Scientists in Spain have detected an enzyme which is present while lung lesions — especially those caused by cigarette smoking — are still precancerous. The discovery could help assess who’s at risk of developing lung cancer. During their study researchers found that an enzyme, known as AKR1B10, lowered levels of retinoic acid, a form of [...]

Effective April 1, 2008, Aetna (NYSE: AET) will no longer cover an anesthetic commonly used during colonoscopies, a diagnostic tool used to detect colorectal cancer. Similar exclusions have already been implemented by WellPoint (NYSE: WLP) and Humana (NYSE: HUM). The drug propofol, marketed under the trade name Diprivan, is used to thoroughly sedate patients so [...]

Do you still think robots are reserved for space missions, manufacturing or movie magic? Think again. Each year robotics technology plays a bigger role in the lives of cancer patients and professionals. From furthering scientific research to providing new caregiving options, these versatile machines are being used for a wide variety of medical applications. To [...]

Officials at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) would like to know if space travel increases an astronaut’s risk of developing leukemia. To find out, they are turning to scientists at Stony Brook University, the University of Iowa, and the University of Texas. The researchers will use mice and a $1.4M grant from NASA [...]

Each year, over 100,000 women in the United States undergo surgeries to remove cancerous lumps in their breasts. Although these lumpectomies can save the patient’s life, they also leave some of these women with uneven breasts or crater-like flaws in their breast tissue that are difficult to repair. But a new technique recently tested on [...]

A study conducted by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute and St Jude Children’s Research Hospital shows chloroquine, a common prescription drug used to treat malaria, prevents certain types of cancers from developing. The Scripps and St Jude’s researchers used mouse models to test chloroquine’s impact on tumors. Their investigation revealed the drug blocked Burkitt [...]

Scientists from the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) BioMicroMechanical Systems (BioMEMS) Resource Center and the MGH Cancer Center have developed a new microchip-based device that can isolate circulating tumor cells (CTC) in a blood sample. The new CTC-chip is a business-card sized silicon chip covered with almost 80,000 microscopic posts smaller than a human hair. The [...]

Researchers from the University of Michigan and the Mayo Clinic have performed a study showing an inherited gene that lowers levels of a key enzyme may indicate whether Tamoxifen treatments will effectively treat women with a common type of breast cancer. Tamoxifen is a Selective Estrogen Receptor Modulator (SERM) therapy prescribed to treat estrogen receptor [...]

Want to get something practical for a loved one facing cancer treatments or a hospital stay over the holidays? Medical gift cards are now an option. VISA® has begun issuing prepaid healthcare gift cards that can be used to pay for health insurance deductibles, prescription co-pays, corrective lenses, elective surgeries, and an assortment of other [...]

Researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles, have been using a nanotechnology device known as an Atomic Force Microscope to analyze cancer cells at the molecular level. The innovative technology — which allows scientists to not only view cells, but to “feel” them too — has revealed that cancer cells are much softer than [...]