Part of the life cycle of a cell - as with every other living thing - is death. Cancer cells have to be pounded by radiation or chemotherapy to die or actually commit suicide. Scientists may have discovered what interferes with that death.

It's a fairly well-known guideline. Start colorectal cancer screenings at age 50. Yet, far too many folks in this age group ignore these recommendations - a decision that can be deadly. Now these guidelines have been updated.

A great deal of attention is being paid to the benefits and harms produced by both screening tests and treatments for various types of cancer. The microscope has been turned on radiation therapy (radiotherapy) being used with older breast cancer patients.

The lowered cost of genetic analysis, increasing use of online databases sharing research, and more powerful computing techniques have resulted in the ability to find complex genetic patterns unimaginable only a decade ago.

Part of the reason head and neck cancers are tough to treat is that the tumors sometimes become resistant to both radiation therapy (radiotherapy) and chemotherapy. A research team in Germany is working to overcome this problem.

BRCA genes aren't the only menacing genes in the breast cancer equation. No, there's a syndicate of criminal molecules that hijack normal DNA repair and create the havoc that is breast cancer. Researchers have nabbed another culprit gene.

Currently, there's only one chemotherapy agent being used to treat pancreatic cancer. Gemzar (gemcitabine) works for some patients, but not others.

The capacity of cancer to outsmart its opponents is legendary. That's why therapies have to be multifaceted. New research shows that going after two targets hits the bulls-eye in knocking the lights out of tumors.

People with chronic myeloid leukemia ( CML ) have been treated with interferon therapy for years, but this treatment can sometimes fail. And when it does, a targeted therapy hits the mark, offering these patients long-term benefits.

Prostate cancer does not always have to be treated. If it's slow growing, active surveillance may be the best course. For older men who have other conditions, prostate cancer probably ought to be left alone.