http://cache.io9.com/assets/base/img/thumbs140x140/io9.com.png http://io9.com/tag/cancer http://io9.com/tag/cancer

Why haven't we cured cancer yet? It seems like almost every day, we hear about another miraculous advance in cancer treatment. Drugs that cause tumors to shrink, gene therapies, and even a possible vaccine. And yet, our loved ones keep dying of cancer. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5883180&view=rss&microfeed=true

This incredible video captures a showdown between cancer cells and the T cells that act as the shock troops for your immune system. That's right - you're actually watching a T cell defeat cancer. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5882814&view=rss&microfeed=true

A new avenue of treatment could fight two of the most prominent cancers — effectively hitting both leukemia and breast cancer. We could soon be inhibiting tumor growth by targeting a single protein, and this could revolutionize treatments of both diseases. Two papers published this week in the Journal of Experimental Medicine examine the protein HSP90, which plays a role in the growth of tumors. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5879284&view=rss&microfeed=true

A study published today in the journal Cancer Cell has put forward something terrifying — that one of our current way of fighting tumors might make them more deadly. The researchers examined anti-angiogenic therapies, or those treatments which cut off blood supplies to tumors, thus making them shrink in size. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5876883&view=rss&microfeed=true

When left untreated, cancer cells begin migrating away from the tumor where they first developed, spreading throughout the body and becoming much deadlier. But what stimulates this migration? A new study suggests that physical cell compression – which occurs when a tumor grows in certain parts of the body, where there is limited room and the cancerous cells get squashed together – could be one of the impetuses for cancer migration. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5871890&view=rss&microfeed=true

Earlier this year, we found out that dogs can be trained to successfully detect cancer on the breath of humans — but we're still not sure exactly what smell it is they're responding to. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5871637&view=rss&microfeed=true

One of the most difficult forms of cancer to cure is a type of leukemia known as chronic myelogenous leukemia. While current treatments can keep it at bay, the cancer's drug-resistant stem cells mean a relapse is potentially always imminent. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5870643&view=rss&microfeed=true

Call me crazy, but I'm going to go out on a limb and assume that Marvel and DC didn't sign off on these Mozambican print spots depicting comicdom's foremost superheroines mid-breast exam. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5867966&view=rss&microfeed=true Low carbohydrate diets go in and out of fashion for weight loss, but a new piece of research suggests that an occasional low carb day is better than traditional diets for helping to prevent breast cancer. The findings are set to be presented at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, where the researchers describe a diet that may lower insulin and prevent cancer better than a traditional diet. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5865482&view=rss&microfeed=true

The congressional supercommittee responsible for trimming 1.5 trillion dollars from the US federal budget has failed to deliver, triggering a decade-long, 1.2-trillion-dollar budget-slash set to begin in 2013. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5861936&view=rss&microfeed=true

Caffeine is the most commonly used mood-altering drug in the world, and coffee is one of the most popular means of ingesting it. Over 50% of Americans drink coffee on a daily basis, and that figure is thought to be increasing every year. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5861402&view=rss&microfeed=true

The Food and Drug Administration declared this morning that the blockbuster pharmaceutical Avastin — one of the world's best-selling cancer drugs — should no longer be prescribed for the treatment of breast cancer, claiming that the drug has proven to be neither safe nor effective in treating the disease. But is it the right decision? More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5860856&view=rss&microfeed=true

What price will the United States pay in the name of security? A PBS NewsHour investigation published earlier this month reported that as many as 100 Americans could develop cancer each year due to radiation emitted by full-body X-ray scanners, which continue to pop up en masse at airports across the US. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5859905&view=rss&microfeed=true

After 1978, two strangely related things happened: a new set of regulations for processed meat limited the amount of nitrite used in hot dogs, forcing manufacturers to add ascorbate or erythorbate instead. And the following that year, there was a major dropoff in colon cancer deaths. Now, researchers are questioning the link between the two. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5853717&view=rss&microfeed=true

It's being described as the largest study of cell phone use ever conducted. The investigation, led by the Institute of Cancer Epidemiology in Copenhagen, followed upwards of 350,000 cell phone users for close to two decades. When all was said and done, the team found no link between mobile phone ownership and tumors of either the brain or central nervous system. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5852202&view=rss&microfeed=true

Colon cancer is the second deadliest form of the disease in the United States, killing an estimated 50,000 people each year. Now scientists might have found help from a completely unexpected area: a little microbe known as Fusobacterium. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5851108&view=rss&microfeed=true

More and more members of the general public are becoming familiar with the idea that "cancer" is not one disease, but rather a word used to describe numerous diseases with countless underlying causes. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5850332&view=rss&microfeed=true

It's national breast cancer awareness month, which means you'll be hearing plenty of reminders about the importance of early detection, and what you can do to catch the disease before it takes your life. And while regular breast exams are obviously valuable, it's important to remember that the facts behind breast cancer don't always gel with the oft-heard early-detection narrative. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5848968&view=rss&microfeed=true

A study published in yesterday's Journal of Clinical Oncology reveals that as many as 72 percent of throat tumors in men may be linked to the human papillomavirus, commonly known as HPV. The researchers hypothesize that the virus spreads predominately via oral sex, and that it may already account for more cases of throat cancer than smoking. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5846584&view=rss&microfeed=true

Earlier today, the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to Bruce A. Beutler and Jules A. Hoffmann (pictured left and center, respectively) "for their discoveries concerning the activation of innate immunity;" and to Ralph M. Steinman "for his discovery of the dendritic cell and its role in adaptive immunity." More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5846220&view=rss&microfeed=true

If you're a spicy food fan, take heart as combining certain piquant foods with broccoli may give the vegetable a much more powerful cancer-fighting kick. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5840436&view=rss&microfeed=true

A dog can accurately detect the early presence of lung cancer by sniffing patients' breath, doctors in Germany say. While researchers have known for some time that dogs can sniff out the telltale signs of other forms of cancer, this is the first study that proves dogs can reliably smell this particular kind. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5832899&view=rss&microfeed=true

Coffee! Is there anything it can't do? We've already seen it linked to dropped rates of breast and prostate cancer, and now it seems to guard against skin cancer too. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5832011&view=rss&microfeed=true

In Dunn County, North Dakota, the roads can kill you. In fact, anything you do to disturb rocks in the area, like driving or even sweeping, can kick up naturally-occurring particles that lodge in your body and give you a rare kind of lung cancer up to 30 years later. Dunn County, you see, is home to a lot of rocks containing erionite, an asbestos-like substance that's highly toxic. Unfortunately, nobody knew that until very recently. And so at least 300 miles of roads in North Dakota are paved with the stuff. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5825072&view=rss&microfeed=true

We think of cancer as a disease, a form of runaway cell growth within an organism. But we might not have realized what cancers really are: separate, brand new parasitic species that evolve from and prey upon their human hosts. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5824980&view=rss&microfeed=true

Want to know about cutting-edge cancer research that could impact you this year, instead of twenty years from now? Physician Michael Soble, a cancer specialist, recently attended the American Society of Oncology's annual conference. He wrote us this report on where cancer treatment is headed in the very near future. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5822732&view=rss&microfeed=true If you have a contact allergy, merely touching the wrong metal or chemical is enough to send your immune system into overdrive, triggering hives, swelling and general unpleasantness. However, it seems that this sensitivity may have a positive side effect: your hair-trigger immune system could be better at fighting off cancer. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5820581&view=rss&microfeed=true

The naked mole-rat lives for thirty years - compared to 1-2 years for other rodents - and we've never found any evidence that it can get cancer. Now we're peeking inside its genome to figure out what makes it special. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5818332&view=rss&microfeed=true

Cancer vaccines may come sooner than you think. And each vaccine will be tailor-made for a specific kind of cancer. This isn't just a theory anymore. It's been done. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5813493&view=rss&microfeed=true

You've heard the myths. If you get a tan, you won't get skin cancer. If you use SPF 50 sunblock, you're safe. Only people with light skin are prone to skin cancer. None of these are true. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5809785&view=rss&microfeed=true

A medical researcher has discovered that a mutant gene once believed to cause cancerous tumors is actually the perfect weapon to stop them. Weirdly, it's possible that benign tumors may be the key to stopping cancer. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5808753&view=rss&microfeed=true

After a meeting with scientists from around the world, the World Health Organization announced this morning that it has now categorized cell phone radiation as a "possible carcinogenic hazard." This is a label that the WHO has also placed on lead, engine exhaust, and chloroform. The WHO says in a release that this new warning is "based on an increased risk for glioma, a malignant type of brain cancer, associated with wireless phone use." More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5807050&view=rss&microfeed=true

We recently discovered that coffee may be linked to lower breast cancer rates. Now it looks like guys have something to celebrate too — new research has linked coffee do a dropped risk of prostate cancer. Once again the complicated mixture of ingredients has shown to be beneficial, and this time even decaf drinkers get it. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5802717&view=rss&microfeed=true

It seems like many of our vices are turning out to have healthy side effects. We already know that chocolate is helpful for circulation, reduces the risk of heart disease, is a cough suppressant, and can keep your brain working as you age (and may be a treatment for HPV). Red wine is one of the most potent antioxidants available, beating out many commercial drugs, and may even prevent blindness. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5800725&view=rss&microfeed=true In the USA, medical debts are the number one cause of bankruptcy, even for those with health insurance. Now, a new study shows a distinct correlation between ethnicity and willingness to spend all of ones funds for life-sustaining care after a cancer diagnosis. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5795922&view=rss&microfeed=true

Research underway at the Instituto de Biofísica Carlos Chagas Filho, of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, is investigating whether music might be able to fight cancer. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5792703&view=rss&microfeed=true

What does a common arthritis medication have to do with skin cancer? More than you might think. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5784966&view=rss&microfeed=true

Lymphoma is a cancer of certain cells in the immune system. Many genes are thought to be associated with it, but scientists have pinpointed a few by making dog DNA into human DNA. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5789552&view=rss&microfeed=true

Cancer is one of the most difficult foes medical science has ever faced, but a controversial new idea might just show a way to victory. A group of scientists have evidence that cancer might be an evolutionary throwback to our most distant animal ancestor. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5781614&view=rss&microfeed=true

There's an absolutely amazing essay by Carl Zimmer that just went up on his Discover blog The Loom, about how blue whales are a seemingly impossible creature. Though they are tremendously huge and can live to be over 200 years old, they rarely develop cancer. Zimmer writes: More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5773930&view=rss&microfeed=true