cancer •

FDA Unveils Plan to Keep Teens Away from Tanning Salons

Tanning beds boost their users’ risk of skin cancer, FDA says.

In a recent move, the FDA unveils plan to keep teens away from tanning salons amid concerns that indoor tanning may boost risk of skin cancer especially in the youth. The agency made its proposal public Dec. 19.

According to the Food and Drug Administration’s new rules, minors would be barred from using indoor tanning devices, while adults would be required to sign a consent form every half a year, stating that they are fully aware of the health consequences indoor tanning may involve.

FDA officials argued that tanning beds and other similar devices boost risk of skin cancer in its most aggressive form – melanoma. The devices are also responsible for severe burns and eye damage, health officials say.

The proposal is open for public comment for 90 days. After this time interval, the agency will be able to make it final. Stephen Ostroff of the FDA argued that the plan was designed to prevent kids and teens from developing skin cancer or other conditions. Ostroff explained that kids and teens are the age group that has the highest risk to develop cancer from indoor tanning.

The agency also plans to ask from tanning products’ makers to revamp their devices to contain additional safety tools such as panic buttons and clear warning signs. Doctors hailed the federal agency’s proposal. Last year, the FDA tried to tackle the issue by requesting clearer warning labels on tanning beds, but apparently that wasn’t enough to discourage teens from using the devices.

FDA investigators reported that 1.6 million teens and kids in the U.S. are customers of tanning salons. According to a recent report, indoor tanning increases risk of melanoma by 59 percent. Nevertheless, most Americans believe that indoor tanning is safer than traditional sunbathing.

The American Cancer Society is confident that the new rules will reduce skin cancer incidence and literally save lives. The American Academy of Pediatrics agreed that indoor tannin is dangerous and sun lamps and tanning beds should by no means be used by minors.

Experts explained that it was a rare sight to see a teen or young adult with melanoma two decades ago. Yet, today it is fairly common to see people in their late teens or young adulthood develop the lethal disease especially if they had been regular customers of tanning salons.

But the Indoor Tanning Assn. objected that the new regulations would financially burden even more its members. The group also said that a kid or teen should be barred from entering a tanning salon by their parents alone, not by the government.

But the FDA argued that, while adults are free to make their own choices since we live in a democracy, minors need protection.
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Study Ties Cancer to Unhealthy Lifestyle Rather than Heredity

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A recently published study ties cancer to unhealthy lifestyle rather than heredity. A group of British researchers found that smoking, bad diet, substance abuse, air pollution have a much greater influence on our risk of cancer than the elusive ‘bad genes.’

Researchers at the Cancer Research UK found that 90 percent of cancers are tied to unhealthy lifestyle choices or a bad environment. The team also noted that staying away from cigarettes, controlling one’s weight, removing unhealthy foods from diet, and consuming alcohol with moderation considerably reduce risk of cancer. On the other hand, a healthy lifestyle does not guarantee that we would stay cancer-free.

The latest study could help shed some light on what exactly triggers cancer. For years, researchers have debated over whether the disease is associated with a family history, bad genes, pollution or unhealthy lifestyle.

A few years ago, a study found that cancer may be caused by faulty genes created while cells divide or the body is undergoing aging processes. That study had concluded that cancer was a matter of ‘bad luck,’ so any prevention measures had been deemed useless.

That old study found that two of three cancer patients were affected by mistakes in their genes rather than their bad lifestyle behaviors. But the latest research has a different version of the story.

After performing four separate analyses of what triggers cancer, U.K. researchers reached the opposite conclusion despite them using the same data set as the former study. The U.K. team argued that cancer occurrence is by far too high to be explained by random, and relatively rare genetic mutations.

The latest study concluded that if genetics played a decisive role in cancer, cancer cases would be less frequent than we see today. Dr Yusuf Hannun, lead author of the British study, didn’t dismiss genetic causes, but he said that other factors may play a much important role.

Dr. Hannun mentioned diet, substance abuse, smoking, inflammation, air pollution, sunburn among the more probable triggers of cancer. He explained that previous research had shown that many people settling in a country with high rates of cancer eventually developed cancer although they came from regions with a low cancer incidence. This is why, British researchers believe that cancer may be triggered by environment rather than genetics.

The team also analyzed cell division in various samples to see whether mutations could lead to cancer. Researchers reported that rarely cells divided to the point of triggering the disease even in tissue, that naturally has a high cell division.
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Dying Well Is An Impossible Mission

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Dying Well Is An Impossible Mission

At some point in our lives, whether it is early or at an old age, we have to face the inevitability that we will die. Sometimes we get sick, sometimes we are crippled and sometimes we are damaged beyond repair, but even if we go through such circumstances, the point is to have some dignity in death, a greater meaning and for that we need help. But for many countries in the world dying well is an impossible mission.

The Economist just finalized a report concerning the Quality of Death Index, which basically ranks every country for how well you can die within its borders. Surprisingly, the United Kingdom took first place, even though they are well known for being one of the worst countries to have cancer in. The positions that followed were generally occupied by western nations, the United States included.

Australia managed to land on the second place and, paired with Taiwan and New Zealand, they are the only 3 countries within top 10 that are not western nations. Canada also barely missed top 10, landing on the 11^th position. The majority of these countries are wealthy and their people are willing to invest in the medical system and care for the dying.

If you want to avoid dying in some of the worst places on Earth, the index now shows that India, China, Mexico, Brazil and Uganda score the lowest places in the Quality of Life index. For these countries, unfortunately, dying well is an impossible mission. There are some factors that should be taken into consideration when discussing about the quality of life of a dying human being.

First of all, it can be related to the fact that there are not enough specialists or that there is insufficient equipment to deal with the number of people who find themselves in the last months of their lives, or years for that matter. This lack of resources can have a profound impact in time and not only discourage people whose hopes lie with the medical system, but the doctors who feel that they cannot do anything as well.

Then there is the taboo subject that many people want to avoid, but which is very real. People would rather donate money to someone who lives than someone who dies. It’s a horrible act, but a real one. Some people just think that if others will die, they die and that there is not much to do about it, so it is better to invest in someone who will live and let the dying die in peace.

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Breastfeeding Cuts The Risk of Breast Cancer Recurrence

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Women whom were diagnosed with breast cancer and had previously breastfed their babies were 30 percent less likely to have the disease recurring, according to a new Kaiser Permanente research published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

Scientists found that breastfeeding had a protective effect that was more pronounced for some tumors, with particular genetic subtypes, among them being the most common of all breast cancers.

The study focused on 1,636 women with breast cancer who filled out a questionnaire that offered details breastfeeding history. Additional data were obtained from medical reviews and the comprehensive electronic health record Kaiser Permanente HealthConnect.

“This is the first study we’re aware of that examined the role of breastfeeding history in cancer recurrence, and by tumor subtype,” said Marilyn L. Kwan, PhD, research scientist with the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research and lead author of the study.

The researchers discovered the benefits of breastfeeding among women who were diagnosed with the luminal A subtype of breast cancer. On the other hand, no important associations were found for those with other subtypes. Luminal A cancer also include the estrogen-receptor positive (or ER+) tumors – the most common of all breast tumors. This form of cancer is less likely to metastasize. Also, the disease is treatable with hormonal therapy, like aromatase inhibitors and tamoxifen.

Women who breastfed had 28 percent more chances to survive the disease, in addition to lowered risk of breast cancer recurrence.

“Women who breastfeed are more likely to get the luminal A subtype of breast cancer, which is less aggressive, and breastfeeding may set up a molecular environment that makes the tumor more responsive to anti-estrogen therapy,” Kwan said.

Scientists don’t know for certain why women who breastfeed are developing less aggressive tumors.

According to Bette Caan, an author of the study and DrPH, senior research scientist with the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research, breastfeeding is believed to increase the maturation of the breast’s ductal cells, which makes it less exposed to carcinogens or to the excretion of carcinogens, while leading to slower growing tumors.

It is well known that breastfeeding is very beneficial for babies, Kwan added, and the new study is revealing that it also has huge benefits for mothers. “In fact, the protection was even stronger for women who had a history of breastfeeding for 6 months or more.”

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Diet Swap Shows Junk Food Is Harmful To Gut

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A two-week diet change experiment pinpoints the damage levels which a Western diet could have on our guts.

Scientists asked people to swap diets for two weeks – 20 volunteers from the United States went on a low-fat, high-fiber diet while other 20 volunteers from the rural parts of Africa were asked to eat more fast-food.

Although the change was brief, its impact was noticeable, Nature Communication explained. The Americans had far less bowel inflammation, while the African volunteers’ gut health had deteriorated. Experts say that it is not possible to draw any firm conclusions based this very small scale study, but the conclusions remain.

The findings point to the current belief that modern Western diets – which are very high in sugar and fat and low in fiber – are bad for our health.

Other studies which focused on Japanese migrants to Hawaii have revealed that it takes only one generation of junk-food consumers to modify their low incidence of colon cancer to the high levels seen in native Hawaiians. Also, the study shows that a high intake of dietary fiber, especially whole grains and cereals, cuts bowel cancer risk, while consuming red and processed meat dramatically increases the risk.

In the diet change study, the Western-style diet offered to the native African people was typical fast food, composed of burgers and fries. The US volunteers, on the other hand, where switched to a diet containing many pulses and beans. All the participants had underwent a series of medical tests before and after the diet swap.

The changes seemed to have a significant impact on the cells lining in the gut, but also on the way the bacteria that lives in the bowel moves – with the US volunteers recording an improvement.

“In just two weeks, a change in diet from a Westernised composition to a traditional African high-fibre, low-fat diet reduced these biomarkers of cancer risk, indicating that it is likely never too late to modify the risk of colon cancer,” said lead researcher Dr Stephen O’Keefe, from the University of Pittsburgh.

Experts believe that almost a third of bowel cancer cases can be fend off by eating more healthy food. A spokesman for Cancer Research from the United Kingdom explained that larger and longer research are still needed. “The diet swap was also fairly drastic whereas we know that making small changes you can stick with long-term is far more effective to maintain a healthier lifestyle”, he mentioned.

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Coffee Keeps Liver Cancer Away, Even For Heavy Drinkers

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A new study has found that drinking coffee reduces liver cancer risk, which is in turn increased alcohol consumption and obesity. Liver cancer is currently the second-leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide.

Coffee consumption reduces the risk of liver cancer, but also that of multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease.

Researchers are not yet sure why coffee seems to keep at bay these conditions, but according to this new study, the rates of cancer were 29 percent lower in coffee consumers when compared with non-coffee drinkers.

The research suggests that while drinking alcohol can considerably increase the risk of liver cancer, the risk is much higher for people consuming more than three drinks per day.

The study also shown that more than two alcoholic drinks per day mean an increase of the risk of breast and esophageal cancer. The scientists who carried out the study analyzed at data from 34 different research groups, which involved more than 8.2 million people from all around the world.

Liver cancer is a disease that is on the rise in the United States. Almost 69 percent of Americans are currently overweight or obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“This is the first time there’s been such a clear signal from a rigorous, systematic review on the links between obesity increasing risk of liver cancer and coffee decreasing risk,” said Stephen Hursting, Ph.D., M.P.H., a researcher at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

The research was undertaken by doctors from the World Cancer Research Fund International’s Continuous Update Project (CUP), in partnership with the American Institute for Cancer Research. The study gathered data from 24,500 cases of liver cancer.

The scientists also discovered that eating fish and engaging in exercise reduce liver cancer risk, but added that these conclusions need more research to be confirmed.

The group also claims that there is strong evidence that being obese or overweight increases the risk of the disease. Another factor that raises the risk is consuming foods contaminated by a kind of mold called aflatoxins. Aflatoxins can form on improperly stored food mostly in warm climates and can contaminate cereals, peanuts, spices, dried fruit, chilies and black pepper.

To prevent liver cancer, a healthy weight and limit alcohol should be maintained, the study added.

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Stuart Scott, ESPN Anchor Succumbs to Cancer

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At just 49 years old, ESPN anchor, Stuart Scott, has passed away from stomach cancer. Although he had undergone multiple surgeries, radiation, chemotherapy, and even various clinical trials after begin diagnosed with cancer in 2007, he finally lost the battle. However, he never looked at his battle as losing.

While fighting for his life, Stuart made a profound statement that will inspire and encourage other people dealing with cancer for many years to come. “You beat cancer by how you live, why you live, and the manner in which you live. So live. Live. Fight like hell”.

In 1993, Stuart joined the ESPN family, quickly reaching the top spot on the SportsCenter program. He was full of life, always enthusiastic and best known for his colorful phrases and descriptions of stories that pertained to sports. As explained by Dan Patrick, former ESPN anchor and sports radio host, Scott did not push the envelope but bulldozed it.

Since his passing, millions of people to include family, friends, celebrities, professional sports figures, and even government officials such as Former US President Bill Clinton and President Barak Obama, have expressed their sadness over this great loss.

Commonly referred to as “Stu”, he did not just report on sports but provided viewers with pure entertainment. Forever, he will leave a legacy of being an exceptional anchor but also for his many catch-phrases such as “As cool as the other side of the pillow” and “Boo-ya”.

Throughout his long career, Stuart covered a wide range of professional and college sporting events to include the Super Bowl, the World’s Series, the NBA Finals, and the NCAA Final Four, among many others. However, for many, it was also Stuart’s love for inner city kids that earned him so much respect.

Over the years, Stuart worked hard to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars to help organizations in their quest to find a cure for cancer. In honor of such an amazing man, both players and fans throughout the country stopped for a moment of silence on Sunday.

Tiger Woods summed up the emotions surrounding Scott Stuart’s death best when he said, “Stuart was not covering champions and heroes – it was the other way around”.

There is no question that virtually everyone in the world of sports lost an inspirational person and genuine friend. Even while going through difficult chemotherapy treatments, he never quit, walking out of the hospital to get back to the ESPN set or participate in mixed martial arts training.

Stuart leaves behind 15 and 19-year old daughters, a supportive girlfriend, his parents, two sisters, and one brother who together have thanked the world for their outpouring of kindness and love.

Amgen’s Ovarian Cancer Drug Fails Again

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Amgen, Inc., the largest independent biotech firm in the world, revealed that while there were high hopes for trebananib, a late-stage trial drug for treating ovarian cancer, it failed its third test in proving its ability to significantly improve patient survival.

According to a company spokesperson, trebananib, designed to be used in conjunction with the chemotherapy drug paclitaxel, was being evaluated in a Phase III study to determine both safety and efficacy. However, in this third test, the drug failed to meet the desired secondary endpoint goals pertaining to survival rate.

Findings of the study showed that patients who were administered trebananib along with paclitaxel had an overall survival rate of 19.3 months compared to 18.3 months for participants in the control group receiving a placebo.

Amgen also reported a number of side effects to include edema, alopecia, and nausea as part of the Phase III study, as well as a 20% dropout rate. Although this was the third time that trebananib failed to meet its goal, the company stressed that evaluations in combination with other cancer treatment drugs would continue.

Phase III Trinova-1 was a worldwide, multicenter, double-blind, and placebo-controlled study used to evaluate trebananib in more than 900 women suffering from fallopian tube or recurrent cancer. In addition to these two forms of cancer, trebananib is being studied as a treatment for breast, lung, kidney, and liver cancer.

Amgen admitted the results of the Phase III study were disappointing. Dr. Sean E. Harper, executive vice president of Amgen’s Research and Development said that although survival results fell short, this study is the first of three Phase III trials. For that reason, further exploration of trebananib’s anti-tumor mechanism of action will be done for other cancer settings.

According to medical experts, roughly 14,000 women in the United States alone die annually from ovarian cancer. There are also over 21,000 new cases of this form of cancer diagnosed every year. Of women with ovarian cancer, 70% will have an advanced case when diagnosed and of those, 80% experience a recurrence that eventually leads to death.

Scientists Grow Human Intestine May Help Patients

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In a laboratory setting, scientists have successfully grown human intestine that they believe will prove beneficial to cancer patients and those suffering from stomach problems. The findings of this study were published in the Nature Medicine journal.

Using adult stem cells, scientists grew tissue fragments known as organoids that are three-dimensional organ buds capable of developing into tissues with specific functions. After being transplanted in mice, substantial amounts of fully-functioning human tissue were produced.

According to Dr. Michael Helmrath, lead scientist who works with the Intestinal Rehabilitation Program at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, this breakthrough could have many different implications. For one, it opens the door to studying the various conditions that cause intestinal failure, to include cancer, Crohn’s disease, and even genetic disorders that appear at birth.

However, the longer-term goal of growing tissues that can replace damaged human intestine is advanced by studies such as this. To get the desired outcome, scientists first created pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) by genetically engineering human skin cells and blood, which are stem cells that revert to an immature embryonic state. Similar to stems cells extracted from early stage embryos, IPSCs can become any type of tissue.

Scientists then grafted the organoids onto the kidneys of laboratory mice, which produced blood supply for cells to grow and multiply on their own accord into human intestinal tissue. To increase surface area and recesses known as crypts that contain intestinal stem cells that renew stomach lining weekly, inward protruding finger-like villi was included.

After a six-week period, bundles of cells within the kidneys were larger but they had also grown into the kind of tissue needed to carry out vital function such as absorption and digestion in humans. In addition, organoids developed layers of muscle used to push food through the stomach, as well as nerve cells that cause muscles to contract.

Because the mice were genetically altered so their immune system would accept human tissue, bundles of cells were not rejected. Scientists believe that treatments using IPSCs in the future that come from a patient’s own skin cells would eliminate any risk of transplant rejection but also the high cost of anti-rejection medicine taken for life.

Embryonic Stem Cell Transplants Safe for Human Disease

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A new study is the first of its kind to prove long-term safety of embryonic stem cell transplants used to treat human disease. The involved 18 people who received transplants as a means of treating different forms of macular degeneration, the number one cause of vision loss.

Not only did the transplants restore some degree of sight in about 50% of participants, it appeared to be safe three years after completion of the procedure.

Findings of this study were noted in the October publication of The Lancet and according to Dr. Robert Lanza, chief scientific officer at Advanced Cell Technology, there is great potential for embryonic stem cells to become virtually any cell within the body.

However, when it comes to transplantation, several problems have surfaced to include cell rejection due to a compromised immune system and risk the cells could promote teratomas, a specific type of cancer. Teratoma develops when stem cells transform into several different kinds of cells and then form incompatible tissue such as hair and teeth.

Lanza further explains that based on these known issues, scientists who work with embryonic stem cell therapy usually focus on areas of the body that do not naturally produce a strong immune response, to include the eyes.

In the study, researchers first prompted embryonic stem cells to develop into eye cells known as pigment epithelial cells. The cells were then transplanted into 18 patients, nine with dry atrophic age-related macular degeneration and nine who have Stargardt’s macular dystrophy.

For three years after the transplants, patients were monitored. During that period, no signs of immune system rejection or cancer-like cell growth were found in any of the treated eyes. The team also conducted a 22-month follow-up, which revealed that adverse effects were associated only to the actual eye surgery or suppression of the immune system, not the transplanted cells.

As noted by Dr. Steven Swartz, co-lead author of the study and doctor with the Jules Stein Eye Institute in California, the results of this study suggest that human embryonic stem cells used to alter progressive loss of vision in people with degenerative diseases is both promising and safe long-term.

The study’s findings are also an exciting step forward in using stem cells as a safe method of treating a number of different medical conditions that require replacement or repair of tissue. Dr. Anthony Atala, director of the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine and Wake Forest School of Medicine agrees that this new study is a huge accomplishment.

There are a few scientists who prefer to take a more cautious approach to include Dr. C. Michael Samson, co-director of Ocular Immunology and Uveitus Service at the Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sanai in New York. He said that loss of vision caused by a damaged retina, regardless if from diabetes or macular degeneration, cannot be reversed with treatment options currently available.

In support of the study, Dr. Samson stressed that stem cell technology offers the best hope in recovering lost vision and that according to this pilot study, incredible progress is being made. Dr. Mark Fromer, ophthalmologist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York agreed that using stem cell transplants to treat cases of degenerative diseases in the future is promising.

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