Precancerous conditions

UK scientists have discovered the genetic basis for why some people are more at risk of developing Barrett’s oesophagus, a condition that increases the risk of oesophageal cancer.

In the largest study of its kind, Danish researchers have found that the rates of oesophageal cancer among people with Barrett’s oesophagus – a common condition that predisposes to the disease – could be up to four times lower than previous estimates.

CANCER RESEARCH UK scientists have found that blocking the pathway used by some kidney cancer cells to generate energy can kill the cancer cells, sparing the healthy ones.

CANCER RESEARCH UK-funded scientists have shown that an early chemotherapy drug invented in the 1940s has the potential to work against a genetic fault called HNPCC* which is linked to bowel and other cancers. The results are published in EMBO Molecular Medicine** today, (Thursday).

NEW research in Yorkhill Hospital and Glasgow Royal Infirmary is investigating whether a form of the contraceptive coil can stop women from developing womb cancer.

Bowel cancer rates could be reduced by up to 80 per cent in people with a moderate family history of the disease by screening with colonoscopy, according to new research published in the British Medical Journal.