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Cancer: Cancer Research
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Cancer is usually classified according to the tissue from which the cancerous cells originate, as well as the normal cell type they most resemble. These are location and histology, respectively. A definitive diagnosis usually requires the histologic examination of a tissue biopsy specimen by a pathologist, although the initial indication of malignancy can be symptoms or radiographic imaging abnormalities. Most cancers can be treated and some cured, depending on the specific type, location, and stage. Once diagnosed, cancer is usually treated with a combination of surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy. As research develops, treatments are becoming more specific for different varieties of cancer.
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Cancer vaccines are being tested in clinical trials to see if they can help to prevent or treat a wide variety of cancer types. This feature provides an introduction to cancer vaccines - how they work and why researchers think they're promising.
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Previous research by UC Davis Cancer Center investigators, published in the March 13, 2001 issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology, found that both doctors and patients sometimes hold misconceptions that can discourage enrollment in clinical trials. In that study, more than a third of the doctors declined to refer patients to clinical trials, mistakenly believing that no trials were available or that their patients were too sick to be accepted. In reality, more than 150 clinical trials were available during the study period.
Cancer research has made significant advances in the detection and treatment of many forms of cancers. With each new advancement, the role DHMO plays in the cause of cancer is likely to be better understood.
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Cancer is a diverse class of diseases which differ widely in their causes and biology. The common thread in all known cancers is the acquisition of abnormalities in the genetic material of the cancer cell and its progeny. Research into the pathogenesis of cancer can be divided into three broad areas of focus. The first area of research focuses on the agents and events which cause or facilitate genetic changes in cells destined to become cancer. Second, it is important to uncover the precise nature of the genetic damage, and the genes which are affected by it. The third focus is on the consequences of those genetic changes on the biology of the cell, both in generating the defining properties of a cancer cell, and in facilitating additional genetic events, leading to further progression of the cancer.
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Prostate cancer is much more likely to kill if a man's PSA level rises rapidly before the cancer is even diagnosed, according to a study that suggests a new and far more meaningful way of looking at PSA test results. The finding could help patients and doctors make the often difficult decision of whether to undergo surgery or merely wait and watch. The PSA test is widely used to diagnose prostate cancer by measuring levels of a substance called prostate-specific antigen in the blood. Up to now, doctors have focused largely on the PSA level itself, and not on how it changes over time. But researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital and elsewhere found how fast PSA level increased in the year before prostate cancer was diagnosed predicts which tumors are deadly nearly 10 times better than the PSA level itself. "The study is pretty definitive," said lead researcher Dr. Anthony D'Amico, a radiation oncologist at Brigham and professor of radiation oncology at Harvard Medical School.
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