Cancer on my mind is an article written by Dr. Albert Lim Kok Hooi, a consultant oncologist. He opens his article by saying:

As a doctor, I am interested in how the human mind works. As an oncologist, I am interested in the lure of alternative medicine. And so I have tried to understand why, in spite of all the scientific evidence at hand, there are many amongst us who do not want to undergo conventional cancer treatment – surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy and targeted therapy – but instead risk being treated by unproven and potentially dangerous alternative therapies.

He goes on to say that this happens because sometimes science is not very well understood. He talks about confirmed bias, a phenomenon in cognitive science, the science of how the mind works. He describes it as a person that -- notices the hits and ignores the misses in support of his own beliefs. So, basically someone might have a strong bias against chemotherapy, for no other reason than what they have seen on television, without really knowing the true facts.

Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer has decided to scrap development of a drug designed to fight lung cancer, it was recently announced. The drug, tentatively known only as PF-3512676, was shown in trials to be no more effective when combined with chemotherapy than chemo alone, and the drug manufacturers behind it reasoned that it wasn't worth investing any additional revenue into. Nonetheless, a significant amount has already been poured in to the drug, so it comes a big hit for Pfizer and partnering company Coley.

Pfizer, in the meantime, continues working on several other cancer drugs, including ones for breast and colorectal cancers.

Interferon is an immune stimulating agent. According to an article recently published in the Annals of Surgery, administration of interferon following surgery may improve survival among patients with advanced hepatitis B-related hepatocelluar carcinoma.

Hepatocelluar carcinoma (HCC) is the most common type of liver cancer. Unfortunately for this disease, recurrences often happen after surgical removal of the cancer. Researchers continue to evaluate ways to reduce these recurrences.

A clinical trial was conducted to evaluate the use of interferon following surgery in patients with HCC. The trial included 80 patients, one group received the interferon after surgery and the other group received no further treatment. The researchers found that the group treated with interferon experienced better survival rates.

New hope may be an injection away for patients living with glioma, a terminal brain cancer that comes with a life expectancy of about 25 weeks post-diagnosis.

A new vaccine called Vitaspen is made by using tissue extracted from each person's cancerous tumor. The tissue is used as a unique footprint for the vaccine that targets destructive tumor tissue while sparing healthy tissue in the same region.

Vitaspen is only in the first stage of clinical human trials, but researchers are pleased with the promise of the new drug -- particularly the benefits trial participants are gaining form the treatment. They have reported no adverse side effects, and the drug has increased the overall survival rate.

Results of stage one trials will determine if the drug warrants stage two testing.

I've always heard the use of herbs and supplements and alternative therapies can be a potentially dangerous pursuit when combined with cancer treatment. But this may not be entirely true.

Think about this:

Using Chinese herbs alone or in conjunction with chemotherapy may help protect a breast cancer patient's bone marrow and immune system. It may also improve the overall quality of life for women, say researchers at the Chinese Cochrane Centre in Chengdu, China.

It is well known that women receiving chemotherapy for breast cancer experience significant short term side effects such as nausea, vomiting, fatigue, inflammation of the gut lining, decreased numbers of red and white blood cells, and decreased numbers of blood platelets. Those is search of some relief may wish to give Chinese medicinal herbs a try.

Researchers say there is conventional evidence indicating that these medicines are safe and effective. Still, "further trials are needed before the effects of traditional Chinese medicines for people with breast cancer can be evaluated with any real confidence," says one professor involved in this area of study.

Results of two studies, sponsored by the Adjuvant Breast Cancer (ABC) Trials Collaborative Group, conclude that adding chemotherapy to the estrogen-blocking drug tamoxifen improves survival for those with early-stage breast cancer. The same studies reveal preventing the secretion of estrogen from the ovaries does not offer much benefit for most women.

Researchers studied 1991 patients, ages 28 to 81. All had received five years worth of treatment with tamoxifen therapy with or without standard chemotherapy. Some premenopausal women were also treated with ovarian removal (ablation) or suppression, a technique used to stop the glands from secreting hormones.

While early results, appearing in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, fell short of statistical significance, chemotherapy still reduced the overall risk of death by 17 percent, mostly for women younger than 50 and especially for premenopausal women not treated with ovarian ablation or suppression.

I never would have predicted it -- that a tooth could become a tool for dispensing medication. But the refinement of such a creation is actually in the works and before long, you may be asking not for a gold or decorative tooth but for one capable of doling out your drugs in the exact doses and at the right times.

Think about this:

Researchers from Europe and Israel are working right now on a tiny dispensing system called IntelliDrug. Their goal is to create parts small enough they can fit into a false tooth placed in the back of the mouth. The device will release a specific amount of medication at certain intervals so patients receive the proper dosage right on schedule.

This invention, crafted by an Israeli dentist, could pick up the slack for people who forget to take medicine and could save lives for those whose lives depend on scheduled drug therapy. It could also allow for better absorption of medication into the body.

The IntelliDrug device will deliver medicine directly into the bloodstream through the lining of the cheek around the mouth. Saliva, meanwhile, mixes with the drug and carries it throughout they body in a manner more efficient than just swallowing a pill every few hours.

While researchers hope to one day turn their device into a replacement tooth, the apparatus -- consisting of a stainless steel housing, a pump, custom valves, a microprocessor, batteries, and a reservoir for the drug pill -- currently comes in the form of a block the size of two teeth. It is strapped to the the side of teeth and hugs the inside of the cheek. The unit can be removed, and a technician can refill the drug reservoir, clean the unit, and change batteries when necessary.

Clinical trials on pigs are ongoing. Human testing is expected to begin by the end of the year.

There's been much press lately about the cervical cancer vaccine, its merits, its implications, and the debate surrounding the issue of vaccinating young girls against the sexually transmitted virus HPV.

Enter a new vaccine -- the ovarian cancer vaccine.

Early clinical trial results are promising for this vaccine, intended to fight off ovarian cancer tumors with patients' own cells -- but without the toxicity of traditional chemotherapy.

Says Dr. Ed Staren of Cancer Treatment Centers of America, "We're able to identify the specific components of the tumor and target it for individual therapy for the patient."

Doctors would surgically remove a patient's tumor and then send it to a lab where tumor cells would be used to create a vaccine specifically for the patient.

A second round of clinical trials to study the effectiveness of this vaccine will begin this summer.

Bisphosphonates are medicines that help build bone mineral density and strengthen bone. When breast cancer travels to the bone, it can weaken them and may cause them to become brittle.

A Phase III study has reported that two years after starting bisphosphonate treatment, women who took Zometa went longer without bone difficulties that those who took Aredia.

The study compared the effectiveness of the two bisphosphonate medications to see which worked better when given over a two year period. The results, after 13 months, showed Zometa did better than Aredia at reducing overall risk of weakening, pain or fracture of bone.

The two year results showed that those who were treated with Zometa had a 45 percent average reduction annually in the number of bone weakening, pain or fractures compared to Aredia.

The most important part is what this can mean for you -- This study suggests that Zometa may be a viable long-term option for women with ER+ advanced breast cancer to the bone. If you have ER- disease, this study suggests you may receive an equally good result from Zometa or Aredia.

Early trials show a breath test for lung cancer detection may surface in the not-too-distant future. And it could be simple, inexpensive, non-invasive, and effective too.

The tests needs a good amount of work still, but if we keep our fingers crossed and medical researchers stay hot on the trail of this test, it just might be possible to one day spot lung cancer by simply breathing into a device for a few minutes.

The lung cancer breath test measures chemicals called volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the breath. There's a certain pattern of VOCs associated with lung cancer, and they show up as colored dots across a quarter-sized panel.

The theory behind this test is great. The test itself is not perfect yet, however.

It's promising, though, says The Cleveland Clinic's Peter Mazzone, MD, MPH and colleagues who describe the test in the Online First edition of the journal Thorax and reveal the test correctly identified in studies three out of four people with lung cancer and detected lung cancer almost as frequently.

Cancer drug Nexavar has made its point. It can help people with liver cancer survive longer.

Bayer Pharmaceuticals and Onyx Pharmaceuticals announced Monday that advanced stage clinical trials for this drug will end early. And now patients in the placebo arm of the study can begin treatment with the actual drug.

It's been a long road for researchers who have been searching for a liver cancer treatment that can target tumors with minimal side effects while extending life for months or even years.

It is estimated that 16,780 people in the United States will die from liver cancer in 2007 -- and it seems Nexavar, a drug initially predicted to fail when used for liver cancer -- may help save some of these lives.

Bayer and Onyx are planning to pursue FDA approval for this drug that has already been approved for kidney cancer.

National Cancer Institute director John Neiderhuber worries the NCI 2007 budget could be slashed by five to 10 percent. And he worries that key cancer research will inevitably come to a halt as a result.

Worries stem from budget cuts proposed by President Bush. Cuts would cost the NCI between $36 million and $4.7 billion -- but Bush reports that NCI funding has doubled in the past 10 years and would still remain relatively high. And due to the recent American Cancer Society announcement that cancer deaths dropped for the second straight year, White House spokesman Tony Fratto says, "We're proud of the significant investment that we have made in cancer research. We're also proud of the results showing that researchers are delivering on that investment."

But researchers still worry. They worry cuts will undermine their successes. They feel like the rug is being pulled out from under them, just as they are making significant progress. They suspect 95 clinical trials could be postponed or cancelled, 3,000 patients could miss the opportunity of joining a trial, and some cancers will be completely eliminated from studies.

"There is a real cost in human life," says Allen Lichter, executive vice president of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, of the more-than-monetary toll budget cuts will take on NCI research efforts.

One study already on hold, pending funding decisions, is the next phase of a study evaluating whether a class of drugs called aromatase inhibitors, can prevent breast cancer. Another research group has opted to stop studying brain tumors. This is a huge loss to patients with this type of cancer, says Lichter.

It's a huge loss to all of us really -- because cancer will affect each of us in some way, some day. And so with cut budgets come cut hopes, cut dreams, and sadly -- cut survival.

One week ago, researchers found themselves humbled by the disappointing fact that promising cancer drug Avastin had failed to help patients with pancreatic cancer live longer. In fact, not only did the drug fail to extend survival, it actually caused adverse side effects such high blood pressure and bleeding in the stomach and intestine.

In a study of 600 patients with advanced pancreatic cancer, those who received Avastin in addition to standard chemotherapy lived for only six months -- the same amount of time as those who received chemotherapy alone.

Earlier studies predicted Avastin might improve survival. It worked in patients with advanced colorectal cancer. And so it was no surprise that crowds of pancreatic cancer patients wanted a shot at this potential wonder drug that in the end turned out -- for them -- to be not so wondrous.

If clinical trials go well, a new drug simulating the effects of normal sunlight and increasing the life expectancy of prostate cancer patients, could be available in 2009.

The drug, Asentar, provided levels of vitamin D between 50 and 100 times higher than levels delivered by the sun and could double life expectancy from nine to 18 months for those taking the pills. Absent would be any of the consequences associated with such an overdose.

"An extension of nine months would be very significant in my view," said Nick James of the University of Birmingham. "If the results of the phase III trial are as good as those of the phase II trial, that would be significant."

Details about this study can be found in the journal Chemistry & Industry.

In a radical new approach to attacking cancer, researchers will soon attempt to kill tumors by infecting them with viruses that cause ailments like the common cold.

This virus therapy treatment -- considered the third pillar alongside chemotherapy and radiation -- could one day become standard battle against cancer.

One Belfast doctor says anything that could improve the lives of cancer patients is worth a try. And try is exactly what Leonard Seymour, Professor of Gene Therapy at Oxford University, plans to do when he begins leading trials later this year.

Seymour, who has been working with viruses that kill cancer cells while sparing healthy tissue, will use a stealth virus masked from the body's immune system with a polymer coat that could travel through the bloodstream and reach tumors.

Two viruses are likely candidates for study in the first clinical trials -- adenovirus, cause of a cold-like virus, and vaccinia, cause of cowpox and a component in the smallpox vaccine.

Preliminary research on mice shows that virus therapy works well on tumors resistant to standard cancer drugs. But several years of trials will be necessary before the therapy can be considered for use on all cancers.