September 20, 2006, 5:10 AM CT

Why Chemotherapy causes bad taste for Food?

It's a common experience among patients who are receiving chemotherapy to have no tast for food. About two million cancer patients currently receiving certain drug therapies and chemotherapy find foods and beverages to have a foul metallic flavor, according to a medical study. In general, more than 40 percent of hospitalized patients suffer from malnutrition due to taste and smell dysfunction.

"Unfortunately, these problems that impact nutrition and quality of life are underestimated and understudied by oncologists," said Andrea Dietrich, Virginia Tech professor of civil and environmental engineering (CEE).

Dietrich believes there are two components to the metallic flavor the taste of metal ions on the tongue and the production of metal-catalyzed odors in the mouth that create a retro-nasal effect. "I am attempting to gain a better understanding of the metallic sensation, its prevention, and application to human health," Dietrich said.

Along with two of her university colleagues, Susan E. Duncan, professor of food science and technology, and YongWoo Lee, an assistant professor in the biomedical sciences and pathology department and a member of the Virginia Tech-Wake Forest University School of Biomedical Engineering and Sciences, Dietrich is the recipient of a $200,000 grant from the Institute of Public Health and Water Research (IPWR) to examine the problems of foul flavored water. The interdisciplinary investigative team combines proficiency in food oxidation and off-flavors, water chemistry, cell biology, and human perception.........

Posted by: Andria      Permalink         Source

September 20, 2006, 5:05 AM CT

Does breast implants increase suicide rate

Women who have breast implants might not have a higher mortality rate, but they have a higher risk of dying from suicide as per new research findings. In this by the Canadian Public Health Agency and Cancer Care Ontario which evaluated 24,600 women found that having breast implants is not a cause of increased mortality. Nevertheless they found that suicide rate among women with breast implants is 73% higher than in the general population. These study findings are published these findings in a recent issue of the American Journal of Epidemiology.

Reserchers Universit Laval's Jacques Brisson and Louis Latulippe and their colleagues collected data on 17,400 women from the province of Quebec and 7,200 from Ontario who had received breast implants for cosmetic purposes between 1974 and 1989. These women, who had undergone the surgery at an average age of 32, were followed regularly during a 15-year period. The scientists observed that a total of 480 women with breast implants died during that period, comparable to the mortality rate of the general population.

Scientists found mortality rate in women with breast implant to be 26% lower than in the control group. Fewer deaths occurred from breast cancer and heart occurred in this group. The scientists say that this lower mortality rate is not the result of the breast augmentation procedure itself, but rather of a double selection bias. "First, a woman must be in relatively good health to undergo breast implant surgery," points out Dr. Brisson. "Also, women who receive breast implants tend to be of higher-than-average socioeconomic status. Thus, women who undergo breast augmentation surgery are more likely to be in better health than the general population".........

Posted by: Andria      Permalink         Source

September 19, 2006, 8:52 PM CT

New Hope For Leukemia Research

Now a mouse model of leukemia is set to help with the therapy of acute myeloid leukemia. This new research has developed a new strain of mice that should help reveal how an unusual change in a certain gene contributes to a particularly deadly form of acute myeloid leukemia (AML).

Scientists from Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center suggests that the genetic change comes early in the disease, and that it over-activates a second gene that helps govern blood cell development.

This particular genetic change, known as partial tandem duplication, is located in a gene called mixed-lineage leukemia. This represents a partial tandem duplication is a type of gene mutation that occurs when a section of a gene is repeated, like a stutter in the gene's DNA.

The new mouse model should help leukemia researchers to learn how this mutation contributes to AML development, and it may lead to new ways to treat, diagnose and perhaps prevent the disease.

The findings were published online Sept. 14 in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

"When leukemia strikes, it's like a hurricane arriving without an advance weather forecast - you have no information about how it got there, and it's a level-5 storm," says Michael A. Caligiuri, principal investigator of the study and director of the OSUCCC.........

Posted by: Andria      Permalink         Source

September 18, 2006, 7:04 PM CT

Dear Cancer

DEAR CANCER is a book of inspiration and comfort that will make the reader laugh, cry, and see adversity in a new light.

The author shares her true story of living with stage IV breast cancer from the shock of diagnosis to the rigors of chemotherapy and other treatments.

Written with honesty, sensitivity and humor, DEAR CANCER will support and encourage anyone who is confronted by cancer, or any life-changing illness, or event.

DEAR CANCER touches EVERY emotion from extreme sadness and rage, to joy and gratitude.

It is a gift you must give to your body, mind and soul.

About the Author

Laura Parisi King is a Licensed Master Social Worker. She is the author of GRANDA, a young adult novel about stereotypes and self-discovery. Her short stories have appeared in LISTEN Magazine. Laura has been a contributor to COPING Magazine, a creative writing instructor, and a columnist for the newsletter TAKING THE FEAR OUT OF CANCER. She has been interviewed on radio and television, and she has been the guest speaker in schools in New York and Florida.........

Posted by: Andria      Permalink         Source

September 18, 2006, 7:00 PM CT

Pre Operative Chemotherapy For Rectal Cancer

Preoperative chemotherapy is very commonly used in the treatment of rectal cancer. But is there any evidence of better outcome with preoperative chemotherapy compared to post-operative chemo therapy?

According to an article recently published in the New England Journal (NEJM), chemotherapy survival rates are similar among patients with rectal cancer whether chemotherapy is given before or after surgery.

The rectum is the last portion of the large intestine. Standard treatment for rectal cancer often includes the surgical removal of as much of the cancer as possible. Unfortunately, surgery for the removal of rectal cancer may result in loss of sphincter control. In an attempt to combat this, researchers have been evaluating the effects of chemotherapy or radiation therapy prior to surgery, referred to as neoadjuvant therapy.

The concept behind neoadjuvant therapy is to shrink the cancer as much as possible prior to surgery so that the cancer may be completely removed with minimal surgery, thus maintaining sphincter control.

Furthermore, chemotherapy may immediately start killing cancer cells throughout the body, versus postponing chemotherapy until the patient has healed from surgery. Most patients with rectal cancer who are to undergo surgery are treated with radiation therapy prior to surgery.........

Posted by: Andria      Permalink         Source

September 18, 2006, 6:52 PM CT

Addition of Gemzar Improves Survival in Ovarian Cancer

According to new research findings in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, the addition of Gemzar® (gemcitabine) to Paraplatin® (carboplatin) improves progression-free survival among women who received previous therapies for the therapy of ovary cancer.

Ovary cancer is the eighth most common cancer among women. It is considered to be one of the most deadly cancers because the vast majority of patients are diagnosed once the cancer has already spread from the ovary. Approximately 90% of patients diagnosed with ovary cancer will experience a recurrence of their disease; long-term survival for these patients remains unfavorable.

Scientists from Europe, Canada, and the United States recently conducted a clinical trial to evaluate the addition of Gemzar to carboplatin in the therapy of women with recurrent ovary cancer. This trial included 356 patients who had received previous treatment with chemotherapy including either carboplatin or Platinol® (cisplatin). They had experienced a cancer recurrence at least six months following initial treatment. One group of patients was treated with Gemzar/carbolatin, and the other group of patients received carboplatin only.........

Posted by: Andria      Permalink         Source

September 14, 2006, 9:09 PM CT

Save Lids To Save Lives

Every lid matters, because every lid gets us closer to our goal of giving $1.5 million to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. For every lid we get, we'll donate 10 cents to the Foundation, up to $1.5 million. And we guarantee to donate at least $500,000.

Working together, one lid at a time, we can get there. So, this is a chance for each of us to take part in the search for a cure. Doing your part couldn't be easier.

Beginning in September 2006, look for the pink lids on packages of Yoplait® Original, Light, Thick and Creamy, Light Thick and Creamy, Whips!, Yoplait Smoothies, and Nouriche.

Save them, wash them, and mail them in before December 31 2006.........

Posted by: Andria      Permalink         Source

September 14, 2006, 5:58 PM CT

Spread Of Eye Cancer To Liver

Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have developed a method to predict whether melanoma of the eye will spread to the liver, where it quickly turns deadly. They also believe the molecular screening test may one day help determine the prognosis of patients with some types of skin melanoma.

J. William Harbour, M.D., the Paul A. Cibis Distinguished Professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences and associate professor of cell biology and molecular oncology, reported on the screening test today at the American Academy of Cancer Research meeting in Chicago.

"About half of patients with ocular melanoma develop metastasis in the liver," says Harbour, who directs the ocular oncology service at the School of Medicine. "Ocular melanoma has a strong propensity to spread to the liver, and when it does, it usually leads to death within a very short time".

Doctors have known for many years that patient age, tumor size and location and shape of tumor cells all could help predict whether ocular melanoma was likely to spread. But none of those factors were accurate enough to influence treatment decisions in individual patients.

Now Harbour and colleagues have found that a particular molecular signature - that is, the pattern of activation of a group of genes in the tumor cells - accurately predicts risk for metastasis. Rather than analyzing a single protein or molecular factor, the test looks at how several factors work together.........

Posted by: Andria      Permalink         Source

September 13, 2006, 4:41 AM CT

Exercise Reduces Colon-cancer Risk

Regular, moderate-to-vigorous aerobic exercise significantly reduces a risk factor associated with the formation of colon polyps and colon cancer in men, according to a study led by researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. The findings, from the first randomized clinical trial to test the effect of exercise on colon-cancer biomarkers in colon tissue, appear in the recent issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention.

"In men who met the study's exercise prescription of an hour of aerobic activity per day, six days a week for a year, we saw a substantial decrease in the amount of cellular proliferation in the areas of the colon that are most vulnerable to colon cancer," said lead author Anne McTiernan, M.D., Ph.D., an internist and epidemiologist who directs the Hutchinson Center's Prevention Center. "However, we found that even four hours or more of exercise weekly was enough to produce a significant benefit," she said.

Specifically, the researchers saw a decrease in the number of actively dividing cells, or cellular proliferation, within the colonic crypts - tiny tube-like indentations in the lining of the colon, or epithelium, which help regulate the absorption of water and nutrients. "A certain amount of cellular proliferation at the bottom part of the crypt is normal. But when these cells start dividing too quickly, they can migrate up the sides of the crypt to the surface and eventually form a polyp," she said. While most polyps are benign, over time some types can become malignant.........

Posted by: Andria      Permalink         Source

September 12, 2006, 4:55 AM CT

Vitamin D Cuts Pancreatic Cancer Risk

Consumption of Vitamin D tablets was found to cut the risk of pancreatic cancer nearly in half, according to a study led by researchers 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 found that taking the U.S. Recommended Daily Allowance of Vitamin D (400 IU/day) reduced the risk of pancreatic 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 pancreatic 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 pancreatic cancer risk. Few studies have examined this association, and we did observe a reduced risk for pancreatic cancer with higher intake of Vitamin D".........

Posted by: Andria      Permalink         Source