Men’s midlife fitness linked to lower risk of cancer and death

CANCER DIGEST – Mar. 26, 2015 – Men who exercise and stay fit, especially in midlife, could be lowering their risk of lung cancer and colorectal cancer, but not prostate cancer, researchers say. Before you say two out of three isn’t bad, there's better news. While fitness didn’t protect against getting prostate cancer, fit men appear to be less likely to die of the disease.

Led by Dr. Susan Lakoski of the University of Vermont, Burlington, the researchers looked at Medicare data from 1999 to 2009 for a link between midlife cardiorespiratory fitness and cancer and survival following a cancer diagnosis at the Medicare age of 65 or older. 

Delayed radiation after prostate removal provides no benefit

CANCER DIGEST – Mar. 23, 2015 – Delaying radiation therapy after surgery to remove the prostate for men with aggressive prostate cancer adds no protective benefit and may increase the risk of gastrointestinal complications, a new study shows.

There has long been a debate among physicians about the best way to follow prostate cancer surgery with radiation therapy. Many believed that delaying the radiation therapy reduced the risk of complications including intestinal and urinary incontinence and loss of erectile function. 

Lethal type of prostate cancer identified

CANCER DIGEST – March 17, 2015 – Researchers have identified a subtype of prostate cancer with specific genetic mutations that result in recurrent cancer, and ultimately leads to death.

The researchers at the University of Colorado Cancer Center analyzed tumor samples from publicly available databases and found that MAP3K7-CHD1 loss was a major genetic marker of cancers that

Very low breast density linked with lower survival in women with breast cancer

CANCER DIGEST – March 13, 2015 – Women with breast cancer whose breasts have very low density have a higher risk of dying from the disease than women with high breast density, a new Finnish study shows.

Dense breast tissue has long been linked to an increased risk of breast cancer, and it is difficult to detect small tumors when screening dense breasts. This results in a higher occurrence of clinically detectable cancers. Breast density is matter of the amount of glandular tissue present compared to fat tissue.

Vegetarian diet may protect against colorectal cancer

CANCER DIGEST – March 9, 2015 – Going vegetarian has been a growing trend over the last few decades for a variety of reasons. If you are looking at the pros and cons of eschewing chewy protein, a new study suggests you can add lower risk of colorectal cancers to the pro side of the list, according to a study in the Mar. 9, 2015 JAMA Internal Medicine.

The dietary patterns of 77,659 Seventh-Day Adventist men and women were analyzed over a 5-month period from June 2014 and October 2014. An estimated 35 percent of Adventists practice vegetarianism, according to a 2002 worldwide survey of local church leaders. The researchers led by Dr. Michael Orlich, of the School of Public Health, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, California, categorized four vegetarian diets, including vegan, (no animal consumption),

Genetics reveals deceptively 'normal' looking prostate cells

Prostate cell – image courtesy
Cancer Research UK

CANCER DIGEST – Mar. 3, 2015 – Researchers in Britain have found that normal looking prostate cells often harbor genetic mutations that can develop into cancer. The finding may prompt new ways to treat the disease.

Prostate cancer is often made up of many small tumors with different genetic fingerprints, and it is still unclear what causes these different tumors to develop in the prostate at the same time. But this new research sheds new light on how that happens.