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Cancer Overview      
Cancer: Overview, Causes, Risk Factors, Treatment
http://www.health.am/cr/

[ Date added: 2007-11-11 ]


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Cancer: Overview, Causes, Risk Factors, Treatment
Cancer: Overview, Causes, Risk Factors, Treatment

News from Cancer: Disparities in head and neck cancer patients
A new analysis finds considerable disparities in survival related to race and socio-economic status among patients with head and neck cancer. Published in the November 15, 2008 issue of CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, the study indicates that earlier diagnosis and greater access to treatment could improve outcomes for these cancers among African Americans and the poor. A number of studies have examined disparities in cancer survival among different groups to help identify interventions to improve patient outcomes. To investigate factors that impact survival from head and neck cancer, Dr. Leonidas Koniaris and colleagues at the University of Miami School of Medicine reviewed all head and neck cancer cases in Florida between 1998 and 2002. By mining information from the Florida Cancer Data System and the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration dataset, they were able to accumulate data on diagnoses, comorbid conditions, and procedures performed during every hospitalization or outpatient visit among 20,915 head and neck cancer patients during that time. The review found poorer outcomes were associated with race, poverty, age, gender, tumor site and stage, treatment type, and a history of smoking and alcohol consumption. 
Metabolic syndrome ups colorectal cancer risk
In a large U.S. population-based study presented at the 73rd Annual Scientific Meeting of the American College of Gastroenterology, metabolic syndrome patients had a 75 percent higher risk of colorectal cancer compared to those without metabolic syndrome. Dr. Donald Garrow and Dr. Mark Delegge of the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston analyzed data of patients who reported a history of metabolic syndrome and colorectal cancer from the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), a comprehensive nationally representative study conducted each year by the National Center for Health Statistics. Metabolic syndrome was defined as having a combination of three common chronic medical conditions: hypertension, diabetes and elevated cholesterol. The risk of colorectal cancer among patients with metabolic syndrome was determined by multivariate logistic regression analysis, controlling for age, race, gender, obesity, smoking and alcohol use.
Women require less tobacco exposure than men to increase colon cancer risk
While smoking poses a health threat to both men and women, women require less tobacco exposure than men to have a significant increased risk for colorectal cancer, according to new research presented at the 73rd Annual ACG Scientific Meeting in Orlando. In a separate analysis, researchers found smoking may increase the risk of pancreatic cancer precursor lesions, particularly in patients with a strong family history of the disease. While research has demonstrated that smoking is associated with a two-fold risk for colorectal neoplasia, less is known about the exposure quantity needed. Joseph C. Anderson, M.D., of the University of Connecticut in Farmington and Zvi A. Alpern, M.D. of Stony Brook University in New York compared the quantity of tobacco exposure to increased colorectal cancer risk in men and women. The levels of tobacco exposure were measured by multiplying the packs of cigarettes smoked per day by the number of years smoked ("pack years.") In a large cross-sectional study, Drs. Anderson and Alpern analyzed data of 2,707 patients (average age 57.3) who underwent colonoscopy between 1999 and 2006. Data collected included age, height, weight, family history of colon cancer, medication use, surgery, exercise, diet and smoking history.
Breast Cancer Remains Threat for Older Women
Despite recent examples of young and middle-aged celebrities being diagnosed with breast cancer, more than half of breast cancers happen in women over age 65. That?s why experts at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center recommend women continue to receive yearly breast screenings through their 70s. ?Women don?t seem to take the risk of breast cancer as they get older seriously. A lot of women seem to think of it as a middle-aged disease, and as they get older, they anticipate that if they were going to get breast cancer, they would have already had it. Therefore, they aren?t as careful about getting screened,? says Kathleen Diehl, M.D., assistant professor of surgery at the University of Michigan Medical School.
H. Pylori Bacteria May Help Prevent Some Esophageal Cancers
Some bacteria may help protect against the development of a type of esophageal cancer, known as adenocarcinoma, according to a new review of the medical literature. These bacteria, which are called Helicobacter pylori, live in the stomachs of humans. The review, published in the October issue of Cancer Prevention Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, found that people who had H. pylori strains carrying a gene called CagA were almost half as likely to get adenocarcinoma of the esophagus, a cancer that develops in the tube that passes food from the throat to the stomach. ?CagA- positive strains of H. pylori may decrease the risk of adenocarcinoma by reducing acid production in the stomach and, therefore, reducing acid reflux to the esophagus,? said study co-author Farin Kamangar, M.D., Ph.D., a research fellow at the National Cancer Institute. ?It may also work by decreasing the production of the hormone ghrelin, which is secreted from the stomach to stimulate appetite. A reduction in the level of ghrelin may lead to lower rates of obesity, an important risk factor for adenocarcinoma.?
International Implementation of Breast Health Guidelines for Developing Count...
A special supplement of the Oct. 15 journal Cancer for the first time details guidelines for low- and middle-income countries to implement breast cancer programs to detect and treat the most common disease among women worldwide. ?Guidelines for International Breast Health and Cancer Control ? Implementation? developed by the Breast Health Global Initiative (BHGI) outlines a tiered system of resource allocation - based on countries? overall economic status and availability of resources ? toward early detection, diagnosis, treatment, and developing an overall breast health program. Other papers contained in the supplement outline how countries implement programs in breast pathology, radiation treatment, surgery and treatment of locally-advanced cancer. ?The breast health guidelines for implementation will be an essential medical reference for low- and middle-income countries to improve breast health outcomes,? said Benjamin O. Anderson, M.D., founder, chair and director of the Seattle-based BHGI organization BHGI, an alliance comprised of a strategic mix of internationally-focused health care organizations, was founded by Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and Susan G. Komen for the Cure. 
SNM Releases New Fact Sheet on Breast Cancer and Molecular Imaging
Coinciding with the observance of Nuclear Medicine Week (October 5 to 11) and National Breast Cancer Awareness Month (October), SNM released today a new fact sheet highlighting recent developments in molecular imaging technologies that are dramatically improving the ways in which breast cancer is diagnosed and treated. Molecular imaging is a highly effective, safe and painless imaging tool for diagnosing and treating breast cancer. Physicians report that the information they have gained from molecular imaging technologies has resulted in decisions to change the course of treatment in between 24 and 48 percent of breast cancer cases. Breast cancer is just one of many types of cancer for which new and emerging molecular imaging techniques and therapies can significantly improve detection, diagnosis and treatment. 
Breast cancer cells recycle to escape death by hormonal therapy
Many breast cancer cells facing potentially lethal antiestrogen therapy recycle to survive, researchers say. About 70 percent of breast cancer cells have receptors for the hormone estrogen, which acts as a nutrient and stimulates their growth.  Patients typically get an antiestrogen such as tamoxifen for five years to try to starve them to death, says Dr. Patricia V. Schoenlein, cancer researcher in the Medical College of Georgia Schools of Medicine and Graduate Studies. ?About 50 to 60 percent of these women really benefit from hormonal therapy,? says Dr. Schoenlein. Why others don?t has been asked for at least two decades.
Liver transplant recipients almost 3 times more likely to develop cancer
Cancer incidence is higher among liver transplant recipients in Finland compared to the general population, according to a new study in the October issue of Liver Transplantation, a journal by John Wiley & Sons. The article is also available online at Wiley Interscience (http://www.interscience.wiley.com). Transplantation, and subsequent immunosuppression which keeps rejection at bay, have long been associated with increased cancer risk. Several studies have examined the issue, but few have used a control population for comparison, and many rely on limited data. More studies are needed to reliably reveal the cancer risk pattern after transplantation, so doctors can optimize immunosuppression, cancer surveillance and risk management. Researchers, led by Helena Isoniemi of Finland , sought to describe the cancer risk pattern in Finnish liver transplant patients, hypothesizing that the incidence of specific types of cancer would be higher among the recipients. They included all liver transplant patients from Helsinki University Central Hospital transplanted between 1982 and 2005. Using the Finnish Population Register and the national Cancer Registry, they were able to follow-up on each patient beginning at the date of transplant through the end of 2005. 
Saliva proteins could help detection of oral cancer
Clinicians could detect oral squamous cell carcinoma, a form of oral cancer, using a simple test that detects proteins in saliva, according to a report in the October 1, 2008, issue of Clinical Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. This work was led by David T. Wong, D.M.D., D.M.Sc., professor and associate dean for research, at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Dentistry. Previous studies have shown that saliva can be a useful diagnostic tool, but this is the first study to globally evaluate saliva protein levels from oral cancer patients. Since it is very simple to collect and process saliva fluids, the discovery of these biomarkers may lead to a useful clinical tool for noninvasive diagnosis of oral cancer in the future. ?This test is currently not available, but we are developing point-of-care microfluidic devices to detect these markers that we can use in clinical trials,? said Shen Hu, Ph.D., assistant professor of Oral Biology and Proteomics at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Dentistry. 
Extra copies of EGFR gene signal poor prognosis for vulvar cancer
A genetic fingerprint identified in patients with a gynecologic cancer may reveal candidates for targeted therapy. In a study in the journal Gynecologic Oncology, investigators from the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Obstetrics and Gynecology Service report that women with vulvar carcinoma whose tumors have extra copies of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene are at increased risk of dying from their cancer. The EGFR pathway is known to be critical in several types of cancer, but this is the first association of an EGFR gene alteration with this tumor. “Treatment for vulvar carcinoma has changed little over the years.? says Bo Rueda, PhD, of the Vincent Center for Reproductive Biology in the MGH Obstetrics and Gynecology Service, co-senior author of the report. ?Through a better understanding of the specific mechanisms that underlie the tumorigenic process, we hope to expand treatment options for these patients with molecularly targeted therapies.? The study was a collaboration with MGH Cancer Center investigators. Although cancer of the vulva ? women?s exernal genital structures ? is rare, it frequently recurs after standard treatment, and little has been known about factors leading to its development. Changes in the expression or activity of EGFR have been associated with many solid tumors, and patients whose cancers have EGFR mutations often can be successfully treated with drugs targeting the molecular pathway controlled by that receptor. The current study, which has been released online, was designed to investigate whether EGFR activity is also altered in vulvar tumors. 
Birth size is a marker of susceptibility to breast cancer later in life
Birth size, and in particular birth length, correlates with subsequent risk of breast cancer in adulthood, according to a new study published in PLoS Medicine by researchers at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Associations between birth size, perhaps as a marker of the pre-natal environment, and subsequent breast cancer risk have been identified before, but the findings from epidemiological studies have been inconsistent. In the new study, led by Isabel dos Santos Silva (Professor of Epidemiology), the researchers re-analysed data from published and unpublished studies to obtain more precise estimates of the extent to which birth size affects the risk of breast cancer later in life and to investigate whether they could be explained by associations with other risk factors.
Prostate Health: More Than Just Prostate Cancer
Prostate cancer isn?t the only condition of which to be aware this Prostate Health Month, according to expert urologists from the American Urological Association. One extremely common non-cancerous condition, particularly in older men, is benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). In fact, BPH affects half of all men between the ages of 51 and 60, and can affect up to 90 percent of men over the age of 80. The major symptoms of BPH, including frequent urination, urinating several times at night or difficulty urinating (weak stream, dribbling or the need to push or strain) may seem to be a normal part of aging. However, these symptoms are treatable and, if ignored, can lead to life-threatening complications. In the majority of men, BPH is a progressive disease. It can lead to bladder damage, infection, blood in the urine, and even kidney damage if left untreated. A man should see a doctor immediately if he has: blood in the urine, pain with urination, burning with urination or is unable to urinate. Several treatment options are available for men with BPH. Patients should speak to their doctors in order to determine which treatment option is most appropriate for them. Treatments include watchful waiting, medications, the insertion of prostatic stents to open the urethra, or minimally invasive surgical therapies. Don’t suffer in silence: seek expert medical advice. 
Study Shows Immune System Can Hurt As Well As Help Fight Cancer
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have found that some proteins of the immune system can promote tumor growth. Investigators found that instead of fighting tumors, the protein C5a, which is produced during an immune response to a developing tumor, helps tumors build molecular shields against T-cell attack. These findings appeared online this week in Nature Immunology. C5a is part of the complement system, one of the body?s immune defenses against pathogens. When activated, the system?s proteins rid the body of microbes and foreign cells. Many cancer treatments are aimed at boosting the immune system to kill tumors. ?Until now, everyone thought that the complement system was there to eliminate tumor cells. We found that in some conditions, the complement system can promote tumor growth, depending on the specific tumor and the specific environment in which the tumors are developing,? says John Lambris, PhD, the Dr. Ralph and Sallie Weaver Professor of Research Medicine.
Hepatitis B Exposure May Increase Risk For Pancreatic Cancer
In a first-of-its-kind finding, researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center have discovered that exposure to the hepatitis B virus (HBV) may increase the risk of pancreatic cancer. The study, published in the Oct. 1 edition of the Journal of Clinical Oncology, also suggests that patients with this lethal form of cancer treated with chemotherapy may face danger of reactivation of their HBV. Pancreatic cancer is diagnosed in 37,000 people in the United States each year, and more than 34,000 people die of the disease annually, according to the American Cancer Society. It is often diagnosed in the late stages and is especially perplexing because few risk factors are known.

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