A compound found naturally in fruits like mangoes, grapes and strawberries has been discovered to dramatically fight malignancies.

Research recently done at Hong Kong University shows that the chemical lupeol sharply decreases tumor size and suppresses metastasis, the blood-borne spread of cancer from one part of the body to another. Lupeol has these effects, the study showed, while having no unhealthy impact on surrounding tissue or other organs in the body - something that's often not the case with conventional chemotherapy. (Read more about Fruit Chemical Shrinks Tumors)

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Ovarian tumors seem to thrive in the presence of high levels of a protein known as TG2, short for tissue type transglutaminase. And the more advanced they are, the more TG2 there is. But blocking production of the protein in mice reverses the tumors' growth.

In fact, researchers at the University of Texas' M.D. Anderson Cancer Center found that ovarian tumors, even in their advanced stages, could be shrunk by an average of 86 percent if a biochemical known as siRNA (a tiny strand of ribonucleic acid incorporated in small fat particles injected intravenously) was used together with the chemotherapy drug docetaxel. (Read more about Blocking a Protein Halts Tumor Growth)

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A study on breast cancer patients has found that those below age 45 who get radiation treatments are far more likely to contract cancer in the other, or contralateral, breast. The risk was discovered to be especially higher in women with breast cancer in their family history.

The researchers studied some 7,000 women who had been less than 71 years of age when they were diagnosed. All were one-year survivors of breast cancer, and were treated from 1970-86 in the Netherlands. (Read more about Radiation Increases Breast Cancer Risk in Some)

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A new source of stem cells could be as good as embryonic stem cells for researching and developing treatments for a range of serious diseases, and without the ethical implications of embryonic stem cells. Scientists from Germany and the UK have discovered this new source: routine biopsies of men's testicles.

Stem cells from embryos have the potential to become any cell in the body, since a whole person grows from a single fertilized egg. But ethical issues arise because extracting stem cells requires the destruction of embryos. (Read more about An Alternative, Ethical Source for Stem Cells)

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A new drug therapy that annihilates the blood vessels that grow to feed malignant tumors is showing considerable promise in increasing the longevity of patients with inoperable pancreatic cancer.

Recent research, led by Matthias Löhr of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, shows that a drug called EndoTAG-1 (chemical name: cationic lipid complexed paclitaxel), when infused with gemcitabine, can substantially extend life. In his study involving 200 subjects with pancreatic adenocarcinoma, Löhr treated half of them, the control group, with gemcitabine alone. (Read more about New Boon for Pancreatic Cancer Patients)

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Most of the news we hear about breast cancer deals with addressing the disease after it's already been diagnosed. The best treatment for any disease, is through prevention. Here are 10 ways to lower your breast cancer risk.

1. Exercise and be consistant about it. Moderate physical activity, like brisk walking, 3 times a week can reduce a young woman's risk of developing breast cancer by 33%, and the risk of breast cancer after menopause by 26%.

2. If you smoke, quit now. The sooner, the better. (Read more about 10 Ways to Lower Your Risk of Breast Cancer)

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“Over like 20 hours a day. I am on it all the time.” “When my battery dies I feel like I am stranded on an island.” “I do feel lost without my cell phone!”
What was life like before cell phones? For millions of Americans, cell phones have become remote lifelines for both business and leisure…for some it’s an addiction. (Read more about CELL PHONE USE AND TUMORS)

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Dr. Valentin Fuster discusses the Polypill. The Polypill is being developed in response to an important reality surrounding cardiovascular disease. There are three important drugs that can help prevent heart disease (statins, ACE inhibitors, and aspirin). These drugs are not taken for two major reasons. First, the drugs are simply too expensive for much of the world, including countries as developed as Russia. And secondly, in developed nations where the drugs are affordable patients too often fail to comply - after three years 70% of patients do not take the medications as prescribed. (Read more about What is the Polypill?)

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A recent study by Kaiser Permanente Researchers has found that the effects of alcohol on breast cancer are the same, regardless of whether a woman drinks wine, beer, or liquor. The ethyl alcohol found in those drinks and the quantity consumed are the factors that weigh heavily on breast cancer risk. Researchers believe the increased risk from three or more drinks a day is similar to the increased breast cancer risk from smoking a pack of cigarettes a day or more. They claim that "Population studies have consistently linked drinking alcohol to an increased risk of female breast cancer, but until now there has been little data, most of it conflicting, about an independant role played by the choice of beverage type." (Read more about All Types of Alcohol Linked to Breast Cancer Risk)

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The cervical cancer vaccine that was approved Thursday called Gardisil also appears to protect women against vulvar and vaginal cancers.

HPV, or human papillomavirus, is present in 80 percent of the 6,000 cases of vaginal and vulvar cancers diagnosed in the United States each year.

The Gardasil vaccine was 100 percent effective against vulvar and vaginal pre-cancerous lesions caused by HPV types 16 and 18, and 81 percent effective against all hpv types.

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The power of persuasion might be found in a cup of coffee.
New research shows caffeine makes us more likely to say yes.

Australian scientists found it was easier to change the opinions of volunteers who drank orange juice laced with caffeine compared to those who drank straight orange juice without caffeine.

Positive mood is associated with more agreeability.

This might be particularly useful if you’re trying to get someone to like you…so a cup of coffee might be a great first date. (Read more about Health Wrap - Week of June 5th)

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