Tomato-rich diet may prevent prostate cancer

CANCER DIGEST – Aug. 27, 2014 – Men who eat over 10 servings of tomatoes a week have an 18 percent lower risk of developing prostate cancer, new research suggests. 

Published in the medical journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention, the researchers led by Vanessa Er, from the School of Social and Community Medicine at the University of Bristol and Bristol Nutrition BRU sought to develop a prostate cancer 'dietary index' which consists of dietary components – selenium, calcium and foods rich in lycopene, found in such foods as tomatoes, bread and pasta, and dairy products.

Protein may predict breast cancer outcomes

CANCER DIGEST – Aug. 25, 2014 – Researchers have identified a protein that may be the first biomarker for breast cancer that has begun to spread to other parts of the body. 

In a study published online today, Canadian researchers at McGill University, Montreal led by Josie Ursini-Siegel show that elevated levels of the protein, named p66ShcA, in the blood is strongly linked to genes that trigger a process that aids tumor cells to begin seeping into the blood stream. The study appeared online in the journal Molecular and Cellular Biology.

Cost gap for robotic surgery for prostate cancer narrows

CANCER DIGEST – Aug. 26, 2014 – Widespread adoption of robot-assisted surgery to treat prostate cancer has narrowed the gap in costs compared to conventional open or laparoscopic surgery. A study comparing robotic assisted surgery with non-robotic surgery for prostate cancer showed that robotic surgeries surged from 0.7 percent of all prostatectomies to nearly 42 percent in just  seven years from 2003 to 2010. In the beginning there was debate about the cost-effectiveness of robotic-assisted surgery as outcomes were not decisively better, while the cost was much higher than conventional surgery. Over the study period, however, the cost of robotic surgery has declined and leveled off at slightly over $10,000 compared to $9,000 for non-robotic surgery. The study led by Steven Chang, MD of Harvard Medical School and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute was published today in the British Journal of Urology International.

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Leukemia drug may slow metastasis in skin, breast and other cancers

CANCER DIGEST – Aug. 20, 2014 – A drug used to treat leukemia may be useful in slowing or halting cancer spread in other cancers, a new study shows.

The drug, Dasatinib is a type of drug called a protein tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI). Tyrosine kinases are proteins that act as chemical messengers to stimulate cancer cells to grow.

Overweight breast cancer patients may benefit from aspirin, ibuprofen

CANCER DIGEST – Aug. 15, 2014 – Post menopausal women with breast cancer who are overweight or obese and taking tamoxifen or aromatase inhibitors were less likely to have their cancer recur if they took aspirin or ibuprofen, a new analysis shows.

Bacteria used to shrink tumors

Video credit: © AAAS/Carla Schaffer

CANCER DIGEST – Aug. 13, 2014 – Researchers have shown that injections of a weakened version of a bacterium that thrives in a very low oxygen environment can shrink tumors in rats, pet dogs, and a human patient.

The microbe, Clostridium novyi, is commonly found in soil and lives only in oxygen-poor environments, which makes it ideal for adaption to oxygen-starved cells in tumors that are difficult to treat with chemotherapy and radiation.

FDA approves first DNA screening test for colorectal cancer

YouTube by Exact Sciences

CANCER DIGEST – Aug. 12, 2014 –The U.S. FDA today approved Cologuard, the first stool-based DNA colorectal screening test that detects genetic mutations that may indicate colon cancer or precursors to cancer.

Using a stool sample, Cologuard detects blood components and certain mutations associated with colorectal cancer in the DNA of cells shed by advanced adenomas as stool moves through the large intestine and rectum. Patients with positive test results are advised to undergo a diagnostic colonoscopy.

Osteoporosis drugs don't protect against breast cancer

Alendronic acid (Fosamax) is taken for
osteoporosis (NIH image)

CANCER DIGEST – Aug. 11, 2014 – Osteoporosis drugs known as bisphosphonates may not protect women from breast cancer as had been thought, according to a new study led by researchers at UC San Francisco (UCSF) despite several observational studies that showed women who took them were less likely to get breast cancer.

Bee, snake and scorpion venoms may be promising next cancer therapy

Courtesy Publications Division of the American
Chemical Society.

CANCER DIGEST – Aug. 11, 2014 – Venoms may be the newest approach to be used in targeted therapies say researchers at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

In a report presented at the 248th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS), Dipanjan Pan, Ph.D outlined

Case for daily aspirin grows stronger

copyright  Sauligno via Creative Commons

CANCER DIGEST – Aug. 7, 2014 – In the first review of all the available evidence from many studies and clinical trials of preventive aspirin use, researchers found that taking aspirin for 10 years could cut bowel cancer cases by around 35 percent and deaths by 40 percent. 

Led by Jack Cuzick, head of Queen Mary University of London’s Centre for Cancer Prevention, the researchers also found the rates of esophageal and stomach cancers were cut by 30 percent and deaths from these cancers by 35-50 percent. The study was published today in the journal Annals of Oncology.

Some birth control pills may boost breast cancer risk

CANCER DIGEST – Aug. 4, 2014 – A study of 1,102 women diagnosed with breast cancer and 21,952 who were cancer free, found that recent oral contraceptive use increased breast cancer risk by 50 percent, compared with never or former use. 

The study led by Elisabeth F. Beaber, PhD, MPH, at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, Wash. looked at the electronic pharmacy records of women who recently used birth control pills containing high-dose estrogen. They found that some of the formulations increased breast cancer risk 2.7 times, and those containing moderate-dose estrogen increased the risk 1.6-fold compared to women who did not use those contraceptives.