(Posted: 11/07/2012) - High cigarette prices, smoke-free air laws, marketing restrictions and other measures, all part of Brazil’s strong tobacco control policies, are credited for a 50 percent reduction in smoking prevalence between 1989 and 2010. The reduction contributed to an estimated 420,000 lives saved during that time period. Those are the findings of a new study published today in PLOS Medicine by a team of researchers from Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center and the Brazilian National Cancer Institute.

(Posted: 11/07/2012) - Scientists for the first time have evidence showing how a widely used type of "targeted" cancer drug can be dangerous to the heart. Studying mice with the equivalent of a heart attack, Temple University School of Medicine researchers found that the drug sorafenib (Nexavar) – which inhibits proteins called tyrosine kinase receptors (RTKs), and is used in kidney and liver cancer treatment – can interfere with heart stem cell activity, affecting the heart's ability to repair itself after injury. The findings suggest that sorafenib and other similar drugs that target these kinds of protein receptors may raise the risk for heart attack for some cancer patients with underlying heart disease, as well as affect the heart's ability to repair damage. Temple is home to the Fox Chase Cancer Center.

(Posted: 11/07/2012) - Combining cancer medication with a drug for erectile dysfunction and one for heart transplants helped kill cancer cells and protected the heart from damage, in a Virginia Commonwealth University study presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2012. For decades, doxorubicin has been a powerful anti-cancer treatment for various human cancers, including breast, ovarian, colon and prostate. But its use has been limited due to harmful, possibly irreversible effects on the heart. In this study, using cell and animal models, researchers found that sildenafil alone or in combination with rapamycin (an immunosuppressant used to prevent post-transplant organ rejection) significantly improved the anti-cancer effects of doxorubicin while protecting the heart. VCU is home to the Massey Cancer Center.

(Posted: 11/05/2012) - Cancer cells grow fast. That’s an essential characteristic of what makes them cancer cells. They’ve crashed through all the cell-cycle checkpoints and are continuously growing and dividing, far outstripping our normal cells. To do this they need to speed up their metabolism. A team from Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory has found a way to target the cancer cell metabolic process and in the process specifically kill cancer cells.

(Posted: 11/02/2012) - Notch -- the protein that can help determine cell fate -- maintains a stable population of basal cells in the prostate through a positive feedback loop system with another key protein TGF beta (transforming growth factor beta), said Baylor College of Medicine researchers in the journal Cell Stem Cell.

(Posted: 11/02/2012) - A clinical trial conducted at University Hospitals Case Medical Center Seidman Cancer Center has shown encouraging results for the use of stereotactic radiosurgery to treat kidney cancer. This non-invasive treatment technique may represent a potential new non-surgical option for patients with this deadly disease who have limited treatment options.

(Posted: 11/02/2012) - New diagnostic tool could lower numbers of unnecessary lymph node surgeries. Using advanced microscopes equipped with tissue-penetrating laser light, cancer imaging experts at Johns Hopkins have developed a promising, new way to accurately analyze the distinctive patterns of ultra-thin collagen fibers in breast tumor tissue samples and to help tell if the cancer has spread.

(Posted: 11/02/2012) - In an animal study, an injection of banked sperm-producing stem cells can restore fertility to male primates who become sterile due to cancer drug side effects, according to researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and Magee-Womens Research Institute.

(Posted: 11/01/2012) - A routine blood test may help predict survival in patients with an aggressive form of skin cancer known as Merkel cell carcinoma, according to new findings by Fox Chase Cancer Center researchers.

(Posted: 11/01/2012) - Red/blond pigment may actively participate in melanoma formation, identifying possible new prevention strategy. The well-established elevated risk of melanoma among people with red hair and fair skin may be caused by more than just a lack of natural protection against ultraviolet (UV) radiation.