Author Archives: David Sampson

About David Sampson

I am the director of medical and scientific communications for the American Cancer Society national home office.

The Pendulum Swings (Back) on Prostate Cancer Screening

Posted on May 8, 2018

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) has updated its guideline for prostate cancer screening. The group now recommends that men ages 55 to 69 who are interested in screening talk to their doctors about potential benefits and harms of … Continue reading →

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Highly Processed Foods & Cancer Risk

Posted on February 15, 2018

A study out Wednesday suggests eating a lot of highly processed foods might be associated with higher rates of cancer. The study appears in BMJ, and the authors admit more study is needed, but warn that the rapid adoption of … Continue reading →

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Rodents and Radiation: What to Take Away from New Study Findings

Posted on February 2, 2018

Preliminary data was released today from two rodent studies by the National Toxicology Program (NTP), to explore potential links between cell phones and cancer. The studies have found high exposure to radiofrequency radiation (RFR) resulted in tumors in tissues surrounding nerves … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 11 Comments

Detecting cancer with a blood test: New study shows promise, but questions remain

Posted on January 19, 2018

A study published this week in Science reports promising results of a blood test designed to detect eight common cancer types by measuring circulating proteins and mutations in cell-free DNA. The study comes from the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center at … Continue reading →

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Study links inflammation-causing foods to higher risk of colorectal cancer

Posted on January 18, 2018

A study in today’s JAMA Oncology links diets that include foods that can cause inflammation to an increased risk of colorectal cancer.  Those foods include meats, refined grains, and high-calorie beverages. We asked Marji McCullough, SCD, RD, strategic director of nutritional epidemiology … Continue reading →

Posted in Colorectal, Nutrition, Research, Uncategorized | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Behind the numbers: cancers associated with obesity

Posted on October 3, 2017

A report out today had a lot of us scratching our heads, when it said that about 630,000 people in the U.S. were diagnosed with a cancer associated with overweight and obesity in 2014. That sounds awfully high, we thought. … Continue reading →

Posted in Behavior, Communications, Environment, Lifestyle, Nutrition, Prevention | Leave a comment

New Analysis Confirms Suspected Bias of Large U.S. Prostate Screening Study

Posted on September 5, 2017

A new paper appearing in Annals of Internal Medicine used simulation modeling to try to correct for a known bias in a notable U.S. trial of prostate cancer screening, called PLCO. That study along with a large European one played an … Continue reading →

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