Latest Pancreatic Cancer News

  • October 31, 2008
    Patrick Swayze says chemo was "hell on wheels"
    LOS ANGELES (Reuters Life!) - Patrick Swayze, filming again less than a year after being given a grim diagnosis of pancreatic cancer, described chemotherapy as "hell on wheels" but said work had kept him feeling positive.

  • September 16, 2008
    MediGene drug extends pancreatic cancer survival
    LONDON (Reuters) - Patients with inoperable pancreatic cancer live substantially longer when given MediGene's experimental drug EndoTAG-1 on top of standard chemotherapy, according to clinical trial results.

  • September 4, 2008
    Gene trawl shows curing cancer harder than thought
    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Cancer experts who probed every gene in tumors from two of the hardest-to-treat cancers found that cancer is much more complicated than anyone thought -- and say they found why a cure is so unlikely after a tumor has spread.

  • July 16, 2008
    Obesity ups a woman's pancreatic cancer risk: study
    LONDON (Reuters) - Obese women who carry most of their extra weight around the stomach are 70 percent more likely to develop pancreatic cancer, an international team of researchers reported on Tuesday.

  • July 2, 2008
    Smokeless tobacco ups oral cancer risk 80 percent
    LONDON (Reuters) - Chewing tobacco and snuff are less dangerous than cigarettes but the smokeless products still raise the risk of oral cancer by 80 percent, the World Health Organisation's cancer agency said on Tuesday.

  • June 19, 2008
    Study finds weight-loss surgery cuts cancer risk
    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Morbidly obese patients who undergo weight-loss surgery greatly reduce their risk of cancer, according to a study providing fresh evidence of health benefits from these increasingly common operations.

  • June 2, 2008
    Lilly drug doubles pancreatic cancer survival: study
    CHICAGO (Reuters) - Eli Lilly and Co's chemotherapy drug Gemzar more than doubled the overall survival for early stage pancreatic cancer patients five years after surgery to remove their tumors, according to results from a long-term study released on Saturday.

  • May 28, 2008
    Swayze 'responding well' to cancer treatment
    LOS ANGELES (Reuters Life!) - Former "Dirty Dancing" star Patrick Swayze is responding well to treatment for pancreatic cancer, he told People magazine.

  • May 27, 2008
    Gum disease may raise cancer risk, study finds
    CHICAGO (Reuters) - Gum disease may increase the risk of developing cancer, researchers said on Tuesday.

  • April 18, 2008
    Strep bacteria may treat pancreatic cancer
    NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - In mice implanted with human pancreatic cancer tumors, injecting live Streptococcus bacteria, similar to those that cause strep throat, directly into the tumors caused the tumors to shrink and die, German scientists report.

  • April 16, 2008
    Experts target blood vessel growth in cancer battle
    HONG KONG (Reuters) - Scientists in Australia have identified a gene that appears to be linked to blood vessel growth in tumors in mice and they hope the discovery can pave the way for improved treatment of cancer in people one day.

  • April 14, 2008
    Red wine compound may kill pancreatic cancer cells
    NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A compound found in the skin of red grapes and red wine may help induce pancreatic cancer cells to malfunction and die, a lab study has found.

  • March 31, 2008
    "Killing Fields" survivor Dith Pran dies of cancer
    NEW YORK (Reuters) - Photojournalist Dith Pran, whose harrowing survival of genocide in Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge was dramatized in the film "The Killing Fields," died on Sunday at the age of 65.

  • March 25, 2008
    US researchers create protein map of human saliva
    CHICAGO (Reuters) - U.S. researchers have identified all 1,116 unique proteins found in human saliva glands, a discovery they said on Tuesday could usher in a wave of convenient, saliva-based diagnostic tests that could be done without the need for a single drop of blood.

  • March 12, 2008
    Obesity tied to higher pancreatic cancer risk
    NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - New research suggests that obesity may raise older adults' risk of developing pancreatic cancer, one of the deadliest forms of the disease.

  • March 6, 2008
    "Dirty Dancing" star Patrick Swayze has cancer
    LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Actor and dancer Patrick Swayze, star of such hit films as "Dirty Dancing" and "Ghost," has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer but is responding well to treatment, his publicist said on Wednesday.

  • February 14, 2008
    Probiotics may be fatal in acute pancreatitis-study
    LONDON (Reuters) - "Good" bacteria commonly found in probiotic yoghurts and drinks may be fatal for people with severe cases of pancreatitis, Dutch researchers said on Thursday.

  • January 17, 2008
    Elderly fare poorly with high-risk cancer surgery
    NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Patients who are 80 or older are much more likely to have a poor outcome after high-risk cancer operations, such as removal of the esophagus or pancreas, than has previously been reported, according to a study by researchers with the University of Michigan Healthcare System.

  • December 21, 2007
    Allergies may protect against pancreatic cancer
    NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Having a history of allergies or hay fever may offer protection from deadly pancreatic cancer, according to a study appearing in the International Journal of Cancer.

  • December 11, 2007
    Meat raises lung cancer risk: study
    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - People who eat a lot of red meat and processed meats have a higher risk of several types of cancer, including lung cancer and colorectal cancer, U.S. researchers reported on Monday.

  • November 23, 2007
    Fiber, whole grains may cut pancreatic cancer risk
    NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Eating more whole grain and fiber-rich food may lower the risk of pancreatic cancer by about 40 percent, study findings suggest.

  • November 8, 2007
    Put down that fork: Being fat is still unhealthy
    CHICAGO (Reuters) - Being overweight may not kill you, but it could lead to obesity, U.S. health experts cautioned on Wednesday in response to research suggesting that being a bit heavy does not raise the risk of death.

  • September 14, 2007
    Targeted drug combos could outsmart cancer
    CHICAGO (Reuters) - Cancer cells often have a way of outsmarting new targeted drug therapies, but U.S. researchers said on Thursday a combination of targeted drugs could shut down a tumor's backup plan, resulting in much more effective treatments.

  • August 29, 2007
    Blood protein linked to pancreatic cancer
    NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A blood protein related to body weight and physical exercise levels appears to be linked to pancreatic cancer risk, according to a new study.

  • August 16, 2007
    Researchers link gestational diabetes to cancer
    LONDON (Reuters) - Women who had gestational diabetes when pregnant may be at greater risk of developing pancreatic cancer, according to U.S. and Israeli researchers who said the study was the first to link the two diseases.

  • August 1, 2007
    Promising way to detect pancreatic cancer explored
    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Researchers reported on Wednesday they could detect even early stage pancreatic cancer by shining light on a neighboring organ.

  • July 27, 2007
    Rash means cancer drug Tarceva is working
    NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The development of a skin rash in patients with pancreatic cancer or lung cancer treated with Tarceva is a strong indication that the drug is working, report researchers from OSI Pharmaceuticals, the drug's developer.

  • July 10, 2007
    No evidence lycopene thwarts cancer, FDA concludes
    NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Claims for the cancer-preventing potential of tomatoes and lycopene should be sharply limited, the US Food and Drug Administration has concluded.

  • June 4, 2007
    New drug shows promise for pancreatic cancer
    NEW YORK (Reuters) - Pfizer Inc. said on Monday its experimental drug axitinib showed enough promise in a mid-stage trial against advanced pancreatic cancer to warrant continued development in large late-stage studies.

  • April 16, 2007
    More evidence that vegetables reduce cancer risk
    LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - New research is strengthening evidence that following mom's admonition to eat your vegetables may be some of the best health advice around.

  • April 12, 2007
    Hospice care does not hasten death, study shows
    NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Researchers hope a new study will help dispel the myth that medications used in a hospice to relieve pain and other symptoms hasten death. On the contrary, hospice care may actually prolong life, they've found.

  • March 12, 2007
    French euthanasia case fuels assisted death debate
    PERIGUEUX, France (Reuters) - The euthanasia trial of a French doctor and a nurse charged with killing a terminally ill cancer patient began on Monday in a case that has fuelled the debate over rules in France on helping people to die.

  • March 9, 2007
    French doctors' petition urges right to euthanasia
    PARIS (Reuters Life!) - More than 2,000 French doctors and nurses have signed a petition declaring that they had helped patients suffering from incurable diseases to die and calling for the government to legalise euthanasia.

  • March 1, 2007
    Type 1 diabetes linked to pancreatic cancer risk
    NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - It is well known that people with type 2 diabetes are at increased risk of pancreatic cancer, and now it seems that the risk extends to those with type 1 diabetes, researchers report. However, they point out that the risk is still very small.

  • February 22, 2007
    Methionine may ward off pancreatic cancer
    NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Higher levels of the essential amino acid methionine in the diet is apparently associated with a reduction in pancreatic cancer risk, according to the findings of a large study conducted in Sweden.