Category: Cancer

Sugary sodas linked to pancreatic cancer: study

Analyses of data collected on 60,524 Singapore Chinese adults showed that people who drank two or more sugar-sweetened soft drinks a week were at greater risk of developing pancreatic cancer compared with individuals who did not, the study published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention says.

A study published in 2010 which analyzed data collected for 60,524  Chinese adults in Singapore demonstrated that those people who consume two or more sugar-sweetened soft drinks weekly were at higher risk of suffering from pancreatic cancer compared with those who do not drink sugary drinks.

However, the researchers did not find a link was found between  juice consumption and pancreatic cancer.

Pancreatic cancer is a rapidly fatal cancer in adults.  Fewer than 5% of patients survive five or more years after being diagnosed with this form of cancer.

Published: Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention, 2010.

Ginger Quells Chemo-induced Nausea

A recent randomised clinical trial funded by the NIH has confirmed what many grandmothers would have suspected: that ginger can decrease nausea caused by chemotherapy. Better still, it seems that the effect goes beyond that provided by standard anti-vomiting drugs.

A recent randomised clinical trial funded by the NIH has confirmed what many grandmothers would have suspected: that ginger can decrease nausea caused by chemotherapy. Better still, it seems that the effect goes beyond that provided by standard anti-vomiting drugs.

The double-blind, placebo-controlled study included 644 cancer patients who to receive at least 3 chemotherapy treatments. They were divided into four groups who received placebos, 0.5g of ginger, one gramme of ginger, or 1.5g of ginger along with current antiemetics drugs.

Patients took the ginger supplements three days prior to chemotherapy and three days following treatment. Patients reported nausea levels at various times of day during following their chemotherapy and those who took the lower doses of ginger had a 40 per cent reduction in their symptoms.

Breast Cancer Researchers Focus on Stem Cells

Cancer drugs and radiation target and kill fast-growing cancer cells. But a small number of noncancer cells in the tumor often survive. These, researchers believe, are “mother” cells — stem cells that shrug off treatment and survive to manufacture more cancer cells.

Cancer drugs and radiation target and kill fast-growing cancer cells. But a small number of noncancer cells in the tumor often survive. These, researchers believe, are “mother” cells — stem cells that shrug off treatment and survive to manufacture more cancer cells.

“Cancer stem cells are present, we believe, in all cancers,” said Dr. Jenny Chang, medical director of the breast center at Baylor College of Medicine. “So that 1 to 5 percent of the cancer contains cancer stem cells. And while chemotherapy kills 99 to 95 percent of the tumor, what’s left behind is the 5 percent of cancer stem cells. Those will then regrow and regenerate.”

Chang spoke at a press briefing on experimental new cancer drugs Friday at the 32nd annual San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium , which continues through Sunday.

Exposure to Light at Night Linked to Breast Cancer

Women who live in neighborhoods with large amounts of nighttime light are more likely to get breast cancer than those who live in areas where the nights are darker. This reinforces previous studies that exposure to too much light at night can raise the risk of breast cancer by interfering with the brain’s production of melatonin, a tumor-suppressing hormone.

A study published in the journal Chronobiology International overlaid satellite images of Earth onto a map with local statistics of breast cancer and, for comparison, lung cancer, which is caused mostly by smoking and would not be expected to be linked to light.

After adjusting for variables such as ethnic makeup, birth rate, population density and local income, researchers found that breast cancer rate in localities with average night lighting to be 37% higher than in communities with the lowest amount of light. The rate was higher by an additional 27% in areas with the highest amount of light.

Research has shown that rats raised in cages where lights are left on at night have higher cancer rates than those allowed to sleep in darkness. Epidemiological studies of nurses, flight attendants and others who work at night have found breast cancer rates 60% above normal, even when other factors such as differences in diet are accounted for. On the basis of such studies, an arm of the World Health Organization announced its decision to classify shift work as a “probable carcinogen.”

SOURCE: Lights at Night Are Linked to Breast Cancer http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/19/AR2008021902398.html?hpid=moreheadlines

Studies Show Benefits of Pomegranate Juice in Preventing Heart Disease

Atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) is a leading killer of older adults. Pomegranate extracts work at every step in the deadly atherosclerosis cascade to prevent or reverse the damage, thereby extending life.

Atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) is a leading killer of older adults. Pomegranate extracts work at every step in the deadly atherosclerosis cascade to prevent or reverse the damage, thereby extending life.

Ref: Nutr Rev. 2009 Jan;67(1):49-56.
Mol Nutr Food Res. 2009 Mar;53(3):322-31.

Pomegranate juice helps protect the heart by reducing inflammation, reducing LDL (low density lipoproteins), as well as reducing oxidative stress and platelet clumping,

Studies also indicates pomegranate juice has anti-cancer properties and helps lower blood sugar for diabetics and pre-diabetics.

Healthy circulation is critical for helping prevent eye disease. For related information, go to www.naturaleyecare.com

Excess Body Fat Linked to Higher Cancer Risk, Poorer Cancer Survival

Approximately 100,500 cancers occurring in the US every year can be attributed to excess body fat, according to estimates from the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR).

According to AICR, the estimated number of cancers linked to excess body fat include:

49% of endometrial cancers    = 20,700 cases/year
35% of esophageal cancers       = 5,800 cases/year
28% of pancreatic cancers        = 11,900 cases/year
24% of kidney cancers             = 13, 900 cases/year
21% of gallbladder cancers       = 2,000 cases/year
17 % of breast cancers             = 33,000 cases/year
9% of colorectal cancers          = 13,200 cases/year
___________________________________________
TOTAL: 100,500 cases/year

Researchers note that carrying excess body fat increases cancer risk, makes treatment more difficult and shortens survival.  Excess body fat increases the body’s level of sex steroids and other hormones that are linked to cancer growth. For example, fat tissue produces estrogen; studies have shown that estrogen promotes cell proliferation in breast tumors that contain receptors for the hormone, known as ER positive tumors.  Recent studies show that excess body fat lowers immune function and increases oxidative stress, which can lead to DNA damage.

This new research also shows that obesity continue to play a negative role after cancer has been successfully treated.  The good news is that an increasing number of studies suggest that regular physical activity improves cancer survival, even among survivors who are overweight or obese.

SOURCE:  New Estimate: Excess Body Fat Alone Causes Over 100,000 Cancers in US Each Year, American Institute for Cancer Research, Nov. 5, 2009, http://www.aicr.org/site/News2/1699885429?abbr=pr_&page=NewsArticle&id=17333&news_iv_ctrl=1102

Low Cholesterol Linked to Lower Risk of Some Types of Prostate Cancer

A new study published in Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, shows that men whose cholesterol was in a healthy range (below 200) had less than half the risk of developing high-grade prostate tumors compared to men with high cholesterol.

Researchers studied 5,586 men aged 55 and older who participated in the Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial between 1993 and 1996.  Although cholesterol levels made no difference in the odds of getting prostate cancer for most of the participants, it made a significant difference for the 60 men who developed high-grade tumors which grow and spread fast. For these men, the chance of developing an aggressive tumor was 59% lower among men with cholesterol under 200.

Although more research is planned on the topic, this study reinforces the idea that limiting fats in the bloodstream can reduce the risk of cancer.

SOURCE:  Men with Low Serum Cholesterol Have a Lower Risk of High-Grade Prostate Cancer in the Placebo Arm of the Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial, Platz, et al, Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2009;18(11):2807–13.

Women with breast cancer have low vitamin D levels

Women with breast cancer should be given high doses of vitamin D because a majority of them are likely to have low levels of vitamin D, which could contribute to decreased bone mass and greater risk of fracture

In a new study, it was found that breast cancer patients have low levels of vitamin D, aggravating low bone mass and fracture risk.

These patients have accelerated loss of bone mass due to hormone and chemo therapies.

The recommended weekly supplement for high doses of vitamin D is 50,000 international units or more improved the levels, according to Peppone’s study and the blood levels close to 32 nanograms per milliliter are adequate according to the U.S. Institute of Medicine.

According to Dr. Cedric Garland, a vitamin D expert and pioneer a woman’s chances of developing breast cancer can be ‘virtually eradicated’ by elevating her vitamin D levels to what  scientists demonstrate are  natural blood levels.

Green Tea May Lower Risk of Some Cancers

A new study suggests that drinking green tea may lower the risk of developing certain blood cancers.

Researchers in Japan studied 41,761 adults aged 40 to 79 without a history of cancer. After answering a food frequency questionnaire, participants were followed for 9 years. During this time 157 blood, bone marrow, and lymph system cancers developed in the study group.

Researchers found that the overall risk for blood cancers was 42% lower among study participants who drank 5 or more (versus 1 or fewer) cups of green tea daily. Drinking 5 or more cups of green tea daily was also associated with a 48% lower risk for lymph system cancers.

The results, published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, show that these associations held up in even when allowances were made for age, gender, education, smoking status and history, alcohol use, and fish and soybean consumption.

SOURCE: Green tea consumption and hematologic malignancies in Japan: the Ohsaki study, Naganuma, et al, Am J Epidemiol 2009,Sep,15;170(6):730-8; (PMID: 19640889)

Vitamin C protects the skin

Research conducted at the University of Leicester in England, reported this year in the journal Free Radical Biology and Medicine, contributes to the understanding of the mechanisms involved in vitamin C’s ability to help heal and protect the skin. The vitamin is an essential cofactor for the synthesis of collagen, the predominant protein in skin and other connective tissue.

Research conducted at the University of Leicester in England, reported this year in the journal Free Radical Biology and Medicine, contributes to the understanding of the mechanisms involved in vitamin C’s ability to help heal and protect the skin. The vitamin is an essential cofactor for the synthesis of collagen, the predominant protein in skin and other connective tissue.

This research is particularly relevant for skin disease due to sun damage, and that scientists now believe that the free radical theory of disease also applies to the aging of the skin. Free radicals are unstable small molecules generated by an oxygen environment which require stabilization by the body’s antioxidant system.

Editor’s Note: Numerous peer review research studies show the benefits of vitamin C for anti-aging, strengthening the immune system and preventing eye disease. For more information on overall body and eye health through a healthy diet and lifestyle, go to Natural Eye Care for Better Vision and Overall Health.