In The News

Research: Find Could Halt Cancers
Adelaide Advertiser, 11 January 2008, p27

British scientists have unlocked a secret to how cancer spreads around the body. The breakthrough could help pave the way for a generation of drugs that would halt up to 90% of cancers. The disease spreads when cancerous cells break away and multiply. Researcher Dr Chris Ward showed that a protein called E-cadherin is essential to keeping cells stuck together. When levels of E-cadherin fall, other proteins move to the surface and they are able to flee and spread. Researchers now aim to create drugs that interfere with this process.

Lung Cancer 'Link to Lack of Sun'
BBC News, 18 December 2007

Lack of sunlight may increase the risk of lung cancer, a study suggests. Researchers found lung cancer rates were highest in countries furthest from the equator, where exposure to sunlight is lowest. It is thought vitamin D - generated by exposure to sunlight - can halt tumour growth by promoting the factors responsible for cell death in the body. The University of California, San Diego study appears in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.

Cancer Killed Almost 8 Million Worldwide in 2007
HealthDay News, 17 December 2008

Cancer continues to cut a deadly swathe across the globe, with the American Cancer Society reporting 12 million new cases of malignancy diagnosed worldwide in 2007, with 7.6 million people dying from the disease. The report, Global Cancer Facts & Figures, finds that 5.4 million of those cancers and 2.9 million deaths are in more affluent, developed nations, while 6.7 million new cancer cases and 4.7 million deaths hit people in developing countries.

Green Tea May Reduce Prostate Cancer Risk
Reuters Tokyo, 19 December 2007

Drinking green tea may reduce the risk of advanced prostate cancer, according to a study by researchers at Japan's National Cancer Center. According to the report, men who drank five or more cups a day might halve the risk of developing advanced prostate cancer compared with those who drank less than one cup a day. The study, published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, compiled data from 50,000 men aged 40-69 over a period of up to 14 years from 1990.

Cancer Docs' Bedside Manner Often Lacks Empathy
HealthDay News, 19 December 2007

Most cancer specialists do not respond to the emotional concerns of their patients with verbal expressions of empathy and support, a new study reveals. The finding suggests that cancer patients' quality of life might be significantly improved if doctors were better trained to recognize and address patients' emotional concerns as they battle the disease. Pollak's team published its findings in the Dec. 20 issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology.