Cow Poo Helps Reduce Chances of Developing Lung Cancer

A Lifesaving Legacy



Judah Folkman transformed our understanding of cancer. Now his groundbreaking work is leading to new strategies for fighting obesity, Alzheimer's and scores of other conditions.

Two years ago, a patient of mine received some terrible news. Her cancer had spread to her liver, and it had spread so extensively that she was given only a few months to live. Her doctor prescribed a new drug, Avastin. Instead of directly killing the tumor cells, this drug was designed to disrupt the tumor's blood supply, thereby causing the tumor to die while minimizing damage to the normal cells around it. It worked. She is still alive today, and there is no trace of tumor in her liver.
Although she never met him, she owes her life to Dr. Judah Folkman, as do many others. The world lost one of the great scientific minds of our time when he died two weeks ago. His life's work literally transformed our understanding of cancer and other illnesses. Folkman's ideas were truly revolutionary. Like other scientists throughout history whose ideas were ahead of their time, he endured with grace many years of deep skepticism, even ridicule, from much of the medical community until he was ultimately proved right. He inspired me by his example. Few scientists are able to witness their ideas move from the laboratory to the clinic and change the way medicine is practiced............

Unborn twins save cancer mum

A WOMAN has avoided a deadly battle with cervical cancer after her unborn twins kicked the tumour so much it dislodged.
London woman Michelle Stepney was pregnant with the twins when doctors discovered that she had cervical cancer after she was admitted to hospital for a possible miscarriage, the BBC has reported..........

deCODE launches a DNA-based test for assessin...new prostate cancer genes

Reykjavik, February 10, 2008


- deCODE genetics (Nasdaq: DCGN) today announced the launch of deCODE PrCa™, a reference laboratory test for common, single-letter variations in the human genome (SNPs) that the company has associated with increased risk of prostate cancer. deCODE believes the test will be useful for better predicting risk of prostate cancer, helping to optimize both screening and treatment. deCODE PrCa™ detects a total of six previously discovered SNPs that have been confirmed in many populations, as well as two SNPs on chromosomes X and 2 that are reported by deCODE scientists in a paper published today in the online edition of Nature Genetics. Although most of the variants individually confer moderate risk, they are common and some are linked to more than less aggressive disease. Consequently, a substantial proportion of men have many risk variants that together confer clinically significant risk. Because of these variants, 10% of men are at twice the risk and 1% of men are at three times the risk of the disease in the general population.

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Pre-emptive strike on cancer hope

Scientists have launched a pre-emptive attack on the development of resistance to cancer treatments.
They have discovered a genetic mechanism by which breast and ovarian cancer caused by a faulty BRCA2 gene could become resistant to treatment.

It is hoped the findings will both help doctors identify which patients might benefit most from treatment, and stop drugs from losing their effectiveness..............