Targeted cancer therapies such as trastuzumab (Herceptin), gefitinib (Iressa) and erlotinib (Tarceva) could be used to treat a wider range of cancers than previously thought, according to new research presented today (Wednesday) at the 22nd EORTC-NCI-AACR [1] Symposium on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics in Berlin. Scientists in the USA have studied 20 genes that […]
Scientists identify potential new target for treating triple negative breast cancer
Scientists believe they may have found a new target for treating triple negative breast cancer – one of the more difficult breast cancers to treat successfully and for which there is no targeted therapy at present. Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a cancer that does not express receptors for oestrogen (ER), progesterone (PR) or […]
Use of mild painkillers in pregnancy is associated with an increased risk of male reproductive problems
New evidence has emerged that the use of mild painkillers such as paracetamol, aspirin and ibuprofen, may be part of the reason for the increase in male reproductive disorders in recent decades. Research published in Europe’s leading reproductive medicine journal Human Reproduction today (Monday 8 November) shows that women who took a combination of more […]
Parental infertility and cerebral palsy in children born spontaneously or after IVF/ICSI
Doctors have known for some time that children born after fertility treatments such as in vitro fertilisation (IVF) or intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) are at increased risk of cerebral palsy. However, it was not known whether this risk was due to the treatment itself, the higher frequency of preterm or multiple births, or a mechanism […]
Watching violent TV or video games desensitises teenagers and may promote more aggressive behaviour
Watching violent films, TV programmes or video games desensitises teenagers, blunts their emotional responses to aggression and potentially promotes aggressive attitudes and behaviour, according to new research published online today in the Oxford Journal Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience (Tuesday 19 October). Although previous research has suggested that people can become more aggressive and desensitised […]
MEPs and health professionals call for urgent action to tackle chronic diseases
Members of the European Parliament are calling on the Presidency of the EU and Member States to tackle urgently the problem of chronic non-communicable diseases that are responsible for 86% of all deaths in the WHO European Region. Their call is supported by an alliance of European health professionals, including ECCO – the European CanCer […]
Reaction to Bob Edwards winning the Nobel Prize for Medicine
In reaction to the news that Robert Edwards has been awarded the 2010 Nobel Prize for Medicine for his work pioneering in vitro fertilisation, Prof Martin Johnson, Professor of Reproductive Sciences at the University of Cambridge, said: “As one of Bob’s first research students, I’m naturally delighted that Bob Edwards has been awarded the Nobel […]
Intrauterine devices (IUDs) can be used to treat endometrial cancer
Intrauterine devices, originally developed as contraceptives, can also be used to treat and cure cancer of the endometrium according to new research published online in the cancer journal, Annals of Oncology [1] today (Wednesday 29 September). The finding opens the way for young women with the disease, which affects the lining of the womb, to […]
Cancer deaths fall, but prevention still lags behind; short-term economic outlook must not damage long-term health, researchers say
Although overall mortality from cancer is decreasing in the European Union, its incidence increased by almost 20%, from 2.1 million new cases in 2002 to 2.5 million in 2008, says a special issue [1] of the European Journal of Cancer (the official journal of ECCO – the European CanCer Organisation) on cancer prevention, published today […]
Smoking damages men’s sperm and also the numbers of germ and somatic cells in developing embryos
Two new studies have shed more light on how smoking may damage fertility, and give further weight to advice that mothers and fathers-to-be should stop smoking before attempting to conceive. The research is published online in Europe’s leading reproductive medicine journal Human Reproduction today (Wednesday 8 September). In the first study [1], researchers found that […]