New Screening Technique Better for Detecting Breast Cancer

Traditional breast cancer screening consists of monthly self-exams, yearly professional exams, and, for older or high-risk women, mammograms. With recent advances in breast cancer screening and treatment, women have a better chance of surviving the disease than ever before. Scientists and doctors are trying to increase that chance even further, and recently unveiled a new screening technique that may go on to save thousands of lives.

Molecular breast imaging (MBI) is a new technology which was presented this week at the American Society of Clinical Oncology's 2008 Breast Cancer Symposium in Washington, D.C. Unlike mammograms, MBI images the breast using a an injected radiotracter that is able to detect different behaviors between cancerous and healthy cells. In a study presented at the symposium, MBI detected 10 out of 13 cancers among 375 patients. Mammograms detected three. Together, the techniques would have detected 11.

In addition to detecting more cancers, MBI produces fewer false positives than mammograms; 28% of MBI-prompted biopsies proved to be cancerous, compared with only 28% of mammogram prompted biopsies. "Based on the results, MBI has shown great promise as a valuable adjunct to screening mammography in women with dense breasts and who are at an increased risk of developing cancer," said study author Carrie B. Hruska, a research fellow in the department of radiology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.

MBI technology is relatively inexpensive and easy to use. The future of the treatment depends upon it's spread across the country, as the screening is not yet widely available.

To read more, visit http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/03/AR2008090303193.html

Tobacco Plants Turn Over a New Leaf, Help Fight Cancer

For as bad a rap as tobacco gets in the health media, recent studies showing it's positive role helping to FIGHT cancer as opposed to causing it may make this a cash crop for good instead of evil. Scientists have used tobacco plants as sort of incubator to grow enough of the tumor-like proteins to trigger a response from the immune system. The proteins were then taken from their tobacco-leaf petri dishes and injected back into the volunteers. Once the cells are back in the patient's system, the body can "recognize it as a potential danger and send out armies of disease-killing cells to seek and destroy tumors harboring it."This inexpensive process resulted in 11 out of 16 volunteers with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma experiencing an essentially side-effect free immune response, successfully supplementing their ongoing chemotherapy treatments.


more info can be found at the original link:http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=cancer-vaccine-tobacco-plants&sc=rss

and if you too were unfamiliar with Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (which about 18,000 Americans are diagnosed with annually), this article explains... and illustrates why a vaccine is such good news!http://www.webmd.com/cancer/non-hodgkins-lymphoma/understanding-non-hodgkins-lymphoma-basics

Turning the Tables on Disease: Using Viruses to Our Advantage

Malvern, PA

The nasty thing about viruses is that they're virtually unstoppable. Other than our own immune systems, nothing really fights them off. That's why, as we all know, there's no cure for the common cold.

But what if we could turn the tables and use viruses for our own purposes? What if we could use them like microscopic soldiers to fight, say, cancer? That's exactly what Dr. Paul Hallenbeck of Neotropix is working on. His team has been testing the recently discovered Seneca Valley Virus-001 to discover whether or not it has the potential to kill tumor cells. Of course, it also has to spare healthy cells.

This idea isn't new, and anti-cancer viruses have shown promise in the past. However the Seneca Valley Virus-001 has a special advantage: it can be borne by human blood to all parts of the body. That means it has the potential to fight metastatic cancer.

Dr. Hallenbeck has tested the virus in lab rats with lung and eye tumors, with tremendously promising results.

To read more, visit http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071030160940.htm