Cancer
Vitamin D and Calcium Supplements Failed in Canc…
Previous research suggested that high levels of vitamin D would protect people against colorectal cancer. People with high blood levels of this hormone/vitamin were more likely to survive. A big obser…
Is Drug Company Greed Out of Control?
Are drug companies killing the goose that lays their golden eggs? In this ancient fable, a farmer and his wife discover that their goose is laying golden eggs. They become so greedy that they slaughte…
Lymphoma as a Side Effect of Remicade
It can be difficult to weigh the benefits against the risks of medicines that are used to treat dreadful conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis. On the one hand, having a way to ease pain and permit …
Regular Aspirin Use Lowers Risk of Colon Cancer
Aspirin use can help prevent colon cancer, according to a report in the Annals of Internal Medicine. A study of more than 112,000 Danes took advantage of the country's excellent medical records that c…
Could Floating Poop Be A Sign of Celiac Disease?
Several years ago we heard from a concerned reader that his bowel movements floated. At first he worried it might be something really serious, like pancreatic cancer. But then he realized he would hav…
Doctors Lead Protest Against High Cancer Drug Pr…
The pharmaceutical industry has finally gone too far. Drug companies have bitten the hands that feed them. Oncologists are furious about the unconscionable costs of cancer drugs. In the Mayo Clinic Pr…
Is Ginseng Safe for Cancer Patient?
Mixing alternative remedies such as herbs with prescription drugs for treating serious problems such as cancer can be risky. It is always a good idea to check with the oncology team to see if they kno…
Leisure Time Exercise Helps Americans Live Longe…
The federal government issues physical activity guidelines for Americans from time to time. The latest of these came out in 2008, recommending that all of us get at least 150 minutes of moderate activ…
BCG Drug Shortage Puts Cancer Patient in Mortal …
For drug companies, a shortage of a medication is a business problem. For many patients, however, a drug shortage can be a lethal hazard. It is especially distressing when the drug in question is long…
Does Hair Dye Cause Cancer?
Q. I had bladder cancer, which was treated successfully with surgery. When I asked my doctor why people get this kind of cancer, he talked about smoking and exposure to dyes in manufacturing. I quit s…
Cancer Treatments Recruit the Immune System Agai…
A new category of anti-cancer drugs has been introduced over the past few years. These medications that work by modulating the immune system include pembrolizumab (Keytruda), nivolumab (Opdivo) and ip…
New Cancer Drugs Use the Immune System to Treat …
Cancer treatment is changing with the development of new agents that work through the immune system. A combination of two of the newer drugs, ipilimumab (Yervoy) and nivolumab (Opdivo), works better t…
New Drugs Show Promise Against Melanoma and Lung…
A new cancer drug, pembrolizumab (Keytruda), produced encouraging results for melanoma patients. It was approved last year for patients whose melanoma had not responded to ipilimumab (Yervoy). In the …
To Lower Liver Cancer Risk, Drink Coffee, Not Al…
People who consume three or more alcoholic beverages a day increase their risk for liver cancer. That includes beer, wine and distilled liquor beverages. But coffee may counteract that danger. Scienti…
Herbicide Is Named Probable Carcinogen
The International Agency for Research on Cancer has stirred up controversy with its evaluation of two pesticides as probable carcinogens. The compounds are malathion, commonly used in mosquito control…
Booster Shot May Boost Brain Cancer Treatment
Glioblastoma is a type of brain cancer that is extremely hard to treat. People diagnosed with this condition usually survive for little more than a year. But a new treatment developed at Duke Cancer I…
Helping the Immune System Find and Fight Cancer
Two articles in The New England Journal of Medicine regarding a new class of anticancer drugs show substantial benefit. Nivolumab [pronounced nye vol' ue mab] is a monoclonal antibody that blocks a pr…
Vitamin D Aids Cancer Survival
Researchers at the American Society of Cancer Oncology report that clinical trial participants with newly diagnosed colorectal cancer fared better if they had higher blood levels of vitamin D. The pat…
New Melanoma Drug Approved
The FDA has just approved a new drug for hard-to-treat melanoma. Opdivo is for those whose skin cancer has not responded to previous treatments, including Yervoy. Opdivo is a PD-1 blocking antibody, s…
Bisphosphonates Do Double Duty
Women taking common medications to prevent osteoporosis may get an added benefit. Nitrogen-containing bisphosphonates such as risedronate (Actonel), ibandronate (Boniva), alendronate (Fosamax) and zol…
Is Metformin a Modern Miracle Medicine?
One of the most interesting drugs on pharmacy shelves is an old diabetes medication called metformin (Glucophage). Where It Came From In medieval Europe, healers used French lilac (Galega officinalis)…
Curry Spice to Fight Cancer
Curcumin, the active compound in the curry spice turmeric, has been shown to have anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer activity. Researchers have just determined that curcumin in combination with a cance…
How Much Will Daily Aspirin Cut Your Risk of Can…
An aspirin a day may keep cancer at bay. That is the conclusion from a massive new analysis of 200 aspirin studies. Epidemiologists evaluated the benefits and harms of taking aspirin for at least 10 y…
Vitamin D Supplements Reduce Mortality Among Can…
Many studies have previously shown that people with high circulating levels of vitamin D are less prone to a variety of cancers. Now, a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials shows that cancer …
Vitamin D Deficiency Increases the Risk of Cance…
People with Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis are often deficient in vitamin D. Researchers in Boston wondered whether a lack of vitamin D would make them even more vulnerable to developing cancer…
Will the High Cost of Breakthrough Drugs Break t…
Cancer has become a cash cow for drug companies. Over the last decade the cost of life-saving medications has soared to an average $10,000 a month. Although pharmaceutical manufacturers maintain that …
Adequate Vitamin D Levels Are Linked to Better C…
Vitamin D may be protective for many kinds of cancer. A Chinese meta-analysis of 25 studies including more than 17,000 cancer patients found that those who had higher levels of vitamin D in their bo…
Low-Dose Aspirin Aids Survival after Colon Cance…
A Dutch study of nearly 1,000 colon cancer patients who went through surgery between 2002 and 2008 found that those who had been given a prescription for aspirin after being diagnosed with colon cance…
Aspirin Offers Protection against Ovarian Cancer
A very old drug may provide some valuable protection against a sneaky killer. Data from 12 large epidemiological studies were pooled and analyzed. The investigators compared 8,000 women with ovarian c…
IV Vitamin C Offers Surprising Power Against Ova…
Linus Pauling was a strong advocate for high-dose vitamin C, not just for the common cold, but also against cancer. Until now, there hasn't been much evidence to support the use of this nutrient as an…
Genetic Engineering Offers Promise for Treating …
A new treatment for certain blood cancers is creating excitement in normally cautious researchers. At the annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology in New Orleans, scientists presented the …
Sensitive CT Imaging to Detect Lung Cancer Leads…
When many people hear about a diagnosis of lung cancer they assume it is a death sentence. Long-term survival statistics are not very encouraging. But a new study in the journal JAMA Internal Medici…
Diabetes Drug Metformin Makes Lung Cancer Cells …
There is growing evidence that the diabetes drug metformin can help fight cancer, including colon, breast, prostate and lung cancer. Metformin Against Lung Cancer: The latest study suggests that th…
Scientists Working Toward Pinpointing Exposures …
Scientists have just developed a way to determine whether environmental exposures were responsible for an individual's cancer. Mass spectrometry combined with statistical analysis of archived biopsy s…
Future May Hold Blood Test for Early Detection o…
An old test for ovarian cancer is showing new promise. Doctors have been debating the value of a blood test called CA-125 for decades. Ovarian cancer is often a killer because it is hard to detect at …
Low-Dose Aspirin Slows Tumor Spread
Low-dose aspirin is linked to a lower likelihood of some tumors growing and spreading, according to a study from Sweden. The researchers reviewed records from 80,000 patients in the cancer registries …
Citrus Pectin May Have Anti-Cancer Benefits
Grandma always said to eat plenty of fruit and vegetables. Now scientists at the University of Maryland have completed a comprehensive review of the benefits of modified citrus pectin, and it seems th…
Vegetable Compound Outwits Cancer Cells
A compound found in vegetables like celery, parsley artichokes and spinach as well as red wine and chamomile tea may play a key role in controlling cancer cells. Cancer cells are resistant to normal c…
Heartburn Could Signal Cancer Risk
People who regularly suffer from reflux or heartburn seem to be at a higher risk for cancer of the larynx and pharynx. The research compared people with throat and vocal cord cancers to matched contro…
Are Diabetes Drugs Linked to Pancreatic Cancer?
Some popular diabetes drugs have been linked to problems with the pancreas. The FDA recently issued a warning about an increased risk of pancreatitis and pre-cancerous changes in the pancreas. The dru…