Stand Up To Cancer

We're baaaack! The big show may be over, but Stand Up To Cancer lives on here at su2c.org. Did you hear that, thanks to your contributions, we've raised over $100 million for translational cancer research? Pretty incredible.

Meanwhile, of course, the news marches on. This week, a New England Journal of Medicine study confirms what many in the medical field already believed - that virtual colonoscopy, a non-invasive, much more comfortable version of the colorectal cancer check we all know and love, is just as accurate as the original.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/health/20080918-9999-1n18colon.html

And in other research news, a new synthetic protein called CXCL12 could halt the spread of cancer. But no one would have realized its cancer-fighting potential if it weren't for - you guessed it - interdisciplinary collaboration. "Collaborations promote the exchange of ideas between scientists from different backgrounds and often lead in completely unanticipated directions," said one of the researchers. Amen!
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080915174605.htm

From time to time, of course, research can also bring bad news. This week, scientists discovered that an enzyme previously thought to protect against cancer actually fuels a deadly form of leukemia.
http://ukpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5iXGBy9nnmNs61RCRWHVfC80dKbbg

And Humira, a drug that literally changes the lives of people with rheumatoid arthritis, may cause certain kinds of cancer. As if having RA wasn't tough enough.
http://www.alternet.org/healthwellness/98959/rheumatoid_arthritis_drug_humira_linked_to_psoriasis,_herpes,_possibly_cancer/

Meanwhile, at a conference in Australia, a scientist draws a link between the declining rates of breast cancer in the US and Australia and the declining use of hormone replacement therapy in menopausal women.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/09/18/2368523.htm

So how about some good news? There are loads of new options for post-breast-cancer breast reconstruction, and according to this CBS News article, clinicians just wish their patients knew what their choices are.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/09/18/health/webmd/main4457035.shtml

And a new drug shows promise for significantly extending the lives of those with pancreatic cancer, one of the most lethal forms of the disease.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080916101032.htm

That's all for this week, but never fear - we'll be back again next Thursday with more news you can use!

--Cat