Ultra-processed foods linked to colorectal cancer risk in men

Photo credit – Wolfman via Creative Commons

CANCER DIGEST – Sept. 25, 2022 – Men who consumed large amounts of ultra-processed foods had a 29 percent higher risk of colorectal cancer than men who consumed less of such foods while the same correlation was not found in women, a new study shows.

Ultra-processed foods include convenience pre-cooked and instant meals that are also high in added sugars and low in fiber and tend to contribute to weight gain and obesity. These foods include such ready-to-eat products like sausage, bacon, ham, fish cakes.

Advanced cervical cancer rising fastest among White women in the South

HPV vaccination can prevent cervical cancer. CDC data shows vaccination rates by geographical region – source US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

CANCER DIGEST – Aug. 21, 2022 – While the number of cases of advanced cervical cancer, cancer that has spread beyond the cervix, is highest among Black women, it is rising faster in White women than any other racial group, according to a new analysis in the Aug. 18, 2022 International Journal of Gynecological Cancer.

Older age, smoking and obesity raise cancer risk by as much as 29 percent

Photo credit – American Cancer Society

CANCER DIGEST – Aug. 13, 2022 – Older age and smoking are the strongest risk factors linked to developing any type of cancer, a new study shows.

The large study of nearly 430,000 people participating in two ongoing American Cancer Society studies showed that there were 15,226 invasive cancers among participants within five years of enrolling in the studies. The results were published in the Aug. 3, 2022 journal Cancer.

Common type of starch may reduce certain cancers

Resistant starch as found in unripe bananas may protect against some
types of cancers

CANCER DIGEST – July 30, 2022 – A type of starch found in oats, breakfast cereal, rice, beans and other common foods may reduce the risk of a range of cancers by 60 percent, a new study shows. 

Led by researchers at the Universities of Newcastle and Leeds in the the UK, the 20-year study called CAPP2 involved following 1000 people with Lynch Syndrome, a hereditary condition associated with an increased risk of colorectal cancer in particular, as well as a broad range of other cancers, including endometrial, ovarian, stomach, liver and brain cancers. 

Adding an immunotherapy drug may boost survival in Hodgkin Lymphoma patients

Hodgkin lymphoma cells. Image Credit – Seagen (formerly Seattle Genetics)

CANCER DIGEST – July 16, 2022 – Almost 94 percent of Hodgkin Lymphoma patients given the drug brentuximab vedotin in addition to standard chemotherapy survived 6 years compared to 89.4 percent of those given the standard therapy, a new Mayo Clinic study shows.