Cancer
Dietary folate may lower pancreatic cancer risk
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Increased levels of dietary folate from food, but not from supplements, appears to reduce the risk of developing pancreatic cancer, according to results of a large population-based study of Swedish men and women.
Folate, also known as folic acid, is a B vitamin that is naturally found in fruits and vegetables. The US government recently mandated that manufacturers fortify grain products with folic acid, adding it to flour, rice, pasta and cornmeal.
Previous studies have suggested that folate may protect against colorectal and breast cancer, Dr. Susanna C. Larsson and colleagues note in their report, published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
Antibody may reduce or eliminate tumors
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San Diego State University researcher Roger Sabbadini has brought scientists one step closer to finding a cure for cancer with the creation of an antibody that hinders the growth of tumors by preventing blood vessel formation.
As published in the March 14 issue of Cancer Cell, a leading oncology journal, Sabbadini and his research team have created an antibody, Sphingomab, that can be used as a drug to reduce the size of tumors in experimental animal models of human cancer. The antibody works as a molecular sponge by soaking up sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P), a molecule that has been proven to stimulate the growth of new blood vessels. S1P has been identified as a mediator of tumor cell proliferation and protector of tumor cells from chemotherapy drugs. By neutralizing S1P, the Sphingomab antibody inhibits the new blood vessel formation that tumors require to thrive, a process called ‘tumor angiogenesis.’
Cells in Mucus from Lungs of Patients Can Predict Tumor Development
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In a group of high-risk patients, a test that examined DNA from cells expelled in sputum for evidence of “silenced” genes correctly identified the majority of patients who were later diagnosed with lung cancer, say researchers in a study published in the March 15 issue of Cancer Research. As such, the sputum test potentially represents a unique, non-invasive, and cost-effective screening method that could lead to earlier treatment of lung cancer.
“Short of repeatedly X-raying a person’s lungs to look for emerging tumors, there is no way now to screen people at high risk for lung cancer, much less predict who will be diagnosed with the cancer at a later date,” said the study’s senior author, Steven Belinsky, Ph.D., director of the Lung Cancer Program at the Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute in Albuquerque, N.M.
Saliva-based tests detect oral cancer
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Early diagnosis of oral cancer and Sjogren’s syndrome, an autoimmune disease involving dry eyes, dry mouth and rheumatoid arthritis, may soon be possible with saliva-based tests, according to two presentations today at the annual meeting of the American Association for Dental Research.
“If we can catch someone with oral cancer at stage 2 instead of stage 4, we can improve this person’s 5-year survival rate by 50 percent, which would be of tremendous service not only to the quality of life of the individual, but also to the healthcare burden of the country,” said senior investigator Dr. David Wong.
Scientists fight leukaemia with ‘natural killer’ cells
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Scientists at the University of the West of England and the Bone Marrow Transplant Unit at the Bristol Children’s Hospital have just won funding for a two-year project aimed at improving the outcome of bone marrow stem-cell transplants in young leukaemia patients.
After a stem cell transplant there is a significant risk that grafted donor white blood cells, known as T-cells, will attack the recipient and may cause a fatal complication called graft versus host disease (GvHD). In Bristol a monoclonal antibody called Campath is used to kill donor T-cells, reducing the chance of GvHD. A side effect of Campath therapy is delayed recovery of the immune system after the transplant which may be associated with leukaemic relapse.
Learn the Signs and Symptoms of Colorectal Cancer
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More than 148,000 people will learn that they have colorectal cancer this year, making it the third leading cancer in both men and women in the United States, according to the American Cancer Society. While a family history of colon cancer, a diet high in fat and red meat, and a history of polyps in the colon, ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s Disease are major risk factors associated with colorectal cancer, the disease can be cured and often prevented if people are screened properly.
Colorectal cancer generally affects men and women equally and it becomes more prevalent as you age. It can be detected very early on if, beginning at age 50, you follow the proper screening schedules, including a yearly fecal occult blood test, where your stool is checked for blood; a sigmoidoscopy every five years to look inside the rectum and colon for polyps or other abnormal areas; a double-contrast barium enema every five years where X-rays are taken of your intestines; and a colonoscopy that looks inside the rectum and the entire colon for polyps every 10 years. If pre-cancerous polyps are detected, they can be removed to prevent colorectal cancer.
Most Americans still skip colon cancer screening
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Three out of four Americans aged 50 to 70 aren’t getting regular colon cancer screening, according to a survey sponsored by the maker of a new screening test for the disease.
Colon cancer is currently the second leading cancer killer in the United States, with 60,000 Americans expected to die from the disease this year.
The American Cancer Society recommends that everyone get a colonoscopy to test for colon cancer at age 50. But 26 percent of the 1,200 people surveyed said their doctor had never discussed colon cancer screening with them, and 24 percent said they didn’t get screened because they had no symptoms of the disease. Twenty-eight percent said they didn’t want to have a colonoscopy.
Cannabis destroys cancer cells
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Researchers investigating the role of cannabis in cancer therapy reveal it has the potential to destroy leukaemia cells, in a paper published in the March 2006 edition of Letters in Drug Design & Discovery.
Led by Dr Wai Man Liu, at Barts and the London, Queen Mary’s School of Medicine and Dentistry, the team has followed up on their findings of 2005 which showed that the main active ingredient in cannabis, tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, has the potential to be used effectively against some forms of cancer. Dr Liu has since moved to the Institute of Cancer in Sutton where he continues his work into investigating the potential therapeutic benefit of new anti-cancer agents.
Fibulins inhibit both tumor growth and blood-vessel formation
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Researchers at National Jewish Medical and Research Center report in the March issue of Cancer Research that a pair of promising proteins, known as fibulins 3 and 5, slow the growth of cancer tumors in mice by preventing blood vessels from sprouting. The proteins are promising candidates for use in cancer therapy.
“Healthy humans produce fibulin proteins, which regulate cell proliferation, migration and invasion. In the past, we have seen that they are depleted in numerous metastatic cancers, and that they inhibit the formation of new blood vessels in cell culture,” said William Schiemann, Ph.D., Assistant Professor in the Program in Cell Biology at National Jewish. “Our current findings show that fibulins can inhibit both tumor growth and blood-vessel formation in mice.”
Selective T cell stimulation could help improve treatment of autoimmune disease and cancer
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The findings could also be significant for developing new ways to help patients with autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, or juvenile diabetes.
The study, which was published in the February 16 issue of the online journal Science Express, showed that these injections caused a massive selective increase in the immune system’s two main types of T cells.
“Our study shows that different cytokine-antibody complexes such as IL-2/IL-2 mAb could be clinically useful to selectively boost or inhibit the immune response in vivo,” said Onur Boyman, a member of the Scripps Research Department of Immunology and lead author of the study.
More physical activity does not lower risk of colon cancer
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A prospective cohort study of 31,783 American women has found no significant association between levels of physical activity and colon cancer incidence.
The study, published online February 17, 2006 in International Journal of Cancer, the official journal of the International Union Against Cancer (UICC).
Calcium + vitamin D doesn’t curb colorectal cancer risk
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In a large study of postmenopausal women, daily supplementation of calcium with vitamin D for 7 years did not reduce the risk of colorectal cancer, doctors report in The New England Journal of Medicine this week. However, a beneficial effect may be become apparent with longer follow-up, the authors note.
Past studies have linked calcium and vitamin D use with a reduced risk of colorectal cancer and, in polyp-prevention trials, this combination seemed to help prevent polyp recurrence. Whether this dietary intervention could actually help prevent colorectal cancer, however, was unclear.
New Compound May Protect Against Liver Cancer
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Researchers have identified a new compound called CDDO-Im that protects against the development of liver cancer in laboratory animals. The compound appears to stimulate the enzymes that remove toxic substances from the cells, thereby increasing the cells’ resistance to cancer-causing toxins. The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and the National Cancer Institute, agencies of the federal National Institutes of Health, provided funding to researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health for the two-year study.
The compound’s effectiveness at very low doses suggests it may have similar cancer-fighting properties in humans. Researchers believe it may be particularly effective in preventing cancers with a strong inflammatory component, such as liver, colon, prostate and gastric cancers. The compound could eventually play a preventive role in a wide range of other illnesses such as neurodegenerative disease, asthma and emphysema.
Techniques for abnormal cervical cells have risks
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Treatments to remove or destroy abnormal cells to prevent cervical cancer can cause problems during pregnancy, researchers said on Friday.
Cervical cancer is one of the most common cancers in women. Screening programmes to pick up pre-cancerous cells have helped to reduce the incidence of the illness.
Childhood cancer survivors face adulthood risk
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Children who survive cancer face a four-fold increased risk of developing cancers as adults, and these malignancies appear at an earlier-than-normal age, a new study shows.
But careful screening—as well as awareness of potential early symptoms—can help ensure that disease is caught early, when it’s much easier to treat, Dr. Nina S. Kadan-Lottick told Reuters Health in an interview.
