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How miniature human organs are giving hope to cancer patients

SHARE YOUR SCIENCE: Organoids. The good, the bad and the beautiful.

Breast cancer detected later in women with silicone breast implants

Mammography screenings are less likely to detect breast cancer in women with silicone implants than in other women. Those who are diagnosed with cancer have bigger tumours that also more often spread to the lymph nodes.

Why testicular cancer can cause weight problems

Researchers at the Cancer Registry of Norway have investigated why many men who survive testicular cancer later suffer from weight problems and high blood pressure. They found greater epigenetic changes in survivors than in other men.

Radiation treatment for prostate cancer increases risk of bladder cancer

Prostate cancer patients who have received radiation have more than twice the risk of getting bladder cancer compared to those who received only hormone therapy. Nevertheless, radiation patients have a much better chance of living longer, according to a new Norwegian study.

These four types of cancer are more likely to be detected in highly educated people

Norwegian women and men who are highly educated are more likely to be diagnosed with four types of cancer. More sunbathing and postponed childbirth may be part of the explanation. It may also be because people with more resources are more likely to go to the doctor when they suspect something’s wrong.

Being overweight before age 40 increases cancer risk

A new study shows that excess weight in adulthood increases women’s risk of endometrial cancer, while in men the increased risk was in kidney and colon cancer.

Men’s sex lives much worse after surgery for prostate cancer

Men who have their prostate removed as a part of cancer treatment lose half of their sexual function, according to a new study.

Stomach cancer in deep decline

The incidence of most cancers has increased since Norway first began collecting cancer statistics in the 1950s. But the incidence of stomach cancer has remarkably plummeted.

New medicine for multiple myeloma shows promising results

A new drug reduced the risk of relapse and increased survival by five months, according to a recent study. The results were presented at a cancer conference in Chicago in June.

Your risk of a deadly cancer is linked to your blood type

People with different blood types have different risks of developing pancreatic cancer, Norwegian research shows.

Simulating your cancer treatment on a computer

In ten years, computers will be able to propose the most suitable cancer treatment for you. The idea is to simulate how all possible combinations of existing cancer treatments will work on your particular tumour.

Brain Cancer: Vibrating the brain to find resistant tumours

The current treatment for brain cancer has almost no effect for some people with the disease. Norwegian researchers are now experimenting by using vibrations to find these patients.

High levels of vitamin B12 can increase lung cancer risk

High levels of B12 in the blood are linked to 15 per cent increased risk of lung cancer, according to a major international study. That’s one more reason to stop buying supplements and eat a healthy, varied diet, researchers say.

Is any part of our body cancer proof?

Who has ever heard of heart or spleen cancer? And what about the appendix?

Lifestyle affects cancer risk, but the biggest risk is getting old

Old age is not for the weak of heart: Nine out of ten cases of cancer occur after we reach the age of 50, new numbers from the Norwegian Cancer Registry show.

3D mammography can detect more tumours than conventional techniques

Digital Breast Tomosynthesis produces a three-dimensional image of the breast and can detect 34 per cent more tumours, shows new study.

Treating heartburn can reduce the risk of developing oesophageal cancer

A major Nordic study now confirms that that treating acid reflux and heartburn has benefits beyond relieving these particular conditions.

Tumours are more complicated than previously believed

What was once considered a fundamental principle in understanding how cancer tumours grow has been shown to be wrong.

Cancer survivors find going back to work tough

Regardless of their background and occupation, survivors felt that they started working too soon after finishing treatment. But workplace adaptations can help ease the transition.

Bladder cancer more often fatal for women

Women are diagnosed at a more advanced stage of the disease, when the cancer is more likely to have spread, according to a Norwegian study.

Blood test detects susceptibility to aggressive rectal cancer

Research shows that patients’ immune systems are activated to varying degrees by normal chemotherapy.

Genes for cold climates linked to cancer?

Norwegians and their Nordic neighbours take the high road in statistics for certain types of cancer. So do people in other cold climates. Is there a connection?

What mammogram images tell us about breast cancer risk

Breasts with dense fibroglandular tissue and less fatty tissue increase a woman’s risk of breast cancer. At the same time, this knowledge hasn’t translated into greater follow-up for these women.

Cancer mystery in Norway

Why does a Norwegian woman have nearly double the risk of colorectal cancer as her female counterparts in nearby Finland? Researchers have no idea.

Indestructible bacteria threaten cancer patients

Cancer patients may die from infections as antibiotic-resistant bacteria continue to spread. The Norwegian Cancer Society is now fighting unnecessary antibiotic use.

Norwegian vaccine against prostate cancer shows promising results

A vaccine developed in Norway stimulates the immune system to curb prostate cancer and has given results among nearly 90 percent of the participants.

Young women risk melanoma from indoor tanning

Persons who engage in indoor tanning before the age of 30 are raising their risk of contracting melanoma skin cancers.

Using our body’s immune system to fight cancer

Immunotherapy can prolong the lives of some cancer patients. Researcher Johanna Olweus explains how it works and why it currently only works for a few kinds of cancer.

Genetic tests uncover lethal legacy — at a price

It’s become ever easier to test for mutations that increase a woman’s risk of breast and ovarian cancer. But what kind of psychological burden does the test impose on women who take it?

More colorectal cancer in Norway than elsewhere in Europe

 While fewer Norwegians are dying from colorectal cancer now than twenty years ago, other countries have done a better job in cutting mortality from the disease.

Enhancing individual treatment for rectal cancer

Intestinal cancer is a common form of the disease in Nordic countries but is hard to treat. Norwegian researchers are trying to tailor treatment better to the individual patient.

Stress hormone linked to breast cancer

Women with small bloodstream levels of a stress-lowering hormone run a higher risk of breast cancer, according to a new Swedish study.

New skin cancer genes located

Scientists have discovered five new gene locations that make people vulnerable for cutaneous malignant melanomas, or skin cancer. These genes are not associated with known risk factors such as skin type or the prominence of moles a person has.

Breast cancer risk higher in women who need reproductive help

The first test tube baby in Norway was born in 1984. An increasing number of women rely on assisted reproduction to give birth. Today, between 2-5 per cent of all children born in Europe are brought into the world this way.

Liver transplants ten times better than chemotherapy

Transplantations can be lifesavers for many colon cancer patients with a spread of tumours to the liver. New research reveals that survival rates are ten times higher than treatment with chemotherapy.

Insufficient follow-ups of cancer survivors

“It’s like sending people off to war and declining to take care of them when they come home,” says Norwegian physician and psychiatrist.

Genetic test queues generated by Angelina Jolie

Since Angelina Jolie made her double mastectomy public in 2013, Norwegian women have streamed to hospitals to test against hereditary breast cancer.

Maybe red meat isn’t carcinogenic?

Health authorities have told us for years that we should limit our intake of red meat. But a group of experts says research does not fully corroborate claims that red meat increases the risks of colon cancer.

Young cancer survivors too often end up on public benefits

Children and adolescents who have suffered brain tumours, leukaemia or bone and muscle tissue cancer are all too likely to get permanently side-tracked from prospective educations and careers.

Female smokers should consider colon cancer risk

Smoking is a recently established risk factor for colon cancer, especially for women − even when they smoke less than half as much as men.

Even little air pollution raises cancer risks

Air pollution, even in concentrations below EU limits, increases the risk of lung cancer.

Norwegians more willing to get cancer check-ups

On the whole, Scandinavians have better attitudes than Brits, Australians and Canadians when it comes to making medical appointments to check out signs of cancer.

Cancer research in peril

A lack of funding and co-operation with pharmaceutical companies is stifling Norwegian cancer research, warn researchers and industry representatives.

Fertility help doesn’t raise cancer risks

Women receiving hormonal stimulation to aid them get pregnant are not increasing their risk of cancer. Contrarily, infertility appears to heighten chances of contracting the disease.

Training for life after cancer

A tough training regime helps cancer patients recover and revitalise.

Easier to talk to health workers about cancer than family

Some breast cancer patients are more comfortable discussing their situation with health personnel than with family and friends.

Cancer patients with high vitamin D levels live longer

The risk of dying from cancer is more than 2.5 times higher in patients with low vitamin D levels compared to patients who have high levels of the same vitamin.

Too much openness about breast cancer can be a burden

Many breast cancer patients speak openly about their disease and thousands blog about it. But such transparency isn’t positive for everyone.

Hormone spirals stand up to uterine cancer

Hormone spirals give protection against uterine cancer. The hormone spiral is superior compared to treatment with tablets.

Fast or slow prostate cancer?

Some types of prostate cancer progress so slowly that the patient never requires treatment. The challenge now is to find out which patients need treatment and which don't.

Screening for breast cancer to what effect?

Researchers are disagreeing on whether the Norwegian screening program on breast cancer has had the intended effect.

Collaborating to improve lives

Multidisciplinary cooperation improves the life quality of child cancer survivors.