Study finds uncertainty about risks and benefits of mastectomies or lumpectomies.
MONDAY, March 31 (HealthDay News) — Only half the women diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer clearly understand the risks and benefits of a mastectomy versus a breast-conserving lumpectomy plus radiation, even after they have one of the procedures, according to a new study.
If the woman […]

A doctor who wrongly gave the all-clear to 20 breast cancer patients has been suspended from practising for a year.
Consultant radiologist Amjad Husien was suspended by hospital bosses after staff questioned his work in 2005.
A total of 176 women had to be recalled and retested after the mistakes were identified, and one of them later […]

A man from West Sussex who has lost two wives to breast cancer has set up a charity to try to help relatives of cancer patients.
Paul Huggett, from Hurstpierpoint, said while there was much support for those who have cancer, relatives and friends were often forgotten.
Cancervive will arrange for people needing advice to get together […]

A kidney cancer patient has been told a health board will now pay for a drug treatment which could prolong his life.
Jocelyn Hall, 60, of Tonna, Neath threatened to take health officials to a judicial review after they refused to pay for him to have the Sunitinib drug.
He had claimed his case was exceptional and […]

A “one-stop-shop” that should speed up the diagnosis of breast cancer and reduce hospital visits has been given the go-ahead in Carmarthenshire.
Its centre at Llanelli’s Prince Philip Hospital will also increase the number of operations and improve treatment.
Welsh health minister Edwina Hart has asked the new Hywel Dda NHS Trust to develop detailed plans.
Llanelli AM […]

The Scandinavian-based drug development company Lytix Biopharma announced its intention to take its lead anti-cancer molecule LTX-315 through to clinical trials. This decision follows the selection of Lytix’s first lead antimicrobial compound towards end of 2007.

The Business Intelligence firm La Merie S.L. reported that for the first time erythropoietins have been superseded by the major cancer antibodies Rituxan, Herceptin, Avastin and Erbitux as the number one top selling class of biologics with the highest growth rate of 48 % and combined 2007 sales of US$ 15.74 bln. Epoetin alfa brands […]

Three more genes that raise bowel cancer risk, including one affecting only some races, have been identified.
UK scientists found one of the genes increased risk in people of European descent, but not Japanese people, reports the journal Nature Genetics.
With four gene mutations already linked to the cancer, scientists hope to work on ways to predict […]

For a long time, scientists believed that the immune system acted to fight cancer development. However, recent findings demonstrate that the immune system also acts to promote cancer progression. At the International conference “Invasion and Metastasis” held at the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) in Berlin, Dr. David DeNardo from the laboratory of […]

UCB announces first results of its phase II exploratory study of CDP791, a specific VEGFR-2/KDR inhibitor, in combination with carboplatin and paclitaxel chemotherapy in first line non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Positive improvements were observed on several efficacy endpoints including tumour response rate and time to tumour progression. The data support further late stage clinical […]