michael c hall

2010-03-16T18:16:54Z

Michael C. Hall arrives at a West Hollywood restaurant to meet a friend for lunch. The Dexter star, who has has been battling Hodgkin's Lymphoma, will finish his long and grueling cancer treatment with a chemotherapy session this week. Los Angeles, California - 15.03.10

Myriad breast cancer patent very broad, study finds

2010-03-16T16:00:42Z

<div><p>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Myriad Genetics' disputed patent on the BRCA1 breast cancer gene is "surprisingly broad" and could interfere with future research, three experts said on Tuesday.</p><p>Their ongoing research indicates some other gene patents are similarly extensive, covering stretches of DNA that have nothing to do with th...

Age likely a factor in colon cancer chemotherapy

2010-03-16T16:00:19Z

<div><p>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Older patients with colon cancer are less likely to receive chemotherapy after surgery than younger people but have fewer serious side-effects when they do get the treatment, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday.</p><p>When older patients do receive the treatment, it tends to be at a less toxic dose and over a shorter period than younger patients receive, according to a study in t...

Science wins key battles but could cancer win the war?

2010-03-16T15:17:09Z

<div><p>Despite huge advances in prevention and treatment, cancer is poised to become the leading cause of death worldwide as people refuse to ditch bad habits and the population ages, experts said Tuesday.</p><p>In the United States, medical advances and education campaigns have helped slash the death rate from cancer by nearly 16 percent in 20 years, Reuters) - Genetic tests designed to predict how well lung cancer patients will fare after treatment do very little to guide doctors, government researchers said on Tuesday.</p><p>Their review of studies aiming to show a gene signature for lung tumors found serious problems in the design and analysis of the studies.</p><p>Researchers need some clear guidelines to follow in wh...

Vitamin B6 ingredient linked to lower colorectal cancer risk: study

2010-03-16T13:16:32Z

<div><p>Vitamin B6 appears to play a beneficial role in preventing colon cancer, a study published Tuesday concluded.</p><p>Researchers led by Susanna Larsson of Sweden's National Institute of Environmental medicine traced the beneficial effects to pyridoxal-phosphate (PLP), the main active coenzyme form of vitamin B6.</p><p>"Vitamin B6 intake and blood PL...

US 'winning battles but still fighting war on cancer'

2010-03-16T10:17:45Z

<div><p>Despite huge strides in treatment over the past four decades, cancer remains the second leading cause of death in the United States, claiming the lives of 560,000 people last year, a report said Tuesday.</p><p>The report in a special edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association...

New radiation therapy shows promise in lung cancer

2010-03-16T09:45:59Z

<div><p>CHICAGO (Reuters) - Aiming powerful beams of radiation precisely at tumors helped control their growth and helped people with early stage but inoperable lung cancer live longer, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday.</p><p>They said intensive radiation therapy -- done in one to five treatments instead ...

US winning battles but still fighting war on cancer: reports

2010-03-16T08:15:44Z

<div><p>US doctors and scientists have made huge strides in the fight against cancer in the past four decades, slashing the death rate by nearly 16 percent, a report published Tuesday showed.</p><p>But cancer remained the second leading cause of death in the United States last year, striking 1.5 million people and claiming the lives of 560,000 of them, the report in a special edition of the BioSante pancreatic cancer treatment 'orphan drug' designation</div><div><p>BioSante Pharmaceuticals has received orphan drug status for its potential pancreatic cancer treatment, the company said Monday.</p><p>The company said the Food and Drug Administration<...

Growing doubts over standard prostate cancer test

2010-03-13T12:15:38Z

<div><p>The most commonly used prostate cancer screening procedure, PSA, is at the center of a growing debate after its discoverer said it had become a "hugely expensive public health disaster."</p><p>In a commentary in The New York Times, Richard Ablin of the Uni...

Experts say even Obama getting too many med tests

2010-03-12T13:45:11Z

<div id="subtitle">Experts say Americans getting too many medical tests, maybe even President Obama</div><div><p>Too much cancer screening, too many heart tests, too many cesarean sections. A spate of recent reports suggests that many Americans are being overtreated. Maybe even President Barack Obama, champion of an overhaul and cost-cutting of the health care system.</p><p>Is it doctors practicing defens...

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...

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