40% women lung cancer patients in Goa non-smokers, likely victims of passive smoking

Almost 40% of women in Goa who have lung cancer do not smoke themselves, which means it is likely that they are victims of `passive smoking’, an anti-tobacco NGO has said. The National Organisation for Tobacco Eradication (NOTE) said yesterday that there has been a rise in the number of women in the state who smoke. The overall percentage of smokers in the state’s population has dwindled in the last three decades, it said. NOTE India president Dr Shekhar Salkar told reporters that almost 40% of the women diagnosed with…

Read More

Novel treatment for cancer: Immunotherapy trials show promise in curing the disease

In the winter of 2013, Sue Scott, then 36, had already planned her own funeral. Her cervical cancer was spreading fast. Multiple rounds of chemotherapy, radiation and surgery had all failed. Tumours were invading her liver and colon, and squeezing her ureters. Her last chance was to enroll in an experimental trial in which doctors were trying to partially replace patients’ immune systems with T-cells that would specifically attack cancers caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV), a common sexually transmitted infection. Within a few months, her tumours completely disappeared. This…

Read More

Beware, these are the types of cancer where patients are at higher risk of committing suicide

Patients with prostate, bladder or kidney cancers are five times more likely to commit suicide, a survey led by an Indian-origin scientist has found. The analysis also showed that cancer patients are about three times more likely to commit suicide than the general population. The proportion of attempted suicides which result in a completed or successful suicide was higher in cancer patients, with a higher proportion still in patients with urological cancers. Severe psychological stress is one of the main side-effects of both a diagnosis of cancer and the treatment,…

Read More

Ladies, do you have normal BMI and higher body fat levels? You are at risk of breast cancer

Postmenopausal women with normal body mass index (BMI), but with higher body fat levels are at an increased risk of developing breast cancer, a study warns. Body fat levels are typically measured via BMI, which is a ratio of weight to height. While BMI may be a convenient method to estimate body fat, it is not an exact way to determine whole body fat levels, as muscle mass and bone density cannot be distinguished from fat mass. The study included participants who had a normal BMI (between 18.5 to 25.0) and…

Read More

Are you at risk? Absence of this gene can give men a deadly cancer

A study has recently revealed that men who lack a certain gene subtype may be more susceptible to treatment-resistant prostate cancer. Researchers from Cleveland Clinic confirmed for the first time a mechanistic link between the gene HSD17B4 and deadly, aggressive prostate cancer. The team built upon their earlier seminal work in which they discovered that a gene called HSD3B1, when altered, enables prostate tumors to evade treatment and proliferate. They went on to show that the presence of this gene variant does in fact change treatment outcomes and overall survival…

Read More

This unusual use of blueberry extract in boosting cancer therapy will surprise you

Cervical cancer is a type of cancer that occurs in the cells of the cervix – the lower part of the uterus that connects to the vagina. Researchers from the University Of Missouri-Columbia, United States explained that one of the most common treatments for cervical cancer is radiation therapy and that it not only destroys the cancer cells, but also the nearby healthy cells, which proves to be a hazard. “For some cancers, such as late-stage cervical cancer, radiation is a good treatment option. However, collateral damage to healthy cells…

Read More