‘Supermouse’ helps in finding a holistic approach to fight cancer!

BBC News: Mice carrying a gene which appears to make them invulnerable to cancer may hold the key to safer and more effective treatments for humans.

The new breed, created with a more active "Par-4" gene, did not develop tumours, and even lived longer, said the journal Cancer Research.

University of Kentucky researchers said a human cancer treatment was possible. Cancer Research UK said that more research would be needed to prove it didn't just work in mice.

Par-4 was originally discovered in the early 1990s working inside human prostate cancers, and is believed to have a role in "programmed cell death", the body's own system for rooting out and destroying damaged or faulty cells.

The Kentucky team used an existing mouse breed known to be more vulnerable to cancers to test whether Par-4 could be used to fight them.

They introduced the gene to mouse eggs, and it was active in both the resulting pups - and their own offspring.

The mice with active Par-4 did not develop cancers, and lived slightly longer than those without the gene.

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Reoviruses to the rescue of cancer patients!

Reovirus is a family of viruses that affects the gastrointestinal or respiratory system in humans. Reovirus infections are common in humans and in most cases they are mild or sub clinical.

Scientists have now discovered that reoviruses can indeed be very useful to humans, as they have the ability to destroy cancerous tumor cells. This short clip explains how reoviruses can be used to treat cancer in humans.

Does soda cause cancer?

Does soda cause cancer? Well, this news story from abc7 claims that it does. Watch this news story, which throws more light on the carcinogenic content of sodas.

A short awareness-video on testicular cancer

Testicular cancer is a type of cancer that develops in the testicles and it has one of the highest cure rates of all forms of cancer. Most men have very little knowledge on this disease and they often fail to detect it in its early stages. This short and interesting clip explains how to ‘catch’ testicular cancer, early.

Gene therapy can be a savior!

A 41-year old melanoma patient was saved from the clutch of death with the help of gene therapy. Thomas May, was suffering from advanced- stage of melanoma when he underwent an experimental gene therapy along with another 16 melanoma patients. Melanoma is referred to a condition of tumor of the melanocytes, which is located in the bottom of the Skin’s epidermis. Although the results of this are not conclusive, scientists believe that gene therapy can control the growth of tumor cells significantly.

Gene therapy is a technique which is used to repair the dysfunctional gene by inserting a right model of the repaired gene into the body by the use of vectors. This therapy is gaining momentum in the field of medicine and its scope is very wide as it can be used to treat a number of diseases that are incurable by drugs. Researchers who are in the process of finding a cure to cancer are looking closely at gene therapy and hope that this technique could eventually turn out to be a savior against cancer.

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‘Breakthrough’ in lung cancer diagnosis!

A new method, which could be considered as a breakthrough in lung cancer diagnosis, is developed by a team of French researchers. Scientists have developed a blood test that could detect lung cancer at an early stage and this test could prove to be a valuable tool in saving thousands of lung cancer patients. Cancer cells produce a few proteins in larger quantities than the normal cells. Scientists believe that by identifying the presence of these proteins produced by cancer cells in blood, it is possible to detect cancer even before visible symptoms arise. This test will enable health professionals to easily differentiate lung cancer from other lung diseases and help them to start treating the disease at its early stage, ultimately increasing the patient’s chances of survival.

Proper diagnosis is very important in the fight against cancer and early detection of cancer could help doctors in effectively treating the disease. Cancers detected at its early stages are easily curable. The maximum survival period of patients who are suffering from lung cancer, the most lethal form of all cancers, is only 5 years. Only 16% of patients live more than five years and this low survival rate of lung cancer is attributed to the inability to diagnose the disease at its early stage. Active and passive smoking is considered to be the main cause of this disease. People who are over 50 are considered to be more prone to this disease.

Scientists believe if this new development in cancer diagnosis is successfully tested then it could make a big difference in lung cancer detection and its treatment.


Source - The Herald - Web issue

Eating fatty fish can reduce the risk of cancer

Swedish researchers have found that eating fatty fish, which is rich in vitamin D and omega 3 fatty acids, can reduce the risk of kidney cancer significantly. Fish like salmon, herring, sardines and mackerel were defined as fatty fish by researchers, while tuna and cod were considered to be lean fish.

A study carried out by ‘Journal of the American Medical Association’ revealed that women eating fatty fish once a week at a lesser risk to cancer compared to others, whereas, eating three fish a month for a period of 10years would reduce cancer risk by nearly 74 percent.

Kidney cancer also referred to as renal cell carcinoma is one of the most common forms of cancer in the United States with a very low survival rate. It is the most common form of cancer in women above 40yrs of age.

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