A biotechnology company that holds patents on the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes may lose them after a federal judge ruled that seven of their 23 patents involving the genes tied to breast and ovarian cancers should not have been granted, the New York Times reports. The American Civil Liberties Union and the Public Patent Foundation filed a suit last year, claiming that patents held by Myriad Genetics kept competitors from creating tests to find mutations in the genes and stifled research.If the court’s decision is upheld, the biotechnology industry would “have to get more creative about how to retain exclusivity and attract capital in the face of potentially weaker patent protection,” said Kenneth Chahine, who filed an amicus brief for Myriad, the Times reports. Read the rest of this entry »
After 2 years of her husband’s death Amanda Bennet examines the cost of keeping one man alive suffering from cancer. Read the rest of this entry »
2009 estimates projected that in the United States alone 21,550 new cases of ovarian cancer would be diagnosed and 14,600 women would die of the disease. Often diagnosed in late stages, ovarian cancer has an asymptomatic onset and a relatively low 5-year survival rate of about 45%. Consequently investigation linked to survivorship is critical. A study published in the March 2010 issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, is among the first to evaluate possible diet associations with ovarian cancer survival. Researchers from the University of Illinois at Chicago determined that there is a strong relationship between healthy eating and prolonged survival. Read the rest of this entry »
Eating pomegranates or drinking pomegranate juice may help prevent and slow the growth of some types of breast cancer. A new study shows a group of phytochemicals called ellagitannins found in abundance in pomegranates inhibited the growth of estrogen-responsive breast cancer in laboratory tests. Read the rest of this entry »
Acupuncture not only cools hot flashes that occur as a result of breast cancer treatment but may offer a host of other benefits to boost women’s well-being.
A new study shows acupuncture was as good as drug therapy with Effexor (venlafaxine) at easing hot flashes in breast cancer patients, but it also improved sex drive, energy levels, and clarity of thought. Read the rest of this entry »
The FDA today approved Cervarix, a new vaccine to prevent cervical cancer and precancerous lesions caused by human papillomavirus (HPV) types 16 and 18. The vaccine is approved for use in girls and women ages 10 years through 25 years. Read the rest of this entry »
Teresa Heinz, a part-time Wood River Valley resident for more than 30 years, has announced that she is being treated for breast cancer, but has a 95 percent chance of recovery.
Heinz, 71, and her husband, Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, the 2004 Democratic presidential nominee, own a house just north of Ketchum along the Big Wood River. Read the rest of this entry »
The results of a recent study suggest that people suffering from Alzheimer’s disease are less likely to develop cancer and people with cancer are less likely to contract Alzheimer’s disease.
A group of 3,020 people aged 65 and older were selected. Of this group, 164 people already had Alzheimer’s disease and 522 people already had a cancer diagnosis. Researchers tracked the group for an average of five years to see whether they developed dementia and an average of eight years to see whether they developed cancer. Read the rest of this entry »
The initial data from a Phase III study using the Revlimid in multiple myeloma patients who had undergone stem cell transplant reported that the trial had met its primary endpoint of a statistically significant improvement in time to disease progression. Read the rest of this entry »
We have been writing a series on “cancer and sexuality” for past few weeks and hopefully this series helped people with cancer to better understand how it affects the sexuality. In part 1 of this series we covered about the question what is sexuality and how cancer affects it. In part 2 we covered what type of cancer treatments exist and how they bring changes in woman and man’s sexuality. Finally in the previous article part 3 we cover various remedies available for changes in sexuality due to cancer. Read the rest of this entry »
Most Commented