care immediately upon diagnosis not only were happier, more mobile and in less pain as the end neared — but they also lived nearly three months longer. Read more
Putting Cancer on the Global Health Agenda
Most people who die from cancer are in the developing world. Yet cancer is seldom included in discussions about global health. SCCA's Dr. Julie Gralow makes the case for putting cancer on the global health agenda. Read more
DNA Test May Speed Colon Cancer Diagnosis
A new generation of DNA tests for colon cancer seems likely to improve the detection both of cancers and of the precancerous polyps that precede them. The tests, if validated, could reduce the burden of disease substantially by detecting tumors at an early stage, including those not picked up by a colonoscopy. Read more
Blacks Face Bone Marrow Donor Shortage
Bone marrow transplants are dependent on patients finding donors with a similar genetic makeup. For most the match is found in someone of the same race. But the black community has a particularly tough time attracting donors. Read more
Gaps Found in Breast Cancer Testing
One-fifth of American women ages 50 to 74 have fallen behind on mammography screenings for breast cancer, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are reporting. Read more
Fish-Oil Supplements May Cut Breast-Cancer Risk
Researchers at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center have found that fish-oil supplements may lower the risk of breast cancer. Read more
U.S. Cancer Death Rate Continues to Drop
The number of deaths due to cancer continues to decline in the United States, according to new statistics from the American Cancer Society. Read more
Colon Cancer Screenings Up, Breast Rate Stalled
More older Americans are getting tested for colon cancer, with nearly two out of three getting recommended screenings. Meanwhile, rates for breast cancer screening remain stuck on a higher plateau, according to a government report released Tuesday. Read more
The Prostate Cancer Quandary
Scientists may soon be able to answer the agonizing question facing men with prostate cancer: Does their cancer need immediate treatment or can it be left alone? Read more
Cancer Survivors Urged to Exercise
New guidelines are urging survivors to exercise more, even — hard as it may sound — those who haven't yet finished their treatment.
Mysterious Link Connects Diabetes And Cancer
Most people wouldn't think diabetes and cancer have anything to do with each other. But a group of experts from the American Cancer Society and the American Diabetes Association thinks they do. Read more
Overtreating Earliest Cancers — But Which Ones?
It's an unthinkable notion for a generation raised on the message that early cancer detection saves lives, but specialists say more tumors actually are being found too early. Read more
Cancer Survivors Skipping Medical Care
Cancer survivors are more likely to forgo or delay medical treatment because of health care costs, according to a new study published in the journal Cancer. Read more
U.S. Cigarettes Contain More Cancer-Causing Chemicals
All cigarettes are not created equal, according to CDC scientists who say those made in the USA are more dangerous than foreign brands... Read more
Findings May Alter Care for Early Breast Cancer
For many women with early-stage breast cancer, treatment may become considerably less arduous, researchers say. Read more
People Survive Longer With Throat Cancer Caused By Virus
Patients with throat cancers caused by HPV — the human papillomavirus — have better chances at surviving their illnesses than patients whose cancers don't have a viral culprit. Read more
Breast Cancer Vaccine Successful in Mice
Scientists at Ohio's Cleveland Clinic are touting a new prototype vaccine to prevent breast cancer as "promising." Read more
Link Between Tanning Beds, Melanoma Grows Stronger
Strong evidence now links tanning beds to melanoma, a deadly form of skin cancer that afflicts nearly 69,000 Americans a year. Read more
Ovarian-Cancer Screening Shows Promise
Researchers may finally be closing in on a way to screen healthy women for ovarian cancer - a disease that rarely shows symptoms until it's too late to cure. Read more
People with AIDS More Likely to Develop Cancers
As people live longer with AIDs, they are becoming far more likely than the rest of the population to develop cancers that were not previously associated with the virus... Read more
Study: Cellphone-Brain Cancer Link Inconclusive
A major international study into the link between cellphone use and two types of brain cancer has proved inconclusive, according to a study... Read more
Annals of Innovation: The Treatment
Malcolm Gladwell looks at why cancer drugs are so difficult to develop. Read the abstract
Easing Bone Marrow Transplants to Widen Their Use
Bone marrow transplants are undergoing a quiet revolution: No longer just for cancer, research is under way to ease the risks so they can target more people with diseases from sickle cell to deadly metabolic disorders. Read more
US Cancer Costs Double in 20 Years
The cost of treating cancer has doubled over the past 20 years, but those costs are in line with overall trends in health spending. Read more
New Alarm Bells About Chemicals and Cancer
The President’s Cancer Panel is the Mount Everest of the medical mainstream, so it is astonishing to learn that it is poised to join ranks with the organic food movement and declare: chemicals threaten our bodies. Read more
Prostate Cancer Drug Approved
This week the Federal Food and Drug Administration approved Provenge, a new type of drug for treating prostate cancer. SCCA 's Celestia Higano was one of the lead investigators for the study. Initially Provenge will be available on a very limited basis here at SCCA. Click to learn more about Provenge at SCCA.
Five-minute Colon Cancer Test Could Save Thousands
A five-minute colon cancer test could reduce the number of deaths from the disease by 40 percent, a new study says. Read more
Second Life: Moving Beyond Cancer
An inspiring collage of cancer survivors have posted their photos and answered the question, "How is life different after cancer?" Read more
New PSA Test May Predict Prostate Cancer's Aggressiveness
An updated version of the standard prostate cancer test can help improve predictions about which men might not require immediate treatment, researchers report. Read more
Seattle Biotech Firm on Verge of a Groundbreaking Cancer Vaccine
SCCA patient Bob Feutz is featured in a front page article that appeared this weekend concerning the pending approval of Provenge, a vaccine for prostate cancer that was trialed here at SCCA. Read more
Insurance Company Routinely Targets Breast Cancer Patients
That tens of thousands of Americans lost their health insurance shortly after being diagnosed with life-threatening, expensive medical conditions has been well documented by law enforcement agencies... Read more
Lung Scans Can Lead to Many False Alarms
Screening smokers for cancer with lung scans can lead to a high rate of false alarms, unneeded tests and biopsies, a new study suggests. Read more
Stem-cell, Marrow Donors Rise
Donating blood stem cells or bone marrow to assist patients fighting blood or immune disorders has never been easier, or more popular. Read more
Eating Vegetables Doesn’t Stop Cancer
A major study tracking the eating habits of 478,000 Europeans suggests that consuming lots of fruits and vegetables has little if any effect on preventing cancer. Read more
Test to Warn Smokers of Lung Cancer Danger
Scientists may have found a way to tell which smokers are at highest risk of developing lung cancer: measuring a telltale genetic change inside their windpipes. Read more
New Type of Ultrasound Might Substitute for Some Biopsies
Every year in the United States, more than 5 million biopsies are performed on suspicious tissue from all parts of the body, primarily to detect cancer. Read more
One-third of Breast Cancer is Avoidable
Up to a third of breast cancer cases in Western countries could be avoided if women ate less and exercised more... Read more
Nonmelanoma Skin Cancer Cases Soar
The most common cancer in the United States is nonmelanoma skin cancer, but the exact number of cases is unknown because they are generally not tracked by cancer registries. Now, a new study reports that Americans are developing those cancers at record numbers... Read more
Balding May Cut Prostate Cancer Risk
Here's potentially good news for balding men, especially young balding men who may be distressed by their lack of locks... Read more
In Cancer Fight, Teenagers Don’t Fit In
While overall survival rates are as high as 70 to 80 percent.... teenagers have not benefited from the huge advances in survival made by younger children and much older adults in recent decades. Read more
ACS Says Let Men Decide on Prostate Screening
For the first time since 2001, the American Cancer Society has updated its advice on prostate cancer screening. And the upshot is that now more than ever men need to talk with their doctors about whether having a PSA test makes sense for them. .. Read More
Oral Cancer's Toll Cruel
It brought a tough, All-Star NBA coach to tears this week. And it stilled the voice of a famous film critic. Head and neck cancers are rare, but known to be severe -- they can strip away a person's voice, distort the face and rob the basic abilities to eat, drink and swallow. The cancer can be so disfiguring, some patients seldom appear in public. Read more
Aspirin May Help Prevent Return of Breast Cancer
Breast cancer survivors who took aspirin after completing treatment were half as likely to die or have their tumors spread around the body compared with survivors who didn't take aspirin, a long-running study of 4,164 nurses showed. Read more
Millions Missing Colon Cancer Screening
Nearly half the people who need potentially lifesaving checks for the nation's No. 2 cancer killer - colorectal cancer - miss them, despite years of public efforts to make colon screening as widespread as tests for breast and prostate cancer. Read more
Results Unproven, Robotic Surgery Wins Converts
Last year, 73,000 American men — 86 percent of the 85,000 who had prostate cancer surgery — had robot-assisted operations... Read more
Racial Disparities Persist in Cancer Diagnosis
The incidence of advanced breast cancer diagnosis among black women remained 30 percent to 90 percent higher compared to white women between 1992 and 2004, according to new findings by researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. Read more
A World of Difference
Today is World Cancer Day. Most of us, however, are affected by cancer every day—by the memories of loved ones we've lost, by the struggle for survival that friends and family members are enduring, or by our own experiences battling the disease. Tragically, far too many people who should beat cancer die from it. In fact, 40 percent of all cancer is preventable and one-third can be cured if detected early and treated effectively. Read more
Ovarian Cancer Symptoms Speak Out — But What Are They Really Saying?
It used to be accepted that ovarian cancer was a “silent killer.” However, recent data have reproducibly demonstrated that the vast majority of patients with ovarian cancer have symptoms for at least several months before their diagnosis. Read more
Living With a Formerly Fatal Blood Cancer
Before 2000, fewer than half of CML patients survived seven years; now nearly 90 percent are alive seven years after diagnosis and ... lead relatively normal lives. Read more
New Breast Screening Limits Face Reversal
Annual mammograms, seemingly on their way out under new federal guidelines last year, may be coming back. The final health-care bill is likely to require coverage for more mammograms than the new guidelines recommend after women's groups, doctors and imaging-equipment makers stepped up pressure on lawmakers -- one of many threads of the bill negotiated behind the scenes. Read more
| 2009
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