Sept. 15, 2004 (Vol. 2, No. 3)
Advancing Knowledge, Saving Lives is a quarterly e-newsletter of cancer research and health-care advances from Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.
Read this e-newsletter online at: http://www.fhcrc.org/about/pubs/enews/fhcrc-enews/2004-09/

Inhibiting the spread of prostate cancer
Fred Hutchinson researchers have uncovered a protein that drives the spread of prostate cancer, a discovery that may spawn treatments to prevent cancer progression and extend patient survival. Scientists believe drugs to inhibit the protein could be developed to block or slow the spread of prostate cancer to other parts of the body.

For more information, go to:
http://www.fhcrc.org/pubs/center_news/2004/sep2/sart1.html


First step of prostate cancer
In another new study, Fred Hutchinson researchers have discovered what may be the earliest step in the development of prostate cancer. The finding could open the door to new tests to predict if a cancer will become aggressive and new treatments to prevent the condition from progressing.

For more information, go to:
http://www.fhcrc.org/pubs/center_news/2004/sep2/sart3.html


Breast cancer more aggressive in African-Americans
A new study may help explain why African-American women with breast cancer are more likely to be diagnosed with advanced disease and are less likely to survive than their white counterparts. Researchers at Fred Hutchinson and collaborators in Atlanta have found that breast tumors from black women are more likely to be fast-growing and aggressive than those from white women. The findings provide groundwork for future identification of the risk factors that cause these dangerous tumor characteristics, which could lead to new strategies to prevent and treat the disease.

For more information, go to:
http://www.fhcrc.org/pubs/center_news/2004/jun17/sart1.html


Chernobyl study: Thyroid cancer rises as radiation increases
The risk of thyroid cancer rises with increasing radiation dose, according to the most thorough risk analysis for thyroid cancer among people who grew up in the shadow of the 1986 Chernobyl power-plant disaster. The incidence of thyroid cancer was 45 times greater among those who received the highest radiation dose compared to those in the lowest-dose group, according to the American-Russian study led by Fred Hutchinson researchers. This information may help officials better predict what long-term health effects to expect in the event of a similar disaster.

For more information, go to:
http://www.fhcrc.org/news/science/2004/08/31/chernobyl.html



The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, home of two Nobel laureates, is an independent, nonprofit research institution dedicated to the development and advancement of biomedical technology to eliminate cancer and related diseases as causes of human suffering and death.

For information on Fred Hutchinson's privacy policy, go to:
http://www.fhcrc.org/termsofuse_privacypolicy.html

ISSN 1541-7433
Copyright 2004
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
P.O. Box 19024
Seattle, WA 98109-1024
www.fhcrc.org