Cure for cancer, The American Cancer Society (ACS) expected 559,650 cancer deaths and around 1.44 million new cases to be diagnosed worldwide in 2007 [source: American Cancer Society]. Some can be prevented, like those types resulting from habits such as smoking, drinking alcohol and failing to wear sunscreen. But cancer can also develop from genetic inheritance, or as the result of hormonal changes and mutations in cells from metabolism. Oftentimes, both these external and internal factors can work together to further increase a person's risk of developing cancer.
Since records of cancer deaths were first kept in 1930, the number of deaths from cancer has increased steadily, only dipping once -- from 2002 to 2004. The decline even appeared to grow, from a decrease of 369 deaths between 2002 and 2003 to a decline of 3,014 deaths between 2003 and 2004 [source: The Washington Post]. Unfortunately, between 2004 and 2005, deaths from cancer increased by 5,424 deaths [source: Science Daily]. While the number of cancer-related deaths seems to be on the rise again, the good news is that more people are surviving cancer. The cancer death rate is the actual number of deaths based on the population with cancer; for example, seven deaths per 1,000 people with cancer. In fact, since the 1990s, there has been a decrease in the cancer death rate by 18.4 percent for men and 10.5 percent for women. This equals 534,500 people with cancer who survived during that time [source: Science Daily]. A decrease in the death rate shows people with cancer are living longer. This is due in large part to efforts to understand and cure cancer. One of the newest ways researchers are testing uses an organism we normally think of in a negative light -- a virusWith some types of cancer, surgery can be a dangerous proposition. Not least among these is brain cancer. The fragility of the organ itself and the risk and difficulty getting to tumors in inner regions of the brain can make surgery impossible. Chemotherapy and blasting the infected area with radiation may be the only choices in treating brain cancer. These treatments generally prolong the life of a brain cancer patient for a few months. Some researchers have had a stroke of brilliance: Why not fight fire with fire? Cancer is, essentially, simply uncontrolled growth of cells. Cells are affected by viruses. Could a virus seek out cancerous cells? The answer, as Yale researchers discovered, is yes. The Yale researchers, led by Dr. Anthony van den Pol, used an existing virus related to rabies, the vesicular stomatitis virus -- as a weapon against cancerous cells. In laboratory tests, Yale researchers used mice infected with brain cancer and grafted non-cancerous human brain tissue to the mice's brains. The cancerous cells were tagged with fluorescent proteins, as was the virus they injected into the mice's tails. This gave researchers a clear view of the process; the virus attacked the cancerous cells, killing the tumor within three days [source: Society for Neuroscience]. The Yale studies also showed another important aspect. As it worked its way through the brains of the mice, the virus killed only cancerous cells and left non-cancerous cells of the mice's own tissue as well as that grafted from human specimens intact. Van den Pol and his group believe that the virus was able to reach the tumors located deep within the brains of the mice through leaky blood vessels in the tumors. This is especially significant, because of the blood-brain barrier, which prevents even normal human antibodies from reaching the brain. The vesicular stomatitis virus, on the other hand, was able to pass through this barrier. To achieve optimum results from a viral treatment, the immune system must ostensibly be suppressed. After all, to a natural antibody, a virus is a virus, even when it's meant to perform a beneficial function. This leads to the question, what happens when the virus is done with its work killing tumors? It's possible that the virus has an appetite for cancerous cells, but will turn to healthy tissue in the absence of a cancerous alternative. Determining that is the next step, says van den Pol. Another team of researchers in Los Angeles have also concluded that viruses can be useful in battling brain cancer. These researchers are taking a different approach -- boosting the body's natural immune system. Read about this treatment on the next page.
Since records of cancer deaths were first kept in 1930, the number of deaths from cancer has increased steadily, only dipping once -- from 2002 to 2004. The decline even appeared to grow, from a decrease of 369 deaths between 2002 and 2003 to a decline of 3,014 deaths between 2003 and 2004 [source: The Washington Post]. Unfortunately, between 2004 and 2005, deaths from cancer increased by 5,424 deaths [source: Science Daily]. While the number of cancer-related deaths seems to be on the rise again, the good news is that more people are surviving cancer. The cancer death rate is the actual number of deaths based on the population with cancer; for example, seven deaths per 1,000 people with cancer. In fact, since the 1990s, there has been a decrease in the cancer death rate by 18.4 percent for men and 10.5 percent for women. This equals 534,500 people with cancer who survived during that time [source: Science Daily]. A decrease in the death rate shows people with cancer are living longer. This is due in large part to efforts to understand and cure cancer. One of the newest ways researchers are testing uses an organism we normally think of in a negative light -- a virusWith some types of cancer, surgery can be a dangerous proposition. Not least among these is brain cancer. The fragility of the organ itself and the risk and difficulty getting to tumors in inner regions of the brain can make surgery impossible. Chemotherapy and blasting the infected area with radiation may be the only choices in treating brain cancer. These treatments generally prolong the life of a brain cancer patient for a few months. Some researchers have had a stroke of brilliance: Why not fight fire with fire? Cancer is, essentially, simply uncontrolled growth of cells. Cells are affected by viruses. Could a virus seek out cancerous cells? The answer, as Yale researchers discovered, is yes. The Yale researchers, led by Dr. Anthony van den Pol, used an existing virus related to rabies, the vesicular stomatitis virus -- as a weapon against cancerous cells. In laboratory tests, Yale researchers used mice infected with brain cancer and grafted non-cancerous human brain tissue to the mice's brains. The cancerous cells were tagged with fluorescent proteins, as was the virus they injected into the mice's tails. This gave researchers a clear view of the process; the virus attacked the cancerous cells, killing the tumor within three days [source: Society for Neuroscience]. The Yale studies also showed another important aspect. As it worked its way through the brains of the mice, the virus killed only cancerous cells and left non-cancerous cells of the mice's own tissue as well as that grafted from human specimens intact. Van den Pol and his group believe that the virus was able to reach the tumors located deep within the brains of the mice through leaky blood vessels in the tumors. This is especially significant, because of the blood-brain barrier, which prevents even normal human antibodies from reaching the brain. The vesicular stomatitis virus, on the other hand, was able to pass through this barrier. To achieve optimum results from a viral treatment, the immune system must ostensibly be suppressed. After all, to a natural antibody, a virus is a virus, even when it's meant to perform a beneficial function. This leads to the question, what happens when the virus is done with its work killing tumors? It's possible that the virus has an appetite for cancerous cells, but will turn to healthy tissue in the absence of a cancerous alternative. Determining that is the next step, says van den Pol. Another team of researchers in Los Angeles have also concluded that viruses can be useful in battling brain cancer. These researchers are taking a different approach -- boosting the body's natural immune system. Read about this treatment on the next page.
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