Treatments

 BLACKSBURG, Va., April 8, 2013 – A study at the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine has identified a chicken-killing virus as a promising treatment for prostate cancer in humans.

Researchers have discovered that a genetically engineered Newcastle disease virus, which harms chickens but not humans, kills prostate cancer cells of all kinds, including hormone-resistant cancer cells. The work of Dr. Elankumaran Subbiah, associate professor of virology in the Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology, along with Dr. Siba Samal, associate dean and chairman of the University of Maryland’s Department of Veterinary Medicine, and Shobana Raghunath, a graduate student in Subbiah’s laboratory, appears in the April 2013 issue of the Journal of Virology.

Read more: Virginia Tech study finds virus promising for prostate cancer treatment

Treatments

Research led by RMIT University has shown that cheap, non-toxic nanoparticles can enhance radiotherapy treatments for cancer.

An international team of researchers led by RMIT has investigated alternatives to gold nanoparticles, which have been shown to concentrate radiation used to treat cancer but are highly expensive and mildly toxic.

Doctoral researcher Mamdooh Alqathami said the team had identified bismuth as an ideal option, with tests showing that enhancing radiotherapy by using nanoparticles containing the heavy metal almost doubled the dose of radiation to surrounding cancerous tissue.

"By enhancing radiation in the tumour, doctors may be able to decrease the initial dose of radiotherapy, which will hopefully result in fewer side effects for the patient while having the same impact on the cancer," Mr Alqathami, a researcher in the School of Medical Sciences, said.

Read more: Metal nanoparticles may improve cancer treatment

Detection

Researchers at the University of Oslo (UiO) have developed a completely new method for differentiating between breast cancer patients with high and low risks of dying from the illness.

'Current methods cannot predict who will do well and who will not. We have wanted to identify the very seriously ill patients so that they can receive aggressive treatment', says Hege Russnes at the Department of Pathology and the Department of Medical Genetics at the Oslo University Hospital and UiO.

To be on the safe side, many breast cancer patients are treated unnecessarily with chemotherapy.

Read more: Discovers aggressive breast cancers

Detection

Particle physicists have developed a new medical technology that combines PET and MRI in one. Benefit: Improved image quality and less radiation.

Current cancer examinations involve high levels of radiation. Based on the Big Bang research in CERN, particle physicists at University in Oslo have created a brand new technology that combines the PET and MR medical imaging technologies. This combination involves much less radiation than current technology. 

Read more: New cancer scanner halves radiation

Research

While scientists hotly debate the existence of cancer stem cells, three related new studies, all conducted on mice, provide some supporting evidence.

Stem cells are the foundation for healthy cell growth in the body. Some researchers believe that malignant stem cells also exist -- so-called cancer stem cells that generate tumors and resist treatment by simply re-growing afterward.

Read more: Evidence Grows That Cancer Has Its Own Stem Cells

Diet and Lifestyle

The surest way to confirm your immune status is through blood testing; therefore, when combining the following blood panels, (groupings of blood tests) for analysis, an overall picture of functionality becomes clear.

They are:

•  Chemistry Panel and Complete Blood Count
•  Male and Female Panel
•  T-Lymphocyte Helper / Suppressor Profile
•  Cytokine Panel
•  Magnesium
•  VIT. D 25 -Hydroxy
•  Antinuclear Antibody (ANA)
•  ESR (Sedimentation Rate)
•  Cortisol AM /  PM

  Read more: Determining the Quality of the Immune System