Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) investigators have shown that an MGH-developed, microchip-based device that detects and analyzes tumor cells in the bloodstream can be used to determine the genetic signature of lung tumors, allowing identification of those appropriate for targeted treatment and monitoring genetic changes that occur during therapy.

CTCs or circulating tumor cells are living solid-tumor cells found at extremely low levels in the bloodstream.

“The study of the CTC-chip device opens up a whole new field of studying tumors in real time,” says Daniel Haber, MD, director of the MGH Cancer Center and the study’s senior author.

“When the device is ready for larger clinical trials, it should give us new options for measuring treatment response, defining prognostic and predictive measures, and studying the biology of blood-borne metastasis, which is the primary method by which cancer spreads and becomes lethal.”

The current study was designed to find whether the device could go beyond detecting CTCs to helping analyze the genetic mutations that can make a tumor sensitive to treatment with targeted therapy drugs.

The researchers tested blood samples from patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the leading cause of cancer death in the U.S.

Whenever your skin is exposed to harmful rays of sun, it can cause the most irritating skin cancer. The early signs of skin cancer can primarily change the texture of your skin that mainly results in growth or irritation on your skin.

Where do the signs of skin cancer primarily appear?

Apart from the sun exposed parts of your skin, the signs of skin cancer also develop on or surrounding areas of non-cancerous skin growth that are damaged due to any other reason.

But, more often, skin cancer primarily develops on certain specific parts of body including scalp, lips, ears, chest, neck, arms, and hands and also on legs of your body.

Very rarely, you can notice the signs of skin cancer at certain areas of your body that are rarely exposed to harmful rays of sun. These areas can mainly include palms, spaces between your toes and also at the genital areas of your body.

Do you think any change in your skin texture as a sign of skin cancer?

Not all the changes in your skin are considered as a sign of skin cancer. Most of the moles and other abnormal growths on your skin doesn’t cause any harm for your health and do not need to be removed. Only certain moles that look unattractive or which causes persistent irritation by clothing can be considered as a sign of cancer.

Surgeons are increasingly offering an added benefit to their breast-cancer patients: removing the tumor and cosmetically repairing the breast at the same time.

Women with breast cancer traditionally would see a cancer surgeon to have the diseased tissue removed and later see a plastic surgeon for reconstruction.

Now, more cancer surgeons are getting trained in cosmetic techniques that preserve or restore a breast’s shape or appearance. This emerging field of “oncoplastic surgery” could allow a patient to minimize the number of times she must go under the knife.

The shift comes as traditional plastic surgeons turn increasingly to purely cosmetic procedures, which pay more. Indeed, the number of breast-reconstruction surgeries declined 29% to 57,100 last year from 2000, a development the American Society of Plastic Surgeons attributes in part to poor insurance reimbursement for these procedures.

Breast cancer strikes one out of eight American women at some time in their lives. Making plans for breast reconstruction at the same time as cancer surgery can speed a woman on the path of psychological, as well as physical, recovery. And by combining procedures to reduce the number of operations, it also reduces the risk of complications from successive surgeries.

Do you provide proper care for your lips? Most of you might be in a misconception that your lips do not need any protection from sun. But, this is quite untrue; your lips definitely need protection against sun. This is because, over exposure of your lips towards sun can certainly develop lip cancer, the most common form of oral cancer.

Many researches show that people with light-colored skin, who experience higher levels of sun exposure, are at increased risk of developing lip cancer. The occurrence of lip cancer is usually more common in climates where the reception of sun rays is rather high. In many cases, any particular damage to your lips due to overexposure to sun often turns into a lip cancer.

How to identify lip cancer?

More often people ignore the possible symptoms of lip cancer and fail to treat them at right time. Many times, people treat the symptoms of lip cancer as cold sores. Some of the most common symptoms of lip cancer can mainly include:

• Lumps on surrounding areas of lips
• Frequent bleeding from lips
• Discolored lump on lip

Do you have a habit of smoking? Are you aware of larynx cancer? Cancer of larynx is mostly found in people who smoke too much. So, if you have a habit of smoking too much, try to know more about this particular condition, to avoid it in your life.

Cancer of larynx develops in any part of your larynx. The inner walls of larynx are lined with cells called squamous cells. When these cells grow abnormally, it results in larynx cancer. If larynx cancer spreads to other surrounding areas, the cancer cells mostly spreads to nearby lymph nodes in your neck and also damages your tongue and other parts of your throat and neck.

Are there any treatment options available?

There are many methods of treating larynx cancer. Some of the most effective and recommended methods of larynx cancer mainly include surgery, chemotherapy or radiation therapy. Radiation therapy mainly uses high-energy X-rays to kill the cancerous cells in your larynx.

Larynx cancer is also treated with radiation therapy in combination with various other effective methods of treatment. Some of the most effective combinations can mainly include:

A drug prescribed to combat brittle bones has been shown to prevent invasive breast cancer.

A study has found that raloxifene - a drug used to prevent and treat osteoporosis - reduces the risk of developing invasive breast cancers by more than 50%.

The drug works by binding to oestrogen receptors in the body, and by doing this it could be preventing some of the effects of oestrogen “that spur cancer growth”.

Previous research has suggested that raloxifene could potentially reduce the occurrence of oestrogen-receptor positive breast cancer, and this large study provides supportive evidence for this.

However, the actual role that the drug might play in the prevention of this type of breast cancer is uncertain.

It is necessary to point out that the women taking raloxifene were more likely to suffer blood clots and fatal strokes compared with those taking a placebo. To balance the benefits with any potential harms such as these, it is important to know the absolute number of people who would benefit from treatment.

For more information, visit: Medical News Today

Wondering what is Breast Cancer Walk? Through this passage you will come to know about breast cancer walk, some breathe taking breast cancer facts and most importantly breast cancer diet.

If you are in USA, then you should know this. The Avon Walk for Breast Cancer are held in cities throughout the USA.

Walkers have the choice of walking a marathon or half-marathon the first day, then all walk a half-marathon the second day, camping overnight.

Sounds Fun Right! It is lot of fun happening with a good cause.

Thinking what is the good cause behind these walks? For 2 days and 39 miles, everyone who has been touched by breast cancer touches you in gratitude. Your participation in the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer events - as a walker, a crew member, a volunteer or a donor - will allow medically undeserved women and men to be treated giving them access to the care they require.

From these funds, all the hard-working research teams will be powered with the fuel for their quest for the cure. A bit of charity from your side in a most joyous way is the ultimate feeling one can experience. As you all know how having a good walk helps you keep fit, let’s look into some of the good reasons to join a walk for your benefit.

The exact cause for uterus cancer is not known. You can have certain risk factors that lead to the development of uterus cancer.

This is the most common cancer in women. Some studies show the risk factors for spreading this cancer.

Endometrial hyperplasia: If you are a woman with endometrial hyperplasia, then the risk for this cancer is more than other women with out it.

Age: Uterus cancer occurs in women of age above 50 years.

Hormone replacement therapy (HRT): Women without progesterone and who make use of estrogen have higher risk factor. Women treated with the combination of progesterone and estrogen have less risk than women with estrogen alone.

Race: White women are mostly affected than the American and African women.

Colorectal cancer: Women with inherited colorectal cancer have higher risk for developing this cancer.

After the menopause, the uterine cancer occurs. It can occur at the time of menopause beginning. The abnormal bleeding of vagina is not the cause for menopause. You should consult the doctor if these symptoms persist:

• Pain caused in pelvic area
• Painful or difficult urination
• Unusual discharge or vaginal bleeding
• Pain caused while intercourse