March 4, 2008, 6:20 PM CT
Chemoradiation for pancreatic cancer better
The addition of the drug gemcitabine with chemoradiation for the therapy of patients who had surgery for pancreas cancer was linked to a survival benefit, eventhough this improvement was not statistically significant, as per a research studyin the March 5 issue of JAMA.
Despite the potential benefits of surgically removing cancer involving the pancreas, there is a 50 percent to 85 percent rate of local relapse linked to liver and intra-abdominal failure and a 5-year survival of less than 20 percent, as per background information in the article. The frequency and pattern of failure makes the combination of added postoperative chemotherapy and radiation an important consideration. The drug gemcitabine has been shown to improve outcomes compared with the drug fluorouracil.
William F. Regine, M.D., of the University of Maryland Medical Center, Baltimore, and his colleagues conducted a study to assess if the addition of gemcitabine to the supplemental therapy of fluorouracil chemoradiation (chemotherapy plus radiation) improved survival for patients who had a portion of their pancreas removed as a therapy for pancreas cancer (surgical resection). The randomized controlled phase 3 trial included 451 patients enrolled between July 1998 and July 2002 at 164 U.S. and Canadian institutions, with follow-up through August 2006. Patients received chemotherapy with either fluorouracil (n = 230) or gemcitabine (n = 221) for three weeks previous to chemoradiation treatment and for 12 weeks after chemoradiation treatment (with fluorouracil).........
Posted by: Sue Read more Source
January 28, 2008, 10:31 PM CT
The smaller the tumor, the better your chances
The odds of surviving cancer of the pancreas increase dramatically for patients whose tumors are smallest, as per a new study by scientists at Saint Louis University and the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston the first study to specifically evaluate the link between tumor size and survival rates for one of the most common and deadly cancers.
The findings in the current edition of Pancreas (www.pancreasjournal.com) vividly underscore the importance of early diagnosis of pancreas cancer, the scientists said.
Even though it seems intuitive and was supported by preliminary observations from earlier studies, for the first time we now have evidence that a progressive decrease in the size of a pancreatic tumor at the time of diagnosis improves patient outcomes rather dramatically, said Banke Agarwal, M.D., Associate Professor of gastroenterology at the Saint Louis University School of Medicine and lead author of the study.
These data emphasize the benefit and the need of finding and diagnosing tumors in the pancreas as early as possible, Agarwal added. In order to make progress against pancreas cancer, we have to redouble our efforts to identify symptoms that are linked to the early stages of the disease.
Pancreas cancer is the fourth most common cancer in the United States and one of the most deadly, responsible for more than 33,000 deaths a year, as per the National Institutes of Health.........
Posted by: Sue Read more Source
January 10, 2008, 10:35 PM CT
Pancreatic cancer cells evade immune system
A protein that helps prevent a womans body from rejecting a fetus may also play an important role in enabling pancreas cancer cells to evade detection by the immune system, allowing them to spread in the body.
Scientists at Jeffersons Kimmel Cancer Center in Philadelphia observed that the metastatic cancer cells in the lymph nodes of patients with pancreas cancer produce enough of the protein, IDO, to essentially wall-off the immune systems T-cells and recruit cells that suppress the immune systems response to the tumor. The findings might mean not only a better way to detect pancreas cancer spreading to lymph nodes, but also could enhance tumor immune treatment strategies against the fast-moving, deadly disease.
As per Jonathan Brody, Ph.D., assistant professor of Surgery at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University, one way that metastatic cancer cells can survive in nearby lymph nodes is by avoiding the immune system. Evidence from studies by researchers looking at other cancers has indicated that IDO (indolamine 23 dioxygenase) is critical to regulating the immune environment. The Jefferson researchers wanted to know if metastatic pancreas cancer cells residing in the lymph nodes expressed IDO to avoid being found, and if so, could they target this enzyme with available drugs to prevent the cancer cells from hiding from the immune system.........
Posted by: Sue Read more Source
October 4, 2007, 4:52 AM CT
Apple compounds reduce risk of pancreatic cancer
Eating flavonol-rich foods like apples may help reduce the risk of pancreas cancer, says a team of international researchers. Quercetin, which is found naturally in apples and onions, has been identified as one of the most beneficial flavonols in preventing and reducing the risk of pancreas cancer. Eventhough the overall risk was reduced among the study participants, smokers who consumed foods rich in flavonols had a significantly greater risk reduction.
This study, reported in the October 15 issue of the American Journal of Epidemiology, is the first of its kind to evaluate the effect of flavonols compounds found specifically in plants on developing pancreas cancer. As per the research paper, only a few prospective studies have investigated flavonols as risk factors for cancer, none of which has included pancreas cancer.
Scientists from Gera number of, the Univ. of Hawaii and Univ. of Southern California tracked food intake and health outcomes of 183,518 participants in the Multiethnic Cohort Study for eight years. The study reviewed the participants food consumption and calculated the intake of the three flavonols quercetin, kaempferol, and myricetin. The analyses determined that flavonol intake does have an impact on the risk for developing pancreas cancer.........
Posted by: Sue Read more Source
August 15, 2007, 8:35 PM CT
Obesity, lack of exercise and pancreatic cancer
Obesity and aversion to exercise have become hallmarks of modern society and a new study suggests that a blood protein associated with these lifestyle factors may be an indicator for an increased risk of developing pancreas cancer. Scientists from the Dana Farber Cancer Institute report their findings in the August 15 issue of Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.
In a study of 144 patients with pancreas cancer and 429 people without the disease, a subset of patients with low blood levels of a protein called IGFBP-1 were at approximately twice the risk of developing pancreas cancer. Low blood levels of this protein have previously been associated with excess weight and lack of physical activity. Their data originated from tens of thousands of men and women enrolled in four large-scale cohort studies the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study, the Nurses Health Study, the Physicians Health Study and the Womens Health Initiative Observational Study all of which followed the health of participants over numerous years.
The prognosis for a number of patients with pancreas cancer remains poor, so it is vitally important that we indentify and better understand risk factors for the disease, especially risk factors that are modifiable said lead study author, Brian M. Wolpin, M.D., attending doctor at Dana Farber Cancer Institute. In addition to cigarette smoking, exercise and weight control appear to be important modifiable risk factors for this difficult disease.........
Posted by: Sue Read more Source
August 15, 2007, 8:33 PM CT
Protein May Indicate Pancreatic Cancer Risk
A protein that dwindles in response to obesity and a sedentary lifestyle may one day help doctors predict which people are at increased risk for pancreas cancer, new research by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and collaborating researchers indicates.
In a report in the Aug. 15 issue of Cancer Research, the researchers observed that, in a large study group, people with the lowest blood levels of a protein called IGFBP-1 were twice as likely to develop pancreas cancer as those with higher levels. Though much work remains to determine if the protein -- whose acronym stands for insulin-like growth factor binding protein-1 -- is a reliable indicator of pancreas cancer risk, the finding adds to the scientific understanding of how the disease develops.
"The levels of insulin and another circulating hormone, insulin-like growth factor or IGF, are modified by obesity and sedentary lifestyle, and there is evidence that these hormones may stimulate the growth of pancreas cancer cells," said the study's lead author, Brian Wolpin, MD, of Dana-Farber. "When IGF binds to proteins like IGFBP-1, there may be less IGF available to bind to pancreas cancer cells and promote their growth. We wanted to determine whether IGFBP-1 levels in the blood were linked to pancreas cancer risk".........
Posted by: Sue Read more Source
August 1, 2007, 9:18 PM CT
New technique for earlier diagnosis of pancreatic cancer
A new optical technology, coupled with routine endoscopy, may enable doctors to detect the subtle tell-tale traces of early pancreas cancer, as per scientists at Northwestern University in Illinois. The optical technology, developed by biomedical engineers at Northwestern exposes cellular changes indicative of cancer in tissue near the pancreas that had previously been detectable only through intensive radiologic scanning or invasive surgery, two techniques that can put pancreas cancer patients at risk.
The results of the pilot study, presented in the August 1 issue of Clinical Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, could represent a new approach to detecting pancreas cancer at a very early stage, when therapy is most likely to succeed.
Pancreas cancer is not often detected early because it is a rather inaccessible organ, so this technique holds the potential to be the first reliable, routine screening tool for pancreas cancer, said co-author author Randall Brand, M.D., an associate professor of medicine at Northwestern University and physician at Evanston Northwestern Healthcare. If we could apply this to those at high risk such as people with chronic pancreatitis or who have a family history of pancreas cancer we might see a drastic improvement in pancreas cancer survival.........
Posted by: Sue Read more Source
May 31, 2007, 11:43 PM CT
vitamin B6. B12 and folate, may decrease pancreatic cancer risk
Scientists exploring the notion that certain nutrients might protect against pancreas cancer observed that lean individuals who got most of these nutrients from food were protected against developing cancer. The study also suggests this protective effect does not hold true if the nutrients come from vitamin supplements.
As per a research findings reported in the June 1 issue of Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, researchers combined data from four large studies and observed that people who were at or below normal body weight decreased their risk for developing pancreas cancer if they took in high levels of vitamin B6, vitamin B12, and folate from food. The study determined that their risk was 81 percent, 73 percent, and 59 percent lower, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, and folate respectively, compared with participants who did not eat as much of these nutrients or who weighed more. As per the researchers, that was the only statistically significant finding from the study, which is the largest yet to look at these nutrients and pancreas cancer risk.
All we can say is that a person who has reason to be concerned about their risk of developing this cancer, which is relatively rare but quite deadly, should maintain a normal weight and eat their fruit and vegetables, said the studys lead investigator, Eva Schernhammer, M.D., Dr.P.H., an assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School.........
Posted by: Sue Read more Source
April 16, 2007, 10:08 PM CT
A Pancreas Cancer Risk Model
People with a family history of pancreatic cancer now have a way to accurately predict their chance of carrying a gene for hereditary pancreatic cancer and their lifetime risk of developing the disease. Developed by Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center researchers, the novel computer software tool is designed to help genetic counselors and physicians decide who would most benefit from early screening.
An estimated 10 percent of aggressive and highly fatal cases of the disease are caused by inherited genes. Even if there is a 100 percent chance that an individual carries a pancreatic cancer gene, their risk for developing the disease is only 20 to 25 percent over their lifetime, says Alison Klein, Ph.D., assistant professor and director of the National Familial Pancreas Tumor Registry at Johns Hopkins. So, while its a rare disease, the need for screening in these persons is important.
The risk calculator, based on similar tools for breast and colon cancer, calculates a percentage score of probability that a person carries a pancreatic cancer gene. Called PancPRO, it also computes an individuals lifetime risk of developing the disease.
Eventhough scientists have still not identified specific genes that cause the disease, they can estimate high risk based on clusters of family members with a history of pancreatic cancer. We know how genes behave, and coupled with information about a family - who has the disease, their age, family size, and causes of death - our model can provide a good estimate of an individuals risk, says Klein.........
Posted by: Sue Read more Source
March 29, 2007, 5:10 AM CT
Link Between Smoking AndPancreatic Cancer
Scientists at Michigan State University have added yet another piece to the puzzle that links cigarette smoking with cancer of the pancreas, one of the deadliest forms of cancer.
In research reported in the recent issue of the International Journal of Cancer, MSUs James Trosko and his colleagues zeroed in on the mechanism by which a healthy cell turns malignant.
Specifically, they observed that the chemicals produced by the burning of tobacco products polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs interfere with communication between the bodys cells. More importantly, the work showed that some of these chemicals dont necessarily initiate the cancer, but rather contribute to the promotion of it.
"These PAH chemicals are correlation to the multistage, multimechanism process of carcinogenesis, not by mutating the stem cell, but by triggering the stem cell thats been previously mutated to proliferate," said Trosko, a professor of pediatrics and human development. "This finding has major implications, including the possibility that dietary intervention might interrupt or even reverse the promotion of pancreas cancers".
Until now, most researchers thought that specific PAHs produced by burning tobacco mutated genes which, in turn, triggered the cancer mechanism.........
Posted by: Sue Read more Source
January 9, 2007, 9:38 PM CT
Pancreatic Cancer Surgery Five-Year Survivors
A new study shows that pancreas cancer patients 65 or older who live at least five years after surgery have nearly as good a chance as anyone else to live another five years.
Scientists at the Kimmel Cancer Center at Thomas Jefferson University and Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia evaluated the records of 890 patients with pancreas cancer who underwent the standard pancreaticoduodenectomy, or Whipple procedure, which entails the removal of the gallbladder, common bile duct, part of the duodenum, and the head of the pancreas, between 1970 and 1999 at Johns Hopkins University. They identified those who lived for five years, and compared those who lived for at least an additional five years to the "actuarial" - or estimated - survival of the general population beginning at age 70.
Reporting in the journal Surgery, they observed that 201 patients (23 percent) lived five years after surgery, at least half of whom were 65 years old or older at the time of surgery. Of those five-year survivors, an estimated 65 percent lived at least an additional five years. In the general population, roughly 87 percent of the same age group live another five years.
The study has an important message, says Charles Yeo, M.D., Samuel Gross Professor and Chair of Surgery at Jefferson Medical College, who led the work. "A decade ago, a number of clinicians thought that there was little reason to operate on patients with pancreatic ductal cancer, that surgery does little to extend life and improve the quality of life," says Dr. Yeo. "Not too long ago, few lived for five years after diagnosis. Today that's not true. There's been a paradigm shift in the way we treat and think about this disease."........
Posted by: Sue Read more Source
December 13, 2006, 4:48 AM CT
Gene That Causes Familial Pancreatic Cancer
An international group of scientists has discovered that the mutated form of a gene called Palladin causes familial pancreas cancer. The findings, published online today (Dec. 12) in the peer-evaluated journal PLoS-Medicine, may help explain why the disease is so deadly. The research project was led by Dr. Teri Brentnall, University of Washington associate professor of medicine, and supported by The Lustgarten Foundation, Canary Foundation, and other private sources.
Pancreas cancer is commonly a fatal diagnosis. One of the deadliest types of cancer, it is the fourth leading cause of cancer deaths overall, and third-leading cause of cancer deaths for people aged 40 to 60 in the United States. Most people with the disease die within a year of diagnosis; about 95 percent of patients die within five years. Scientists estimate that at least ten percent of all pancreas cancer cases are inherited.
The discovery also reveals that the Palladin gene behaves abnormally in both the hereditary and non-hereditary, or sporadic, forms of pancreas cancer. Prior studies by co-author Dr. Carol Otey, associate professor of physiology at the University of North Carolina, have revealed that when the Palladin gene is functioning properly, it gives a cell its shape and enables the cell to move. In the case of pancreas cancer, a mutation in Palladin allows the cell to move much more quickly than normal, essentially invading the surrounding, healthy tissue.........
Posted by: Sue Permalink Source
December 7, 2006, 9:49 PM CT
Blood Pressure Drugs Could Halt Pancreatic Cancer Spread
Common blood pressure medications might help block the spread of pancreas cancer, scientists at the Kimmel Cancer Center at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia have found. The researchers showed in laboratory studies that two types of pressure-lowering drugs - ACE inhibitors and AT1R blockers - may help reduce the development of tumor-feeding blood vessels, a process called angiogenesis. Such drugs, they say, may become part of a novel strategy to control the growth and spread of cancer.
As per Hwyda Arafat, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor of surgery at Jefferson Medical College, prior studies have linked a lower cancer incidence with the inhibition of the pancreas hormone angiotensin II (Ang II) by either ACE (Angiotensin I converting enzyme) inhibitors or AT1R (Ang II type 1 receptor) blockers. Ang II increases the production of VEGF, a vascular factor that promotes blood vessel growth in many cancers. High VEGF levels have been correlated with poor cancer prognosis and early recurrence. ACE is the enzyme that converts Ang I to Ang II.
Dr. Arafat and her co-workers examined the protein of both invasive pancreas cancer and normal pancreatic tissue, analyzing the expression of ACE and AT1R in relation to VEGF. They also looked at the effects of blood pressure drugs captopril, an ACE inhibitor, and losartan, an AT1R blocker, on VEGF production in cancer cell lines.........
Posted by: Sue Permalink Source
November 2, 2006, 5:29 PM CT
Smoking Related Cancers
There are currently about fifty million smokers in the U.S. and there are another fifty million ex-smokers. Cigarette smoking has been linked to several human malignancies. Some of these links like the relationship between smoking and lung cancer are well established. In some other cases the relationship between smoking and cancer is not very well established. However several studies have clearly shown the malignant potential of chemical substances in cigarette smoke. This article is an attempt to summarize some of the known links between cigarette smoking and caner.
Lung cancerLung cancer has a strong association with smoking. On average, smokers increase their risk of lung cancer between 5 and 10-fold compared to never smokers. Even though lung cancer can occur in non-smokers, it should be appreciated that more than 90 percent of all lung cancer patients are current or past smokers. Some sub types of lung cancer like small cell lung cancer is more strongly associated with smoking than others. There is plenty of research evidence in the literature linking lung cancer to smoking. A recent study published in the British Journal Of Medicine (Ref: BMJ 1997) concluded that the accumulated evidence support the fact secondhand exposure to cigarette smoke could lead to lung cancer. ........
Posted by: Agarwaal MD Permalink
October 11, 2006, 8:58 PM CT
Test To Predict Response In Pancreatic Cancer
Antonio Jimeno, M.D.
By slicing up bits of patient tumors and grafting them into mice, Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center specialists have figured out how to accurately "test drive" chemotherapy drugs to learn in advance which drug therapys offer each individual pancreas cancer patient the best therapeutic journey.
Eventhough "xenografting" with either cells or fresh tissue is already used widely to test cancer therapies, the Hopkins design is personalized to each patient who has relapsed after an initial course of chemotherapy. "Eventually our approach offers a promising way to individualize treatment earlier in therapy instead of first giving everyone the standard drug gemcitabine, which has a success rate of less than 10 percent," says Antonio Jimeno, M.D., instructor in oncology at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center.
Results of preliminary tests of the Hopkins method in 14 patient samples taken after surgery shows that each xenografts' genetic profile remained stable through three and four generations of mice so that "test drives" would accurately represent a patient's tumor. The researchers also found they could build xenografts in 80 percent of their pancreatic patients, a success rate higher than efforts with patients with colon cancer, for which rates are typically less at about 50 percent.........
Posted by: Sue Permalink Source
October 3, 2006, 5:07 AM CT
Progress In Pancreatic Cancer Research
Scientists at SUNY Downstate Medical Center and the Brooklyn VA Hospital have observed that when a human protein, PNC-28, is administered to pancreatic tumor cells in animals, the tumors are destroyed. The research was published in the October 1st edition of the International Journal of Cancer.
Matthew R. Pincus, MD, PhD, professor of pathology at SUNY Downstate and chairman of pathology and laboratory medicine at the Brooklyn VA, said, "The results are very encouraging. PNC-28 may be an effective agent in treating cancers, particularly if delivered directly to the tumor".
PNC-28 is a p53 peptide, a naturally occurring human protein known to suppress tumor growth. The scientists previously observed that PNC-28 induces death of a variety of human tumor cell lines, including a pancreas cancer cell line, while not harming healthy cells.
The research team has now given PNC-28 to laboratory animals to test its ability to block the growth of pancreas cancer cells. When administered over a two-week period in the peritoneal cavities of mice containing simultaneously transplanted tumors, PNC-28 caused complete destruction of these tumors.
When delivered concurrently with tumor implantation, PNC-28 completely blocked tumor growth during the two-week period of administration and two weeks post-treatment, followed by weak tumor growth that leveled off at low tumor sizes.........
Posted by: Sue Permalink Source
September 12, 2006, 4:53 AM CT
Vitamin D Cuts Pancreatic Cancer Risk By Half
Consumption of Vitamin D tablets was found to cut the risk of pancreas cancer nearly in half, as per a research studyled by scientists at Northwestern and Harvard universities.
The findings point to Vitamin D's potential to prevent the disease, and is one of the first known studies to use a large-scale epidemiological survey to examine the relationship between the nutrient and cancer of the pancreas. The study, led by Halcyon Skinner, Ph.D., of Northwestern, appears in the recent issue of Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention.
The study examined data from two large, long-term health surveys and observed that taking the U.S. Recommended Daily Allowance of Vitamin D (400 IU/day) reduced the risk of pancreas cancer by 43 percent. By comparison, those who consumed less than 150 IUs per day experienced a 22 percent reduced risk of cancer. Increased consumption of the vitamin beyond 400 IUs per day resulted in no significant increased benefit.
"Because there is no effective screening for pancreas cancer, identifying controllable risk factors for the disease is essential for developing strategies that can prevent cancer," said Skinner.
"Vitamin D has shown strong potential for preventing and treating prostate cancer, and areas with greater sunlight exposure have lower incidence and mortality for prostate, breast, and colon cancers, leading us to investigate a role for Vitamin D in pancreas cancer risk. Few studies have examined this association, and we did observe a reduced risk for pancreas cancer with higher intake of Vitamin D".........
Posted by: Sue Permalink Source
June 19, 2006, 9:24 PM CT
Suggest your News Item To Medicineworld
As you are aware we are the leading publishers of health news on the web. We publish news items in various forms including numerous blogs and news items. We invite you to participate in our new collection.
We are looking for quality news items that would be interesting to our readers. Now you may suggest the news item from your site to be included at Medicineworld.org. Inclusion of news item at our site get instantaneous attention since the item is illustrated from various blog posts. Addition of pictures to the item adds additional attraction to your news item. Inclusion in the Medicineworld.org site brings quality links and visitors to your site.
If you have an interesting news item related to health, share it with Medicineworld.org and we share it with the world.
Suggest your News Item To Medicineworld........
Posted by: Janet Permalink
June 14, 2006, 0:07 AM CT
Pancreatic Cancer Surgery Can Help Those Over 80
Age doesn't necessarily have to be the deciding factor for cancer surgery, Jefferson Medical College surgeons have found.
Pancreas cancer surgeon Charles J. Yeo, M.D., Samuel D. Gross Professor and chair of surgery at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University and Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia and Jefferson's Kimmel Cancer Center, and colleagues studied records of pancreatic surgery during the last 35 years at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and found that contrary to what a number of both in and out of medicine may believe, major pancreas cancer surgery can successfully be performed on patients in their 80s, 90s and even older.
In the study, reported recently in the Journal of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Dr. Yeo and co-workers examined records of nearly 2,700 cases of the standard Whipple operation for pancreatic disease, including cancer. Of these, about 1,000 operations were performed in the last four years. The Whipple procedure entails the surgical removal of the head of the pancreas, the duodenum (part of the small intestine), part of the common bile duct, the gallbladder and sometimes a portion of the stomach.
Of this group, 207 patients were 80 years old or older. Those who were 80 to 89 years of age had a mortality rate of 4.1 percent (8 of 197), and a complication rate of 52.8 percent. Those younger than 80 years old had a mortality rate of 1.7 percent, with a complication rate of 41.6 percent. Of 10 patients 90 or older, the scientists reported no deaths after surgery, though half had complications. Of those 80 to 89 years old, 59.1 percent lived for at least one year, while 60 percent of patients 90 years and older lived that long after surgery.........
Posted by: Sue Permalink Source
