Important Information about Asbestos and MesotheliomaCancer

Mesothelioma is a rare aggressive cancerous disease of the mesothelium, which is a type of protective tissue that surrounds organs found in the thoracic and abdominal cavity such as the lungs, heart, liver, and abdominal organs. Most of the time, cancer does not occur with a single cause; rather it is a group of diseases with multiple causes, symptoms, treatments, and prognosis. But in the unique case of mesothelioma, there is a specific cause for this cancer which is asbestos.

Risk Factors

Several agents or factors are implicated in the development of mesothelioma. However, generally, asbestos is still the leading cause of mesothelioma.

Virus
In very rare situations, a Simian vacuolating virus (SV40) may act as a carcinogen and potentiate asbestos in causing malignant mesothelioma. The SV40 is a highly controversial virus due to the contamination of polio vaccines between the year 1955 and 1963. Millions of people in the United States were said to be exposed to the virus.
However, there is no clear evidence yet whether SV40 is responsible for certain mesotheliomas.

Erionite (Zeolite)

Exposure to erionate, a type of zeolite mineral which has similar properties with asbestos, is suggested to be one of the causes of mesothelioma in some villages in Turkey.

Radiation

Therapeutic radiation using thorium oxide (thorotrast) has been reported to increase the risk of developing pleural and peritoneal mesothelioma in certain people.

Smoking

Smoking alone is not considered to affect the development of mesothelioma, however, when smoking is combined with asbestos exposure, the risk of having mesothelioma significantly increases.

Asbestos

For several decades, asbestos remains the primary cause of the development of mesothelioma and a number of lung diseases. Inhalation of the particles is the most common route of entry, which is why most cases of mesothelioma occur in people working in the asbestos industry.

A Closer Look on Asbestos

Asbestos is the given name of a certain family of minerals that occur in fibrous form. These fibers can be processed into a variety of materials that are uniquely resistant to fire, heat, and corrosion. Asbestos can be spun and woven into textiles, matted into insulating materials, or used with other substances to make numerous products, including brake linings, clutch pads, and roofing and flooring materials. Because of these, asbestos is almost irreplaceable as no other substance provides its desirable properties.

Nevertheless, manufacturers are developing replacement materials because of the issues surrounding the production of asbestos products. Inhalation of asbestos’ very minute fibers over a period as little as one to two months has been linked to cancers of the lung, lung-cavity lining or mesothelioma, asbestosis, and severe lung impairment.

Types of Asbestos

There are two general varieties of asbestos: serpentine and amphibole.

Serpentine

Chrysotile, obtained from serpentine rocks, is the most abundant and widely used form of asbestos accounting for 90% of asbestos used for production of new materials.

Amphibole

Amphiboles are long, thin fibers that are more potent in causing lung cancer and associated diseases. Amphiboles include amosite (brown asbestos), crocidolite (blue asbestos), tremolite, actinolite, and anthophyllite. Among these, crocidolite is the more potent carcinogen which is due to its rod-like appearance that enables the fiber to easily penetrate the lungs and into the pleura. They may cause irritation and long-term inflammation of the mesothelium altering cellular structures leading to cancer. Asbestos can also cause the production of free radicals that damage cells that further potentiate cancer growth. It has been suggested that some of the fibers may be coughed up and swallowed into the gastrointestinal tract. In this way, asbestos can cause peritoneal (abdominal) mesothelioma.

People who are working with asbestos have the highest risk of contracting mesothelioma. But family members of these workers may also incur the disease due to particles that may be carried along with the worker’s clothing and hair. Aside from that, those who are residing in a room with products built from asbestos are likely to inhale the particles without knowing it. Houses and structure built in the late 1800s to mid 1900s are more prone to use such materials because asbestos has been widely used commercially during this period. The latency period of mesothelioma can last between 20 to 50 years following exposure to asbestos.

Diagnosis

Mesothelioma must be diagnosed using the medical history of a person and adiologic studies such as X-rays, CT scans, MRI, and PET scans. But because mesothelioma may mimic several lung conditions, there may be a need for chest tube thoracostomy, pericardiocentesis, or paracentesis depending on the location of the tumour. A biopsy will confirm the diagnosis of mesothelioma. The disease will be staged according to the TNM system: tumor (T), lymph node involvement (N), and metastasis (M).
Unfortunately, most cases of mesothelioma are diagnosed when it is already at its late stage. Treatment options vary depending on the staging and extent of metastasis. Surgery in adjunct to radiation and chemotherapy are the best options available. In advanced stages, treatment would be difficult; hence, palliative (supportive) care is rendered to treat the symptoms. However the disease itself is still there.

Despite the many dangers of asbestos usage, many people are still exposed to asbestos especially in countries like India, China, and Russia. The Environmental protection Agency (EPA) has estimated that 3,000 to 12,000 cases of cancer, usually fatal, are caused annually in the United States by asbestos exposure. But controversies continue to surround the issue of asbestos as a health hazard. Thousands of asbestos-related diseases and mortalities have been documented and yet, some countries have not placed any ban on asbestos products.

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Trigger for breast cancer spread identified

Washington: A vital change in body’s cellular defense system, which is usually involved in fighting bacterial and viral infection, triggers breast cancer spread to other parts of the body, a new study led by Indian origin author has revealed.

For cancer cells shape matters. All cells contain a protein cytoskeleton that acts as a scaffold determining overall shape and function, the position of the cell within an organ or tissue, and the ability of the cell to communicate with its neighbours to prevent the uncontrolled growth typical of cancer cells.

However, cell transformations that result in cancer disrupt the genetic programs of the cell and alter the cytoskeleton, leading to changes in shape, function, and cell communication that produce uncontrolled growth and metastasis spreading of the tumour.

Understanding these changes to the normal genetic program of a cell and the consequences that ultimately lead to cancer have been major challenges to cancer biologists.

This research by Shyamal Desai, PhD, Assistant Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans found that a cellular defense system called the ISG15 pathway, which is normally involved in fighting bacterial and viral infection, is triggered in breast cancer to disrupt normal cytoskeletal function and increase the possibility that the cancer cells will metastasize, or spread.

“Our findings, for the first time, causally link an alteration in the ISG15 pathway during transformation with metastatic potential,” Dr. Desai, said.

“Thus providing a novel therapeutic target for future drug discovery.”

Cells contain a protein quality control pathway termed the Proteasome that breaks down damaged and unneeded proteins to their component amino acids for recycling.

Such proteins are marked for degradation by flagging them with a small protein called Ubiquitin, which is then recognized by the Proteasome.

Alterations in the genetic program that controls the Ubiquitin/Proteasome system have been known for some time to cause cell transformation and cancer. More recently, Dr. Desai and her colleagues have demonstrated that, unlike normal cells, transformed cancer cells produce increased amounts of a related control system that marks proteins with another small protein called ISG15.

Previous research reports that the amount of ISG15 is increased in high-grade compared with low-grade cancers. The ISG15 system is normally activated by interferon and is part of an ancient cellular immune response designed to counter bacterial and viral infection.

By a still unidentified mechanism, cancer cell transformation activates the ISG15 pathway. Dr. Desai and colleagues have previously reported that activation of the ISG15 system interferes with function of the Ubiquitin/Proteasome pathway.

In their latest work, Dr. Desai and colleagues show that several key proteins that regulate cell movement, invasion, and metastasis are blocked from Proteasome degradation by the ISG15 system and that genetic manipulation to inhibit this pathway reverses cancer cell transformation, suggesting an approach to blocking cancer progression.

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Cervical Cancer: What it is and How to Prevent It

Although most causes of cancer could not be ascertained, two cancers that doctors know the causes of are cancer of the liver and the cervix. This is good news because it means it is possible for women to prevent cervical cancer, a killer that hits one woman every two minutes across the world. The virus behind 99.7% of cervical cancers is known as the Human Papilloma Virus, or HPV.
This is the same virus that causes warts to break out on other parts of the body, but just because you may have warts does not mean you are cursed to have cervical cancer. Only 15 to 20% of HPV types that affect humans are said to be cancer-causing. The virus that results in warts on hands and feet are fortunately not the same virus type that causes the cancer.

This means that the best way to prevent cervical cancer is to minimize, or if possible, eliminating, the spread of the HPV types that are oncogenic. However, it is not simple because infection with this virus typically does not cause symptoms right away.

This is why screening at an early stage is crucial, as catching it in its pre-cancerous stage still has it curable. Factors that increase a woman’s risk of developing cervical cancer include the following: having warts in the anal and genial areas; having sex early in life, usually just after getting your period; having or having had STD or any of your partners having it; being a smoker or being regularly exposed to second-hand smoke; having used diethylstilbestrol (DES) during pregnancy or when your mother was pregnant with you; having five or more children; and a generally poor resistance to diseases.

Meanwhile, the virus is transmitted through various ways. The first one is by sexual contact, since the types of HPV that are oncogenic also infect the genital area. This makes the virus a sexually-transmitted one, and this is perhaps why most women do not get treatment early on from embarrassment at admitting to having STD.

Non-sexual transmission is also possible, usually through skin-to-skin contact of private parts. Heredity is also a factor, as the virus can be passed from mother to baby. And the last, still debatable mode of transmission is by passing through contaminated undergarments, biopsy forceps, and even surgical gloves.

Whether or not you find yourself at high risk, it is best to do the following to keep yourself in check early on:

1. Getting a Pap smear is crucial, since this is the standard for screening cervical cancer. Of course, it tends to be expensive and it take a while for the results to come in, but at least you get a certain level of peace of mind when the pathologists returns the results to you.

2. Living a healthy lifestyle is another key to prevention. This way, you will have your immune system at peak to help you ward off diseases. You can boost up your body’s defense system with regular exercise, enough sleep, not smoking or drinking, and making sure you go for your routine medical examinations.

3. Getting vaccinated is also another way to prevent the spread of the HPV virus. Although the vaccines do not necessarily prevent the cervical cancer itself, it can help you fight against the most common type of oncogenic HPV. Of course, doctors admit that the currently available vaccine is still not enough for all the cancer-causing types of HPV, at least it lessens your risk. It just means that it is no time to be licentious just because you have gotten yourself vaccinated. You should still continue to go for your regular checkups. Interestingly, experts determine that the best time to get the first vaccination is before anyone ever has her first sexual intercourse!

Hopefully these simple principles behind making sure you detect any cancer-causing HPV in your system early will help you avoid this silent killer. After all, that is what makes it more complicated, since the disease does not usually show symptoms until it is in its later stages, and usually too late for an effective cure. In any case, being aware of the ways to detect it early on and making sure you are at least vaccinated against the most common types should at least up your chances of not contracting the disease.

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Cancer Prevention is Better than Cure

Cancer is perhaps the deadliest and most terrifying disease a person can have in our generation today. According to research, about 1500 people die of cancer each day, making it next to heart disease in rank. You can call it a silent killer, because it slowly eats away a person’s life.
And although a huge development in the medical world has made treatment for cancer a lot easier, still, the best way to fight cancer is to stop it in its tracks. Preventing cancer is not as difficult as it may seem. In fact, the best methods you can try to deal with it are usually free.

Studying your family history of the disease is one of the first things you need to do to find out whether your risks for cancer are high or not. Cancer can be hereditary, so if a certain type of cancer runs in the family, there’s a big chance you can acquire the disease as well. If this is the case, talk to your doctor and set up an appointment where you can be screened and tested for cancer risk.

If you are not a smoker or alcohol drinker, it would be best if you never start at all. But if you are, you might want to gradually cut the habit if you want to keep cancer at bay. Tobacco smoking and exposure to it is the greatest risk factor for lung cancer. It’s also responsible for other types of health conditions such as hypertension, heart disease, diabetes, and even degenerative brain disease. Even if you don’t put a cigarette between your lips, as long as you’re in range of someone who’s smoking incessantly, you can still be putting yourself at risk.

Excessive intake of alcohol can also have the same impact to your health as smoking. In fact, almost 4% of cancer cases are attributed to alcohol drinking. According to one study, a person’s risk for cancer of the mouth, throat, and esophagus can be increased by alcohol and tobacco. Not only that, it is said to increase a person’s risk for liver, rectal, colon, and breast cancer as well. To prevent cancer altogether, start doing away with these two deadly habits as soon as possible.

Another thing you can do to stay away from cancer is to practice sun-safety. We thank the sun for various reasons, but while it can be a source of life and energy, it can also be the cause of skin cancer. For your information, skin cancer is the most common type of cancer, and millions of people in the US alone are diagnosed with it each year. It takes time for the signs of sun damage to appear in the skin but most of the damage done is a result of cumulative exposures to harmful UV rays. It’s not only by going to the beach that you can acquire sun damage. Even by just getting a sun tan from a tanning salon can put your skin’s health at risk.

To avoid sun damage, always wear sunscreen with SPF 15 protection or higher 30 minutes before you go outside each day. Try to wear clothes that will cover your arms and the back of our hands as well, because these are the spots where signs of sun damage usually appear. Bring an umbrella or wear a large hat to protect your face, and wear sunglasses for your eyes.

The kind of food that you eat also plays a major role when it comes to preventing or delaying the onset of diseases like cancer. Some of the food that you eat on a daily basis can actually increase your cancer risk. Such foods include processed meat, sweets, and foods rich in salt and preservatives. To fight cancer, include more foods that are rich in antioxidants in your daily menu. Antioxidants help reverse the damage done by free radicals in the body. They also help boost your immune system so that your body doesn’t easily succumb to cancer and other diseases.

Moreover, try to involve yourself in physical activities as much as you can. Even thirty minutes of brisk walking each day can cut down your risk for cancer by up to 80 percent! And get enough sleep and rest too. It is during sleep time that your body heals and repairs damaged cells and tissues.

Finally, don’t forget to visit your doctor once every three months and have a general checkup. Most cancers can be stopped when detected in their early stages.

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Sunbed ban ‘could prevent 1 in 4 cases of skin cancer`

London: Banning sunbed use could prevent a quarter of cases of the most common form of skin cancer in the under-40s, a new research suggests.

The study from doctors at Yale University in the U.S. revealed that indoor tanning significantly increases the risk of basal cell carcinoma.

It found that sunbed users are 69 per cent more likely to develop BCC before the age of 40 than people who never use the tanning method.

The link was strongest among women, and the risk increased with years of sunbed use.

And that study concluded that avoiding sunbeds can prevent a quarter of all cases of ‘early onset’ BCC – when the disease occurs before the age of 40.

Among women, who are greater users of sunbeds, 43 per cent of cases could be avoided if sunbeds were banned.
Unlike other forms of skin cancer, such as malignant melanoma, BCC can be easily treated and survival rates stand at 98 per cent.

But since the 1970s cases have increased by 17 per cent, which is likely to be partly fuelled by sunbed use and holidays abroad.

And British doctors say they are seeing increasing numbers of youngsters with this type of cancer. In April, under-18s were banned from using sunbeds although they still remain popular and three million adults use them every year.

This Yale University study is the latest to show the damaging effects of sunbeds on the skin.

“We routinely see young women with skin cancer in our practice,” the Daily Mail quoted Dr David J. Leffell, professor of dermatology and surgery at Yale School of Medicine and author of the study as saying.

“In the past, this was extremely rare. But now in many cases the patients acknowledge their use of tanning parlours, and I think this study confirms the harmful nature of this activity,” he noted.

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Cancer cases found in women with French brand implants

Paris: Health authorities in France have confirmed to have come across at least 20 cases of cancer among women having breast implants of a French brand.

As of Tuesday, "there were three cases of lymphoma, 15 cases of breast adenocarcinoma, the most common form of breast cancer, one case of adenocarcinoma of the lung, and one case of acute myeloid leukemia," Xinhua quoted the French Health Products Safety Agency (AFSSAPS) as saying.


It was stated in reference to allegedly faulty implants produced by the Poly Implant Prothese (PIP).

But "no accountability has been established to date between these cancers and the wearing of PIP implants," the agency said.

The French Health Ministry last week advised 30,000 women to have their PIP implants removed. It was suggested because of an increased risk of rupture to avoid the risk of cancer though no conclusive evidence was found linking to the disease.

The recommendation came after eight cases, mainly breast cancer, were reported among women with PIP implants.

Authorities in other countries also advised women to consult their doctors over the implants.

The French company PIP was once the world`s third-largest producer of silicone implants which sold its products to tens of thousands of women in over 65 countries and regions, mainly in South America and Western Europe.

The company was found to replace the medical-grade silicone in its implants with unauthorised material that caused abnormally high rupture rates of its implants. After that, its products were banned and the company went bankrupt in 2010.

The US government raised the alarm over the company in 2000.

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Gene that increases pancreatic cancer risk identified

Washington: A gene that increases the risk of pancreatic cancer has been identified, experts say.

Mutations in the ATM gene may increase the hereditary risk for pancreatic cancer, researchers at the Johns Hopkins University have found. The findings were published in the latest edition of the journal Cancer Discovery Thursday.


Pancreatic cancer is one of the most morbid cancers, with less than five percent of those diagnosed with the disease surviving to five years.

Approximately 10 percent of patients come from families with multiple cases of pancreatic cancer.

"There was significant reason to believe this clustering was due to genetics, but we had not, to this point, been able to find the causative genes that explained the cluster of pancreatic cancer for a majority of these families," Xinhua quoted lead author Alison Klein, associate professor at Johns Hopkins University, as saying.

Klein and colleagues identified ATM gene mutations in two kindreds with familial pancreatic cancer.

He said knowledge of the presence of the ATM gene could lead to better screening for pancreatic cancer, the fourth most common cause of cancer-related death.

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Statins tied to lower risk of fatal prostate cancer

New York: In a new study of middle-aged New Jersey men, taking cholesterol-lowering drugs was linked to a lower chance of dying from prostate cancer.

The findings don`t prove that the drugs, called statins, ward off aggressive cancer. But they jibe with previous studies suggesting that getting cholesterol levels under control might help reduce the risk of life-threatening disease, researchers said.


"People may be on these medications for their heart, but it may actually be doing them some good for their prostate," said study author Dr. Stephen Marcella, from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey in New Brunswick.

"If a person`s on the fence about taking a statin medication for their heart, this is another potential benefit they may have by taking one of these," he told.

Marcella and his colleagues collected the medical records of 380 men who had died of prostate cancer and another 380 of the same age and race without prostate cancer or with non-lethal cancer.

Most of the men were white and in their mid- to late-60s, on average. Close to one in four of the men in both groups combined had ever taken a statin.

The researchers found that men who died of prostate cancer were half as likely to have taken a statin at any time, and for any duration, than men in the "control" group.

When they accounted for whether or not men were overweight and their other health problems and medications, it turned out that those with fatal cancers were 63 percent less likely to have ever taken a statin, according to findings published in Cancer.

But, Marcella added, "I would not tell a person if they don`t have a risk of heart disease, (if) they don`t have hypertension...to take a statin just to prevent lethal prostate cancer."

The evidence that`s effective, he said, just isn`t there yet.

And even if statins do turn out to help prevent fatal prostate cancer, researchers said, previous studies have suggested they don`t lower a man`s risk of getting less aggressive forms of the disease.

According to the American Cancer Society, about one in every six men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer at some point, and one in every 36 men will die of the disease.

Marcella`s team didn`t have the data to figure out if taking a statin for longer, or starting one earlier, was more beneficial than more limited use of the drugs.

`VERY TRICKY TO SORT OUT`

The researchers also couldn`t tell whether men started using statins before or after they were diagnosed with aggressive cancer.

But they did find that while high-potency, often newer statins were linked to a lower risk of fatal prostate cancer, lower-potency drugs were not. That suggests it`s something about the drugs themselves that lower men`s chances of dying from prostate cancer, Marcella said.

Statins may protect against fatal prostate cancer through their known cholesterol-lowering effects, said Dr. Stephen Freedland, who studies prostate cancer at the Duke University Medical Center in Durham, but wasn`t involved in the new study.

He said that cholesterol is a "key nutrient" for cancer cells, so lower cholesterol levels in the body could prevent more aggressive forms of cancer from developing.

But it`s also possible that statins don`t prevent certain cancers at all, Freedland said, and it`s something else about men who take statins -- for example, if they also change their diet and start exercising -- that explains their lower risk of fatal cancer.

"It gets very, very tricky to sort out," Freedland told Reuters Health.

To prove that statins protect against aggressive cancer would require a large study in which cancer-free men, or those with early-stage disease, are randomly assigned to take statins or not and then tracked for years to see how many of them die from cancer.

That type of study, especially involving healthy, disease-free men, would be very expensive and time consuming, said Dr. Nelly Tan, from the University of California, Los Angeles, who has studied statins and prostate cancer risk.

About one-quarter of adults age 45 and older in the U.S. take statins to lower cholesterol and protect against heart attacks. The drugs run anywhere from $11 to more than $200 per month, and sometimes cause side effects including muscle pain, nausea and gas and liver dysfunction.

Researchers agreed that until there`s clearer evidence for benefit, men with healthy hearts shouldn`t seek out statin prescriptions for the purpose of lowering their prostate cancer risks.

But Freedland said that other strategies for lowering cholesterol -- such as eating better and exercising regularly -- are ways almost everyone can lower their disease risks in the meantime

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Red meat lovers have more kidney cancer

New York: People who eat lots of red meat may have a higher risk of some types of kidney cancer, suggests a large US study.

Researchers found that middle-aged adults who ate the most red meat were 19 percent more likely to be diagnosed with kidney cancer than those who ate the least. A higher intake of chemicals found in grilled or barbecued meat was also linked to increased risk of the disease, they reported in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.


"Red meat is an important source for iron (and) it has protein," said Dr. Mohammed El-Faramawi, an epidemiologist from the University of North Texas Health Science Center in Fort Worth, who has studied diet and kidney cancer risks but wasn`t involved in the new study.

"You should not stop eating red meat because there is an association between red meat and renal cancer," he told Reuters Health. Instead, eating a limited amount of meat while following dietary recommendations is a good idea, he said.

US guidelines call for limiting high-fat foods including processed meat, and instead eating more lean meat and poultry, seafood and nuts.

Eating red meat in large amounts -- even if it doesn`t necessarily lead to kidney cancer -- increases the risk of a host of health problems, such as plaque buildup in the arteries, El-Faramawi added.

Previous studies examining the link between red meat and kidney cancer arrived at mixed conclusions, according to Carrie Daniel, from the National Cancer Institute in Rockville, Maryland, and her colleagues.

To try to clear up that picture, they used data from a study of close to 500,000 U.S. adults age 50 and older, who were surveyed on their dietary habits, including meat consumption, and then followed for an average of nine years to track any new cancer diagnoses.

During that time, about 1,800 of them -- less than half a percent -- were diagnosed with kidney cancer.

On average, men in the study ate two or three ounces of red meat per day, compared to one or two ounces among women. Participants with the highest consumption of red meat -- about four ounces per day -- were 19 percent more likely to be diagnosed with kidney cancer than those who ate the smallest amount, less than one ounce per day.

That was after accounting for other aspects of diet and lifestyle that could have influenced cancer risks, such as age, race, fruit and vegetable consumption, smoking and drinking and other medical conditions including high blood pressure and diabetes.

When the researchers looked at the most common types of kidney cancers, they found that the association between red meat and cancer was stronger for so-called papillary cancers, but there was no effect for clear-cell kidney cancers.

People who ate the most well-done grilled and barbecued meat -- and therefore had the highest exposure to carcinogenic chemicals that come out of the cooking process -- also had an extra risk of kidney cancer compared to those who didn`t cook much meat that way.

The study doesn`t prove that eating red meat, or cooking it a certain way, causes kidney cancer. And, El-Faramawi pointed out, some people who eat lots of red meat won`t develop cancer, while others that hardly eat any will.

Daniel and her colleagues said more research is needed to figure out why red meat may be linked to some types of kidney cancers but not others.

But for now, meat-related cooking chemicals "can be reduced by avoiding direct exposure of meat to an open flame or a hot metal surface, reducing the cooking time, and using a microwave oven to partially cook meat before exposing it to high temperatures," Daniel told Reuters Health in an email.

"Our findings," she concluded, "support the dietary recommendations for cancer prevention currently put forth by the American Cancer Society -- limit intake of red and processed meats and prepare meat by cooking methods such as baking and broiling."

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Avastin disappoints against ovarian cancer

New York: Avastin, the blockbuster drug that just lost approval for treating breast cancer, now looks disappointing against ovarian cancer, too. Two studies found it did not improve survival for most of these patients and kept their disease from worsening for only a few months, with more side effects.

The Genentech drug won approval in Europe last week for advanced ovarian cancer. But its maker has no immediate plans to seek the same approval in the United States. After talking with the Food and Drug Administration, "we do not believe the data will support approval" although no final decision has been made, said Charlotte Arnold, a spokeswoman for Genentech, part of the Swiss company Roche.


Results of the studies are in Thursday`s New England Journal of Medicine.

In November, the FDA revoked Avastin`s approval for breast cancer because it did not meaningfully extend life and can have serious side effects. Without approval, doctors can prescribe the drug but insurers may not pay. Treatment with it can cost $100,000 a year.

Avastin can still be sold for some colon, lung, kidney and brain cancers. The new research was aimed at adding ovarian cancer to the list.

One study, led by Dr. Robert Burger of Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia, involved nearly 1,900 women with advanced ovarian cancer given one of three treatment combinations. The time until the disease got worse was a median of 10 months in those given just chemotherapy; adding Avastin improved that by just one to four months for the other two groups.

Survival was similar among the groups, and side effects were higher among those on Avastin — mostly high blood pressure but also some stomach and gut problems that needed treatment.

In the other study, led by researchers from England, more than 1,500 ovarian cancer patients were given chemo with or without Avastin. The drug kept cancer at bay just one to two months longer than chemo alone did, with more cases of high blood pressure. There was a trend toward improved survival for those on Avastin, but the difference was too small to say the drug was responsible.

Genentech helped pay for the studies and some of the researchers consult for the company.

Dr. Gary Lyman, a Duke University researcher who was on the FDA advisory panel that recommended revoking Avastin`s approval for breast cancer, wrote in an email that he agreed with the company`s decision not to seek approval for ovarian cancer.

"The situation is very similar" to the results in breast cancer, and approval is unlikely unless a biological marker or test can show which patients might benefit, he wrote.

About 220,000 new cases of ovarian cancer are diagnosed each year around the world, and it causes 140,000 deaths. In the United States, the National Cancer Institute estimates 22,000 new cases and 15,000 deaths each year.

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Drink coffee everyday to cut cancer risk

Coffee is emerging as a protective agent in cancers that are linked to obesity, estrogen and insulin, said Edward Giovannucci, M.D., Sc.D., professor of nutrition and epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health.

"Coffee has already been shown to be protective against diabetes due to its effect on insulin," said Giovannucci, a senior researcher on the study.

"So we hypothesized that we'd see a reduction in some cancers as well," he stated.

Giovannucci, along with Youjin Je, a doctoral candidate in his lab, and colleagues observed cumulative coffee intake in relation to endometrial cancer in 67,470 women who enrolled in the Nurses' Health Study.

During the course of 26 years of follow-up, researchers documented 672 cases of endometrial cancer.

Drinking more than four cups of coffee per day was linked with a 25 per cent reduced risk for endometrial cancer. Drinking between two and three cups per day was linked with a 7 per cent reduced risk.

A similar link was seen in decaffeinated coffee, where drinking more than two cups per day was linked with a 22 per cent reduced risk for endometrial cancer.

The study appeared in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

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Lower Your Breast Cancer Risk

What lung cancer is to men, breast cancer is to women. Breast cancer is perhaps the most dreaded disease that women face today, and each year, more and more women are diagnosed with it. It’s true that breast cancer can be cured, by you cannot deny the fact that it is a real nightmare that any woman can encounter.
The pain associated with breast cancer is not only felt physically but also emotionally. And while there is a huge chance for the disease to be completely cured, prevention will still be your best option.

One of the many risk factors for breast cancer is smoking. Research shows that women who smoke have a higher risk of the disease than those who do not. A link between second hand smoke and breast cancer has also been proven by some experts. What’s more, if you used to smoke a lot and acquired breast cancer today, there will be several complications that you are going to face while undergoing treatment such as lung damage, slow healing process, and a higher risk for blood clots.

If you don’t smoke, it would be best if you do not start at all. If you do smoke however, do your best to cut off the habit gradually. You can’t break the habit overnight, but if you’re determined, nothing can stop you from doing so.

Drinking is another risk factor for breast cancer you should be aware of. According to studies, alcoholic beverages such as wine, beer, and any kind of liquor can increase a woman’s risk for breast cancer. Alcohol damages DNA in the cells, resulting to the development of cancer. When compared to women who do not drink alcohol, those who limit their alcohol drinking to one glass a day only have a little increase in risk. But those who have at least five drinks of alcohol per day have an increase for breast cancer risk of about 50 percent!

There have only been a few studies done on the link between alcohol and breast cancer but the results show a consistency that cannot be ignored. Drinking alcohol is good for the heart, but that is only if you know how to limit the amount of what you drink. If you love to drink, try to limit your consumption to 2 to 3 servings per day. There are several other ways to keep your heart healthy without compromising the other aspects of your health so it would be best if you do not drink alcohol at all.

Another risk factor for breast cancer is being overweight. Not only does it increase ones risk for developing the disease but also increase its risk to recur. Older women most especially will have a hard time preventing this problem due to the fact that maintaining a healthy weight becomes more difficult as people age. However, with gradual changes to lifestyle, losing weight to reduce the risk for breast cancer can be done.

If you are overweight right now, the first step you need to take is to talk to your doctor about your situation and seek advice on how you can lose weight safely and naturally. Once you’ve received the go signal, you can then create a diet and an exercise plan. Diet and exercise are two of the most excellent ways to lose weight, and what’s more, these two play a huge factor in the prevention of breast cancer.

While there’s no direct link between regular exercise and breast cancer prevention, involving in daily physical activities can help you get rid of unwanted fat in the body. For your information, cancer cells can hide in excess fat, so the less excess fat you have in your body, the less chance you have of developing breast cancer.

When it comes to dieting, there’s no single type of food that can help you prevent breast cancer. On the other hand, a combination of fiber-rich foods and foods high in antioxidant is what you need in order to keep your immune system healthy. Include more fruits and vegetables in your menu, and as much as possible, stay away from processed food and foods rich in salt, sugar, and saturated fat.

The fact that dreaded diseases such as breast cancer can be cured and prevented is truly encouraging for most women. If you make it a habit to live a healthy lifestyle, there is definitely no way breast cancer can come near you.

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Aspirin significantly cuts cancer risk

Previous work by the same team of scientists revealed that the century-old remedy for aches and pains, long a staple of family pharmacies, can help defend against colon cancer.

The new study has for the first time revealed that aspirin also helps protecting against prostate, lung, brain, and throat cancers, among others.

"These findings provide the first proof in man that aspirin reduces deaths due to several common cancers," the Herald Sun quoted Peter Rothwell, a professor at the University of Oxford and lead author of the study as saying.

Professor Rothwell and colleagues looked into eight previous clinical trials comprising over 25,500 patients. In each, some subjects took aspirin and others look-alike placebos.

During the trials, which lasted for four to eight years, doses of aspirin as low as 75 milligrams, cut cancer deaths overall by 21 per cent.

Risk was particularly diminished after five years of treatment with the drug, by 30 to 40 per cent depending on the type of cancer.

The 20-year risk dropped on an average by a fifth: 10 per cent for prostate cancer, 30 per cent for lung cancer, 40 per cent for colon cancer, and 60 per cent for oesophageal cancer.

For cancer of the lung and throat, the protective effect was restricted to adenocarcinomas, the type typically observed in non-smokers.

"Perhaps the most important finding for the longer term is the proof of principle that cancers can be prevented by simple compounds like aspirin, and that 'chemo-prevention' is therefore a realistic goal," Professor Rothwell said.

Another researcher of Cancer Research UK, Ed Yong, asserted that even small doses of aspirin can reduce cancer risk if taken for five years.

"These promising results build on a large body of evidence suggesting that aspirin could reduce the risk of developing or dying from many different types of cancer," Dr Yong said.

"This tells us that even small doses reduce the risk of dying from cancer provided it is taken for at least five years."

"We encourage anyone interested in taking aspirin on a regular basis to talk to their doctor first," Dr Yong added.

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Trace elements in toenails show up cancer risk

London: Trace elements present in the toe nail can actually tell whether one is likely to suffer from cancer or not, reveals a study.

Researchers from National Cancer Research Group (NCRG), Spain, looked for 12 trace elements in the toenails of 118 patients of exocrine pancreatic cancer, the most prevalent form of the disease, and compared them with toenails of 400 cancer free individuals.

"Our results support an increased risk of pancreatic cancer associated with higher levels of cadmium, arsenic, and lead," the researchers said.

Patients with the highest levels of arsenic and cadmium in their nails were between two and 3.5 times more likely to have pancreatic cancer than those with the lowest levels.

Those with the highest levels of lead were more than six times as likely to have the disease, the journal Gut reported.

Conversely, those with the highest levels of nickel and selenium were between 33 percent and 95 percent less likely to have the disease compared with those with the lowest levels.

Toenails are considered reliable indicators of trace element levels, rather than dietary assessment, because they capture intake or exposure from other sources over the long term, a university statement said.

Smoking accounts third for cases of pancreatic cancer. Tobacco contains trace metals, including cadmium, which is a known cancer causing agent, and has been tied with an increased risk of lung, kidney, and prostate cancers.

High levels of selenium, on the other hand, have been linked with conferring protection against certain cancers.

Previous research indicates that selenium may counter the harmful effects of cadmium, arsenic, and lead.

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Easy ways to enhance cancer fighting effects of broccoli

A new study suggested that some simple procedures could enhance the cancer fighting ability of broccoli. The green vegetable is already known to diminish the threat of developing many slayer diseases. The tasty green vegetable is already advertized as innate speculate drug to fend off cancer counting bowel, skin, breast and stomach cancer.

The latest study conducted by research team from the University of Illinois proposes that the therapeutic influence of broccoli can be improved by faintly altering the technique in which the vegetable is cooked now. It is advised that not to overcook broccoli because it destroys the enzyme called myrosinase.

It is vital to the formation of the cancer killing composite Sulforaphane (SFN). There present a high-flying isothiocyanate (SFN) in cruciferous vegetables such as cauliflower, brussels, broccoli and cabbage. The compound imitates the functioning of chemotherapy drugs taxol and vincristine, destroying cancer cells that replicate the highest.

The study also recommends that joining broccoli sprouts with broccoli can make their cancer-preventing talents more influential. According to Elizabeth Jeffery, professor of nutrition at University of Illinois broccoli, prepared properly, is a tremendously powerful cancer-fighting mediator. Three to five portions a week are sufficient to have an effect. To maximize benefits of broccoli, the enzyme myrosinase should to be present.

Steaming broccoli for two to four minutes is the ideal way to protect the enzyme as wells as nutrients of the vegetable. Numerous health conscious people use supplements of broccoli powder in recipes to improve their nutrition. However, such people do not know that they are not receiving adequate nutrients because the supplements often do not contain this essential enzyme, added Prof Jeffery.

Broccoli sprouts comprise myrosinase in profusion. The powder of broccoli frequently comprises the antecedent to sulforaphane without the enzyme which would enhance its healthy benefits, explained Jenna Cramer, co-author of the study reported the study published in Medindia.

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Why some cancers become malignant and others dont

Scientists have discovered why some cancers become malignant and others don”t.

The study, led by Dr. Gerardo Ferbeyre of the University of Montreal”s Department of Biochemistry, found that cancer cells reproduce by dividing in two, but a molecule known as PML limits how many times this can happen.

The team proved that malignant cancers have problems with this molecule, meaning that in its absence they can continue to grow and eventually spread to other organs.

Importantly, the presence of PML molecules can easily be detected, and could serve to diagnose whether a tumor is malignant or not.

“We discovered that benign cancer cells produce the PML molecule and display abundant PML bodies, keeping them in a dormant, senescent state. Malignant cancer cells either don”t make or fail to organize PML bodies, and thus proliferate uncontrollably,” Ferbeyre said.

Senescence is the mature stage in a cell”s life at which in can no longer reproduce and it is a natural defense against cancer formation. When tumor cells are benign, it means that they cannot spread or grow into other parts of the body.

The team of researchers based both on campus and at the University of Montreal Hospital Research Centre built on Dr. Ferbeyre”s prior discovery that PML is able to force cells to enter senescence.

The research was published on January 1, 2011 in Genes and Development.

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10 Healthy Lifestyle for Reducing Your Risk of Many Cancers

Cancer is a major causes of mortality around the world. Approximately 12 million new cases of cancer were diagnosed and caused more than 7 million deaths worldwide in 2008. A major study from the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) found that an estimated 39% of the 12 cancer cases could be prevented by improving the lifestyle choices.

Previous studies have suggested that approximately 43 per cent of bowel cancer cases and 42 per cent of breast cancer cases in the UK could be prevented if people ate more healthily, did regular exercise, maintained a suitable weight and not smoking. Professor Martin Wiseman, project director of the report, also said: On a global level every year, there are millions of cancer cases that could have been prevented and this is why we need to act now before the situation gets even worse.

If so, why don’t you start a healthy lifestyle to reduce your chances of experiencing this life altering disease? Follow these 10 simple tips for the prevention of cancer:

1. Healthy eating

• Limit consumption of red meats (including beef, pork, and lamb) and avoid processed meats
• Eat more of a variety of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and legumes (such as beans)
• Cut down on saturated fat and sugar. saturated fat – having too much can increase the amount of cholesterol in the blood, which increases the chance of developing heart disease
• Limit consumption of salty foods and food processed with salt (sodium)
• Avoid coffee and tea (except green tea which has cancer-fighting properties) which have high caffeine

2. Limit alcohol intake

• Consumption of alcohol not only increases the risk of certain types of cancer, it contributes to overall poor health and obesity in adults. Alcohol intake should be kept to a minimum, since men who consume 2 or more alcoholic drinks a day are at a greater risk for cancer, as are women who have 1 or more alcoholic drinks per day.

3. No smoking

•  Avoid cigarette smoke at all costs; both first and second hand smoke increase your risk of contracting many types of cancers that relate to cigarette smoking, and makes you more susceptible to cancers that are not caused by the unhealthy habit.

4. A routine of regular physical activity

•  Physical activity helps to get more oxygen down to the cellular level. Cancer cells cannot thrive in an oxygenated environment. Physical activity affects cancer risk indirectly, through its role in preventing overweight and obesity, decreasing exposure of breast tissue to oestrogen, and affecting cancers of the colon, breast and other sites by improving energy metabolism. The American Cancer Society recommends at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise (such as brisk walking) on 5 or more days of the week for adults and at least an hour every day for children and teens.

5. For mother:

• Exclusively breastfeed their babies for up to six months. According to research breastfed babies have less chances of getting cancer and for the breast feeding mothers the chance of getting breast cancer are much less.

6. Be happy, relax and enjoy life.

•  When you worry and under pressure you are more likely to be a victim of cancer. For those who are always under pressure their immune systems are less active.

7. Try to be a healthy weight.

• It’s not a good idea to be either underweight or overweight. Being overweight can lead to health conditions such as heart disease, high blood pressure or diabetes. Being underweight could also affect your health.

8. Don’t use supplements to protect against cancer.

• It’s not that supplements are bad as they may be “valuable” apart from cancer prevention, but there isn’t evidence that they protect against cancer, except for vitamin D.

9. Be aware of affects of the sun.

• Sun exposure can cause skin cancer. Many seniors believe that after years of sun exposure, they no longer require protection from the sun. Proper sun protection at any age is important for cancer prevention. Children, older and younger adults should wear sunscreen during time spent in the sun, protective eyewear (UV sunglasses), and head coverings like hats. It�s also important that individuals remain aware of any changes to their skin, like moles or other marks, and discuss any changes to skin conditions with a doctor immediately.

10. Know your families history

•  Knowledge plays a major role in cancer prevention. Understanding your family history with cancer can help your doctor make decisions relating to testing and screening for cancer. Many types of cancer are genetic, so it’s important to understand your family risk so you can make informed healthcare decisions.

In short, many cases of cancer are thought to be preventable, by making smart lifestyle choices. Top priorities are avoiding tobacco, eating a healthful and varied diet and staying physically active, minimal sun exposure, medical screening and regular self examination.

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