Most of us are aware that a healthy lifestyle is good for us – it can reduce our risk of developing cancer and other diseases and even help us live longer.
There are several reasons for this. For a start, healthy living reduces our exposure to damaging chemicals such as those in tobacco smoke. But an interesting article published this week in the prestigious journal The Lancet Oncology suggests another route – our lifestyle choices could directly affect a key protein that controls the ageing process. Let’s take a closer look…
Thanks for all your comments on our blog about the recent decision by NICE to reject four drugs for advanced kidney cancer. We have been reading your comments, as well as emails we have received, and are now making our representation to NICE on this issue. You can read our full response in this document (45kb pdf file), but here’s a potted version.
This week, scientists have gained an unprecedented insight into the cancer genome – the full range of genes found in cancer cells. Massive experiments looking at almost all the known genes in the human genome have revealed fascinating genetic changes in two of the most lethal human cancers: pancreatic cancer and a type of brain cancer, glioblastoma. The results were published in threepapersin the journals Science and Nature. Let’s take a look at them.
The researchers painstakingly scanned the genomes of the cancer cells, searching for small changes in their DNA (‘point mutations’) and for areas where genes had been either deleted or ‘copied and pasted’ next to each other. These are the types of genetic errors that distinguish normal cells from cancerous ones. To test whether these gene changes actually made a difference to the way the cell worked, the researchers also looked for changes in the levels of the proteins that are produced from these genes.
September’s podcast is jam-packed with all the latest news and interviews from Cancer Research UK.
Our roving reporter Anna Lacey takes a trip to a very special building site in darkest Hertfordshire – it’s the site of our new £20 million Biotherapeutics Development unit, which will produce biological treatments for clinical trials.
We also chat to TV new anchor Nicholas Owen, who’s a tireless supporter of the charity as well as a kidney cancer survivor. He’s got a lot to say about the important of early diagnosis – and is there a plot at his local Cancer Research UK to sell his own ties back to him?
Finally, we hear about a rather unusual clinical trial called Quartz, for people with lung cancer that has spread to the brain. Instead of testing a new drug or therapy, it’s finding out if the best treatment is actually no treatment. Sounds intriguing!
So go to the podcast homepage, where you can listen to the show directly through our Flash player, or click on the player below:
September is here, bringing that back-to-school feeling. This year, along with a new pencil case and protractor, girls aged 11 and 12 will be getting an added extra – a vaccine that will protect them against HPV, the virus that causes cervical cancer.
The roll-out of the programme has already started in Scotland, as the lucky kids there have gone back to school earlier than the rest of the UK. There will also be a ‘catch-up’ programme for girls up to the age of 18.
But will the vaccine really eradicate cervical cancer in the UK?
Most of us are aware that a healthy lifestyle is good for us – it can reduce our risk of developing cancer and other diseases and even help us live longer.
Posted by Jo Peak 
Thanks for all your comments on our 
Posted by Kat Arney 
Posted by Ed Yong 
September is here, bringing that back-to-school feeling. This year, along with a new pencil case and protractor, girls aged 11 and 12 will be getting an added extra – a vaccine that will protect them against 
Welcome to the
