Cancer
Aging Men Can Reduce Health Risks Through Physical Activity
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Our results suggest that moderate to vigorous physical activity may reduce the risk of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) or lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) by as much as 25% relative to a sedentary lifestyle. Although the strength of the association appears to be greater with higher levels of activity, there was a non-significant trend toward a protective effect with even light physical activity. Adjustment for multiple confounders in the studies included in this analysis underscores the independence of the protective effect of physical activity on the BPH/LUTS complex.
The notion that physical activity and other modifiable lifestyle factors may alter the risks and severity of BPH and LUTS challenges traditional etiological paradigms and intimates the need for the development of new pathogenic models for the BPH/LUTS disease complex. The assumption that BPH and LUTS are relatively immutable consequences of aging—driven by a combination of genetic predisposition, androgens, and estrogens—underpins prior models. While genotype and hormones are important components, the relationship of physical activity with BPH/LUTS demands consideration of additional modulators of these processes.
It is possible that physical activity influences prostate growth pathways through alterations in hormone levels. However, we believe a more likely explanation is that physical activity exerts beneficial effects through improved cardiovascular health.
Mammograms benefit women up to the age of 75 and 3-yearly screening intervals are best
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Berlin, Germany: Breast cancer screening is effective, appropriate and reduces deaths from the disease in women aged up to 75 years old according to new research in over 860,000 women aged 70-75 presented today (Friday) at the 6th European Breast Cancer Conference (EBCC-6) in Berlin. In another study of nearly 100,000 women aged 50-62, also presented at EBCC-6 today, researchers found that the best interval for screening was every three years – a finding that counters arguments that women should have mammograms more frequently.
Many countries that run breast cancer screening programmes offer it to women aged between 50 and 70. However, in 1998 in The Netherlands, the programme was extended to women aged up to 75. The results presented today suggest that this is an appropriate upper age limit and saves lives without causing substantial harm by subjecting older women to over-diagnosis and over-treatment.
This is the first study to provide firm support for the idea that offering mammograms to women up to the age of 75 is effective, as, until 1998, very few women were screened at this age.
Standard chemo works better against metastatic BRCA1/2 breast cancer than against sporadic tumors
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Berlin, Germany: The first study to investigate the effects of chemotherapy on metastatic breast cancer in women with the BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutation has shown that standard chemotherapy works better in these patients than in women without the BRCA1/2 mutation.
The authors of a study presented today (Thursday) at the 6th European Breast Cancer Conference (EBCC-6) in Berlin found that women with BRCA2-associated breast cancer had a significantly higher response rate, a longer time without the disease progressing, and a longer overall survival when treated with anthracycline-based regimens than did women with sporadic breast cancers that were not associated with BRCA1/2.
Women with BRCA1-associated breast cancer also did better than women with sporadic breast cancer, but the rates were not statistically significant.
Tiny magnets used in anti-cancer gene therapy
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Tiny magnets have been used to deliver anti-cancer gene therapy in mice in a development that could make the treatment much more effective, scientists said on Thursday.
The idea behind gene therapy is to replace faulty genes. But the approach has had mixed success because of the difficulty of getting genes to the right part of the body.
One option is to use viruses to carry genes, but this increases the risk of triggering an immune system reaction.
Chemotherapy effects on brain may be a myth
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“Chemofog” - impairments in memory and in thinking, or “cognition,” that have been attributed to chemotherapy—was not seen in two studies of women being treated for breast cancer, according to a presentation at the 60th annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology in Chicago..
In Melbourne, Australia, Dr. David G. Darby of CogState Ltd, where a cognitive assessment test bearing its name was developed, and colleagues, used the test to evaluate the changes in cognitive function in breast cancer patients. CogState Ltd. is an international, publicly held company that sells diagnostic tools.
The researchers tested 30 women with breast cancer, and 30 “control” subjects matched by age, before each cycle of chemotherapy and 28 days after the last cycle. Both groups of women also provided a subjective assessment of their cognitive function and feelings of depression and anxiety at each evaluation.
Obese women disadvantaged in both breast cancer treatment and diagnosis
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Berlin, Germany: Obese women with breast cancer have worse disease outcomes and also tend to present to their doctor for the first time with more advanced disease, two scientists told the 6th European Breast Cancer Conference (EBCC-6) today (Wednesday 16 April).
Dr. Evandro de Azambuja and colleagues at the Jules Bordet Institute, Brussels, Belgium, told the conference that his work, which involved 2887 patients, showed that women who had a body mass index (BMI) of more than 30kg/m2 had poorer outcomes in terms of disease-free and overall survival. “Our data once more stress the global problem of obesity,” he said.
Dr. de Azambuja and colleagues studied patients who were taking part in an international phase III trial (BIG 2-98) which compared two docetaxel regimes with two anthracycline regimes in patients with node-positive breast cancer (where the cancer has spread to the lymph nodes). Obesity was found in 19% of all patients enrolled in this trial. “We found that 5-year disease-free survival in non-obese patients was significantly higher than in the obese group,” he said. “75.9% of the non-obese patients were disease-free after 5 years as compared to 70% of those who were obese. In addition, the 5-year overall survival was 87.5% in the non-obese patients compared to 82.9% in the obese patients.
OHSU Cancer Institute researchers discover key gene involvement in cancer development
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Oregon Health & Science University researchers have identified a gene that is necessary in eliminating cancer cells.
“This finding is important because expression of this gene is frequently suppressed in many cancers, such as lymphoma and breast cancers,” said Charles Lopez, M.D., Ph.D., OHSU Cancer Institute (hematology/medical oncology), OHSU School of Medicine.
The research will be presented at a minisymposium on Wednesday April 16 at 10:30 a.m. at the annual American Association of Cancer Research meeting in San Diego, Calif.
World-first discovery could help treat life-threatening tumors
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WA researchers investigating how blood vessel growth keeps cancers alive have made a world-first discovery that could boost the chances of successfully treating life-threatening tumours.
Western Australian Institute for Medical Research (WAIMR) Associate Professor Ruth Ganss and her team have found that a gene called RGS5 can reverse angiogenesis – the growth of blood vessels inside the tumour.
The discovery is published in the most recent edition of Nature, one of the world’s most prestigious scientific journals.
Video helps adjustment to life after breast cancer
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An educational video may be more effective and far less costly than psychological counseling in helping women adjust to life after breast cancer, a new study suggests.
Researchers found that among 389 breast cancer survivors they followed for a year, those who were given an educational booklet and video generally had greater improvements in emotional distress and fatigue than women who attended two counseling sessions.
The cost of the video was less than $26 per patient, compared with roughly $134 for the video plus individual counseling.
Experimental drug shrinks advanced skin cancer
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An experimental drug designed to block a specific cell-signaling pathway has been shown in a small trial to shrink tumors in patients with advanced basal cell carcinoma, researchers said on Monday.
Basal cell carcinoma, a type of non-melanoma skin cancer, is the most common form of cancer, with about a million new cases estimated in the United States each year.
Most cases are easy to treat when detected early, but in rare instances the cancer is resistant to treatment, causing damage to skin and sometimes invading bone and cartilage.
Exercise combats cancer-related fatigue
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When cancer and its treatments leave a patient with a relentless weariness of body and mind, exercise might help, according to a new review of studies.
The meta-analysis of 28 studies of cancer-related fatigue found that exercise is more effective at combating the problem than the usual care provided to patients.
“A lot of the time, the medical response to patients is that they should expect to be fatigued, that it is a normal side effect. If patients are told that fatigue is just a side effect and to accept it, what they are not getting is any advice or support to help them cope,” said lead review author Fiona Cramp.
Celebrex-Lipitor combo may halt prostate cancer
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Researchers at Rutgers’ Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy have shown that administering a combination of the widely used drugs Celebrex (celecoxib, a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug) and Lipitor (atorvastatin, a cholesterol lowering drug) stops the transition of early prostate cancer to its more aggressive and potentially fatal stage.
Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in men in the United States, with more than a quarter-million new cases appearing each year, according to the American Cancer Society. The findings are being presented by Rutgers Professor Xi Zheng at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research in San Diego, April 14th.
In the early stage of the disease, when it is typically diagnosed, prostate cancer cells depend on androgen hormones, such as testosterone, to grow. Treatment at this stage involves either decreasing the production of the hormone or blocking its actions on the cancer cells.
Smoking, drinking imperil lymphoma survival
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Smoking and moderate-to-high alcohol consumption negatively affect the survival of people with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, dubbed NHL, a European study shows.
“Tobacco and alcohol habits are risk factors for a wide range of diseases,” Dr. Renato Talamini said in an interview with Reuters Health. “NHL patients who smoked tobacco and/or drank alcoholic beverages could be more vulnerable to the complications and side effects of cancer treatments,” he noted.
“Moreover,” continued Talamini, who led the study, “concomitant diseases due to tobacco and alcohol consumption may increase the probability of treatment toxicity, and thus, may represent an obstacle to adequate chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy.”
Older Australians at risk of sun-related skin cancer death
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A new Western Australian study has revealed the mortality from non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC), commonly considered less dangerous than melanoma, is affecting older Australians at a worrying rate.
Researchers at the Western Australian Institute for Medical Research (WAIMR) found West Australians above the age of 69, especially men, accounted for 70 percent of deaths from non-melanoma skin cancer in WA, and most primary cancers occured in areas of high sun exposure.
The study has prompted health experts to urge older people to stay vigilant about sun protection and get regular skin checks.
Mayo-led study finds smoking related to subset of colorectal cancers
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Smoking puts older women at significant risk for loss of DNA repair proteins that are critical for defending against development of some colorectal cancers, according to research from a team led by Mayo Clinic scientists.
In a study being presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), the researchers found that women who smoked were at increased risk for developing colorectal tumors that lacked some or all of four proteins, known as DNA mismatch repair (MMR) proteins. These proteins keep cells lining the colon and rectum healthy because they recognize and repair genetic damage as well as mistakes that occur during cell division.
Researchers believe that, in this study population, few if any of the four proteins were absent because of an inherited genetic alteration. “We think that smoking induces a condition within intestinal cells that does not allow MMR genes to express their associated proteins, and this loss leads to formation of tumors in some women,” says the study’s lead author, Mayo gastroenterologist Paul Limburg, M.D.
