Stand Up To Cancer

Further breast cancer studies continue to reveal that an increased breast density is linked to an increased risk of breast cancer. While mammograms often measure and record breast density, the results are rarely communicated to the patient. "Most women don't even know their own breast density," says William Barlow, a senior biostatistician at Cancer Research and Biostatistics in Seattle. While family history often doubles an individual's risk for breast cancer, evidence shows that women with extremely dense breasts can have a cancer risk four to six times higher than those without dense breasts.
http://articles.latimes.com/2010/jun/21/health/la-he-breast-density-20100621

According to the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), a recent study shows that people who drank four or more cups of coffee per day were 39% less likely to develop tumors. "Since coffee is so widely used and there is a relatively high incidence and low survival rate of these forms of cancers, our results have important public health implications that need to be further addressed," said Mia Hashibe, Ph.D., lead author of the study. While there is a strong link between coffee consumption and reduced cancer risk, specific and definitive links are still undetermined.
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504763_162-20008553-10391704.html

Researchers at the Virginia Commonwealth University have discovered a mechanism that may lead to the creation of more effective cancer-fighting drugs. "By selectively and specifically targeting molecules for degradation that serve as gatekeepers for cancer growth, progression and resistance to therapy, it may be possible to turn the cancer cells' defense into an offense that can be used as an effective approach to destroy the tumor," said Paul B. Fisher, Ph.D., professor and chair of the Department of Human and Molecular Genetics and director of the VCU Institute of Molecular Medicine in the VCU School of Medicine. The research may contribute to treatment for melanoma, the most serious type of skin cancer which is highly resistant to current therapeutic strategies.
http://www.usnews.com/science/articles/2010/06/21/researchers-identify-key-enzyme-in-melanoma-cell-development.html

A new, non-invasive test may help identify breast tumors, according to a study from the University of Connecticut and the University of Connecticut Health Center. The test combines the use of ultrasound and optical tomography to determine whether small lesions in the breast are cancerous. "This will not replace biopsy, but it may help us with diagnosing breast cancers and potentially help us decide who can delay biopsy and who cannot," said Dr. Ben Ho Park, associate director of the Hematology/Oncology Fellowship Training Program at The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins.
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/OnCallPlusBreastCancerNews/invasive-cancer-test-identify-breast-tumors/story?id=10974393

Please check back next Thursday for more news and helpful links.