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The use of several chemotherapeutic agents in oncology is limited by their cardiac toxicity. Recent experimental studies suggest that recombinant human erythropoietin (rhEPO) can be considered as a protective agent against cardiac ischemic injury. Here we show that pretreatment by rhEPO protects myocardium against cardiotoxicity induced by acute doxorubicin or trastuzumab exposure, using the isolated rat heart model. Further clinical investigations are now needed to explore the potential benefit of rhEPO in oncology.

An in vitro culture model of human colon cancer has been created in order to reproduce the gene regulation that is expressed in these cancer cells during their growth as metastasis in the liver of patients.

A gene mutation strongly identified with Jewish breast cancer patients has also turned up in a small but significant percentage of Hispanic patients, scientists are reporting today. In their study of more than 3,000 women with the disease, scientists also found a surprisingly high prevalence among young black women with breast cancer. The finding has led some oncologists to suggest genetic screening for patients of different ethnic groups, because carriers have a greater chance of recurrence and can pass that risk to their daughters.

For some cancer patients, side effects impacting cognition-lack of concentration, short-term memory loss, difficulty with word recall and the inability to organize or multitask-don't end with the last dose of chemotherapy, a survey by the Hurricane Voices Breast Cancer Foundation, Concord, Mass., found. Moreover, providers are often unaware or dismissive of that fact. The cognitive impairment experienced by 14 percent to 45 percent of cancer patients can be long-lasting and severely affect their personal and professional lives.

WASHINGTON -- When a key gene called 14-3- 3zeta is silenced, lung cancer cells can't survive on their own, U. S. researchers said on Tuesday. Lung cancer, one of the deadliest forms of cancer, "appears to carry this specific weakness," said researchers from Emory University in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). The gene is a potential target for selective anti-cancer drugs. Lung cancer kills more Americans annually than any other type of malignancy, according to the U.S. National Cancer Institute. Yet treatment options are very limited.

A genetic mutation already known to be more common in Ashkenazi Jewish breast cancer patients is also prevalent in Hispanic and young African-American women with breast cancer, according to one of the largest, multiracial studies of the mutation to date.

A new paper by NIAID scientist Thomas Nutman, M.D., and colleagues reviews network data collected between 1997 and 2004 to determine demographic and travel characteristics of travelers diagnosed with parasitic worm (filarial) infections.

Patients who experience symptoms described as transient neurological attacks, such as temporary amnesia or confusion, may have a higher risk for stroke and dementia, according to a study in the Dec. 26 issue of JAMA.

Mutations in a protein called dynein, required for the proper functioning of sensory nerve cells, can cause defects in mice that may provide crucial clues leading to better treatments for a human nerve disorder known as peripheral neuropathy, which affects about three percent of all those over age 60.

Among breast cancer patients, both chemotherapy and tamoxifen independently reduced the risk of developing a second cancer in the other breast, according to a study published online Dec. 25 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. The risk reduction persisted for at least 10 and 5 years, respectively.