Articles

More than 10 years after diagnosis, women with the most common and least aggressive subtype of breast cancer were still at risk of death from the disease, according to a Kaiser Permanente study.

Treating breast cancer in postmenopausal women with aromatase inhibitors leads to high degrees of sexual difficulties. These side effects include low interest, insufficient lubrication, and pain with intercourse, according to researchers from Örebro University and Uppsala University in Sweden.

Researchers have discovered a significant link between antibodies for multiple oral bacteria and the risk of pancreatic cancer.

The study, published in the journal Gut, found that high antibody levels for an infectious periodontal bacterium strain of Porphyromonas gingivalis were associated with double the risk for pancreatic cancer. Conversely, a 45% lower risk of pancreatic cancer was associated with high levels of antibodies for harmless “commensal” oral bacteria.

Despite the fact that most survivors of adolescent and young adult cancers have health insurance, many avoid routine medical care because it’s too expensive, according to a new study published early online in Cancer. Thus, simply increasing insurance coverage for young cancer survivors may not be enough to preserve their long-term health.

A new report states that in spite of declining death rates, cancer has exceeded heart disease as the leading cause of death among Hispanics in the US. According to American Cancer Society researchers, 29,935 people of Hispanic origin in the US died of cancer in 2009, compared with 29,611 deaths from heart disease that same year.

In 2012, an estimated 112,800 new cases of cancer will be diagnosed and 33,200 cancer deaths will occur among Hispanics, the largest and fastest growing major demographic group in the US.

University of Utah School of Medicine researchers have found compelling evidence that Parkinson’s disease (PD) is associated with an increased risk of prostate cancer and melanoma. Research analysis shows this increased cancer risk also extends to close and distant relatives of individuals with PD, a progressive neurologic condition that leads to tremors and difficulty with walking, movement, and coordination. This is the first time that an increased risk of prostate cancer has been reported in PD.

Women with type 2 diabetes are nearly 30% more likely to get breast cancer, according to a comprehensive review of 40 separate studies examining the potential link between breast cancer and diabetes. The analysis, by researchers at the International Prevention Research Institute (i-PRI), Lyon, is published in the British Journal of Cancer.

A new study, published online in the journal Cancer Causes and Control, shows that smoking during the middle-aged years significantly increases a patient’s risk of dying of cancer.

Northwestern Medicine researchers discovered that there is a greater risk of dying of cancer for male smokers than for female smokers. However, both male and female smokers are much more likely than nonsmokers to die of the disease.

An international study published in BMJ online included almost 2000 women with BRCA faults from the Netherlands, France, and the UK between 2006 and 2009. Researchers sought to determine if variations in DNA increased the risk of breast cancer after a patient’s exposure to low doses of radiation.

A new device for breast cancer screening has been approved for women with dense breast tissue who have a negative mammogram and no symptoms of breast cancer. The FDA has approved the somo-v Automated Breast Ultrasound System (ABUS), the first ultrasound device for use in combination with a standard mammography of dense breast tissue.

The specially shaped transducer of the somo-v ABUS can automatically scan the entire breast in about 1 minute to produce several images for review.