Qigong can help fight fatigue in prostate cancer survivors
The flowing movements and meditative exercises of the mind-body activity Qigong may help survivors of prostate cancer to combat fatigue. These are the findings of a trial study led by Dr. Anita Y. Kinney at the University of New Mexico Cancer Center and Dr. Rebecca Campo at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The study took place at the Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah, and was published in Springer’s Journal of Cancer Survivorship.
Severe fatigue is one of the most common cancer-related symptoms reported by cancer survivors, particularly for prostate cancer survivors receiving androgen deprivation therapy (ADT). This subjective sense of physical, emotional or cognitive exhaustion may persist for months or years following treatment. It greatly diminishes survivors' quality of life by limiting their ability to perform daily activities and causes significant distress.
Maximizing Broccoli's Cancer-Fighting Potential
Spraying a plant hormone on broccoli — already one of the planet’s most nutritious foods — boosts its cancer-fighting potential, and researchers say they have new insights on how that works. They published their findings, which could help scientists build an even better, more healthful broccoli, in ACS’ Journal of Agricultural & Food Chemistry.
Genetic errors identified in 12 major cancer types
Examining 12 major types of cancer, scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have identified 127 repeatedly mutated genes that appear to drive the development and progression of a range of tumors in the body. The discovery sets the stage for devising new diagnostic tools and more personalized cancer treatments.
The research, published Oct. 17 in Nature, shows that some of the same genes commonly mutated in certain cancers also occur in seemingly unrelated tumors. For example, a gene mutated in 25 percent of leukemia cases in the study also was found in tumors of the breast, rectum, head and neck, kidney, lung, ovary and uterus.
Drug activates virus against cancer
Scientists from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) have discovered that a drug called valproic acid increases the effectiveness of parvoviruses that are used against cancer. In some cases, pancreatic and cervical tumors that had been transplanted to rats completely regressed after treatment with a combination of the virus and an agent. The drug makes the viruses replicate more rapidly and improves their capacity to kill cancer cells.
LOW DOSES OF AN APPROVED DRUG SWITCHES ON PATHWAY THAT ALLOWS CHEMOTHERAPY TO KILL CANCER
Patients with an aggressive lymphoma that often relapses and kills within two years experienced a remission of their cancer and stayed disease-free as long as 28 months after taking a commercially available drug that made chemotherapy more effective.