March 2010 Archives

A study by Don G. Morris, MD, PhD of the Tom Baker Cancer Center showed that reovirus did in fact have a substantial effect on prostate cancer cells.  Although Dr. Morris said there are downsides, as a whole the study was quite successful.  Reovirus can potentially be combined with chemotherapy or other therapies to mitigate these issues.  Not only can reovirus destroy cancer cells but can also cause an immune system response in the area of the tumor.

A full article can be found here:
http://www.webmd.com/cancer/news/20100309/tumor-melting-virus-vs-prostate-cancer

The Chicago Tribune posted an article about the risks of CT scans which is quite informative.  CT scans while a powerful tools for diagnosing a wide range of diseases has the potential to cause problems as well.
Although the AMAS test is not by itself diagnostic of the presence or absence of disease, it can be used as an aid to diagnosis, detection or monitoring of disease.  Since the AMAS test is non-invasive, in some cases it can be used for screening rather that CT scans which can lessen the exposure to potentially harmful radiation.

The full article can be found here:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/health/ct-met-radiation-exposure-20100307,0,619847.story

March is colorectal cancer awareness month.  Information about the risks, when to start screening and the types of screening can be found at the links below. 

http://www.cdc.gov/features/colorectalawareness/

http://www.bcm.edu/news/item.cfm?newsID=1841