Breast cancer research & treatment updates

waltky · Mar 12, 2012

Research on shark's blood for cancer fighting properties gets help from drug company Roche...

Research on Cancer-Fighting Shark's Blood Gets Boost in Australia
March 09, 2012 : Australian scientists investigating the cancer-fighting qualities of shark blood have been given a significant funding boost from an international pharmaceutical giant.

The team from La Trobe University in Melbourne says trials indicate shark antibodies can be a potent weapon against malaria and breast cancer. International pharmaceutical company Roche is funding Australian research into shark blood for six months. During that time scientists will try to determine if shark-blood antibodies are able to lock onto and neutralize cancer cells.

Shark antibodies are very small, which researchers say makes them particularly good at seeking out and binding to target cells. Thanks in part to funding from the Bill Gates Foundation, trials have already shown they can be an effective treatment against malaria. The research started a decade ago and a team from Melbournes La Trobe University has created the worlds first 'test-tube library' of millions of antibodies from shark blood that could fight cancer and other diseases. Trials into breast cancer have also started, work that will be accelerated following the deal with Roche.

There are several-thousand million different anti-bodies," explained associate professor Mick Foley, explaining the funding deal. "Really we have just got to find in our library one that will bind to their target and give that to them. We will license it to them," he explained. "But we are hoping that, you know, this is just a sort of vote of confidence, if you like, in big pharma (large pharmaceutical companies) that we have something interesting that might be very useful to the broader pharmaceutical industry."

Foley says his teams work could provide a breakthrough. "We are researching into sort of, for example, cancers," Foley said. "So, we have several antibodies that we are looking at, one of which we know in vitro, again in the laboratory, if you put it into breast cancer cells it will stop those breast cancer cells from growing. Sharks have immune systems similar to humans, but their antibodies - the molecules that actually fight disease - are different to human anti-bodies and are extremely resilient. The team in Melbourne found that shark antibodies can withstand high temperatures as well as extremely acidic or alkaline conditions.

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waltky · Jun 3, 2012

New breast cancer drug...

Experimental drug keeps aggressive breast cancer at bay
3 June`12 - An experimental drug treatment may help keep a certain kind of aggressive breast cancer at bay, offering new hope for individual therapies against difficult tumors, said research released Sunday.

The phase III trial comparing trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1) to standard therapy for human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2 positive) breast cancer was presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology conference in Chicago. The international study randomized nearly 1,000 patients to receive either T-DM1 or standard therapy every three weeks. The subjects all had metastatic cancer that had spread to other parts of the body. The trial found that progression-free survival in the T-DM1 group was 9.6 months, compared to 6.4 months in the standard therapy group, which study authors described as "clinically meaningful improvement." "The drug worked. It was significantly better than a very effective approved therapy for HER2 overexpressing metastatic breast cancer," said lead study author Kimberly Blackwell, professor of medicine at Duke University. "Also, as a clinician who takes care of a lot of breast cancer patients, I'm pleased that this drug has very little dose-limiting toxicity. Patients don't lose their hair from this drug. "For patients facing metastatic breast cancer, this is a breakthrough."

The data on overall survival time showed 65 percent of T-DM1 patients were alive after two years, compared to 47.5 percent of the standard therapy patients, a threshold that fell short of the trial's predetermined limits for judging statistical significance. More analysis of survival times is planned for later in the ongoing study. HER2 positive cancer makes up about 15 percent of breast cancers, and is tends to be more difficult to treat. However some targeted therapies have shown promise, such as trastuzumab, also known as Herceptin. "Trastuzumab is now a standard in the adjuvant setting to reduce risk of recurrence and improve survival, and in the metastatic setting to control disease and prolong life," said Antonio Wolff, professor of oncology at The Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center. "Unfortunately, there are still many patients with HER2-positive disease whose disease recurs despite adjuvant trastuzumab, and whose cancers stop responding when treated in the metastatic setting," said Wolff, who was not involved with the study.

He described T-DM1 as a "second generation HER2-targeted therapy that goes one step further" by delivering small doses of chemotherapy to the HER2 positive tumors. TDM-1 is "another critical step in our quest towards the individualization of therapies," he told AFP. These therapies, like trastuzumab, have "helped change what was once a bad prognosis into a disease that can now be controlled and in many patients cured." Wolff said future studies are likely to focus on T-DM1 as a treatment given earlier in the course of the disease, and in combination with other drug treatments. Trastuzumab emtansine is being developed globally by Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche under a collaboration agreement between ImmunoGen and Genentech, and drug makers are seeking regulatory approval in the US and Europe this year.

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waltky · Jun 6, 2012

Granny says, "Ladies, get yer blood tested...

Blood test 'can save breast cancer patients' lives'
6 June`12 - A simple blood test can save lives by helping doctors swiftly diagnose whether a patient with early breast cancer faces high risk of death or relapse after treatment, specialists said Wednesday.

Tumour cells in a blood sample, when taken at an early stage of the disease, are an accurate predictor of a patient's survival chances, the team said in the journal The Lancet Oncology. The findings could help identify early on which patients might benefit from additional treatment like chemotherapy. "The presence of one or more circulating tumour cells (CTCs, in the blood) predicted early recurrence and decreased overall survival," said the researchers from the University of Texas' MD Anderson Cancer Center. The more CTCs they found, the higher the risk of death.

CTC blood tests are not currently used to analyse a patient's prognosis or prescribe treatment, as cancer tumours are generally thought to spread through the lymphatic system rather than the bloodstream. The team conducted tests on 302 patients treated at the centre between February 2005 and December 2010. The subjects were at an early phase of breast cancer -- before it spread to other parts of the body -- and had not received chemotherapy. The team found CTCs in a quarter of the group. Of those with tumour cells in their blood, one in seven relapsed after treatment and one in 10 died during the test period.

By contrast, patients whose blood tests yielded no CTCs had a relapse rate of three percent and a death rate of two percent. "For patients with a higher concentration of CTCs, the correlation with survival and progression rates was even more dramatic, with 31 percent of these patients dying or relapsing," said a press release accompanying the study. Previous research showed similar results in patients with breast cancer that had already metastasised, or spread. The new study claims to show that "advanced disease is not necessary for cancer cells to spread (via the blood) and compromise survival."

Others urged caution, saying the research was in its infancy and urging larger clinical studies. "It's great work and very well conducted. We just don't know how to act on the study yet, ie what to do differently with our patients," Justin Stebbing of the Department of Surgery and Cancer at London's Imperial College told AFP. In particular, it was not clear whether the CTC count must be measured before, during or after surgery to remove the cancerous growth. Nor was it clear what effect chemotherapy would have on the CTC markers.

http://news.yahoo.com/blood-test-save-breast-cancer-patients-lives-091741596.html
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waltky · Jun 14, 2012

Cancer becoming more survival...

Number of US cancer survivors to surge: study
14 June - The number of people in the United States who have survived cancer is set to reach nearly 18 million in the next decade, up from 13.7 million currently, said a US study out Thursday.

The number of survivors is growing because of better treatments and an ageing and expanding population, even as the overall rate of cancer is falling, it said. The research appears in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, and was compiled by the American Cancer Society and the National Cancer Institute. Nearly half of US cancer survivors are 70 or older, and 64 percent were diagnosed five or more years ago, said the report.

The median, or midpoint age for patients at the time of diagnosis was 66. Young cancer survivors were more rare -- only five percent of the US population that had beat cancer was younger than 40. "There are 58,510 survivors of childhood cancer living in the United States, and an additional 12,060 children will be diagnosed in 2012," said the study.

The most common cancers among women in 2012 were breast (41 percent), uterine (eight percent), and colorectal (eight percent). Among men, the most common were are prostate cancer (43 percent), colorectal cancer (nine percent), and melanoma (seven percent). In the United States, there will be an estimated 1.6 million new cases of cancer in 2012 and 577,000 deaths, according to projections by the American Cancer Society.

http://news.yahoo.com/number-us-cancer-survivors-surge-study-141906179.html
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waltky · Jun 19, 2012

Granny says, "Get day jobs ladies...

Night work may boost women's breast cancer risk: study
19 June`12 - Night work may increase a woman's chances of developing breast cancer by 30 percent -- a slightly elevated but "statistically significant" risk, French researchers said Tuesday.

This placed night work in the same order of risk as factors like genetic mutation, a late first pregnancy or hormonal treatment, Pascal Guenel, director of French health research body INSERM, told AFP. Put into context, a smoker was eight times as likely to contract lung cancer as a woman working night shifts was to get breast cancer, he explained. About 1,3 million women around the world are diagnosed with breast cancer every year.

In a study published in the International Journal of Cancer, the INSERM-led team said an association between night work with breast cancer "was mainly observed in women working during overnight shifts, those who worked at night for 4.5 or more years and less than three nights per week on average. "The association was stronger in women who worked at night before their first full-term pregnancy than in women who started working at night later in life."

The scientists said more study was needed to determine the reasons. Hypotheses include disruption of "body clock" genes, internal desynchronisation and sleep deprivation altering the immune system. The study was conducted in France among 1,232 women diagnosed with breast cancer between 2005 and 2007.

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waltky · Aug 6, 2012

Chemotherapy counter-productive...

Chemo 'undermines itself' through rogue response
5 August 2012 - Chemotherapy can undermine itself by causing a rogue response in healthy cells, which could explain why people become resistant, a study suggests.

The treatment loses effectiveness for a significant number of patients with secondary cancers. Writing in Nature Medicine, US experts said chemo causes wound-healing cells around tumours to make a protein that helps the cancer resist treatment. A UK expert said the next step would be to find a way to block this effect. Around 90% of patients with solid cancers, such as breast, prostate, lung and colon, that spread - metastatic disease - develop resistance to chemotherapy. Treatment is usually given at intervals, so that the body is not overwhelmed by its toxicity. But that allows time for tumour cells to recover and develop resistance.

In this study, by researchers at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle looked at fibroblast cells, which normally play a critical role in wound healing and the production of collagen, the main component of connective tissue such as tendons. But chemotherapy causes DNA damage that causes the fibroblasts to produce up to 30 times more of a protein called WNT16B than they should. The protein fuels cancer cells to grow and invade surrounding tissue - and to resist chemotherapy.

Success v failure

It was already known that the protein was involved in the development of cancers - but not in treatment resistance. The researchers hope their findings will help find a way to stop this response, and improve the effectiveness of therapy. Peter Nelson, who led the research, said: "Cancer therapies are increasingly evolving to be very specific, targeting key molecular engines that drive the cancer rather than more generic vulnerabilities, such as damaging DNA. "Our findings indicate that the tumour microenvironment also can influence the success or failure of these more precise therapies."

Prof Fran Balkwill, a Cancer Research UK expert on the microenvironment around tumours, said: "This work fits with other research showing that cancer treatments don't just affect cancer cells, but can also target cells in and around tumours. "Sometimes this can be good - for instance, chemotherapy can stimulate surrounding healthy immune cells to attack tumours. "But this work confirms that healthy cells surrounding the tumour can also help the tumour to become resistant to treatment. "The next step is to find ways to target these resistance mechanisms to help make chemotherapy more effective."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-19111700
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waltky · Sep 22, 2012

Breast cancer early diet link...

Early Life Diet May Contribute to Breast Cancer
September 21, 2012 - Researchers have found evidence that a young girl's diet could affect her risk of developing breast cancer later in life.

The evidence linking a woman's breast cancer risk to her diet as a youth comes from mouse studies at the University of California Davis. Lead researcher Russ Hovey says investigators worked with female rodents whose estrogen production had been blocked. The female reproductive hormone is responsible for the development of sexual characteristics, including breast growth. Circulating estrogen from the ovaries has also been implicated in breast tumors. But the hormone's influence was eliminated in the subject mice. The mice were then fed a calorie-rich diet containing a fatty acid known as 10, 12 CLA. It led to a pre-diabetic state called metabolic syndrome, marked by rising blood sugar levels, weight gain, elevated cholesterol levels and high blood pressure.

The fatty diet also stimulated breast growth in some mice, even though they lacked estrogen, according to Hovey. What weve shown is that when we fed a diet that was supplemented with this particular type of fat, it then led to metabolic changes. But the thing that surprised us most was in fact that the breasts developed in these mice even though they had no ovaries and even though we used other methods to remove estrogen from their system, he said. The researchers found that the diet-induced breast growth also resulted in the development of tumors in some of the mice.

Hovey says not all of the mice fed the fatty diet developed tumors - suggesting that there may also be a genetic component contributing to breast cancer. The take-home message, according to Hovey, is that the diets of young girls should be monitored to reduce the kinds of fats that can trigger cancer and other diseases. Like obesity for example, [or] Type 2 diabetes, [and] that might also be able to substitute or stimulate breast development, independent of estrogen, explained Hover.

As Type 2 diabetes becomes more common around the world, the studys findings suggest an epidemic of breast cancer might not be far behind. An article on diet and breast tumor development is published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

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waltky · Sep 27, 2012

4 types of breast cancer found...

Researchers Find Four Distinct Types of Breast Cancer
September 27, 2012 - A new genetic analysis of breast cancer has found four distinct types of the deadly disease, which experts say explains why drug therapy for one form of breast cancer may not work to cure another form. The findings are the latest fruits of a massive cancer-gene mapping project offering hope of more effective treatments for breast cancer, with already-available drugs.

Perhaps the most intriguing discovery yet by the U.S. government-funded Cancer Genome Atlas is that some breast cancer tumors are similar, genetically, to cancer cells that invade other parts of the body, so existing therapies might be repurposed to successfully treat cancers of the breast. Scientists studying the DNA in breast cancer tumors from more than 800 patients found that cells in one of the breast cancer types resemble the basal-type cells found in ovarian cancer tumors. Its possible, the researchers say, that the tumor might respond well to cisplatin-based drugs typically used for the gynecological cancer. Newer ovarian cancer drugs might also be beneficial against the breast tumors.

Jeff Boyd is senior vice president for Molecular Medicine at Temple University's Foxchase Cancer Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Gone are the days of one-size-fits-all treatment for breast cancer, says Boyd. What we are learning is that weve got to get beyond treat[ing] every breast cancer the same. Do a lumpectomy, treat with these three drugs, irradiate locally and cross your fingers," he explained. "We now know, as we are beginning to learn for many cancer types, that there are multiple molecular cancer genetics that essentially render them separate diseases.

Two other cancer types identified in the genomic study, called luminal A and B, are triggered into mutating by a gene called HER2. A drug called Herceptin can block that gene, stem its growth and improve the prognosis for women with these types of cancer. Herceptin has been approved for use to treat all breast cancers, yet not every tumor responds to the drug, and now researchers have a better understanding why. Mathew Ellis is a cancer researcher at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, who has collaborated on the Cancer Genome Atlas. Ellis hopes targeted therapies for the different types of breast cancer will soon become available to help his patients.

Now we have to fast-forward to a day -- hopefully in the next year or two -- where at least in clinical studies the information is flowing forward to the patients and doctors. And critically that data flow includes access to the drugs, Ellis stated. The project funded by the U.S. National Cancer Institute began in 2006 with the goal of trying to identify the biomolecular underpinnings of more than 200 human cancers. The research involving breast cancer initially identified the genetic signatures of tumors that led researchers to conclude there was probably more than one breast-cancer type. The latest findings, published in the journal Nature, offer that proof.

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waltky · Oct 10, 2012

Granny says, "Take yer hormones ladies...

HRT reduces risk of heart attack, study suggests
9 October 2012 - Long-term use of HRT has been debated over the last decade

Women who take hormone replacement therapy (HRT) may cut their risk of heart problems, a study suggests, but experts are still cautious about long-term safety risks. Published in the journal BMJ, the study also found HRT is not associated with an increased risk of cancer or stroke - but past studies have shown a link. The Department of Health advises women to only use it on a short-term basis. The researchers traced 1,000 women over 10 years - half of them were on HRT.

Talking about their findings, the paper's authors said: "HRT had significantly reduced risk of mortality, heart failure, or heart attack, without any apparent increase of cancer, deep vein thrombosis or stroke." However, they stressed that "due to the potential time lag, longer time may be necessary to take more definite conclusions". Safety concerns about the long-term use of the therapy has been debated by academics over the past decade.

Cancer findings

The women in the study were aged between 45-58 years old and recently menopausal - those on treatment started it soon after menopausal symptoms began. HRT replaces female hormones that are no longer produced during the menopause and can help with hot flushes, insomnia, headaches and irritability. After 10 years, 33 women in the group that had not taken HRT had died or suffered from heart failure or a heart attack, compared with just 16 women who were taking the treatment. Thirty-six women in the HRT group were treated for cancer compared to 39 who had not taken HRT - of which 17 cases were breast cancer compared to 10 in the HRT group. They also found that after stopping the therapy, the women continued to see health benefits for six years.

The American Society for Reproductive Medicine said: "This is a very significant piece of research and should reassure the millions of women who turn to hormone therapy for relief of their menopausal symptoms. "Although the study was not large, the long-term follow-up of 16 years is reassuring as there was no increase in adverse events including cancer. "This should not be considered the last word on the effects of hormone therapy. More research is needed." A series of previous studies has linked HRT with a higher risk of breast cancer and heart attack. A large study which initiated the discussion and looked at a million women, suggested taking it for several years doubled a women's risk of developing breast cancer. Weighing up the evidence from numerous past studies, some experts warn this new BMJ study does not mean that HRT can now be considered safe.

GP advice
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waltky · Oct 19, 2012

Granny gonna get her one o' dem new breast cancer detecting bras...

New 'smart' bra could detect breast cancer
October 18, 2012 - It looks like a regular sports bra but its meant to help women detect early signs of breast cancer, FOX 5 reported.

Lifeline Biotechnologies has developed the First Warning System, or a smart bra, after years of research. According to FOX 5, the concept is called thermography, which relies on precisely detecting heat or abnormal heat signatures from tumors versus normal tissue.

Dr. Siavash Jabbari of Sharp Barnhart Cancer Center in Chula Vista, Calif., said the device is an encouraging sign in the fight against cancer, and it will give hope to the one in eight American women who develop the disease in their lifetime.

The bra is still in a trial stage, but its showing good results. The company hopes the device will be available in the U.S. within the next two years. There are plenty of investigators currently working on bio-censors that can be implanted under the skin, then feed diagnostic information about the patient, Jabbari said.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/health/2012/...-breast-cancer/?test=latestnews#ixzz29iMNQ7aM
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Richard Powell · Nov 5, 2012

Breast cancer has emerged as a disease which is affecting life of women of the age group of 30 up to 50. This disease require certain cure and research to safe guard women from being dieing from this disease.This post has presented few tips which can help women in this context.

waltky · Jan 10, 2013

Retooling the Pap test to spot ovarian cancer earlier...

Retooling Pap test to spot more kinds of cancer
9 Jan.`13 WASHINGTON (AP) For years, doctors have lamented that there's no Pap test for deadly ovarian cancer. Wednesday, scientists reported encouraging signs that one day, there might be.

Researchers are trying to retool the Pap, a test for cervical cancer that millions of women get, so that it could spot early signs of other gynecologic cancers, too. How? It turns out that cells can flake off of tumors in the ovaries or the lining of the uterus, and float down to rest in the cervix, where Pap tests are performed. These cells are too rare to recognize under the microscope. But researchers from Johns Hopkins University used some sophisticated DNA testing on the Pap samples to uncover the evidence gene mutations that show cancer is present. In a pilot study, they analyzed Pap smears from 46 women who already were diagnosed with either ovarian or endometrial cancer. The new technique found all the endometrial cancers and 41 percent of the ovarian tumors, the team reported Wednesday in the journal Science Translational Medicine.

This is very early-stage research, and women shouldn't expect any change in their routine Paps. It will take years of additional testing to prove if the so-called PapGene technique really could work as a screening tool, used to spot cancer in women who thought they were healthy. "Now the hard work begins," said Hopkins oncologist Dr. Luis Diaz, whose team is collecting hundreds of additional Pap samples for more study and is exploring ways to enhance the detection of ovarian cancer. But if it ultimately pans out, "the neat part about this is, the patient won't feel anything different," and the Pap wouldn't be performed differently, Diaz added. The extra work would come in a lab.

The gene-based technique marks a new approach toward cancer screening, and specialists are watching closely. "This is very encouraging, and it shows great potential," said American Cancer Society genetics expert Michael Melner. "We are a long way from being able to see any impact on our patients," cautioned Dr. Shannon Westin of the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. She reviewed the research in an accompanying editorial, and said the ovarian cancer detection would need improvement if the test is to work. But she noted that ovarian cancer has poor survival rates because it's rarely caught early. "If this screening test could identify ovarian cancer at an early stage, there would be a profound impact on patient outcomes and mortality," Westin said.

More than 22,000 U.S. women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer each year, and more than 15,000 die. Symptoms such as pain and bloating seldom are obvious until the cancer is more advanced, and numerous attempts at screening tests have failed. Endometrial cancer affects about 47,000 women a year, and kills about 8,000. There is no screening test for it either, but most women are diagnosed early because of postmenopausal bleeding. The Hopkins research piggybacks on one of the most successful cancer screening tools, the Pap, and a newer technology used along with it. With a standard Pap, a little brush scrapes off cells from the cervix, which are stored in a vial to examine for signs of cervical cancer. Today, many women's Paps undergo an additional DNA-based test to see if they harbor the HPV virus, which can spur cervical cancer.

So the Hopkins team, funded largely by cancer advocacy groups, decided to look for DNA evidence of other gynecologic tumors. It developed a method to rapidly screen the Pap samples for those mutations using standard genetics equipment that Diaz said wouldn't add much to the cost of a Pap-plus-HPV test. He said the technique could detect both early-stage and more advanced tumors. Importantly, tests of Paps from 14 healthy women turned up no false alarms. The endometrial cancers may have been easier to find because cells from those tumors don't have as far to travel as ovarian cancer cells, Diaz said. Researchers will study whether inserting the Pap brush deeper, testing during different times of the menstrual cycle, or other factors might improve detection of ovarian cancer.

http://news.yahoo.com/retooling-pap-test-spot-more-kinds-cancer-192045842.html
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waltky · Feb 26, 2013

Breast cancer rates increase in younger women...

Advanced breast cancer edges up in younger women
Feb 26,`13 -- Advanced breast cancer has increased slightly among young women, a 34-year analysis suggests. The disease is still uncommon among women younger than 40, and the small change has experts scratching their heads about possible reasons.

The results are potentially worrisome because young women's tumors tend to be more aggressive than older women's, and they're much less likely to get routine screening for the disease. Still, that doesn't explain why there'd be an increase in advanced cases and the researchers and other experts say more work is needed to find answers. It's likely that the increase has more than one cause, said Dr. Rebecca Johnson, the study's lead author and medical director of a teen and young adult cancer program at Seattle Children's Hospital. "The change might be due to some sort of modifiable risk factor, like a lifestyle change" or exposure to some sort of cancer-linked substance, she said.

Johnson said the results translate to about 250 advanced cases diagnosed in women younger than 40 in the mid-1970s versus more than 800 in 2009. During those years, the number of women nationwide in that age range went from about 22 million to closer to 30 million - an increase that explains part of the study trend "but definitely not all of it," Johnson said. Other experts said women delaying pregnancy might be a factor, partly because getting pregnant at an older age might cause an already growing tumor to spread more quickly in response to pregnancy hormones. Obesity and having at least a drink or two daily have both been linked with breast cancer but research is inconclusive on other possible risk factors, including tobacco and chemicals in the environment. Whether any of these explains the slight increase in advanced disease in young women is unknown.

There was no increase in cancer at other stages in young women. There also was no increase in advanced disease among women older than 40. Overall U.S. breast cancer rates have mostly fallen in more recent years, although there are signs they may have plateaued. Some 17 years ago, Johnson was diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer at age 27, and that influenced her career choice to focus on the disease in younger women. "Young women and their doctors need to understand that it can happen in young women," and get checked if symptoms appear, said Johnson, now 44. "People shouldn't just watch and wait."

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waltky · Nov 23, 2013

Toxic cancer killer non-toxic to humans...

Plant Nutrient 'Cocktail' Kills Breast Cancer Cells
November 22, 2013 ~ A new study finds a cocktail of compounds found naturally in plants killed all of the breast cancer cells collected in a laboratory, without any toxic side effects on normal cells.

Researchers at Louisiana State University tested six known protective chemical nutrients from turmeric, soybeans, broccoli, grapes and tea. Individually, they were ineffective against cancer. But combined, they suppressed breast cancer cell growth in the lab by more than 80 percent, and eventually triggered the process leading to cell death.

A cocktail of compounds, including turmeric, killed breast cancer cells in a study conducted by researchers at Louisiana State University.

The next step for the scientists is to see whether the compounds can prevent tumor formation and growth in mice. Dr. Madhwa Raj, who led the study published in the Journal of Cancer, points out that all the ingredients in the cocktail come from foods people eat everyday, but at much higher levels than they could possibly get from their diet.

Because he "really believes it can help women now," he has established a bio-tech start-up company to bring the super-cocktail to market as a nutritional supplement for breast health, which does not require approval from the Food and Drug Administration.

http://www.voanews.com/content/plant-nutrientsbreast-cancer/1795829.html
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waltky · Jan 28, 2014

Bayer Develops Cancer Drug For Patients 'Who Can Afford It'...

Developed cancer drug for 'western patients' who could afford, not 'for Indians': Bayer's CEO
Jan 25, 2014: Global medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres slammed on Friday a statement by Bayer's chief executive that the giant German firm only developed its cancer drug Nexavar for people who could afford the medicine, not "for Indians".

India's controller general of patents angered Bayer in March 2012 when he authorized a local drugmaker to produce a generic copy of Nexavar, saying the German company charged a price that was too costly for most Indians. "We did not develop this medicine (Nexavar) for Indians," ?Marijn Dekkers said at a little reported pharmaceutical forum last month, according to the January 21st edition of Businessweek. "We developed it for western patients who can afford it," Dekkers said, and called the Indian regulator's action "essentially theft".

(Asked by TOI for his comments on the Bayer CEO's statement, German ambassador to India Michael Steiner said: "My conviction is, medicine must have no frontiers.") Bayer said the statements attributed to Dekkers were accurate and forwarded written comments made later by the German chief executive seeking to explain his remarks. Dekkers said the comment had been a "quick response" at the industry forum to the Nexavar issue and added Bayer wants "all people to share the fruits of medical progress regardless of their origins or income".

But Dekkers added in the written comments he had been "particularly frustrated" by the Indian regulator's decision, which marked the first time a so-called compulsory licence of a patented drug had been awarded in India. Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) said on Friday that the Bayer chief's remarks summed up "everything that is wrong" with the multinational pharmaceutical industry. "Bayer is effectively admitting the drugs they develop are deliberately going to be rationed to the wealthiest patients," Manica Balasegaram, executive director of MSF's Access Campaign, said.

The medical charity said big pharmaceutical companies believe "research and development (R&D) can only be rewarded by a patent and through high prices to recoup the R&D costs. "Those who can't afford to pay are basically cut out of the system," Balasegaram said. The Indian government gave local pharmaceutical house Natco Pharma a licence to produce a copy of Nexavar, used to treat liver and kidney cancer, at a 97% discount to the original selling price of the Bayer product in India. Global drugmakers say India's powerhouse generics industry and strict patent filtering reduce commercial incentives to produce cutting-edge medicines.

http://articles.timesofindia.indiat...a/46600300_1_bayer-ceo-nexavar-marijn-dekkers
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waltky · Sep 15, 2015

Granny puts olive oil on her garlic bread...

Study: Olive Oil Could Lower Breast Cancer Risk
September 14, 2015 - There is more potentially good news about eating a Mediterranean diet boosted with a sizable supplement of extra virgin olive oil.

A small study of Spanish women showed the diet was associated with a relatively lower risk of breast cancer, according to a news release. The study followed two groups of women averaging in their late 60s - 4,282 in total - who were given two variations of a Mediterranean diet, a diet that is heavy on fruits, nuts and vegetables with small portions of fish, lean meat, cheese and wine. One group had their diet supplemented with extra virgin olive oil, while another were given nuts instead.

Extra virgin olive oil is believed to be healthy because it is manufactured without chemicals or heat which could change its beneficial properties. "Several biological mechanisms could explain the putative anticarcinogenic properties of extra virgin olive oil," the researchers wrote. Starting in 2003, the olive oil group received a liter per week for them and their families, and the nut group received 15 grams of walnuts, 7.5 grams of almonds and another 7.4 grams of hazelnuts.

A small study suggests extra virgin olive oil may reduce the risk of breast cancer.

In 2009, those who had the olive oil showed a 68 percent lower risk of malignant breast cancer compared to a control group, while those eating nuts had similar rates of cancer as the control group. The Mediterranean dietary pattern has attracted considerable attention because, historically, breast cancer rates have been lower in Mediterranean countries than in Northern or Central European countries or the United States," the researchers wrote. The study, which was led by researchers at the University of Navarra in Pamplona, Spain, did have a couple shortcomings.

The women studied were originally enrolled to study the effects of the Mediterranean diet on heart disease. Also,researchers say they still cant tell if the olive oil was the reason or if it was adherence to the diet. Researchers say the results of the study suggest a beneficial effect of a [Mediterranean diet] supplemented with [olive oil] in the primary prevention of breast cancer. Preventive strategies represent the most sensible approach against cancer. Breast cancer is the second most deadly cancer in the U.S., with 232,000 diagnoses this year, according to the American Cancer Society. Roughly 40,000 will die of the disease.

http://www.voanews.com/content/study-says-olive-oil-could-lower-breast-cancer-risk/2963312.html
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waltky · Jan 1, 2016

Palbociclib could be used against other forms of the disease...

Study: Breast Cancer Drug Could Have Wider Use
December 31, 2015 - A drug used to fight breast cancer may be effective against other forms of the disease, according to a new study.

Writing in the journal JAMA Oncology, researchers from the Abramson Cancer Center (ACC) in the University of Pennsylvania, say that after reviewing existing literature and doing their own research, palbociclib could attack other types of cancer cells while inflicting little or no harm to healthy cells. Palbociclib is a CDK4/6 inhibitor, meaning it targets certain enzymes that drive rapid tumor cell division. It was the first such drug approved against breast cancer.

Radiologist uses magnifying glass to check mammograms for breast cancer in Los Angeles.

"All living cells undergo cell division and palbociclib's unique capacity to halt the cell division process (also known as the 'cell cycle') therefore has potentially broad applicability," said lead author Amy S. Clark, MD, MSCE, an assistant professor of Hematology/Oncology at Penn's Perelman School of Medicine and ACC. "Pairing palbociclib with other anti-cancer therapies such as endocrine therapy, chemotherapy, and targeted therapy can create a powerful combinatorial effect with real promise for addressing a variety of cancers." The researchers say the drug has shown promise against lymphoma, sarcoma, and teratoma, which are relatively rare, but often strike young people.

In a phase 2 trial, the drug was used on 17 patients with mantle-cell lymphoma. One patient had a complete response, meaning the cancer disappeared for at least some time, while two others had partial responses. The drug also appeared to improve survival times among patients with the disease. Furthermore, researchers said that in other cancer trials, the drug has been shown to be safe with once-daily dosing, with the main side effect being lower counts of a certain type of white blood cells that fight infection. That, researchers say, can be reversed by temporarily stopping the drug, then later resuming treatment at a lower dose.

http://www.voanews.com/content/mht-breast-cancer-drug-may-have-wider-use-palbociclib/3126106.html
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waltky · Jan 12, 2016

Mammograms do the most good later in life...

Task force: Mammograms an option at 40, do more good at 50
12 Jan`16 WASHINGTON (AP) Mammograms do the most good later in life, a government task force declared Monday in recommending that women get one every other year starting at age 50. It said 40-somethings should make their own choice after weighing the pros and cons.

When to start routine mammograms and how frequently to get them has long been controversial. The latest guidelines from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force stick with its advice that women should one every two years between ages 50 and 74. But they also make clear that it's an option for younger women even though they're less likely to benefit. Some health groups urge mammograms every year starting at 40 although last year the American Cancer Society upped its starting age to 45. There is some common ground emerging, that mammography advice shouldn't always be one-size-fits all. "Age 50 isn't magic," said task force past chairman Dr. Michael LeFevre of the University of Missouri. Here are some things to know about mammograms.

WHAT THE TASK FORCE SAYS

Women in their 60s are the most likely to avoid dying from breast cancer thanks to mammograms, but there's clearly enough benefit for the average woman to start at 50, the task force found. The advisory group wants younger women to understand the trade-offs before deciding: Among every 1,000 women screened, one additional death could be prevented by starting mammograms at 40 instead of 50. But there would be 576 more false alarms and 58 additional unneeded biopsies. Also, two extra women would be overdiagnosed, treated for cancer that never would have become life-threatening. Monday's update, published in Annals of Internal Medicine, is largely a rewording of guidelines originally issued in 2009 and reconsidered in draft form last spring. This time, the task force stresses that "we think the science supports a range of options" for 40-somethings, LeFevre said.

A radiologist uses a magnifying glass to check mammograms for breast cancer in Los Angeles. Mammograms do the most good later in life, a government task force said Monday in recommending that women get one every other year starting at age 50, and that 40-somethings make their own choice after weighing the pros and cons.

DIFFERING GUIDELINES

Mammograms aren't perfect, and different health organizations weigh the trade-offs differently. So do women and their physicians. The American Cancer Society says to begin annual mammograms at 45 but switch to every other year at 55. After menopause, tumors tend to grow more slowly and women's breast tissue becomes less dense and easier for mammograms to penetrate, says chief medical officer Dr. Otis Brawley. Between ages 40 and 44, when breast cancer is especially uncommon, the society also says women should make their own choice. "We're moving away from paternalistic medicine where we doctor organizations used to tell women, 'You must do this,'" Brawley said. "We're saying, 'This woman is at higher risk, therefore maybe she should get screened at 40. This woman is at lower risk, maybe she can wait a little later.'" The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists stands by annual mammograms starting at 40, while urging patient education and shared decision-making.

THINGS TO CONSIDER

More than 200,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer each year, and about 40,000 die from it. It is most frequently diagnosed among women ages 55 to 64, and the median age of death from breast cancer is 68. Screening guidelines are only for women at average risk of breast cancer. Women with a mother, sister or daughter with breast cancer have a higher risk than the average 40-year-old. Other factors can play a role, too, including genetics, breast density and menstrual and pregnancy history.

PERSONALIZED SCREENING
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waltky · Jan 14, 2016

Obama's cancer moon shot...

Researchers Optimistic About Future of Cancer Treatment
January 13, 2016 In his State of the Union address Tuesday, President Barack Obama introduced a new initiative to boost research toward finding a cure for cancer. That announcement comes at the dawn of a new era in cancer research.

At Johns Hopkins University, for example, scientists at the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Research Center are making breakthroughs in the field. "I think some of the treatments that we have developed over the last half century or so are really starting to pay off and, honestly, [it] seems limitless as to what may pay off in the future," said Dr. William Nelson, the centers director.

Many of today's successes are due to decades-long advancements in the field of genetics that have offered a new understanding of the biology and pathology of the disease. "We understand the genome so much better now, said Dr. Elizabeth Platz of the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Research Center. So there are discoveries constantly about which points in our genetic makeup are related to risks in certain cancers."

This knowledge is giving doctors the tools to fine-tune treatments and individualize medical protocols. "It's really been in the last decade or so that we've been able to use technologies to ask, What are all the defective genes in any individual's cancer, and can we use that information to plot a treatment likely to be effective for that person. And every day that's more and more possible," Nelson said.

Despite the optimism, many of these new therapies are in the experimental stage, or applied in specialized clinics in developed countries. For much of the developing world, these advancements are still out of reach, and cancer remains a daunting public health challenge. The World Health Organization says Africa, Asia, and Central and South America account for 70 percent of the world's cancer deaths. But the tide is turning, and researchers hope one day there will be cures for all cancers in all patients.

http://www.voanews.com/content/researchers-optimistic-about-future-cancer-treatment/3144653.html
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waltky · Mar 3, 2016

Stress aggravates cancer...

Chronic Stress May Make Cancer Worse
March 02, 2016 - A cancer diagnosis, and the battle to fight the disease, can be extremely stressful. But feeling a great amount of stress, particularly over a long period of time, may make the disease worse.

Short bursts of stress, known as the fight or flight response, can be good, helping humans avoid or escape threatening or dangerous situations.But chronic stress, day after day, can harm health.

Chronic stress, harmful to health

Stress has been shown to play a role in the development of heart disease. Stress can also contribute to cancer progression, according to researcher Erica Sloan of Monash University in Melbourne, Australia.loan said chronic stress causes release of the hormone adrenaline that promotes the spread of cancer. "It allows tumors to start making growth factors that support these new freeways out of the tumor.We are also able to show that stress can increase the speed limit on these freeways, and so it can allow tumor cells to move out of the tumors at a faster rate, said Sloan.

Kyla Nagel stands next to her brain scan at her home in Springfield, Ore. Nagel was diagnosed with an aggressive brain cancer three years ago, Jan. 28, 2005. A cancer diagnosis, and the battle to fight the disease, can be extremely stressful. But feeling a great amount of stress, particularly over a long period of time, may make the disease worse.

The freeways are lymphatic vessels near cancerous tumors that are part of the bodys immune system.The clear fluid in the vessels contains white blood cells that help detect and destroy viruses and bacteria. Sloans research has shown adrenaline primes lymphatic vessels, providing easy access to the circulatory system for malignant cells to escape and spread. In a study described in the journal Nature Communications, Sloan and colleagues showed cancer progressed more quickly in stressed mice than in unstressed rodents.

Calmness, meditation helpful

But an inexpensive drug used to lower blood pressure may calm the stress response and slow cancer spread. Sloan pointed to a study of women with breast cancer in Italy. "And we looked at those who have been diagnosed with breast cancer who were taking these anti-hypertensive drugs and those that were not. And what we found is that those who were taking beta-blockers showed evidence of less spread of cancer into the lymphatic system and into distant tissues," she explained. "And so we are quite optimistic that this will work in patients as well.

A clinical trial is now underway in Australia to see whether beta-blockers make breast cancer less aggressive. A diagnosis of cancer is going to be incredibly stressful. And so I guess what this suggests is that we have an opportunity not only to treat the cancer, but also by treating the patients well-being," she added. "We are not just making them feel good, but potentially we are also doing something to slow the spread of cancer. It is possible that meditation could also be used to calm a patient, reducing the spread of cancer.

http://www.voanews.com/content/chronic-stress-may-make-cancer-worse/3216373.html
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