(Posted: 10/18/2012) - A daily multivitamin can help a man reduce his risk of cancer, according to new research from Brigham and Women's Hospital, a component of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Researchers had nearly 15,000 men over the age of 50 take either a multivitamin or a placebo every day for more than 10 years. The men self-reported a cancer diagnosis, and researchers confirmed the diagnosis through medical records. Researchers found the group taking a daily multivitamin had an 8 percent reduction in total cancer compared with the group taking the placebo. They also found a multivitamin was associated with an apparent reduction in cancer deaths.

(Posted: 10/18/2012) - Researchers at the Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School in Singapore have identified numerous new subtypes of gastric cancer that are triggered by environmental factors. The researchers used 240 primary tumors and cell lines to conduct the first full survey of the DNA methylation landscape in gastric cancer, known as the methylome. Their goal was to identify new molecular subgroups of gastric cancer not caused by primary genetic mutations, particularly those that might be targeted with therapies. Duke University is home to the Duke Cancer Institute.

(Posted: 10/18/2012) - Nearly 38 percent of lesbians polled in a national survey were not routinely screened for cervical cancer, putting them at risk of developing a highly preventable cancer, according to a University of Maryland School of Medicine study being presented at the 11th Annual AACR International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research. Cervical cancer is caused by a sexually transmitted virus, the human papillomavirus (HPV), and can be detected through regular Pap smears. The University of Maryland is home to the Greenebaum Cancer Center.

(Posted: 10/18/2012) - Two components of red meat — dietary protein and dietary iron — may combine to form powerful carcinogens, N-nitroso compounds, which increase risk for bladder cancer. Moreover, individuals with reduced ability to reverse the effects of N-nitroso compounds because of a genetic variation in their RAD52 gene could be at particularly high risk. Researchers from the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, presented these data at the 11th Annual AACR International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research. USC is home to the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center.

(Posted: 10/18/2012) - The combination of shortened telomeres, a biological marker of aging associated with cancer development, and elevated depression significantly impacted bladder cancer mortality, according to data presented at the 11th Annual AACR International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research. As part of an ongoing, large-scale epidemiologic study of bladder cancer, researchers from the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston collected clinical and mental health information on 464 patients with bladder cancer. They assessed patients' depression levels with the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale.

(Posted: 10/18/2012) - Achieving and maintaining a healthy body weight, staying physically active and maintaining a healthy diet improved survival after cancer diagnosis in an elderly female cancer survivor population, according to data presented at the 11th Annual AACR International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research. University of Minnesota researchers examined cancer survivors' adherence to the 2007 World Cancer Research Fund/American Institute for Cancer Research guidelines for body weight, physical activity and diet. Study participants included 2,080 women from the Iowa Women's Health Study who had a confirmed cancer diagnosis between 1986 and 2002 and who completed a follow-up questionnaire in 2004. Women provided information on body weight, physical activity level, dietary intake and other demographic and lifestyle factors. The University of Minnesota is home to the Masonic Cancer Center.

(Posted: 10/17/2012) - Cold viruses generally get a bad rap—which they've certainly earned—but new findings by a team of scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies suggest that these viruses might also be a valuable ally in the fight against cancer. Adenovirus, a type of cold virus, has developed molecular tools—proteins—that allow it to hijack a cell's molecular machinery, including large cellular machines involved in growth, replication and cancer suppression. The Salk scientists identified the construction of these molecular weapons and found that they bind together into long chains (polymers) to form a three-dimensional web inside cells that traps and overpowers cellular sentries involved in growth and cancer suppression. The findings, published October 11 in Cell, suggest a new avenue for developing cancer therapies by mimicking the strategies employed by the viruses.

(Posted: 10/15/2012) - Combined folic acid, vitamin B6 and vitamin B12 supplements had no statistically significant effect on the risk of colorectal adenoma among women who were at high risk for cardiovascular disease, according to a Harvard Medical School study published October 12 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. The Harvard Medical School is a component of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

(Posted: 10/15/2012) - Researchers at UCLA’s Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center have discovered the mechanism by which an experimental drug, GCS-100, removes a protein from lymphoma cells that prevents the cells from responding to chemotherapy. This discovery revives hope in GCS-100, a drug that had begun in clinical trials years before but had been delayed indefinitely. The researchers hope GCS-100 can be combined with chemotherapy to create an effective treatment for diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL), the most common and aggressive form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a cancer of the immune system.

(Posted: 10/12/2012) - Few physicians recommend active surveillance for low-risk prostate cancer rather than pursuing surgery or radiation, according to a Mayo Clinic study being presented at the North Central Section of the American Urological Association's annual meeting Oct. 10–13 in Chicago. While active surveillance is widely regarded as an effective strategy for managing low-risk prostate cancer, a Mayo Clinic study of 643 urologists and radiation oncologists found that only 21 percent of physicians studied recommended the strategy while 47 percent recommended surgery and 32 percent recommended radiation therapy.