Neoplasms

Physical activity significantly extends lives of cancer survivors
Compared with men who expended fewer than 2,100 kilojoules per week in physical activity, men who expended more than 12,600 kilojoules per week were 48 percent less likely to die of any cause during the follow-up period. This finding was adjusted for age, smoking, body mass index, early parental mortality and dietary variables. (By comparison, a 176-pound man who walks briskly for 30 minutes a day, five days a week burns kilojoules.) 

There were similar findings for mortality from cancer and cardiovascular disease: the most physically active cancer survivors were 38 percent less likely to die of cancer and 49 percent less likely to die of cardiovascular disease during the follow-up period. Eurekalert!

A pill 'melts away' common form of leukemia
Use of a twice-daily pill could turn a deadly blood cancer into a highly treatable disease, according to scientists at Weill Cornell Medical College who led a multinational research team. Their findings on the therapy for chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), reported in the Jan. 22 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, suggest that patients may be able to avoid having to take debilitating chemotherapy.  Eurekalert!

Research discovers non–toxic cancer treatment
"The interferon alpha protein has well-known anti-cancer properties, but previous efforts to use it as a cancer treatment have been limited because it has to be administered at high levels, which can be toxic," she explains.

The study is published in Science Translational Medicine and is a crucial stepping stone to human clinical trials. MedicalXpress

Fragmented sleep accelerates cancer growth
Poor-quality sleep marked by frequent awakenings can speed cancer growth, increase tumor aggressiveness and dampen the immune system's ability to control or eradicate early cancers, according to a new study published online January 21, 2014, in the journal Cancer Research. The study is the first to demonstrate, in an animal model, the direct effects of fragmented sleep on tumor growth and invasiveness, and it points to a biological mechanism that could serve as a potential target for therapy. Eurekalert!

Breath test may detect signs of lung cancer, study finds
Having elevated levels of three of the four carbonyls was predictive of lung cancer in 95 percent of patients, while having normal levels of these substances was predictive of a noncancerous growth in 80 percent of patients, the researchers found.

Elevated carbonyl levels returned to normal after lung cancer patients had surgery to remove the cancer, according to the study, which was to be presented Tuesday at the Society of Thoracic Surgeons annual meeting in Orlando, Fla. MedicalXpress

New data contradict current recommendations for management of breast biopsy abnormalities
Contrary to existing understanding, long-term follow-up of patients with two types of breast tissue abnormalities suggests that both types of abnormalities have the same potential to progress to breast cancer, according to a study published in Cancer Prevention Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. Findings from this study could improve clinical management of patients with breast tissue abnormalities. Eurekalert!