http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/247628.php

"Article Date: 11 Jul 2012

New Target Found Deep Within Cancer Cells

Investigators reporting in the July issue of the Cell Press journal Cancer Cell have found that blocking a fundamental process deep within cancer cells can selectively kill them and spare normal cells.

For more than a century, clinicians have known that abnormalities of the nucleolus - a small, rounded mass within the cell nucleus - can be diagnostic for cancer. The nucleolus is where certain genes are read to form the components of ribosomes, the cellular machines that make proteins. While abnormalities in the nucleolus are known to be diagnostic for cancer, researchers have wondered whether they are required for cells to become malignant.

Now investigators have provided definitive evidence that accelerated reading of ribosomal genes is responsible for causing abnormal nucleoli and is necessary for the survival of cancer cells. They also show that blocking this accelerated reading in mice can set off a cascade of events that cause lymphoma and leukemia cells to die while sparing normal cells..."

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/247722.php

"Article Date: 11 Jul 2012

Killing Cancer Cells With Weed Plant Anti-Cancer Drug

A new anticancer drug made from a weed-like plant that grows naturally in the Mediterranean region has been shown to effectively destroy cancer cells in mice, according to a study published in the journal Science Translational Medicine.

The drug, developed by researchers at John Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center, in collaboration with Danish researchers, is able to move - undetected by normal cells - through the bloodstream until activated by specific cancer proteins.

According to the researchers, a three-day course of the new drug, called G202, reduced the size of human prostate tumors grown in mice by an average of 50% in 30 days..."

The latest articles from BMC Cancer, publishe...-Sep-2012 and 31-Oct-2012

Manitoba study finds cancer creates financial hardship for patients and families
By The Canadian Press | The Canadian Press – 13 hours ago
WINNIPEG - A study released in Winnipeg says the financial cost of cancer can be devastating on patients and their families.
For some, it begins a financial tailspin that results in debt, distress, bankruptcy and even a lifetime on social assistance.
The study by the Canadian Cancer Society and the Canadian Cancer Action Network says nine out of 10 families that experience a cancer diagnosis have some form of financial hardship.
The study also says it found one in five Canadians has no supplemental health insurance.
There was no one single challenge reported in the study but a combination of factors that led to financial hardship.
Sick time and vacation time gets used up, day-to-day living costs increase and unforseen expenditures come in the form of drugs and medical equipment.
Other major costs include child care, travel expenses and even the high cost of parking of hospital and other treatment centres.
“We heard heart-breaking stories of financial devastation, sometimes affecting three generations in a single family," said Pam King, chairwoman of the cancer care network.
“Some families are pushed so far that they never regain their financial footing, even after they’ve beaten this disease.”
Teresa Solta was a self-employed accountant who owned a successful business when the youngest of her four daughters was diagnosed with cancer of the spinal cord.
As a single mother, she immediately reduced her business activity so she could take care of her daughter full-time.
Two years later she was diagnosed with leukemia and had to stop work all together.
“Within a year’s time, I went from having a thriving business with employees to having to declare bankruptcy,’’ Solta says. “I lost my home. The five of us moved in temporarily with my parents in a two-bedroom apartment."
Mark McDonald, executive director of the Manitoba wing of the Canadian Cancer Society, says this study "gives a voice to cancer patients and their families and highlights the vital role we can all play in bringing about change."
The study calls for actions including improved federal supports for Canadians facing chronic illness and their caregivers; better statutory protections for people at risk of losing their jobs while caring for an ill family member; and improvements to provincial welfare programs so chronically ill people can retain a greater portion of their savings.
It also suggests other provinces follow Manitoba’s lead and provide coverage for all cancer treatment and support drugs.
The study took place over three years.

Breast Cancer; Applying chemotherapy prior to breast surgery gives equally good results in survival and may allow a woman to keep her breast.

Applying chemo before surgery may shrink a tumor enough to allow a lumpectomy instead of a full mastectomy, with identical survival prospects.

http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/...st-cancer-surgery/4392306

Click Show transcript on the site.