Cancer

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Can Deodorants or Antiperspirants Cause Early Age Breast Cancer?
December 7th 2005

Antiperspirants are drugs that contain aluminum and according to one researcher may be linked to breast cancer. Dr. Kris McGrath of Northwestern University believes it is possible shaving and uses of antiperspirants habits may determine how quick women get breast cancer.

McGrath is not saying that all cases of breast cancer could be linked to antiperspirants and shaving. Breast cancer existed long before we started making antiperspirants, but McGrath notes that when use of antiperspirant deodorants increased so did the incidence of breast cancer in an “almost parallel fashion”.

According to a recent CBS report rumors of a link between breast cancer and antiperspirants have been circulating for years, but have been written off as an urban legend by most people. Even the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) calls it a “false… scary” story.

[Jaded]

Hmm. I wonder if they have done any studies on women who do not use anti-perspirant. I used to know a few.

[Fringe]

I'm pretty sure my deoderant isn't an antipersperant. I'll have to check, but are they only talking about antipersperants? Or deoderants? Is it the aluminum they're talking about?

[Jaded]

Not really sure. I have been reading a bunch of articles on Google. Most of them refute this claim, but even the National Cancer Institute says that the findings are inconclusive. Women who started shaving and using an antiperspirant before the age of 16 have a higher diagnosis rate than those who did not. But there isn't an overall higher cancer rate between women who shave and use antiperspirant and those who don't. Confusing.

Some studies say it is the aluminum in antiperspirants. Other studies say it is the parabens in deodorants and other cosmetics, because it mimics estrogen. What other cosmetics?!

I feel like I'm in that Batman movie where the Joker laces beauty products with poisin that, used in the wrong combination, causes death. Everyone goes around with zits, no make up, no hair products and probably stinking to high heaven. lol. What's a Cosmo Girl to do?

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Cancer Vaccine Treatments Promising for Prostate and Brain Tumors

Research out of the UCLA’s Jonsson Cancer Center may provide for an effective treatment for a very fatal form of brain cancer. Clinical trials volunteers are wanted for this treatment.

Researchers believe that surgery combined with a vaccine may prove effective. After removing the tumor surgically, a combination of the patients own tumor cells and white blood cells are used to create a vaccine. Similar to other vaccines, this vaccine will prepare the body to fight off the cancer cells on their own.

A story recently appeared on NBC in Los Angeles concerning this research. Dr. Linda Liau of UCLA told NBC that “The problem with brain cancer is that even with very little tumor cells left, the tumor comes back. It comes back in a matter of months”. The type of cancer being investigated is almost 100 percent fatal.

There are various studies underway in the treatment of cancer with a vaccine. Teaching the immune system how to get rid of the cancer cells might keep tumors from coming back. "The whole concept is to alert your immune system that these cells are abnormal and that your body should get rid of them" Dr. Liau told NBC.

Does the future of cancer treatment lay with the vaccine approach? Recent phase VII clinical trials at Duke University Medical Center show promising results for prostate cancer. According to the Science Daily website Dr. Johannes Vieweg MD, the associate professor of urology and immunology said “ We have more research ahead of us, but the results of this study are promising.”

Some human cancers have an “overexpressed” antigen. In the case of some prostate cancers the telomerase antigen is over-expressed. Antigens are protein fragments produced by invaders such as viruses and bacteria. Usually antigens are attacked by the immune system, but in the case of cancer the immune system needs to be trained. This research was published in the March 15th 2005 Journal of Immunology.


Cancer Vaccine Treatments Promising for Prostate and Brain Tumors

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In a recent article published in January 5th issue of Nature, a study showed that a gene is responsible for stopping the spread of some cancers.

The gene is called caspase 8 and it acts as a check point to make sure that skin cells stay with the skin, organ cells stay with the designated organ. When a violation of a cell occurs it is the job of the caspase 8 to activate integrins which cause the cell to die off.

Childhood neuroblastoma cancer, show that there is a lack of the caspas 8 gene and is an aggressive cancer that occurs in children around the age of 2 years. The gene is missing or suppressed in 70 percent of children with aggressive neuroblastomas. The problem with this type of cancer is that it spreads throughout the body quickly and it hard to treat once it is diagnosed.

Gene found to help Stop the Spread of Some Cancers

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Breast Cancer Risk Reduced by Consuming Caffeinated Coffee

January 5th 2006


Benefits of Coffee

Caffeinated Coffee may reduce the risk of breast cancer in women, according to a new Canadian study. The researchers examined women with a particular type of cancer associated with a specific gene mutation. The research is especially important for women with a family history of breast cancer.

Looking at women with the BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutations the researchers found that women that drank more coffee had less of a risk of developing breast cancer. According to the CTV Canadian website, Professor Steven A. Narod at the University of Toronto said “"Those women who drank six or more cups of coffee a day on average had about a 75 per cent reduction in the risk of breast cancer." The women who drank 4 to 5 cups of coffee per day were able to reduce their risk 25% according to Reuters. Reuters also claims the risk reduction for 6 or more cups per day was 69%.

Article

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The Curry Spice Tumeric Curcumin and Cabbage Fight Prostate Cancer
January 14th 2006


Curry Spice Tumeric Curcumin
Amazingly certain vegetables may hold “real potential for the treatment and prevention of prostate cancer”, according to research out of Rutgers' Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy. The scientist discovered that the curry spice turmeric, also known as curcumin, when combined with watercress, cabbage, winter cress, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, kale, cauliflower, kohlrabi and turnips, significantly retarded the growth of cancerous tumors in mice.

There is a relatively high incidence of prostate cancer in the United States compared to India. According to the researchers this has to do with dietary consumption of large amounts of plant-based foods rich in phytochemicals – nonnutritive plant chemicals that have protective or disease-preventive properties, by Indian men.

Article

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New Gene Discovery may lead to Treatment for GBM Brain Cancer
January 15th 2006


Dr. Habib
Research published today in the journal Cancer Research describes a gene EGFRvIII that generates a unique pattern of signaling.  This is a distinct gene that that causes a specific brain cancer to grow and multiply.
Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is a cancer of the supportive tissue of the brain and accounts for 60 percent of brain tumors in adults over the age of 50 years.  The team at UT Southwestern Medical Center discovered the cell-signaling mechanism instrumental in the most common brain cancer in adults.

Researchers already knew that tumor cells proliferate out of control by a mechanism characterized by an abnormally high number of copies of the epidermal growth factor receptor gene (EGFR). 

Article

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A report in today’s Journal of the American Medical Association told of an easy in-office urine test that can detect 99 percent of the tumors when used in conjunction with cystoscopy.

The $30 in-office urine test called the NMP22 BladderChek® manufactured by Matritech, who also funded the study at the University of Rochester Medical Center’s James P. Wilmot Cancer Center, looked at how accurate it was in the diagnosis of bladder cancer. The urine test is non-invasive compared with the cystoscopy which is a flexible scope to see inside the urethra and bladder. The cystoscopy by itself detects the bladder cancer 91 percent of the time, but when used with the urine test it is 99 percent accurate in diagnosis.

Bladder Cancer detection with a new easy in-office Urine Test

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A new study in the upcoming issue of CANCER medical journal reports of the increased rate of the deadly melanoma skin cancer among California Hispanics.

Hispanics have increased cases of melanoma compared to Caucasians and they tend to have confined thicker lesions which are more deadly. Melanoma is not the most common type of skin cancer, but it is the most deadly. Skin cancer is usually more dangerous when more layers of skin is penetrated with the tumor. Melanoma cancer typically was at the highest risk for fair-skinned people.

Skin Cancer Melanoma have increased in California Hispanics

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Breakthrough Treatments for Fighting Breast Cancer – Herceptin, Avastin, Femara and Lapatinib
January 25th 2006


Avastin kills Cancer Cells
There are some exciting breakthroughs in the treatment of breast cancer.  Recently the FDA approved Femara for the treatment of early stage breast cancer.  It had already been used to treat the cancer in late stages of the disease.  Back in October an article in the New England Journal of Medicine described the drug Herceptin, and its effectiveness in treating a very aggressive form of the disease.

About 20 to 25 percent of the breast cancer cases are of the HER-2 variety and aggressively strike younger women.  The researchers found that the compound was able to reduce the reoccurrence of breast cancer in 46% of the women.

Recently ABC News had a segment on the new advances in fighting breast cancer.  The show mentioned Herceptin but also informed their viewers of a new drug that hopefully will be available soon called Lapatinib.  This experimental treatment may be better than Herceptin because it blocks two proteins in certain cancer cells, while Herceptin affects only one. 

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Smoking Pot Could Raise Risk of Bladder Cancer at a Younger Age
February 3rd 2006

Dr. Martha Terris
New research shows that smoking marijuana may raise the risk for bladder cancer occurring at an early age.  Bladder cancer is more common among “people age 60 and older”, says Dr. Martha Terris, urologist at the Medical College of Georgia (MCG) and Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Augusta. 

Smoking cigarettes is a major risk factor for cancer, but smoking marijuana may be as bad as or worse than cigarette smoking as a risk factor for bladder cancer, according to the report.  Since it was known that cigarettes increased the risk, the researchers decided to investigate the risk for marijuana.

The VA hospitals affiliated with Stanford University Medical Center and MCG decided to investigate risk factors associated with exposure to tobacco, radiation, Agent Orange, smoked or processed meats and synthetic dyes used in the textile industry. 

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Eating your vegetables is still good for you and the low-fat diet study shouldn’t get you to start a regular fast food diet of hamburgers. The low-fat diet study currently in the news showed that a low-fat diet did not offer the cancer prevention health benefit menopausal women that lowered fat intake and increase fruits and vegetables. Although the magnitude of the low-fat diet didn’t pan out, this study into vegetables reinforce the health benefits in cancer prevention. This study was first published in Nature’s British Journal of Cancer and reflects how the chemical compounds found in certain vegetables can be beneficial in the prevention of cancer.

Georgetown University Medical Center researchers wanted to test the effects of certain chemical compounds on cells to see what would happen. One compound is called indole-3-carinol (I3C), and is found in broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage. The other chemical found is called genistein which is found in soy beans. These chemicals and compounds in their research were found to increase levels of BRCA1 and BRCA3 proteins which help to repair damaged DNA.

Complete Story

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In the February 13th issue of the Archives of Internal medicine a study reported that the smaller the tumors in lung cancer the less likely the cancer will spread. The researchers believe that the earlier the detection, the better chance for successfully treating lung cancer.

The lead researcher, Claudia I. Henschke, M.D., Ph.D., New York Presbyterian Hospital–Weill Cornell Medical Center, New York, along with colleagues from the International Early Lung Cancer Action Program screened 28,689 men and women for lung cancer. This took place at over 38 different medical institutions worldwide from 1993 through 2004. The screenings were performed with a computed tomography (CT) scan.

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