April 13, 2008, 8:44 PM CT

Mouth may tell the tale of lung damage

Cells lining the mouth reflect the molecular damage that smoking does to the lining of the lungs, scientists at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center report today at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research.

Examining oral tissue lining the mouth to gauge cancer-inducing molecular alterations in the lungs could spare patients and those at risk of lung cancer from more invasive, uncomfortable procedures used now, said senior researcher Li Mao, M.D., professor in M. D. Anderson's Department of Thoracic/Head and Neck Medical Oncology.

"We are talking about just a brushing inside of the cheek to get the same information we would from lung brushings obtained through bronchoscopy," said study presenter and first author Manisha Bhutani, M.D., a post-doctoral fellow in Thoracic/Head and Neck Medical Oncology.

The team examined the oral and lung lining tissue - called the epithelium - in 125 chronic smokers enrolled in a large, prospective lung cancer chemoprevention study.

The status of two crucial tumor-suppressing genes was analyzed. The genes, p16 and FHIT, are known to be damaged or silenced very early in the process of cancer development. "There is substantial damage long before there is cancer," Mao said......... Posted by: Scott      Read more         Source

February 6, 2008, 9:22 PM CT

PET Outperforms CT In Malignant Lung Nodules

Scientists involved in a large, multi-institutional study comparing the accuracy of positron emission tomography (PET) and computed tomography (CT) in the characterization of lung nodules observed that PET was far more reliable in detecting whether or not a nodule was cancerous.

"CT and PET have been widely used to characterize solitary pulmonary nodules (SPNs) as non-malignant or cancerous," said James W. Fletcher, professor of radiology at Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis, Ind. "Almost all prior studies examining the accuracy of CT for characterizing lung nodules, however, were performed more than 15 years ago with outdated technology and methods, and prior PET studies were limited by small sample sizes," he noted.

"Detecting and characterizing SPNs is important because cancerous nodules represent a potentially curable form of lung cancer. Identifying which SPNs are most likely to be cancerous enables physicians to initiate the proper treatment before local or distant metastases develop," said Fletcher.

In a head-to-head study addressing the limitations of prior studies, PET and CT images on 344 patients were independently interpreted by a panel of experts in each imaging modality, and their determination of non-malignant and cancerous nodules were in comparison to pathologic findings or changes in SPN size over the next two years......... Posted by: Scott      Read more         Source

January 28, 2008, 10:57 PM CT

Number of Russian women smokers has doubled

In 1992, seven per cent of women smoked, in comparison to almost 15 per cent by 2003. In the same period, the number of men who smoke has risen from 57 per cent to 63 per cent.

The scientists behind the study, reported in the journal Tobacco Control, blame the privatisation of the previously state owned tobacco industry and the behaviour of the transnational tobacco companies (TTCs) for what they describe as a "very worrying increase".

Between 1992 and 2000, TTCs such as Philip Morris, British American Tobacco and Japan Tobacco International invested approximately US$1.7 billion to gain a 60 per cent share of the privatised Russian tobacco market.

Tobacco advertising had simply not existed in the Soviet era. Yet as soon as the TTCs were there, it was rampant, say researchers. By the mid 1990s it was estimated that half of all billboards in Moscow and three quarters of plastic bags in Russia carried tobacco advertising.

"There can be no doubt that the marketing tactics of Philip Morris, British American Tobacco and the like directly underpin this massive increase in smoking that spells disaster for health in Russia," said Dr Anna Gilmore from the School for Health at the University of Bath, who carried out the study with academics from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and University College London, and has been researching tobacco control in the region for over seven years......... Posted by: Janet      Read more         Source

December 7, 2007, 9:23 PM CT

Diet, gardening and lung cancer risk

By simply eating four or more servings of green salad a week and working in the garden once or twice a week, smokers and nonsmokers alike may be able to substantially reduce the risk of developing lung cancer, say scientists at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.

"This is the first risk prediction model to examine the effects of diet and physical activity on the possibility of developing lung cancer," says Michele R. Forman, Ph.D., lead author of the study and a professor in M. D. Anderson's Department of Epidemiology. Forman presented study results at the American Association for Cancer Research "Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research" meeting Dec. 7 in Philadelphia, Pa. The data are from an ongoing M. D. Anderson case-control lung cancer study involving more than 3,800 participants. Separate epidemiologic risk assessment models were developed for current and former smokers as well as for those who have never smoked ("never smokers").

Forman's study looked at salad consumption and gardening because, "salad is a marker for the consumption of a number of vegetables and gardening is an activity in which smokers and nonsmokers can participate".

The baseline lung cancer prediction model had moderate risk protection. The study pairs M. D. Anderson patients with lung cancer with cancer-free current, former and never smoker counterparts provided through a partnership with Kelsey-Seybold Clinic, a Houston-based HMO. By including diet and physical activity, the discriminatory power of the model was raised to 64 percent, 67 percent and 71 percent respectively for never, former and current smokers......... Posted by: Scott      Read more         Source

November 29, 2007, 10:19 PM CT

Quit Rates Double With Counseling And Free Nicotine Patches

Increasing the level of Quitline smoking cessation services and offering free nicotine patches are a successful and cost-effective way to reduce smoking rates, as per two new studies in the recent issue of Tobacco Control, a peer-evaluated publication of the British Medical Journal. Both studies were conducted by scientists at Kaiser Permanentes Center for Health Research in Portland, the Oregon Health Department, and Free & Clear in Seattle, a phone-based tobacco therapy program.

One study observed that the number of callers to the Oregon Tobacco Quitline jumped from 6,426 to 13,646 annually, and their quit rates nearly doubled, when Oregon became the first state in the country to promote Quitline services by combining one 30-minute telephone counseling session with a free two-week supply of Nicotine Replacement Therapy using earned or unpaid media to increase calls from smokers.

Previous to this initiative, the Oregon Tobacco Quitline provided one 30-minute telephone counseling session with no NRT and promoted the service through paid advertising. Analysis of the one-year results showed that the free NRT initiative was extremely successful even though its total costs were higher than the costs of the pre-initiative program ($2.25 million versus $1.97 million) because:......... Posted by: Scott      Read more         Source

November 27, 2007, 8:48 PM CT

PET scanning for lung cancer staging

Positron emission tomography (PET) is a useful diagnostic tool that supports the need for more accurate staging of lung cancer and improved therapy for patients, concludes an extensive systematic review published online today in Journal of National Cancer Institute.

The review conducted by the Lung Cancer Disease Site Group of Cancer Care Ontarios Program in Evidence-Based Care led by a Sunnybrook researcher, Dr. Yee Ung, evaluates the accuracy and utility of 18-fluorodeoxyglucose PET (18FDG-PET) in the diagnosis and staging of lung cancer.

Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer-related death and early diagnosis provides the best chance for long term survival, says Dr. Ung, chair, Lung Cancer Site Group, Odette Cancer Centre, Sunnybrook. It is our hope this systematic review contributes to clinical guideline discussions exploring the potential of PET as part of standard preoperative work-up - along with computed tomography (CT) - to further enhance assessment of early-stage lung cancer.

While the standard imaging technologies CT provide structural information and defines disease states based on anatomical changes, PET provides complementary information on biochemical processes that may precede gross anatomical changes.

Key findings drawn from the literature review include PET imaging is accurate in differentiating between non-malignant and cancerous lung tumours as small as 1 centimetre. PET was also shown to be more effective for mediastinal (lymph nodes in the centre of the chest) staging in non-small cell lung cancer. Nonetheless, confirmation of PET findings by surgical biopsy remains important. With best available data, the scientists also identified good accuracy in staging extensive versus limited stage small cell lung cancer......... Posted by: Scott      Read more         Source

November 18, 2007, 8:53 PM CT

Genomic Landscape Of Lung Cancer

An international team of researchers has produced the most comprehensive view yet of the abnormal genetic landscape of lung cancer, the world's leading cause of cancer deaths. Appearing in the Nov. 4 advance online issue of Nature, the research reveals more than 50 genomic regions that are frequently gained or lost in human lung tumors.

While one-third of these regions contain genes already known to play important roles in lung cancer, the majority harbor new genes yet to be discovered. Flowing from this work, the researchers uncovered a critical gene alteration--not previously associated with any form of cancer--that is implicated in a significant fraction of lung cancer cases, shedding light on the biological basis of the disease and a potential new target for treatment.

"This view of the lung cancer genome is unprecedented, both in its breadth and depth," said senior author Matthew Meyerson, a senior associate member of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard and an associate professor at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School. "It lays an essential foundation and has already pinpointed an important gene that controls the growth of lung cells. This information offers crucial inroads to the biology of lung cancer and will help shape new strategies for cancer diagnosis and treatment."........ Posted by: Scott      Read more         Source

November 12, 2007, 9:41 PM CT

Anti-smoking strategy targets fourth-graders

A smoking-prevention strategy that targets black fourth-graders and their parents is under study in urban and rural Georgia.

Scientists want to know if they can keep these children from smoking and help smoking parents quit, as per Dr. Martha S. Tingen, nurse researcher at the Medical College of Georgia's Georgia Prevention Institute, and Interim Program Leader for Cancer Prevention and Control, MCG Cancer Center.

Dr. Tingen is principal investigator on a $2.5 million National Cancer Institute grant to determine if this novel strategy of concurrent intervention in the classroom and at home reduces smoking and related disability and death in blacks. Blacks tend to have higher rates of second-hand smoke exposure and more adverse health effects than whites.

"Every day in Georgia, 84 kids between 10 to 13 years of age start smoking cigarettes," says Dr. Tingen.

"Ninety percent of all smokers start before they are out of high school. If we can help keep kids from smoking before they get out of high school, they probably won't ever start. I am hoping the fourth graders haven't started smoking, but I am thinking a lot of them still are exposed to tobacco use and second-hand smoke in the home".

Scientists are enrolling 350 students and their parents or guardians in 16 elementary schools in Augusta, Ga., and rural Jefferson County, Ga., about 60 miles away. During the fourth and fifth grades, half the children will get two intense learning sessions per week over four weeks of Life Skills Training, developed by Dr. Gilbert J. Botvin, director of the Institute for Prevention Research at Cornell University Medical College......... Posted by: Janet      Read more         Source

November 4, 2007, 2:28 PM CT

Gene alterations in lung cancer

An international team of scientists, supported in part by the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), one of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), today announced that its systematic effort to map the genomic changes underlying lung cancer has uncovered a critical gene alteration not previously associated with any form of cancer. The research, reported in the advance online issue of the journal Nature, also revealed more than 50 genomic regions that are frequently gained or lost in lung adenocarcinoma, the most common type of lung cancer in the United States.

"This view of the lung cancer genome is unprecedented, both in its breadth and depth," said senior author Matthew Meyerson, M.D., Ph.D., a senior associate member of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard in Cambridge, Mass., and an associate professor at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School in Boston. "It lays an essential foundation, and has already pinpointed an important gene that controls the growth of lung cells. This information offers crucial inroads to the biology of lung cancer and will help shape new strategies for cancer diagnosis and treatment."

Each year more than 1 million people worldwide die of lung cancer, including more than 150,000 in the United States. The new study focused on lung adenocarcinoma, which, as per the National Cancer Institute (NCI), is the most frequently diagnosed form of lung cancer in the United States, accounting for approximately 30 percent of cases......... Posted by: Scott      Read more         Source

September 18, 2007, 5:18 AM CT

Personalized Treatment For Nicotine Addiction

Whether a smoking-cessation drug will enable you to quit smoking may depend on your genes, as per new genotyping research from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). The study, reported in the recent issue of the journal Biological Psychiatry, observed that the enzyme known to metabolize both the smoking cessation drug bupropion and nicotine is highly genetically variable in all ethnicities and influences smoking cessation. This finding is a step toward being able to tailor smoking cessation therapy to individuals based on their unique genetic make-up.

This first study identifies a very common genetic variant (present in anywhere from 25 to 50 percent of world populations) that appears to affect the outcome of smoking cessation therapy, said Rachel Tyndale, Section Head of Pharmacogenetics at CAMH and lead researcher on the study, adding that the results would have to be replicated.

Tyndale and his colleagues performed genotyping on smokers for CYP2B6, a gene known to be highly variable and whose enzyme metabolizes bupropion, nicotine and serotonin. Participants were then provided with either placebo or bupropion therapy for ten weeks and followed up for 6 months.

The research project, supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the National Institute of Health, observed that 45% of individuals with a specific variant of the gene benefited from bupropion therapy and maintained abstinence longer while doing poorly on placebo, with a 32.5% abstinent rate vs. 14.3%, respectively. In contrast, the 55% with a different variant of the gene (wild type variant) had good abstinences rates on placebo and gained no additional benefit from Bupropion, suggesting no benefit from treating these individuals with Bupropion. Of note, this group was able to quit smoking very well in the absence of an active drug (on placebo)......... Posted by: Scott      Read more         Source

July 23, 2007, 4:45 PM CT

Smokers who see more ads for smoking-cessation products

The more magazine ads smokers see for the nicotine patch and other quit-smoking aids, the more likely they are to try to quit smoking and be successful -- even without buying the products, finds a new Cornell study.

"We believe that the reason may be that important 'spillover effects' from advertising may be occurring, which has important implications for advertising for a wide range of health products," said Alan Mathios, professor of policy analysis and management at Cornell and a co-author of the study, published in an upcoming issue of the Journal of Political Economy and winner of best conference paper at the 2007 American Marketing Association's Public Policy and Marketing Conference, May 31-June 2, in Washington, D.C.

Mathios noted that the results of this study may also apply to other types of pharmaceutical advertising. For example, when patients discuss with their physicians an advertised drug that lowers cholesterol, physicians will often recommend such health behavior changes as diet and exercise, creating a positive spillover effect from the advertising.

Using databases on the consumer behavior and magazine-reading habits of 28,303 current or former smokers and advertising data in 26 consumer magazines, Mathios and three Cornell colleagues explored the impact of advertising of smoking-cessation products on quitting decisions......... Posted by: Janet      Read more         Source

July 17, 2007, 10:52 PM CT

Nonsmall cell lung cancer: chemotherapy before surgery

Combining pre-operative chemotherapy and surgery increases the average chance of survival at five years by approximately 6% compared with surgery alone.

This conclusion was drawn by a team of Cochrane Scientists from the MRC Clinical Trials Unit in London after they identified 12 eligible randomised controlled trials. Data from seven of these trials were available from trial reports and were combined in a meta-analysis. The seven trials involved a total of 988 patients.

This is currently the best estimate of the effectiveness of this treatment, but is based on a relatively small number of trials and patients, says lead researcher Sarah Burdett.

There was, however, insufficient data to break the patients down into sub-groups and see whether the effectiveness varies for different types of patients or stages of the disease.

This research is important because around the world more than a million new cases of lung cancer are diagnosed each year, around 80% of which are non-small cell lung cancer. In addition, a number of patients are only diagnosed after the disease has progressed, so survival rates across all stages of disease tend to be fairly low at around 14%, with only a quarter of patients being suitable for surgery.

The Cochrane Systematic Review observed that using chemotherapy before surgery can reduce the size of tumours making the surgery simpler, and increasing the number of patients who may be candidates for surgery. The worry is, however, that having a course of chemotherapy delays the operation, and could therefore leave patients at risk of allowing the tumour to spread......... Posted by: Scott      Read more         Source

June 25, 2007, 8:06 PM CT

Tree Bark For New Lung-cancer Treatment

Scientists at UT Southwestern Medical Center have determined how a substance derived from the bark of the South American lapacho tree kills certain kinds of cancer cells, findings that also suggest a novel therapy for the most common type of lung cancer.

The compound, called beta-lapachone, has shown promising anti-cancer properties and is currently being used in a clinical trial to examine its effectiveness against pancreas cancer in humans. Until now, however, scientists didn't know the mechanism of how the compound killed cancer cells.

Dr. David Boothman, a professor in the Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center and senior author of a study appearing online this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, has been researching the compound and how it causes cell death in malignant cells for 15 years.

In the new study, Dr. Boothman and colleagues in the Simmons Cancer Center observed that beta-lapachone interacts with an enzyme called NQO1, which is present at high levels in non-small cell lung cancer and other solid tumors. In tumors, the compound is metabolized by NQO1 and produces cell death without damaging nonmalignant tissues that do not express this enzyme.

"Basically, we have worked out the mechanism of action of beta-lapachone and devised a way of using that drug for individualized treatment," said Dr. Boothman, who is also a professor of pharmacology and radiation oncology......... Posted by: Scott      Read more         Source

June 13, 2007, 1:30 PM CT

Lung and bladder cancer after arsenic exposure

Arsenic exposure appears to continue causing lung and bladder cancer deaths years after exposure ends, as per a research studypublished online June 12 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute

Arsenic is a known cause of lung and bladder cancer, but scientists dont yet know how long cancer risk remains elevated after arsenic exposure. The drinking water in a region of northern Chile became contaminated with very high amounts of arsenic beginning in 1958. In the 1970s, construction of water therapy plants in the region led to a decline in arsenic concentration. This sudden rise and fall of arsenic levels gave scientists the opportunity to investigate the period between first and last exposure to high levels of arsenic and subsequent mortality due arsenic-related cancers, such as bladder and lung cancer.

Guillermo Marshall, Ph.D., of Pontificia Universidad Catlica de Chile in Santiago and his colleagues including collaborators from the University of California, Berkeley, investigated bladder and lung cancer death rates in the region between 1950 and 2000 and compared them with data from a similar region farther south, where the water was not contaminated.

Lung and bladder cancer mortality rates in the area with arsenic-contaminated drinking water began to rise about 10 years after arsenic levels rose. They then continued to climb, peaking between 10 and 20 years after the arsenic levels dropped. At the peak, lung cancer deaths among men and women in the contaminated region were about three times higher than in the control region, while bladder cancer deaths were six times higher in men and 14 times higher in women. The lag time between exposure to a carcinogen and the peak of cancer deaths is commonly difficult to determine, but the size of the study and the record of arsenic exposure aided the researchers......... Posted by: Scott      Read more         Source

June 6, 2007, 9:50 PM CT

Talcum powder stunts growth of lung tumors

Talcum powder has been used for generations to soothe babies diaper rash and freshen womens faces. But University of Florida scientists report the household product has an additional healing power: The ability to stunt cancer growth by cutting the flow of blood to metastatic lung tumors.

The study, reported in the European Respiratory Journal in April, reveals that talc stimulates healthy cells to produce endostatin, a hormone considered the magic bullet for treating metastatic lung cancer. The UF scientists say talc is an exciting new therapeutic agent for a cancer largely considered incurable.

We found, to our surprise, that talc causes tumor growth to slow down and actually decreases the tumor bulk, said Veena Antony, M.D., a professor of pulmonary medicine and chief of pulmonary and critical care medicine at UFs College of Medicine. Talc is able to prevent the formation of blood vessels, thereby killing the tumor and choking off its growth. The tumors appeared to grow much slower and in some cases completely disappeared.

Researchers have only recently discovered that talcum powder stunts tumor growth, though the mineral has been used for almost 70 years to treat the respiratory problems that accompany metastatic lung cancer. About half of all patients accumulate fluid around the surface of the lungs, a condition known as cancerous pleural effusion......... Posted by: Scott      Read more         Source

May 21, 2007, 11:38 AM CT

Vitamin Supplements Don't Protect Against Lung Cancer

A study of more than 75,000 adults observed that taking supplemental multivitamins, vitamin C and E and folate do not decrease the risk of lung cancer. The findings are being reported at the American Thoracic Society 2007 International Conference, on Monday, May 21.

The study, which also did not find any increased lung cancer risk from the supplements, is one of the most detailed, prospective findings based on observation to look at the effect of vitamin supplements instead of vitamins from foods on lung cancer risk.

People are spending billions of dollars on supplements, and there is a general sense in the population that they prevent cancer, said researcher Chris Slatore, M.D., of the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle. We need to find out if theyre helpful or even harmful.

The 77,738 men and women in the VITamins And Lifestyle (VITAL) study, ages 50-76, filled out an extensive questionnaire on vitamin intake over the prior 10 years, including how much of each supplement they took. The scientists then checked to see how a number of of the people in the study had lung cancer, using a government cancer registry. They found 393 cases of lung cancer. Adjusting for such risk factors as smoking, age, sex, cancer history, other lung disease and history of lung cancer, they found no statistically significant relationships between different types of supplements and lung cancer......... Posted by: Scott      Read more         Source

May 9, 2007, 11:31 PM CT

FDG-PET Predicts Response to Chemotherapy

An earlier indication of whether chemotherapy benefits non-small cell patients with lung cancer-provided by positron emission tomography (PET) imaging-can guide doctors in offering them better care, as per scientists in the May Journal of Nuclear Medicine.

"Our study demonstrates that patients who respond to chemotherapy can be identified early in the course of their therapy, and these patients will generally exhibit prolonged overall survival," explained Claude Nahmias, professor of radiology and medicine at the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville. "Eventhough we studied a relatively small number of patients-and our results should be interpreted with caution-it is clear that a repeat PET study with the radiotracer fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) at the end of the first cycle of chemotherapy would allow the identification of those patients for whom the treatment was futile," he said. "The ability to provide an early indication of therapeutic response has the potential to improve patient care by identifying those patients who do not benefit from their current therapy," explained Nahmias. "Patients would benefit from either having chemotherapy and its associated toxic side effects stopped or going on to a different, and hopefully more adequate, therapeutic approach," added the co-author of "Time Course of Early Response to Chemotherapy in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Patients With 18F-FDG PET/CT"......... Posted by: Scott      Read more         Source

April 3, 2007, 10:44 PM CT

Secondhand smoke proves to be serious

A study published in this months issue of the Journal of Periodontology observed that subjects with periodontitis who were exposed to secondhand smoke were more likely to develop bone loss, the number one cause of tooth loss.

Scientists studied rats that were induced with periodontal disease. One group was not exposed to cigarette smoke while the other two groups were exposed to either 30 days of smoke inhalation produced by non-light cigarettes (cigarettes containing higher tar, nicotine and carbon monoxide levels) or light cigarettes (cigarettes containing lower tar, nicotine and carbon monoxide levels). Results showed that bone loss was greater in the subjects exposed to secondhand smoke regardless of if it was smoke from light or non-light cigarettes than those who were exposed to no smoke at all.

"Prior clinical research has proven a strong positive connection between smoking and gum disease. However, this study is unique in that it reviewed the impact of secondhand smoke on periodontitis," explained study author Getulio da R. Nogueira-Filho, DDS.

"This study really drives home the fact that even if you dont smoke the effects of secondhand smoke can be devastating. Part of maintaining a healthy lifestyle should include avoiding smoke filled places such as nightclubs, bars and even some restaurants," said Preston D. Miller, Jr., DDS and AAP president. "The Academy applauds the cities that are taking steps to make their hospitality industries smoke free so all patrons can enjoy not only a good time but also good overall health." ......... Posted by: Janet      Read more         Source

March 29, 2007, 4:41 AM CT

RF ablation effective for inoperable lung cancer

A minimally invasive procedure known as radiofrequency (RF) ablation is effective for treating lung cancer in patients who are not candidates for surgery, as per a Rhode Island Hospital study reported in the recent issue of the journal Radiology.

Damian Dupuy, MD, director of ablation at Rhode Island Hospital and professor of diagnostic imaging at The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, conducted a study of 153 patients who were treated for early-stage, inoperable lung cancer with RF ablation. The procedure involves using a specialized needle inserted through the skin to transmit high-frequency electrical currents into a tumor. The overall results of the study show RF ablation to be safe and linked it with promising long-term survival and local tumor progression outcomes when in comparison to the older therapy method of external beam radiation (EBT).

EBT, which has been used for decades, requires a number of therapys over a six-week period. This can often lead to a variety of side effects. RF ablation, however, is performed in a single day on an outpatient basis, is minimally invasive and has few side effects.

Dupuy says, "Our study has shown that this minimally invasive procedure can successfully treat lung cancer patients who could not undergo surgery in one fairly simple therapy. The study also shows that radiofrequency ablation is equal to or more effective in terms of both survival and tumor control." With RF ablation, the Rhode Island Hospital scientists noted a two-year survival rate at 57 percent in comparison to 51 percent using EBT......... Posted by: Scott      Read more         Source

February 27, 2007, 7:49 PM CT

Eat well, get fit, stop smoking - prevent cancer

If you wanted to start today to reduce your chances of getting cancer, what would you have to do? Lose excess weight, get more exercise, eat a healthy diet and quit smoking.

Watch video

Those basic behavior changes would have a tremendous impact on the occurence rate of the most prevalent types of cancer - lung, breast, prostate and colon cancer - says Graham Colditz, M.D., Dr.P.H., associate director of Prevention and Control at the Siteman Cancer Center at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and Barnes-Jewish Hospital. "We estimate that more than 50 percent of cancer incidence could be prevented if we act today on what we already know," Colditz says.

Every year, more than 500,000 Americans die from cancer. The National Cancer Institute estimates that on average each person who dies from cancer loses 15 years of life, and altogether cancer deaths were responsible for nearly 8.7 million person-years of life lost in 2003, the most recent year for which the data were available.

"The loss of life and earning potential and the social impact of cancer are enormous," Colditz says. "Reducing risk by adopting changes in lifestyle like quitting smoking and losing weight isn't always easy, but it may help to remember that these behavior changes can also reduce your risk of heart disease, diabetes, stroke and osteoporosis."........ Posted by: Janet      Read more         Source

February 8, 2007, 10:06 PM CT

Lung Cancer Rates Among Female Nonsmokers

Not all lung cancer is due to a lifetime of smoking cigarettes. Sometimes the diagnosis is a mystery, and the stigma surrounding the disease makes it hard for patients to talk about. Now, scientists at the Stanford University School of Medicine and the Northern California Cancer Center have taken the first steps toward analyzing why people who never smoked get lung cancer.

Their data, would be reported in the Feb. 10 issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology, shows that never-smokers get lung cancer more often than thought, with women even more at risk than men.

"People tend to banter about this number of 10 to 15 percent of lung cancer cases being in people who have never smoked," explained lead author Heather Wakelee, MD, assistant professor of medicine at Stanford. "But when you actually try to find the hard data to show that, it's very limited".

The team of scientists used multiple collections of data from both the United States and Sweden that, in total, tracked the occurence rate of lung cancer in more than 1 million people from the ages of 40 to 79. They calculated the lung cancer incidence rates in terms of new cases per person-year, representing every year that someone was included in the study.

They observed that for women, the lung cancer incidence rate in never-smokers ranged from 14.4 to 20.8 cases per 100,000 person-years. In men, it ranged from 4.8 to 13.7 incidents. For current smokers, the rates were about 10 to 30 times higher. To put these numbers in perspective, Wakelee pointed out that the rates for cervical and thyroid cancer in women of the same age range are comparable, at 15.4 and 17.3 cases per 100,000 person-years, respectively.........

Posted by: Scott      Read more         Source

January 15, 2007, 4:58 AM CT

Dual Gene Therapy Suppresses Lung Cancer

Combination gene treatment delivered in lipid-based nanoparticles drastically reduces the number and size of human non-small cell lung cancer tumors in mice, scientists at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center report in the Jan. 15 edition of Cancer Research.

Two tumor-suppressing genes given intravenously reduced cancer separately but had their most powerful effect when administered together, cutting the number of tumors per mouse by 75 percent and the weight of tumors by 80 percent.

"In cancer therapy we have combination chemotherapy, and we also combine different modes of treatment - surgery, radiation and chemotherapy. Now you've got the possibility of combined targeted gene treatment," said Jack Roth, M.D., professor and chair of the M. D. Anderson Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery and a senior researcher on the project.

The genes wrapped in the nanoparticles were p53, a well-known tumor suppressor that works by causing defective cells to commit suicide and is often shut down or defective in cancer cells, and FUS1, a tumor-suppressor discovered by the research group that is deficient in most human lung cancers. Each nanoparticle carried one of the two genes.........

Posted by: Scott      Read more         Source

December 23, 2006, 7:31 AM CT

Incredible Story Of Paul Kraus

What would be more inspiring for mesothelioma patients than listening to the longest mesothelioma survivor in the world? Do you know Paul Kraus? He is the inspiration behind a number of patients with the diagnosis of one of the deadliest forms of cancer called mesothelioma. I have been personally moved by his story.

It was in one those days in June 1997, Paul Kraus was diagnosed with mesothelioma. That has changed his world forever. The cancer was so widespread that he was told there was little hope and that he should go home and get his affairs in order. Fearful and depressed, but not ready to give up, he researched various therapy options. Unlike a number of Paul was not willing to give an unconditional surrender to the one of the most devastating forms of cancer. With the help of his doctors and family, Paul Kraus created his own remarkable path to healing. Today, over nine years later, he continues to enjoy a good quality of life.

"Dr. Andrew Weil wrote that any illness can be conquered through radical lifestyle change because our bodies are made with powerful self-healing capacities. It was hard to make such radical changes, but I was determined to see them through," Paul Kraus said.

During this teleconference, mesothelioma patients and their loved ones can listen to Mr. Kraus summarize his knowledge and insight into this disease. He will discuss how he handled his diagnosis, what he learned about the cancer, and the steps he took to heal his mesothelioma. Subjects include: chemotherapy, surgery, holistic approaches, integrative therapies, vitamins and other supplements, traditional Chinese medicine, mind-body medicine, doctor-patient relationships, and more. Participants can also ask questions of Mr. Kraus and share information and knowledge with each other.........

Posted by: Scott      Permalink         Source