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Articles on Cancer

Cancer is a class of diseases in which a group of cells grow uncontrollably, invade and destroy adjacent tissues and sometimes spread to other locations in the body via lymph or blood (metastasize).  These three malignant properties differentiate them from benign tumors, which are self-limited, and do not invade or metastasize.  Most cancers form a tumor but some, like leukemia, do not.

Cancer can be the result of DNA mutations, exposure to carcinogens or radiation, viral infections, hormonal imbalances, immune system dysfunction or a hereditary predisposition to certain syndromes.
 

11/17/2009 - Articles

Green tea could prevent oral cancer

Green tea is rich in polyphenols, which appear to have anti-cancer properties. Green tea, and its extracts, have already been shown to prevent cancer in a number of animal and lab studies, although clinical evidence is still lacking. In the first trial of its kind, researchers at the University of Texas M.D.Anderson Cancer Center show that green tea extract may help prevent oral cancer. According to the American Cancer Society oral cancer has a five year survival rate of less than 50%. Smoking and heavy drinking are potent risk factors for oral cancer. Read more

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11/09/2009 - Articles

Cervical screening methods compared

Cervical screening undoubtedly saves lives. In countries where cervical screening is routine, death rates from cervical cancer have fallen dramatically. Practice varies from country to country, but a woman should generally have cervical screening till she is 60. Read more

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11/04/2009 - Articles

Prostate cancer screening - is it worthwhile?

Prostate cancer screening is usually done by measuring levels of prostate specific antigen (PSA) in the blood.  A PSA level of more than 4 ng/mL may indicate the presence of cancer.  Sometimes prostate cancer screening also involves a digital rectal exam,  where the doctor feels to see if the prostate is enlarged.  The problem is that the value of prostate cancer screening has not yet been established and men need to be aware of this if they are thinking of getting a PSA test. Read more

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10/13/2009 - Articles

Secondhand Smoke is Also Lethal

Passive smoking - secondhand smoke - is associated with an increased death rate, and probably with an increased rate of heart attack, as shown by two recent studies. Read more

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09/23/2009 - Articles

Breast cancer drugs benefits, risks, examined

Breast cancer is the second most commonly diagnosed cancer in women (after skin cancer) and leads to more than 40,000 deaths a year, with 190,000 new cases diagnosed.  Read more

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09/22/2009 - Articles

Lung cancer in never-smokers

Lung cancer is so strongly associated with smoking that we may forget that never- smokers (those who smoked fewer than 100 cigarettes in their life) get the disease too. Read more

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09/17/2009 - Articles

New leukemia treatment shows promise

Summary Acute myeloid leukemia is a challenging condition in elderly patients because conventional chemotherapy often causes severe side effects. A new drug called sapacitabine, which can be given orally, was tolerable and efficacious in a clinical trial involving a small group of patients over 70. Read more

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09/16/2009 - Articles

Ovarian cancer is not a silent killer

Ovarian cancer accounts for 4% of female cancers and there are over 200,000 new cases each year around the world.  It is the most deadly of the gynecological cancers, with overall five year survival of only 35%.  Read more

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09/14/2009 - Articles

Alarm symptoms and cancer diagnoses

Alarm – or ‘red flag’ – symptoms are the ones that should prompt you to seek medical help without delay.  They include symptoms like blood in the urine (haematuria), coughing up blood (haemoptysis), difficulty in swallowing (dysphagia) and rectal bleeding.  Read more

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09/04/2009 - Articles

Diabetes among childhood cancer survivors

Children who survive cancer may be at risk of other diseases in later life, including diabetes.  Researchers at Emory University have carried out a survey of diabetes in 8,599 childhood survivors of cancer and compared them to randomly selected siblings. Read more

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