Here are a few highlights of cancer research news that have recently caught my attention:

• Nitin Patel, research scientist at the Institute for Genetic Medicine at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, comments in an article in the Huffington Post about the recent findings that revealed that GPR158, a protein based molecule, produces tendencies of increasing risks of ineffective hormonal therapies against prostate cancer. The research is reported in the online journal Public Library of Science ONE.
• A study conducted in Germany set out to find a correlation between patient information leaflets and their influence on persuading patients to get mammography screening. Results were published in Dtsch Arztebl Int.
• Chinese researchers have developed a breathalyzer device that could be used for lung cancer screening. Their work, described in a paper published in the journal Review of Scientific Instruments, demonstrates the potential of the device to be used as a breathalyzer for early lung cancer detection — possibly a safe and effective method of detecting cancer early that may save lives.
• Priscilla Slanetz, MD, MPH and two of her colleagues from Harvard Medical School wrote an opinion article in the New England Journal of Medicine about the federal Breast Density and Mammography Reporting Act and similar legislation in 21 states summarizing that these laws may increase unnecessary procedures and false positives for women at low- and moderate-risk of breast cancer.
• The 2015 AICR Cancer Risk Awareness Survey reveals a lack of understanding among Americans regarding cancer risk factors. See results.
• Exposure to sun poses risk of skin cancer even in the dark, a recent study by researchers at Yale revealed. In their experiment, scientists exposed mouse and human melanocyte cells to radiation from a UV lamp. Read more on their findings in Science.

Please feel free to contact Marisol Hernandez to share any comments.

Here are a few highlights of cancer research news that have recently caught my attention:

• The NIH has developed a site that outlines President Obama’s Precision Medicine Initiative. The NIH will also be hosting a workshop on February 11-12 to discuss the opportunities and challenges around building a large research cohort focused on precision medicine.

• Key breast cancer genes reveal distinctions between African-American women and European-American women. The study involved 1,275 European-American and 1,299 African-American women. Read more on the findings in the International Journal of Cancer.

• Four major retailers have been ordered by the New York Attorney General’s office to cease selling some of their store brand supplements. In tests, supplements from GNC, Target, Walmart and Walgreens were found lacking the advertised ingredients frequestly. Dr. David S. Seres, Director, Medical Nutrition, Associate Professor of Medicine in the Institute of Human Nutrition weighed in on the issue in an editorial piece for CNN.

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Here are a few highlights of cancer research news that have recently caught my attention:

• AstraZeneca unveiled agreements that should enable the pharmaceutical company to tap into a promising, nascent gene technology aimed at making drugs more precise.
• A group of researchers from Mass General has identified new targeted therapies for some aggressive cancers. The study, published in Science, details how disrupting a pathway used by cancerous cells to proliferate could be the key to inhibiting the growth and survival of tumors.
• The Guardian examines a recent study published in the Annals of Clinical Oncology that predicts that lung cancer fatalities are set to overtake breast cancer deaths among European women in 2015. Continue reading →