Scientific American Topic - Cancer

New Hope for Battling Brain Cancer (preview)

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 09:00:00 EST

In May 2006 Dwayne Berg woke up on a gurney in a Seattle emergency room, an IV in his arm and a team of doctors and nurses working him up. The last thing the 42-year-old financial executive could remember was running on a treadmill at his gym, part of his regular fitness regimen. He had suffered a seizure and tumbled off the machine, and although he had not hurt himself in the fall, doctors had asked for an MRI scan of his brain to see if they could find a cause for the seizure.

They did, and the news was not good: the scan showed a large mass in the left frontal lobe that turned out to be a malignant glioma, a brain cancer that is almost invariably fatal. Berg underwent standard treatment: an operation to remove the tumor, followed by chemotherapy and radiation to eradicate any cancer cells that might remain.

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Busting Big Myths in Popular Psychology (preview)

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 09:00:00 EST

Parts of this article are adapted from 50 Great Myths of Popular Psychology: Shattering Widespread Misconceptions about Human Behavior , by Scott O. Lilienfeld, Steven Jay Lynn, John Ruscio and Barry L. Beyerstein. Copyright © Wiley-Blackwell, 2010.

Popular psychology has become a fixture in our society, and its aphorisms, truths and half-truths permeate our everyday existence. A casual stroll through our neighborhood bookstore reveals dozens of self-help, relationship, recovery and addiction books that serve up heaping portions of advice for steering us along life’s rocky road. About 3,500 self-help books are published every year, and numerous new Internet sites on mental health sprout up every month.

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Cold Comfort: Young Women with Cancer Can Freeze an Ovary to Keep Kids in the Picture

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 10:15:00 EST

As chemotherapy and radiation treatments improve, children with cancer are living longer. The average five-year survival rate for a range of childhood cancers increased from 58 percent to 81 percent between 1975 and 2005, according to statistics from the National Cancer Institute . But although many of these children now survive cancer-free into their reproductive years, their fertility might not. In young women and girls, direct radiation and chemotherapy drugs can stop egg production by the ovaries--meaning that along with the tumor, hopes for pregnancy are often eradicated. [More]

Tapped Out?: Are Chlorine's Beneficial Effects in Drinking Water Offset by Its Links to Cancer?

Mon, 25 Jan 2010 13:00:00 EST

Dear EarthTalk: I am very concerned about the amount of chlorine in my tap water. I called my water company and they said it is safe just let the tap run for awhile to rid the smell of the chlorine. But that just gets rid of the smell, perhaps, not the chlorine? --Anita Frigo, Milford, Conn.

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Reality Checkup: Medical Artificial Intelligence Still a Hard Sell in the Clinic

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 14:20:00 EST

When a clogged artery landed Peter Szolovits in the hospital for a coronary bypass operation in mid-October, he noticed a few incongruities other patients might not have. Machines that performed intertwined functions--dosing and delivering medication, for example--did not communicate with one another, and patient statistics detailed on paper were not in the hospital's electronic medical records. [More]

A genetic marker for aggressive prostate cancer emerges

Mon, 11 Jan 2010 15:05:00 EST

A host of genome-wide studies has shown that a man's genetic makeup can predispose him to prostate cancer, currently the most common form of cancer in men other than skin cancer. Most older men will, in fact, eventually develop some lesions that would be clinically diagnosed as prostate cancer, even though a minority of those cases will turn out to be aggressive . But current screening techniques can rarely distinguish between the two, leaving some vulnerable to rapidly attacking cancers and others to unnecessary treatment. [More]

Could Re-Wilding Avert the 6th Great Extinction? [Slide Show]

Tue, 05 Jan 2010 16:01:00 EST

Editor's Note: The following is an excerpt from Caroline Fraser's book Rewilding the World .

Over the years, coyotes ate many of Michael Soulé’s cats. For most people, this might have been the end of the story, a nasty reminder of nature’s darker proclivities. But Michael Soulé is not most people.

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Genetic analysis reveals parasitic origin of contagious cancer devastating Tasmanian devils

Thu, 31 Dec 2009 14:29:00 EST

The deadly, contagious cancer that puts Tasmanian devils ( Sarcophilus harrisii ) at risk of extinction may have originated in another species, according to research published Thursday in the journal Science . [More]

Triple-Drug Cocktail in the Works for Hepatitis C Therapy

Tue, 15 Dec 2009 10:34:00 EST

People infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV) face a long road of drug treatment that, in the best cases, can cure their infections and allow their livers to recover from HCV-associated liver disease, whose symptoms range from scarring and cancer to organ failure. Unfortunately, for nearly half of those treated for the most common strain of HCV, the standard antiviral drugs do not succeed in clearing the virus. And, even in cases where the drug regime is effective, flulike symptoms, depression and anemia are common side effects during the 48-week treatment period. [More]

The Double Life of ATP in Humans (preview)

Mon, 14 Dec 2009 08:00:00 EST

One of the first and most enduring facts most students learn in biology class is that all living cells use a small molecule called adenosine triphosphate (ATP) as fuel. That universal energy currency drives the biological reactions that allow cells to function and life to flourish--making ATP a crucial player in the biological world.

Less commonly known, however, is that what is perhaps the most produced and consumed molecule in the human body also has a completely separate but no less essential role outside of cells. A long series of discoveries has now demonstrated beyond doubt that ATP is a critical signaling molecule that allows cells and tissues throughout the body to communicate with one another. The universal fuel, in effect, serves as a common language as well.

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Cancer Cells?: Brain Tumor Numbers Steady Despite Increased Mobile Phone Use

Thu, 03 Dec 2009 18:30:00 EST

As cell phones and smart phones take over more communication, information and entertainment functions, concerns about their possible role in causing brain cancer are buzzing on the airwaves. [More]

As increasingly early puberty ups breast cancer risk, researchers search environment for clues

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 18:10:00 EST

NEW YORK--Women who reach puberty early have a higher risk of developing breast cancer than those who reach it late. So as the age of puberty's onset among U.S. girls continues to drop, researchers are trying to figure out why--and how this growing risk factor might be avoided. [More]

Conquering cancer with implants? Bioengineered vaccines and magnetic nanodiscs show promise

Sun, 29 Nov 2009 13:01:00 EST

Rather than surgically removing tumors , what if doctors could simply implant new tools in our bodies to do the work internally? One team of researchers has been able to vanquish tumors in mice by implanting bioengineered disks filled with tumor-specific antigens, and another has developed magnetized nanodiscs to induce cancer cells to destroy themselves. [More]

What to Do about Endocrine Disruptors? A Q&A with Linda Birnbaum

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:37:00 EST

Nearly a year ago, toxicologist Linda Birnbaum was named director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and the National Toxicology Program. She sat down with Environmental Health News journalist Jane Kay in San Francisco on Wednesday to answer questions about the environmental health risks we face today. [More]

Women should undergo fewer Pap tests for cervical cancer, medical group says

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:25:00 EST

Just days after the release of controversial new guidelines recommending against routine mammograms for most women under 50, a different group of medical professionals has announced that the frequency of Pap tests for cervical cancer detection should also be decreased for most women. [More]

Government panel recommends fewer and later mammograms, no self-exams

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 18:25:00 EST

Most women would do fine to hold off until age 50 for their first mammograms and skip self-exams for breast lumps altogether, according to new government recommendations released Monday that came as a surprise to many in the medical community--and women in general. [More]

The AMA eases its stance on marijuana

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 11:00:00 EST

The Obama administration announced last month that people who buy or sell medical marijuana in the growing number of states that have decriminalized its therapeutic usage should not be targeted for arrest or prosecution by federal authorities. Now, the American Medical Association (AMA) has called for the federal government to go one step further in easing restrictions, the Los Angeles Times reported last week . [More]

Out of Africa: The Tobacco War's New Battleground

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 10:30:00 EST

Africa is already beleaguered by infectious diseases, such as AIDS and malaria, but now the continent's residents face growing health threats from preventable illnesses brought on by lifestyle changes, such as from poor diets and smoking. [More]

Sicilian Curse: People Living Near Volcanic Mount Etna Could Face Increased Risk of Thyroid Cancer

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 10:00:00 EST

At nearly 11,000 feet, Mount Etna in eastern Sicily is one of the world's most active volcanoes. And while the peak erupts at a slow enough rate for people to escape a lava burial, the gentle giant could put people at an increased risk of a different hazard--the development of thyroid cancer. [More]

Tenuous Times for the Endangered Florida Panther

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 13:00:00 EST

Dear EarthTalk: What's the story with the Florida Panther these days? Is it still teetering on the brink of extinction, or is it on the rebound? --Alex T., via email

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