Better digital mammogrames

NEWER digital mammograms may deliver significantly lower radiation doses than conventional film mammograms, for women with larger and denser breasts. A study of nearly 50,000 women that compared digital mammography systems to film mammograms found the radiation dose was 225 lower on average with the newer digital mammography exams.

Digital mammograms detect up to 28% more cancers than film mammograms in women under 50 and those with dense breast tissue.

Faster cancer studies
British scientists have found a new and faster way of studying a crucial class of cancer cells, called cancer stem cells, which they say should speed up work on developing drugs against them.

They also developed a way of obtaining samples rich in cancer stem cells from bowel cancer cell lines and keeping them in a lab — a method which allows cells to be repeatedly tested against possible drug treatments. Cancer stem cells are master cells which are resistant to conventional treatment like chemotherapy and radiotherapy and may be the reason many tumours grow back.

Better cancer treatment
Researchers announced a new project to sequence genes in childhood tumours to discover previously unknown causes of cancer. They also hope to use the research to help tailor treatments for children, to spare them radiation and chemotherapy that may do them little good.