1- One cell type may quash tumor vaccines

"Many cancer vaccines fail because the immune cells that would destroy the tumor are actively suppressed, researchers believe. Now they have found that a single cell type may be to blame for the suppression, paving the way to better cancer vaccine design. "The conventional wisdom is that the body knocks out all of the cells that can mount an immune response to the cancer," says the study's first author. "In fact, our work shows that it's only one cell type that is affected. But that cell, the T-helper cell, acts as the lynchpin.""

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/04/...ily%3A+Top+Health+News%29

2- Breast cancer patients place huge emphasis on gene expression profiling test

"Gene expression profiling tests play a critical role when women with early-stage breast cancer decide whether to have chemotherapy, but many of them do not fully understand what some of the test results mean, new research suggests. Current guidelines for treating early-stage breast cancer result in thousands of women receiving chemotherapy without benefitting from it. A gene expression profiling test can help differentiate women who might benefit from chemotherapy versus those that might not."

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/04/...ily%3A+Top+Health+News%29

3- Kidney, liver transplantation from those with cancer history: Studies provide insight on quality of donations

"The quality of kidney and liver donations is fundamentally important for the longevity of transplants and the health of recipients. "The findings of our research indicate that the perceived risk of certain organ donors to their recipients is likely to have been over-estimated. Organ donors with a history of certain types of cancers who are excluded from transplantation in fact pose very little risk of cancer transmission to their recipients," said a researcher. "These organs can be transplanted with very little risk to their recipients, resulting in significant improvement in the survival and health of the recipients"."

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/04/...ily%3A+Top+Health+News%29

4- Mechanism of cancer caused by loss of BRCA1, BRCA2 gene function identified

"Inherited mutations in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 tumor suppressor genes are by far the most frequent contributors of hereditary cancer risk in the human population, often causing breast or ovarian cancer in young women of child-bearing age. Now investigators report a new mechanism by which BRCA gene loss may accelerate cancer-promoting chromosome rearrangements."

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/04/...ily%3A+Top+Health+News%29

5- Loss of Y chromosome can explain shorter life expectancy, higher cancer risk for men

"It is generally well known that men have an overall shorter life expectancy compared to women. A recent study shows a correlation between a loss of the Y chromosome in blood cells and both a shorter life span and higher mortality from cancer in other organs."

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/04/...ily%3A+Top+Health+News%29

6- New method to analyze how cancer cells die

"The number of cells within tissue is controlled through apoptosis -- a process where cells shrink and their components break up, also known as programmed cell death. Cancer is often characterized by a disruption to the normal process of this cell death. Being able to study this process accurately would allow doctors to more effectively diagnose and monitor cancer and to test and develop new treatments designed to kill cancer cells. Thanks to new research, scientists are a step closer to this."

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/04/...ily%3A+Top+Health+News%29

7- Potential new strategy to treat ovarian cancer discovered

"A potential new strategy to treat ovarian cancer has been identified by researchers. Recently developed drugs have increased patient survival rates by targeting a tumor's blood vessels that supply essential nutrients and oxygen to cancer cells. However, many patients go on to develop resistance to these therapies and grow new blood vessels that spread the cancer again. Ovarian cancer is the deadliest of all gynaecological cancers, and since the majority of patients are diagnosed when the disease is at an advanced stage, prognosis is generally poor."

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/04/...ily%3A+Top+Health+News%29

1- Novel regulator of key gene expression in cancer identified

"A key genetic switch linked to the development, progression and outcome of cancer has been discovered by scientists, a finding that may lead to new targets for cancer therapies. The switch, a string of nucleotides dubbed a long non-coding RNA (lncRNA), does not code for proteins like regular RNA. Instead, the scientists found, this particular lncRNA acts as an on/off switch for a key gene whose excessive activity is tied to inflammation and cancer, COX-2."

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/04/...ily%3A+Top+Health+News%29

2- Cutting cancer to pieces: New research on bleomycin

"Bleomycin's ability to cut through double-stranded DNA in cancerous cells, like a pair of scissors, has been described in a new article. Such DNA cleavage often leads to cell death in particular types of cancer cells. Bleomycin is part of a family of structurally related antibiotics produced by the bacterium, Streptomyces verticillus. Three potent versions of the drug, labeled A2 , A5 and B2 are the primary forms in clinical use against cancer."

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/04/...ily%3A+Top+Health+News%29

3- MRI-guided biopsy for brain cancer improves diagnosis

"Neurosurgeons have, for the first time, combined real-time magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technology with novel non-invasive cellular mapping techniques to develop a new biopsy approach that increases the accuracy of diagnosis for patients with brain cancer. As many as one third of brain tumor biopsies performed in the traditional manner can result in misdiagnosis."

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/04/...ily%3A+Top+Health+News%29

4- Water-based 'engine' propels tumor cells through tight spaces in body

"Researchers have discovered how cancer cells spread through extremely narrow three-dimensional spaces in the body, identifying a propulsion system based on water and charged particles. The finding uncovers a novel method the deadly cells use to migrate through a cancer patient's body. The discovery may lead to new treatments that help keep the disease in check. The work also points to the growing importance of studying how cells behave in three dimensions, not just atop flat two-dimensional lab dishes."

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/04/...ily%3A+Top+Health+News%29

5- CT in operating room allows more precise removal of small lung cancers

"A new technique that brings CT imaging into the operating room will allow surgeons to precisely demarcate and remove small sub-centimeter lung nodules, leaving as much healthy tissue as possible, according to a researcher. Lung cancer remains the deadliest cancer and a recent study indicated that screening with low-dose computed tomography (CT) scans in smokers, who have certain risk factors, may decrease the number of deaths. Lung cancer screening with CT can detect many small lung lesions that can potentially be cancerous and should be removed surgically."

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/04/...ily%3A+Top+Health+News%29

6- Breast cancer, brain tumors not caused by viruses, study finds

"Breast cancer and brain tumors are not caused by viruses, according to a genetic analysis of more than 4,000 tumors that mapped the linkages between viruses and 19 different types of cancer. As such, this study calls into question some drug trial regimes. “In cancer research and treatment, there has been a lot of focus on associations that have not been proven, some of which have actually have been shown to be wrong,” said one researcher. “Researchers are starting to realize that we need truly unbiased methods to uncover meaningful associations.”."

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/04/...ily%3A+Top+Health+News%29

7- Vitamin D may raise survival rates among cancer patients

"Cancer patients who have higher levels of vitamin D when they are diagnosed tend to have better survival rates and remain in remission longer than patients who are vitamin D-deficient, according to a new study. The body naturally produces vitamin D after exposure to sunlight and absorbs it from certain foods. In addition to helping the body absorb the calcium and phosphorus needed for healthy bones, vitamin D affects a variety of biological processes by binding to a protein called a vitamin D receptor. This receptor is present in nearly every cell in the body."

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/04/...ily%3A+Top+Health+News%29

http://www.aftonbladet.se/nyheter/article18892883.ab

OK, this one is a bit light-on for information, but there was a piece on Australian TV last night where research showed extracts of the herb feverfew acted as a protectant against tissue damage in radiotherapy treatment of prostate cancer in mouse models. They surmised that it might also work with other forms of cancer.

This morning I am unable to find any mention of the research in a Google search, but the search showed that feverfew and some other herbal extracts such as curcumin have had research done on them before with positive results and little apparent risk of side affects.

This might be worth a search if you have a personal interest in the subject

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/276966.php

"Dose of measles virus destroys woman's incurable cancer

In what they describe as a proof of principle study, doctors in the US were able to keep a woman with deadly multiple myeloma - an incurable bone marrow cancer - free of all signs of living cancer cells for over 6 months by giving her just one high dose of measles virus.

Two patients received a single intravenous dose of measles virus that was engineered to kill myeloma plasma cells and not harm other cells.

The team, from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, says both patients responded to the treatment, showing reduced bone marrow cancer and levels of myeloma protein.

But one patient, a 49-year-old woman, experienced complete remission and remained disease-free for over 6 months..."