A synthetic compound that encourages certain cancer cells to self-destruct may one day be used in the fight against the killer disease.Researchers at the UT Southwestern Medical Centre used the compound on mice with human lung cancer tumours and found them either regressing or completely disappearing.

November 17th marked World Lung Cancer Day. Since smoking is the major cause of lung cancer, the theme this year is “creating a non-smoking environment”.

Lung Cancer is infamous as the deadliest of all cancers. And the number of patients is growing year by year.

A company in the Purdue Research Park is teaming up with local physicians to test a new way to treat cancer. Horizon Oncology Center in Lafayette is helping Endocyte, Inc. determine if an experimental cancer treatment works for patients with advanced lung or ovarian cancer.

“This is a watershed moment for the entire lung cancer community and all of those at risk for the disease in Massachusetts,” said Laurie Fenton Ambrose, LCA President and CEO.  “We thank Senator Fargo for her willingness to step forward and address the critical need for increased lung cancer research for treatments and early detection.”

 Lung cancer strikes men, women, young and old. It’s the number one cancer killer in the US.

This year, 160,000 Americans will die from it. That’s more people than breast, prostate, colon, liver and kidney cancers combined.

If you don’t smoke, don’t think you’re immune. In fact, up to 20-percent of women and eight-percent of men who are diagnosed have never picked up a cigarette.

Researchers from Japan recently conducted a clinical trial evaluating use of annual low-dose CT scans to detect lung cancer. This trial included 5,480 individuals aged 40-74 years who received annual scans between 1996 and 1998. Lung cancer was detected in 63 individuals; three patients rejected treatment; and two patients developed symptoms of lung cancer in the interval between the two scans.

• Overall survival at 10 years was 83% including death from all causes.
• At 10 years, 86% of individuals with lung cancer did not die from the disease.
• The estimated rate of over-diagnosis was 13%.
• 17% of patients who entered the trial and were diagnosed with lung cancer were not cured.

Sharpless has worked with the genetic modification and manipulation of the gene p16INK4a, also called the aging gene, for the past several years.

The gene, which is a tumor suppressor, is involved in preventing of melanoma, blood and lung cancer.

The American Cancer Society celebrated the 31st anniversary of the Great American Smokeout on Thursday.

With exactly half of the United States now protected by smoke-free laws, and a variety of cessation resources available, there has never been a better time to quit smoking and enjoy the health benefits.

Canary Foundation, a nonprofit organization that funds research in early cancer detection, and The Thomas G. Labrecque Foundation, a nonprofit organization that funds lung cancer research and awareness, jointly announced today that the Thomas G. Labrecque Foundation has pledged $10 million to the Canary Foundation to support a unique, new collaborative research program to save lives through early detection of lung cancer. The new joint program, called Canary Lung, is being announced today at a private event hosted by Mrs. Nelson Rockefeller at her home in New York.

CANCER patients across the North East can now take a newly approved drug which could extend their lives.

As reported in later editions of yesterday’s Chronicle, lung cancer drug Tarceva, also known as Erlotinib, will now be free to patients with the non-small cell form of the disease.