News digest – breast cancer rates, worrying tobacco rumours, genetic maps and more - Cancer Research UK

It’s time for our round-up of the week’s headlines

Breast cancer in women under 50 has reached 10,000 a year for the first time, according to figures we released this week. But the good news is that more women in this age group are surviving their disease. Here’s our press release, and the Telegraph’s front page coverage.

In other breast cancer news, tamoxifen and similar oestrogen-blocking drugs have been found to reduce breast cancer rates by more than a third in women at high risk. Our press release and blog both have more detail. We also liked this Telegraph piece about tamoxifen.
Several papers (including the Guardian) covered research about a possible link between cosmetic breast implants and a greater chance of dying from breast cancer. The research does not suggest implants cause cancer, but they may cause a delay in diagnosis. As this excellent NHS Choices analysis says, larger studies are needed to understand this link.

Cancer Research UK, along with other charities, were extremely concerned by this Sun report that the government has scrapped plans to introduce plain, standardised cigarette packs in next week’s Queen’s Speech. You can read our full response in this news story, and we explained why the government must put children’s health before tobacco’s profits. This Guardian article is also excellent.
In more positive news, we were pleased to learn that a series of measures designed to crack down on smuggled tobacco appear to be doing the trick.
And another bit of good news – Scottish legislation banning the display of cigarettes and other tobacco products in larger retailers came into force this week. Here’s our news story.
Sticking with Scotland, cancer cases there have increased in the last 10 years, but patients are more likely to survive their illness, according to new statistics. The BBC has more information.
The BBC also covered research that suggests smoking may pose a bigger health threat to women than men. But let’s not forget smoking can be a deadly habit no matter which sex you are.

Personalised radiotherapy treatment is set to benefit from CERN software as part of a new study we’re funding. Read out press release for more information.

The diabetes drug metformin slows the growth of lung cancer cells and makes them more likely to be killed by radiation, according to research in the British Journal of Cancer. This press release has more detail.
US researchers unveiled intricate genetic maps of womb cancer and acute myeloid leukaemia this week. The analyses will help design more sophisticated clinical trials of new treatments – read our news story.
Up to a quarter of young people with certain cancers die within a year, according to new figures, which experts say means too many cases are being diagnosed too late. The Telegraph has more info.
This Independent article about drug pricing by pharmaceutical companies caught our eye.

And finally

The Guardian, in collaboration with our colleagues at MacMillan Cancer Support, has started a ‘living with cancer’ series – one to look out for over the coming weeks.

Comments

Dr Mills

7 May 2013

Cancer rates are rising and so are vitamin D deficiency rates