Women who go on a low carb diet just two days per week have a lower risk of developing breast cancer compared to those who follow a standard calorie-restricted diet every day of the week, in order to lose weight and lower their insulin blood levels. Long-term high blood insulin levels are known to raise cancer risk. These findings were presented by scientists from Genesis Prevention Center at University Hospital in South Manchester, England, at the 2011 CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium. The researchers stressed that a larger, longer-term additional study is required. Michelle Harvie,...

Aging population means cost of care will increase by 27 percent in the next decade Following the life stages of baby boomers has become somewhat of a national pastime — and now, as the flower-power generation reaches the age of Medicare eligibility, policymakers are wondering how much their health care will cost. A new study published today by researchers at the National Cancer Institute predicts how much more the nation can expect to spend on its collective cancer care a decade from now. The aging of the population alone means that the cost of cancer care will increase by 27 percent between...

Study: Herceptin plus Tykerb help women with early breast cancer more than either drug alone SAN ANTONIO (AP) — New drug combinations are helping women with early breast cancer. Using two drugs that more precisely target tumors doubled the number of women whose cancer disappeared compared to those who had only one of the drugs, doctors reported Friday. However, another study added to the controversy over Avastin for breast cancer. Most women who received the drug for a few months before surgery fared no better than those who did not, it found. The studies were presented Friday at the San...

Glenda Kwek Australian experts have hailed as “remarkable” and “significant” a study that found taking aspirin daily cuts your risk of getting cancer, but cautioned the drug should not be regarded as a “magic bullet”. The British study, which was published in the medical journal The Lancet, analysed eight trials involving 25,570 patients, and found a daily dose of aspirin of less than 75 milligrams – about a quarter of an aspirin tablet – reduced cancer deaths by an average of 21 per cent during the studies and 34 per cent after five years. “It’s...

By Daily Mail Reporter Sleeping with the light on could leave you feeling low the next day, scientists have warned. They say that a night-light – however dim – may affect the structure of the brain, raising the odds of depression. The eerie glow emitted by a TV or the seemingly reassuring presence of a night-light could be enough to impact on mental health. It is the latest in a long line of warnings about the potential dangers of disrupting the body’s natural sleep-wake cycle. There are concerns that shift workers are at higher risk of breast cancer and, only last month, a study linked...

By Judy Peterson October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, bringing out pink ribbons, but more importantly drawing attention to the disease that more than 1,000 Santa Clara County women are expected to be diagnosed with this year. Early detection is key to survival, and now there is a new technology available locally that is being used to augment mammograms in high-risk patients. El Camino Hospital brought a 3T MRI online at its Mountain View campus a few weeks ago. “It’s an incredibly sensitive machine,” Dr. Jessie Jacob said. Jacob is the director of El Camino’s breast...

By Melinda Dodd The Cleveland Clinic announced a possible breakthrough—but is a breast cancer vaccine too good to be true? It’s something generations of women could only dream about: a cancer vaccine that keeps malignant cells from taking hold in the breast, and stops tumors in their tracks. Announced earlier this week by the Cleveland Clinic, the proposed breast-cancer vaccine contains a small amount of alpha-lactalbumin, a protein that researchers say is present in the majority of breast tumors. The vaccine is intended to create an immune response in your body that should help you beat...

(Reuters) – An experimental new breast cancer drug made from sea sponges helped in a range of cancers, from breast cancer to sarcoma, researchers report. Three studies show the drug, Eisai’s eribulin, was effective and tolerated in patients with breast cancer, colon cancer and urinary cancer, according to brief data released on Thursday by the American Society of Clinical Oncology. Sarcomas are cancers that grow from muscle or bone. A fourth study of patients with advanced breast cancer will be detailed in a “late-breaker” session at ASCO’s annual meeting in June. The...

Women who take multivitamin pills daily have a higher incidence of breast cancer than those that do not take vitamins supplements, according to a new Swedish study which has been unable to explain why. “Even if we do not know whether there is a causal link, our results are an alarm signal which must be taken seriously and researched further,” said Susanna Larsson at Karolinska Institutet to Uppsala Nya Tidning. 35,000 women in Uppsala and Västmanland county took part in the study which has been published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. None of the women had cancer when...

By Helen Briggs Health reporter, BBC News Five genetic clues to why some women have a family history of breast cancer have been identified by UK researchers. It brings to 18 the number of common genetic variations linked to a small increased risk of breast cancer. The Cambridge University-led research, published in Nature Genetics, could see targeted screening and treatment of women more likely to get breast cancer. It is thought about one in 20 of all breast cancers are down to inherited faults in known genes. Breast cancer is the most common cancer in the UK with more than 45,500 new cases...