1- High concordance between EGFR mutations from circulating-free tumor DNA and tumor tissue in non-small cell lung cancer

"Epidermal growth factor receptor mutations found in the circulating free tumor DNA from the plasma of advanced non-small cell lung cancer patients correlates well with the epidermal growth factor receptor mutations from patient-matched tumor tissue DNA, researchers report."

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/08/...ily%3A+Top+Health+News%29

2- Novel oncogenic RET mutation found in small cell lung cancer

"For the first time, an oncogenic somatic mutation at amino acid 918 in the rearranged during transfection protein has been identified in small cell lung cancer tumors and enforced expression of this mutation within small cell lung cancer tumor cell lines produced increased intracellular signaling and cell growth."

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/08/...ily%3A+Top+Health+News%29

3- Deletion predicts survival in advanced non-small cell lung cancer

"Bcl-2-like protein 11 deletion in advanced non-small cell lung cancer is associated with shorter progression free survival in epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor or chemotherapy treated Asian patients. Also, Bcl-2-like protein 11 deletion independently predicts overall survival of advanced non-small cell lung cancer patients."

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/08/...ily%3A+Top+Health+News%29

4- New enzyme targets for selective cancer therapies

"Compounds that target brain cancer have been recently developed by researchers. The team synthesized a first-of-its-kind inhibitor that prevents the activity of an enzyme called neuraminidase. Although flu viruses use enzymes with the same mechanism as part of the process of infection, human cells use their own forms of the enzyme in many biological processes."

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/08/...ily%3A+Top+Health+News%29

5- Sequence of rare kidney cancer reveals unique alterations involving telomerase

"Clues about genetic alterations that may contribute to a rare form of kidney cancer have been discovered by an international scientific collaboration of researchers, providing new insights not only into this rare cancer but other types as well."

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/08/...ily%3A+Top+Health+News%29

1- Three-quarters of depressed cancer patients do not receive treatment for depression; new approach could transform care

"Three papers reveal that around three-quarters of cancer patients who have major depression are not currently receiving treatment for depression, and that a new integrated treatment program is strikingly more effective at reducing depression and improving quality of life than current care."

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/08/...ily%3A+Top+Health+News%29

2- Promising new cancer therapy uses molecular 'Trash Man' to exploit a common cancer defense

"While many scientists are trying to prevent the onset of a cancer defense mechanism known as autophagy, other researchers are leveraging it in a new therapy that causes the process to culminate in cell death rather than survival."

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/08/...ily%3A+Top+Health+News%29

3- Fighting prostate cancer with tomato-rich diet

"Men who eat over 10 portions a week of tomatoes have an 18 percent lower risk of developing prostate cancer, new research suggests. With 35,000 new cases every year in the UK, and around 10,000 deaths, prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in men worldwide. Rates are higher in developed countries, which some experts believe is linked to a Westernised diet and lifestyle."

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/08/...ily%3A+Top+Health+News%29

4- Preclinical development of tumor therapeutic agent begins

"There is an urgent need for medical agents to treat metastatic tumors. In case of pancreatic cancer, one of the most aggressive types of cancer that is often detected late, 95% of the patients die within five years after the diagnosis. Researchers now report that amcure develops tumor therapeutic agents that might reduce this mortality rate. For preclinical and clinical tests of the agents, amcure has received a total of EUR 5 million from investors. This will allow for the further development of these substances in the next years."

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/08/...ily%3A+Top+Health+News%29

5- Thunder god vine, with assists by nanotechnology, could shake up future cancer treatment

"Hepatocellular carcinoma is the second leading cause of cancer-associated death worldwide. These regrettably poor prognoses are due to the difficulty in treating this cancer using conventional chemo drugs, which are not able to reach in a sufficient concentration the liver tumor cells safely. Now a team of scientists has screened a library containing hundreds of natural products against a panel of HCC cells to search a better drug candidate. The screen uncovered a compound named triptolide, a traditional Chinese medicine isolated from the thunder god vine (Tripterygium wilfordii (Latin) or lei gong teng (Chinese))."

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/08/...ily%3A+Top+Health+News%29

6- Knowledge is power: Men who are uneducated about their prostate cancer have difficulty making good treatment choices

"They say knowledge is power, and a new study has shown this is definitely the case when it comes to men making the best decisions about how to treat their prostate cancer. Prostate cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer in men aside from skin cancer. An estimated 233,000 new cases of prostate cancer will occur in the United States in 2014. Of those, nearly 30,000 men will die."

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/08/...ily%3A+Top+Health+News%29

Potential method to better control lung cancer using radiotherapy

"Standard treatment for locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer is a combination of radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Traditionally this is planned in a one-size-fits-all manner but the radiation dose may not always be enough to stop tumor growth. The potential to increase the radiation dose to the cancerous tissue varies between patients and depends on the size and location of the tumor. Now researchers have looked at ways to personalize and increase the dose to the tumor while minimizing the effect on healthy tissue."

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/08/...ily%3A+Top+Health+News%29

1- Genetic modifier impacts colon tumor formation

"Unexpected results from an ongoing experiment led to a potentially important discovery that could have an impact on how cancer researchers test anti-cancer therapies in mice, and possibly prevent colon cancer in people."

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/09/...ily%3A+Top+Health+News%29

2- Radiation therapy, concurrent chemotherapy after surgery is effective treatment for high-risk endometrial cancer

"Radiation therapy with concurrent paclitaxel chemotherapy following surgery is an effective treatment for patients with high-risk endometrial cancer, according to a study. Endometrial cancer is the most common gynecologic malignancy. Patients with early-stage disease are typically treated with surgery alone; however, patients with advanced endometrial cancer have higher instances of local or distant recurrence."

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/09/...ily%3A+Top+Health+News%29

3- New cancer drug for dogs benefits human research, drug development

"A new cancer drug for ‘man’s best friend’ is helping advance cancer therapies for humans, too. The drug, Verdinexor, works by preventing powerful tumor suppressing proteins from leaving the nucleus of cells, an exodus which allows cancer to grow unchecked. It's the first new therapeutic option for dog lymphoma in more than two decades, potentially offering vets another alternative for treating the disease, which is the most common form of canine cancer."

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/09/...ily%3A+Top+Health+News%29

4- Should lung cancer screening be covered for Medicare beneficiaries ?

"Researchers analyzed evidence on the benefits and harms of lung cancer screening by age in a recent study. The author of an accompanying editorial concludes from the analysis that Medicare beneficiaries should not be excluded from screening. Clinicians should share with their patients the age-specific estimates of screening benefits and harms to help make an informed decision."

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/09/...ily%3A+Top+Health+News%29

1- Liposome research meets nanotechnology to improve cancer treatment

"In treating cancer, chemotherapy and radiotherapy are two of the best weapons in a doctor’s arsenal. Reports have shown that ideally, both methods would be employed at the same time. But doing so produces levels of toxicity that often are deadly. To reduce the remote toxicity inherent to chemotherapy, the drugs can be administered into solid tumors by using liposomes, which are nanoscale vesicles made from fats and loaded with anti-cancer drugs, researchers report."

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/09/...ily%3A+Top+Health+News%29

2- Non-toxic strategy to treat leukemia proposed by researchers

"A study comparing how blood stem cells and leukemia cells consume nutrients found that cancer cells are far less tolerant to shifts in their energy supply than their normal counterparts. The results suggest that there could be ways to target leukemia metabolism so that cancer cells die but other cell types are undisturbed."

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/09/...ily%3A+Top+Health+News%29