Cancer

Prostate Cancer :: Obesity and overweight linked to higher prostate cancer mortality

Men who are overweight or obese when diagnosed with prostate cancer are at greater risk of death after treatment, according to a new study in the December 15, 2007 issue of CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society. The study, by Dr. Jason Efstathiou from Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and colleagues, found that a greater body mass index (BMI) at the time of cancer diagnosis was an independent risk factor for prostate cancer-related death.

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Lung Cancer :: Study identifies novel gene alterations in lung cancer

An international team of scientists, supported in part by the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), one of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), announced that its systematic effort to map the genomic changes underlying lung cancer has uncovered a critical gene alteration not previously linked to any form of cancer. The research, published in the advance online issue of the journal Nature, also revealed more than 50 genomic regions that are frequently gained or lost in lung adenocarcinoma, the most common type of lung cancer in the United States.

Prostate Cancer :: Men, don’t skip your prostate cancer treatment appointments!

Men with “low risk” prostate cancer who miss more than two radiation treatments in an eight week treatment face an increased chance of their cancer recurring. That is the conclusion of a new study examining more than 15 years of data and nearly 1,800 patients treated at Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia. The results were presented today at the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology’s 49th Annual Meeting in Los Angeles.

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Prostate Cancer :: Radiation seed implant decreases risk of death over watchful waiting

Prostate cancer patients cut their risk of dying of the disease in half when they receive radiation seed implants (brachytherapy) to treat their cancer, compared to those who don’t receive active treatment (watchful waiting/active surveillance), within six months from being diagnosed with localized prostate cancer, according to a study presented October 31, 2007, at the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology’s 49th Annual Meeting in Los Angeles.

Prostate Cancer :: Radiation after surgery keeps high-risk prostate cancer at bay

An analysis of data involving more than 2,000 patients from 17 U.S. institutions demonstrates that men with high-risk prostate cancer who receive radiation therapy after a prostatectomy were less likely to have a recurrence of disease. What’s more, men whose cancer persists after surgery were less likely to see the cancer spread if they receive radiation (salvage therapy). These are the conclusions of a study presented today at the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology’s 49th Annual Meeting in Los Angeles.