Cancer
Can cancer patients benefit from new drug trials?
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Patients with advanced head and neck cancer survived just as well on experimental drugs as they did on FDA-approved standard therapies in a new study.
These patients were part of phase I trials, an early step in the approval phase for a new drug and often the first time that drug is tested in humans. There has been controversy over whether advanced cancer patients - many of them desperate for any possible chance to get better - are getting taken advantage of in such trials, or whether they can really benefit from experimental drugs.
But the findings suggest that doctors should consider referring their terminally ill patients to such trials, the authors say.
Study Shows Physicians Reluctant to Use Chemoprevention for Prostate Cancer
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Despite the dramatic results of the Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial (PCPT), which showed a significant reduction in prostate cancer among those taking finasteride, physicians have not increased its use, according to a study published in the September issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.
The first results of the PCPT were published in 2003 in The New England Journal of Medicine and were widely reported. The randomized controlled trial consisted of 18,000 men and showed a 25 percent reduced risk of prostate cancer.
Unfortunately, it also showed a 27 percent increased risk in high-grade tumors, which was noted in an accompanying editorial. Ian Thompson, M.D., chairman of the department of urology at the University of Texas Health Science Center, who led the study, said the editorial may have colored the perception of finasteride.
Hepatitis B linked to lymphoma in study
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People infected with hepatitis B virus are around twice as likely to develop non-Hodgkin lymphoma, researchers reported on Tuesday.
Hepatitis B was already known to cause liver cancer, and some scientists had suspected it might cause lymphoma, too. The study, published in The Lancet Oncology, confirms this. Hepatitis C is also linked to lymphoma.
The blood cancer is not common and widespread vaccination against the viruses is unlikely to affect non-Hodgkin lymphoma rates much, the researchers noted. But it may be possible to treat the virus and help non-Hodgkin lymphoma patients, they said.
Certain meat components may increase bladder cancer risk
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A new study suggests that consuming specific compounds in meat related to processing methods may be associated with an increased risk of developing bladder cancer. Published early online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, the findings may be relevant for understanding the role of dietary exposures in cancer risk.
Eating red and processed meats has been linked to an increased risk of developing several different types of cancer. Animal studies have identified a number of compounds in meat that might account for this association. These include heterocyclic amines, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and N-nitroso compounds. Nitrate and nitrite are added to processed meats and are known precursors to N-nitroso compounds.
Amanda J. Cross, PhD, of the National Cancer Institute in Rockville and colleagues conducted one of the first prospective studies – the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study—to assess the relationship between intake of these meat-related compounds and the risk of developing bladder cancer. They used information gathered through questionnaires to assess the types of meat consumed as well as how meat was prepared and cooked to estimate the intake of these meat-related compounds.
In Canada, money may matter for cancer survival
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Despite Canada’s universal healthcare system, poorer Canadians with cancer are more likely to die early than their wealthier peers, suggests a new study of almost 100,000 patients from Ontario.
But unlike studies conducted in the United States, most of the difference in survival rates could not be explained by how early doctors caught the cancer.
“It is reassuring that stage of cancer (at diagnosis) does not vary across social groups in Ontario,” Dr. Christopher Booth of the Queen’s University Cancer Research Institute, the study’s lead author, told Reuters Health in an email. But, he continued, “we need to better understand why survival does vary across socioeconomic groups.”
A potential chemotherapeutic drug to treat hepatocellular carcinoma
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Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common cancers worldwide, particularly in China. However, HCC remains one of the more difficult cancers to treat. It is important to screen for new anti-cancer drugs. A number of dietary compounds possess anti-cancer properties. These dietary compounds may modify the activity of specific targets that control cell proliferation and apoptosis. Galangin could inhibit the methoxyresorufin O-demethylase activity of CYP1A2, CYP1A1 and P-form phenolsulfotransferase. Galangin induced apoptosis in several cancer cell lines and arrested the cell cycle, modulated the expression of cycline/cdk, and decreased Bcl-2. It was suggested that galangin may be a potential anti-tumor agent. However, the mechanism by which galangin exerts its anti-tumor activity is unknown.
A research article to be published on July 21, 2010 in the World Journal of Gastroenterology addresses this question. This is the first study to report that galangin mediates apoptosis through a mitochondrial pathway.
Their data demonstrated that (1) galangin induces HCC cell apoptosis by triggering Bax translocation to the mitochondria; (2) galangin-treated HCC cells causes the release of AIF and cytochrome c into the cytosol from the mitochondria; and (3) overexpression of Bcl-2 attenuated galangin-induced HepG2 cells apoptosis, while down-regulated Bcl-2 expression enhanced galangin to induce cell apoptosis.
Benefit confirmed in “bubble boy” treatment
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A 10-year study of nine boys born without the ability to ward off germs has found that gene therapy is an effective long-term treatment, but it carries a price: four of them developed leukemia.
The technique is designed to help boys with X-linked severe combined immunodeficiency disease, or SCID, a rare mutation that prevents the body from making mature T cells or natural killer cells, which are vital tools for fighting infections.
Without a bone marrow transplant, which works best with a matching donor, such “bubble babies” have to live in germ-free environments and usually die within a year. Doctors hope gene therapy will work when no donor is available.
Asthma and Eczema Sufferers Have a Lower Risk of Developing a Cancer
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Men who had a history of asthma or eczema generally had a lower risk of developing cancer, according to a study carried out by researchers at INRS–Institut Armand-Frappier, the Research Centre of the Centre hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal, and McGill University. The findings, published in the Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, show that male eczema sufferers had a lower risk of lung cancer while those with a history of asthma had a similar effect in relation to stomach cancer.
“Asthma and eczema are allergies brought about by a hyper-reactive immune system – a state which might have enabled abnormal cells to have been eliminated more efficiently, thereby reducing the risk of cancer,” explained Professor Marie-Claude Rousseau of the INRS–Institut Armand-Frappier, one of the co-authors of the research.
The researchers analyzed information that was collected in a study on exposures in the workplace and the risk of developing cancer, undertaken between August 1979 and March 1986. It involved 3,300 men, between 35 and 70 years of age, who had been diagnosed with cancer in one of Montreal’s 18 hospitals, and a control group of 512 people from the general population who did not have cancer.
US cancer death rates continue drop: report
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U.S. cancer death rates are falling, with big decreases in major killers such as colon and lung cancer, the American Cancer Society said on Wednesday.
The improvement was due a decline in smoking, better treatment and earlier detection, it said.
The group predicted 1,529,560 new cancer cases in the United States in 2010 and 569,490 deaths.
Coffee may protect against head and neck cancers
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Data on the effects of coffee on cancer risk have been mixed. However, results of a recent study add to the brewing evidence that drinking coffee protects against cancer, this time against head and neck cancer.
Full study results are published online first in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.
Using information from a pooled-analysis of nine studies collected by the International Head and Neck Cancer Epidemiology (INHANCE) consortium, participants who were regular coffee drinkers, that is, those who drank an estimated four or more cups a day, compared with those who were non-drinkers, had a 39 percent decreased risk of oral cavity and pharynx cancers combined.
Why Does Diabetes Raise Cancer Risk?
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People with diabetes are at increased risk of certain cancers—but why?
Could it be that some diabetes treatments trigger or promote cancer? Or do the underlying causes of diabetes also underlie cancer?
These are the questions put before an expert panel from the American Diabetes Association and the American Cancer Society (ACS).
Cord blood transplants a viable option in leukemia
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Adult patients with leukemia fare just as well when they get stem cell transplants taken from a cord blood bank as they do from a well-suited adult donor, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday.
They said umbilical cord transplants are a viable option for adults with leukemia who urgently need a bone marrow transplant to replace cells destroyed by chemotherapy or radiation treatments, but cannot find a donor.
“What we found is when you look at the outcome of leukemia-free survival, which is the likelihood of a patient being alive without disease, it’s the same whether you are transplanting using an adult graft which is from an adult donor or a cord blood unit,” said Dr. Mary Eapen of the Medical College of Wisconsin, whose study appears in the journal Lancet Oncology.
Chemist Refines Technique to Treat Prostate Cancer with Light
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There’s more than one way to kill a cancer cell.
Cliff Berkman is working on a better way—one that specifically targets prostate cancer cells and causes a type of natural death that spares surrounding tissues from damage. In a recent paper in the journal “Cancer Letters,” he describes a method that delivers to the cells a chemical that, when exposed to a certain type of light, prompts the cells to die and disappear with minimal side effects.
“Ultimately, what we’re trying to do is cure cancer with light,” said Berkman, a Washington State University chemistry professor.
Exercise During and After Cancer Treatment Now Encouraged
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Cancer patients who’ve been told to rest and avoid exercise can – and should – find ways to be physically active both during and after treatment, according to new national guidelines. Kathryn Schmitz, PhD, MPH, an associate professor of Epidemiology and Biostatistics and a member of the Abramson Cancer Center at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, will present these guidelines at an educational session at the 2010 meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, aimed at making cancer exercise rehabilitation programs as common as those offered to people who have had heart attacks or undergone cardiac surgery. (Exercise Testing and Prescription for Cancer Survivors: Guidelines from the American College of Sports Medicine)
Schmitz, whose previous research reversed decades of cautionary exercise advice given to breast cancer patients with the painful arm-swelling condition lymphedema, led a 13-member American College of Sports Medicine expert panel that developed the new recommendations after reviewing and evaluating literature on the safety and efficacy of exercise training during and after cancer therapy.
Family fights brain tumor, looks for support
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As the month of May wraps up, so does Brain Cancer Awareness Month. But one Merrill couple wants to spread the word about the common disease all year long.
Just over a year ago, Steve & Amy Rajek’s world turned upside down. On Steve’s way to work, he’s hit with the worst headache of his life.
“There was a lot of pressure on this one particular side. I thought, they make Tylenol for that stuff and I’ll be able to treat it myself.” Steve says, “Then I thought, maybe I should go get the doctors advice.”
