That Dirty Word Sequester & Its Terrible Effect on Cancer Research & Treatment

That dirty word, sequester is making it mark, especially medical and cancer research. Hospitals and researchers are feeling the pain directly and hard. The National Institutes of Health (NIH), for example, is cutting an estimated $1.6 billion from its budget through the end of the fiscal year. They have sent a letter to all of [...]

Statin Use And Better Prostate Cancer Outcomes

Not approved, not even tested with an appropriate clinical trial, but research has again shown that the use of statins in men with prostate cancer may have a lower risk of dying from the cancer than those who do not. In a study of 1,001 prostate cancer patients who were diagnosed between 2002 and 2005, [...]

Evaluating the Validity of Cancer Research Reports

One of the most common gripes I hear (and one that I often express) is that Medical news changes often. How often do we hear of a "breakthrough" only to be disputed the next week. It is confusing and it is difficult to know what news to believe and whether we should change a practice, [...]

Tissue Study Could Reshape Advanced Prostate Cancer Treatment & Bio-Markers

A comprehensive study of prostate cancer tissue done in the UK has revealed that a completely new gene network takes over driving the cancer in men who are castrate resistant. The research was published in Cancer Cell. Researchers at the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Research Institute, at the University of Cambridge studied tissue samples from [...]

From 2012 AACR Meeting – Resveratrol Effects Prostate Cancer Cells

Resveratrol (3,4’-trihydroxystilbene) is a natural product that can be found in significant concentrations food products like red wine, peanuts, walnuts etc. There have been some evidence that indicates that resveratrol has anti-tumorigenic activity, including in prostate cancer tumors. The precise mechanism associated with resveratrol-induced SIRT1 activation and cancer cell growth inhibition remains unclear, but we [...]

Why Are Gay Men and Lesbians Excluded From Medical Studies?

One question that needs more attention is why are gay men and lesbians excluded from participating in certain medical studies? A little over a year ago a letter written by three scientists from the Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia appeared in The New England Journal of Medicine. The letter cited several dozen clinical trials [...]

A Lethal Form Of Prostate Cancer Attacked By A Targeted Drug Already In Clinical Trials

In today's issue of Cancer Discovery a group of international researchers report that an investigational drug had a dramatic response in animal models of neuroendocrine prostate cancer, a lethal form of the disease. The researchers pointed out that fewer than 2% of prostate tumors in men are initially diagnosed as neuroendocrine, but many of the [...]

The Impact of Hypertriglyceridemia On Prostate Cancer Development in Men Over 60 Years

An interesting, but it makes sense type of study, was discussed about the relationship between high levels of triglycerides (TG) and the development of prostate cancer, including more aggresive prostate cancer. It of course follows suite that prostate cancer diagnosed with higher gleason scores (more aggressive) leads to more advanced prostate cancer. This study which [...]

Genome-wide Association Study Identifies a Genetic Variant Associated with Risk for More Aggressive Prostate Cancer

It is estimated that in the United States 200,000 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer each year with approximately 20% to 30% having clinically aggressive prostate cancer. When diagnosed the standard is to consider factors such as Gleason score and tumor stage to assess a man’s prognosis, however there are no biomarkers to identify [...]

A Provenge Like Treatment Demonstrates Extraordinary Results Treating Leukemia – A Phase I Trial Using the Technique In Post Chemo Prostate Cancer Treatment

The most exciting news today is about some research performed at the University of Pennsylvania where researchers took blood from the three leukemia patients and isolated the T cells, a type of immune cell in the blood. T cells recognize invading organisms and kill them, however they do not recognize cancer cells as invading cells, [...]

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