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Cancer research is prolific, and there are hundreds of studies every year. A few recent studies that impact long term care patients include:

• A recent University of Buffalo study of more than 65,000 women suggests that post-menopausal women who have a history of gum disease also have a higher risk of cancer. Women who reported a history of gum disease had a 14 percent increased risk of overall cancer, but the highest risk was for esophageal and gall bladder cancers, says a study published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.
• A new imaging technique that uses a combination of light and sound to check oxygen levels in prostate tumors may lead to a noninvasive way to identify tumors that are more difficult to treat, say researchers in a cancer research U.K.-funded study published in Theranostics.
• New technology that uses machine-learning software may help analyze images of skin lesions and help detect melanoma skin cancer earlier.

This system also could help reduce the number of unnecessary biopsies and the costs associated with them. At the same time, it may give clinicians objective data about lesion characteristics to help them rule out melanoma before they pursue more invasive action. This innovative technology is being developed by researchers at the University of Waterloo and Sunnybrook Research Institute in Ontario, Canada.

• A new study from the University of Colorado, Denver, and Massachusetts General Hospital (published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society) suggests that long-term, high-dose use of vitamin B6 and B12 supplements is linked to a two- to fourfold increased risk of lung cancer in men.

In another study from researchers at the New York University Langone Health, high-dose vitamin C showed promise in encouraging certain blood cancer cells to “die.” This may lead to a safe treatment for blood diseases caused by TET2-deficient leukemia stem cells.