Oncology

The immunosuppressant drugs, which are routinely used to treat Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), may increase the chances of developing skin cancer. This is the findings of two new studies published in the current issue of the journal “Gastroenterology.” The first study has found an association between thiopurines, used in the treatment of IBD, with an increased risk of non-melanoma skin cancers, while the second study has also found that patients of IBD are more likely to develop skin cancers...

Like any other cell, tumor cells also rely on essential nutrients for their rapid growth and proliferation. Now researchers from Sydney have found an essential nutrient, whose supply when cut off, can result in the slowing down of the progression of prostate cancer cells. This offers an exciting new modality of treatment of prostate cancer, a disease which kills about 3,300 Australians annually. Dr Jeff Holst, from the Centenary Institute, Sydney, along with his associates, has found that...

A recent study published in the Journal of American Medical Association has tried to find the link between breast cancer and the quantity and frequency of alcohol consumption. The study, led by Dr. Wendy Y. Chen from the Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, has found that even moderate consumption of alcohol of not more than 3 to 6 glasses per week increases the risk of breast cancer. The study included 105,986 women enrolled in...

Earlier studies have indicated that there is an increased risk of developing colorectal, liver and pancreatic cancers in women suffering from diabetes. Now, a new study has implicated the increased risk of breast cancer on diabetes. The research, carried out by Dr. Jeffrey Johnson, from the University of Alberta in Edmonton, along with his colleagues, has found that patients with diabetes have blood sugar levels which provide an ideal platform for the cancer cells to grow. Apart from this, both...

Drugs from the class “aromatase inhibitors” are frequently used in the treatment of breast cancer. Breast cancer cells grow in the presence of estrogen hormone. Aromatase inhibitors interfere with the production of estrogen in post menopausal women and thus prevent the cancer cells from growing. However, when used for a long duration, these aromatase inhibitors are associated with bone loss and fractures. Now researchers have found that a medicine used in the treatment of osteoporosis, called...