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January 31, 2005

Calcium may protect women from cancer

A University of Minnesota Cancer Center study found that women consuming more than 800 milligrams of calcium each day reduced their risk of colorectal cancer by as much as 26 to 46 percent. [EurekAlert! - Cancer]

Avoiding Some Food No Proven Assurance Of Avoiding Cancer

Results of food consumption data studied and published recently in the Journal of the American Medical Association are not a complete review of factors considered to influence the risk of contracting cancer. Thus, these foods should not be interpreted in haste as a threat to public health, according to the international, not-for-profit scientific society Institute of Food Technologists. The study on the consumption of red meat and the separate study on consumption of fruits and vegetables each openly state neither includes data on its participants' family history of colon, rectal, breast or other cancers, a significant limitation that authors declare could skew results. Furthermore, the latter study acknowledges that no... [Cancercompass News: Cancer Nutrition]

January 26, 2005

Lung Cancer Top Cancer Killer for Women

Think lung cancer, and most people picture a disease that primarily strikes older men who smoke.

What many don't realize is that lung cancer is the leading cancer killer of women, responsible for 27 percent of all cancer deaths, ahead of breast and colorectal cancer, according to the latest federal statistics. And women may be more susceptible to the disease than men, research suggests, a fact many women -- and their doctors -- may not realize. [MedicineNet Womens Health General]

Non-alcoholic Beer Could Protect Against Cancer, Says Early Study

Research using lab mice suggests that non-alcoholic beer may give some protection against cancer, the British weekly New Scientist reports in next Saturday's issue. Sakae Arimoto-Kobayashi of Japan's Okayama University exposed two groups of mice to carcinogenic chemicals called heterocyclic amines, which can be found in cooked meat and fish. Among mice which had drunk non-alcoholic beer, damage to liver, lung and kidney DNA was 85 percent lower when compared with rodents who had drunk only water. Arimoto-Kobayashi, whose study is published in a specialist organ, the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, believes there are as-yet unidentified compounds in lager and stout that prevent amines from bindin... [Cancercompass News: Cancer Nutrition]

January 24, 2005

Cancer patient drinks breast milk

A 59-year-old American has been drinking breast milk for the past four years in a bid to fight cancer.

Howard Cohen hopes it will boost his immune system and help him fight off his prostate cancer.

The California's Mothers' Milk Bank in the US says it has supplied about 28 adults with doctors' prescriptions in the past four years. [BBC News | Health | UK Edition]

January 21, 2005

Another Reason To Enjoy Pecans

The form of vitamin E found in many plant seeds -- but not in most vitamin pills and supplements -- might halt the growth of prostate and lung cancer cells, according to a Purdue University study. A team led by Qing Jiang (her name is pronounced "ching zhang") has found that gamma-tocopherol, which occurs naturally in walnuts, pecans, sesame seeds, and in corn and sesame oils, inhibits the proliferation of lab-cultured human prostate and lung cancer cells. The vitamin's presence interrupts the synthesis of certain fatty molecules called sphingolipids, important components of cell membranes. However, the gamma-tocopherol leaves healthy human prostate cells unaffected, which could give it value as an anticance... [Cancercompass News: Cancer Nutrition]

Organic Ketchup Helps Fight Cancer

Organic varieties of tomato ketchup contain up to three times more of the cancer-fighting chemical lycopene than non-organic brands, it is claimed. American researchers made the discovery after studying a wide range of ketchups, including purple and green varieties which are sold in the US. Lycopene has been shown to protect against breast, pancreatic, prostate and bowel cancer, especially when eaten with fatty foods. There is also evidence it can reduce the risk of heart attacks. Mary Chapman and Betty Ishida, from the Agricultural Research Service in Albany, California, tested lycopene levels and antioxidant activity in 13 ketchup brands, New Scientist magazine reported. Six were popular varieties, two were stores' own bran... [Cancercompass News: Cancer Nutrition]

Fish Oil May Play Protective Role In Colon Cancer Initiation And Progression

Data(1) published in a recent issue of Cancer Research, reported that researchers at Texas A&M University, using GE Healthcare's CodeLink(TM) microarrays, have identified key changes in gene expression that provide an improved understanding of how dietary fat composition affects the initiation and promotional stages of tumor development in the colon. These findings indicate that the chemopreventive effect of fish oil is due to the direct action of a particular type of polyunsaturated fatty acid, n-3 PUFA. Second only to lung cancer, colon cancer is a major cause of cancer death in the United States(2). According to the American Cancer Society, currently more than 106,370 people are diagnosed with colon cancer and 56,730... [Cancercompass News: Cancer Nutrition]

Vitamin A May Be Cancer Prevention Target

A study by researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York suggests a vitamin A pathway is a potential target for breast cancer prevention. Defects in vitamin A, or retinol, may be a possible contributor to developing human cancer because vitamin A is required for activation of the retinoic acid receptor, which induces differentiation of adult epithelial cells. The study found reduced expression of a protein that regulates the metabolism of vitamin A may contribute to tumor progression in breast cancer, according to the study in Wednesday's Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin that occurs in two forms in nature -- its true form, retinol, is found in animal foods such a... [Cancercompass News: Cancer Nutrition]

January 19, 2005

Cancer the Top Killer for Those Under 85

AP - For the first time, cancer has surpassed heart disease as the top killer of Americans under 85, health officials said Wednesday. The good news is that deaths from both are falling, but improvement has been more dramatic for heart disease. [Yahoo! News - Health]

Olive Oil & Breast Cancer

In laboratory experiments, oleic acid, the main monounsaturated fatty acid in olive oil, suppressed one of the most important genes involved in breast cancer.

"This is the first molecular support for the Mediterranean diet," said study author Javier Menendez, a research scientist with the Evanston Northwestern Healthcare Research Institute in Illinois. The report appears in the Jan. 10 issue of the Annals of Oncology. [MedicineNet Womens Health General]

Vitamin D May Slow Down Prostate Tumor Growth

A new study suggests that giving vitamin D supplements to men with rising rates of prostate tumor markers (PSA) seems to slow down their rate of tumor growth, it is reported Monday. It is a small study and this is very preliminary evidence, but doctors do see a connection between vitamin D levels and PSA levels, according to the study reported by Canadian Television. "The PSA levels seemed to reflect the seasonal variation in vitamin D levels," Dr. Lawrence Klotz, a urologist at Canada's Sunnybrook and Women's College Health Sciences Center. Researchers followed 190 men for the study. They found that overall, their PSA levels were flat during the summer, but rose during the fall and winter at the rate of about one p... [Cancercompass News: Cancer Nutrition]

January 11, 2005

Can plant research lead to new insights in cancer research?

The development of cancer is a complex process with a number of different causes. The root problem is loss of control in the cell division process. A fundamental biological process, cell division can be studied in many organisms. VIB researchers are studying cell division in plants and thereby uncovering general principles. They are now revealing the importance of the DEL1 protein in the control of cell division in the Arabidopsis plant. [EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health]

Pesticides may cause cancer

Government cancer advisers have for the first time said pesticides, particularly weedkillers, might cause prostate cancer and want better monitoring of their use, the Guardian has learned.

There must be more information on occupational exposure of farmers and farmworkers to agricultural chemicals, said the committee on carcinogenicity in a statement that has encouraged environmental campaigners. [All Headline News - Cancer News and Headlines]

Olive oil in cancer fight

OLIVE oil can help fight breast cancer, a discovery that researchers said in a study out yesterday could guide the development of related treatment.

"Our findings underpin epidemiological studies that show that the Mediterranean diet has significant protective effects against cancer, heart disease and ageing," said the study's lead author, Javier Menendez, of Northwestern University's Feinberg medical school in Chicago.

Researchers showed in a series of laboratory experiments on breast cancer cells that oleic acid, found in olive oil, dramatically cuts the levels of a cancer-promoting gene called Her-2/neu (also known as erb B-2), Mr Menendez said.

[All Headline News - Cancer News and Headlines]

January 06, 2005

Secondhand smoke linked to cervical cancer

Researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health found that exposure to secondhand cigarette smoke increases the risk of developing cervical tumors. They also found an association between active cigarette smoking and cervical neoplasia -- or the growth of a tumor. [EurekAlert! - Cancer]

Type of vitamin E may be key to cancer prevention

A form of vitamin E not found in most manufactured nutritional supplements but is plentiful in many nuts and seeds might halt the growth of prostate and lung cancer cells, according to a new study.

A research team led by Dr. Qing Jiang (pronounced "ching zhang") of Purdue University found that gamma-tocopherol, which occurs naturally in walnuts, pecans, sesame seeds, and in corn and sesame oils, slows the production of lab-cultured human prostate and lung cancer cells. [cancerfacts.com]

Saliva Holds Clues to Oral Cancer

A major advance in using saliva to detect oral cancer is outlined in a study funded by the U.S. National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research.

Scientists found they were able to measure for elevated levels of four distinct cancer-associated molecules in saliva. Using this method, they had a 91 percent accuracy rate in distinguishing between healthy people and those diagnosed with oral squamous cell carcinoma. [MedicineNet Cancer General]

January 04, 2005

Cranberries May Help Prevent Breast Cancer

Could the cranberries on America's tables play a role in keeping women's bodies healthy and cancer-free? New breast cancer research provides another powerful reason to serve the holiday staple - all through the year. In laboratory experiments, Canadian researchers found that isolated compounds in cranberries called flavonoids may inhibit the growth of breast cancer cells, when consumed in sufficient concentrations. These naturally occurring flavonoids may also help prevent other forms of cancer, including cancers of the prostate, colon, lung and brain. The study, led by Peter Ferguson of the University of Western Ontario and the London Regional Cancer Program, suggests that cranberry's flavonoids may block the further spread of est... [Cancercompass News: Cancer Nutrition]

Vitamin E In Plant Seeds Could Halt Prostate, Lung Cancer

The form of vitamin E found in many plant seeds - but not in most manufactured nutritional supplements - might halt the growth of prostate and lung cancer cells, according to a Purdue University study. A team led by Qing Jiang has found that gamma-tocopherol, which occurs naturally in walnuts, pecans, sesame seeds, and in corn and sesame oils, inhibits the proliferation of lab-cultured human prostate and lung cancer cells. The vitamin's presence interrupts the synthesis of certain fatty molecules called sphingolipids, important components of cell membranes. However, the gamma-tocopherol leaves healthy human prostate cells unaffected, which could give it value as an anticancer agent. "This is the first time gamma-tocopherol has been sh... [Cancercompass News: Cancer Nutrition]