New Treatment to Target Mutated Cancer Cells

London:  Oxford researchers have found the 'Achilles heel' of certain cancer cells - mutations in a gene which could be targeted with a new drug to kill cancer cells that are resistant to treatment.

It is well known that mutations drive cancer cell growth and resistance to treatment. However, these mutations can also become a weak point for a tumour.

The researchers from University of Oxford in UK found that was the case for cancer cells with mutations in a key cancer gene called SETD2.

"Mutations in SETD2 are frequently found in kidney cancer and some childhood brain tumours, so we were excited when we discovered that a new drug we were studying specifically killed cancer cells with this mutation," said study author Timothy Humphrey from Oxford Institute for Radiation Oncology.

Researchers showed that cancer cells with a mutated SETD2 gene were killed by a drug called AZD1775 that inhibits a protein called WEE1.

The team achieved this by exploiting the concept of 'synthetic lethality', where a combination of two factors kills a cancer cell.

This has the potential to be a less toxic and more effective treatment than more standard approaches because it can specifically target cancer cells.

"When WEE1 was inhibited in cells with a SETD2 mutation, the levels of deoxynucleotides, the components that make DNA, dropped below the critical level needed for replication," said co-author Andy Ryan, from University of Oxford.

"Starved of these building blocks, the cells die. Importantly, normal cells in the body do not have SETD2 mutations, so these effects of WEE1 inhibition are potentially very selective to cancer cells," Mr Ryan said.

The research team have also developed a biomarker test to identify SETD2 mutated tumours, something that can be used immediately in cancer diagnosis.

"This novel and exciting finding provides a new scientific basis for precision targeting of some cancers which are currently very difficult to treat, and we are now taking these findings into clinical trials," said Tim Maughan, Clinical Director of the Cancer Research UK/ Medical Research Council Oxford Institute for Radiation Oncology.

While there is still work to do before a treatment is available, the hope is that these findings will help to target other cancers with similar weak points and provide a step towards personalised cancer therapy, researchers said. 
Source from : http://www.ndtv.com/health/new-treatment-to-target-mutated-cancer-cells-1239128

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The Good News About Cancer: Simple Prevention And Health Tips That Can Change Your Life

 The only way to beat cancer 100% of the time is by not getting it in the first place.

Therefore, it makes sense to heavily invest your time, money and effort in prevention, and let scientists handle the cure. Statistics surrounding cancer has been heavily misunderstood in the past few decades.

The truth is, cancer is preventable. You just have to change your lifestyle.

The top two causes of cancer are drinking and an unhealthy diet. Preventing cancer can be as simple as cutting down on alcohol and clubbing. Your wallet will thank you later. As for your unhealthy diet, it’s time to curb your fast food cravings with exercise and sleep.

Contrary to popular belief, the chances of catching cancer from past generations are very minimal. People only use that as an excuse over other reasons because it is convenient. Don’t be one of those people.


Source from : http://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifestyle/the-good-news-about-cancer-simple-prevention-and-health-tips-that-can-change-your-life.html

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The neatest scientific advance in skin cancer treatment

Hedgehog pathway inhibitors exciting development in treating non-melanoma skin cancer

 In the treatment of non-melanoma skin cancer, “the fastest-moving area—and the neatest from a science standpoint—is the class of drugs called hedgehog pathway inhibitors.”

That’s the message Scott Dinehart, M.D., delivered in his presentation, “Medical Advances in Non-Melanoma Skin Cancer,” yesterday (Thursday, Oct. 1), the opening day of the Fall Clinical Dermatology Conference in Las Vegas.

Dr. Dinehart, a Little Rock, Ark., dermatologist, says hedgehog pathway inhibitors are approved for certain patients with basal cell carcinoma.

“The average dermatology practitioner will not use these molecules on a daily basis, however, the medications are very useful for a small subset of patients for which other treatments are not optimal,” he says. “Using this class of medications requires knowledge and experience and can be extremely satisfying from both a practitioner and a patient viewpoint.”

According to Dr. Dinehart, some common medications with which dermatologists are already familiar and comfortable are hedgehog pathway inhibitors—the anti-fungal drug itraconazole and imiquimod are examples. What excites him are advances in putting this class of drugs to work.

“There are new ways to use hedgehog pathway inhibitors—continuously, intermittently, shrinking a tumor prior to surgery, in combination—so that the hedgehog pathway is blocked in more than one part of the pathway,” he says.

Dr. Dinehart believes more such advances are in store for these drugs.

“We will continue to see more innovative ways to use hedgehog pathway inhibitors in skin cancer patients,” he says. “Combination or dual therapy with multiple hedgehog pathway inhibitors is something that may increase efficacy and diminish resistance. We will see more research on this in the future.”

Source from : http://dermatologytimes.modernmedicine.com/dermatology-times/news/neatest-scientific-advance-skin-cancer-treatment

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More Skin Cancer Lesions, More Risk

The presence of multiple squamous-cell skin cancer lesions significantly increased the likelihood of local recurrence and lymph node metastasis, a retrospective cohort study showed.

As compared with a single lesion, two to nine squamous-cell cancers almost doubled the risk of local recurrence and tripled the likelihood of nodal invasion. The few patients who had 10 or more lesions, most of whom were immuno suppressed, had a fourfold greater risk of local recurrence and nodal metastasis.

Although the absolute risk associated with multiple squamous-cell skin cancers remained modest, the findings emphasize the need for frequent follow-up, Chrysalyne D. Schmults, MD, of Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, and colleagues concluded in an article published online in JAMA Dermatology.

"These findings substantiate the importance of close follow-up for dermatologic patients with multiple cutaneous squamous-cell carcinomas (CSCCs), especially those with many tumors, and highlight the necessity for dermatologists to document prior CSCC sites, examine the scar sites of prior CSCCs, and perform lymph node examinations in those patients," the authors concluded. "Larger studies are required to determine which factors affect multiple tumor formation and subsequent outcomes."

The findings reflect a clinical scenario analogous to Russian roulette: "The more 'bullets in the chamber,' the higher the risk for local recurrence and spread to local lymph nodes," said Dominic Ricci, MD, of Baylor Scott & White Healthcare in Round Rock, Texas.

"The surprising thing, however, was that this high risk existed even if the original tumors weren't particularly aggressive," Ricci, who wasn't involved in the study, told MedPage Today in an email.

"Follow-up is extremely important for these patients," he added. "For patients with more than 10 cutaneous squamous cell carcinomas, they should be seen probably every 3 to 4 months by a dermatologist, and their exam should include a check of the lymph nodes in the region of their skin cancers. For patients with two to nine lesions -- depending on over what time period the skin cancers have occurred -- they should probably been seen every 6 months, at least yearly."

Despite the well-documented association between sun exposure and skin cancer, an estimated 400,000 to 700,000 new cases of CSCC arise each year in the United States, second only to basal-cell skin cancer. Although most cases are curable, patients do die of CSCC, with the estimated annual mortality ranging from 4,000 to 8,800 cases. In some parts of the southern and central U.S., deaths attributable to CSCC may exceed the number of deaths caused by other types of cancer, including melanoma.

Large cohort studies have identified factors associated with poor outcome in CSCC: larger tumor diameter, depth of invasion, poor differentiation, perineural invasion, lymphovascular invasion, desmoplasia, immunosuppression, and location on the ear, temple, or lip.

By the Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) tumor staging system, the presence of two or more risk factors define high-stage CSCC, conferring an elevated risk of nodal metastases and death. The staging system comprises diameter ≥2 cm, tumor invasion beyond subcutaneous fat, poorly differentiated histologic features, and large-caliber nerve invasion ≥0.1 mm.

A few studies have examined the risk of subsequent CSCC formation in patients with a history of the lesions, the authors continued. However, only a single study has examined the impact of lesion number on subsequent risk and outcomes, and that investigation employed a cutoff of three or more lesions versus fewer than three.

"There are no studies, to our knowledge, that specifically evaluate CSCC outcomes in individuals who form multiple versus single CSCCs," Levine and colleagues noted in their introduction.

To address the risk of multiple versus single CSCC lesions, investigators searched an electronic medical record database to identify patients treated for "dermally invasive (non-in situ) primary CSCC" from Jan. 1, 2000 through Dec. 31, 2009. The query identified 985 patients: 727 who had one CSCC, 239 who had two to nine lesions, and 19 who had 10 or more CSCCs. All but four of the patients with 10+ lesions were immunosuppressed.

The primary outcomes of interest were local recurrence (LR) and nodal metastasis (NM). During a median follow-up of 50 months, patients with two to nine CSCCs had a risk of LR and NM of 1.8 times (95% CI 1.1-4.3) and 3.0 times greater (95% CI 1.4-6.5) than did patients with a single lesion. The small group of patients with 10 or more lesions had a subhazard ratio of 3.8 for LR (95% CI 1.4-10.0) and 4.2 for NM (95% CI 1.4-10.4).

The 10-year cumulative incidence of LR and NM increased with the number of CSCCs:

•    One CSCC - LR 3.0%, NM 2.3%
•  Two to nine - 6.7%, 5.9%
• ≥10 - 36.8%, 26.3% 

  
CSCC-related mortality did not differ among patients with a single lesion (2.2%), two to nine lesions (2.0%), or ≥10 lesions (0%). Local recurrence and nodal metastasis were associated with higher tumor stage, irrespective of the number of lesions. Immunosuppression was significantly associated with high-stage tumors (P=0.04).

Authors of an invited review of the study, published online in JAMA Oncology, said the findings "confirm what is clinically intuitive -- that rates of local recurrence or nodal metastasis rise significantly as the number of CSCCs increases. The study's principal weakness -- acknowledged by the authors -- is that "increasing risk of poor outcomes in patients with multiple tumors may be merely an additive effect, as each additional CSCC is an independent event conferring additional risk," said Simon Yoo, MD, of Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University in Chicago, and coauthors.
Source from : http://www.medpagetoday.com/Dermatology/SkinCancer/54032

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New breast cancer guidelines raise concerns

By Ana B. Ibarra
aibarra@mercedsunstar.com

The American Cancer Society earlier this week released new guidelines for women with an “average risk” of breast cancer. Mammograms can be delayed another five years, the guidelines say. But those new recommendations have brought concern to some physicians and specialists.

The new recommendations advise women to begin yearly mammograms at age 45. The recommended age used to be 40.

Women are also advised that fewer mammograms are needed. According to the society’s guidelines, at age 55, women could transition to having mammograms every other year, although those who wish to stick to the yearly routine can do so.

“Since we last wrote a breast cancer-screening guideline, there have been the publication of quite a number of new studies that inform us about the benefits and drawbacks of screening with mammography,” said Dr. Richard C. Wender, the society’s chief cancer control officer, in a statement.

Mammograms, as explained by the American Cancer Society in a news release, sometimes find things that turn out to be harmless but that have to be checked out with additional tests that come with side effects, including pain and anxiety. An expert group weighed the benefits and harm to come up with the new guidelines, according to society officials.

“This guideline makes it so clear that all women by age 45 should begin screening – that’s when the benefits substantially outweigh the harms,” Wender said.

The guidelines also state that breast exams by a provider or self-exams are no longer recommended because research does not indicate any clear benefits.

Dr. Dortha Chu, a breast surgeon in Merced, does not agree with the changes. While she understands the guidelines are only recommendations, she said they also can mislead women and provide a false sense of security.

“I’m concerned that women will read this (the guidelines) and take it as a license to delay medical care even more,” she said.

Clinical exams, for example, are not perfect tests, she said, but they help open the dialogue between doctor and patient. These exams provide an opportunity for patients to be educated about breast changes and for the provider to become familiar with a patient’s medical history.

Self-exams are also important, not because they will directly save lives, but because they help women become familiar with their own breasts, Chu said.

“Ignoring breast exams, that part especially doesn’t sit well with me,” she said. “As medical professionals we should be doing an even better job in teaching patients how to do a self-exam properly.”

Changing mammograms from annual to every other year at age 55 is also tricky, Chu said, noting that close to one-third of her patients are in their 70s. Many of those patients, had stopped their regular mammograms because they believed they were no longer at risk of getting breast cancer, she said.

“But as long as you have breasts, you can get breast cancer,” Chu said.

Reaching a consensus in screening guidelines will always be difficult, the breast surgeon said. The best advice for women, she said, is to keep communicating regularly with their doctor.

However, one thing that will improve detection is new technology.

Last month, Mercy Medical Center in Merced announced the addition of a 3-D mammography system that should be ready for use early next year.

Patients currently have to travel to Modesto or Fresno for a 3-D breast screening.

Chu explained that the more in-depth screening works like a CT scan. The new mammography system can take up to 80 photos during the same exposure needed for the conventional 2-D system to take a couple of photos.

Chu said this system is definitely a step forward.

Source from :  http://www.mercedsunstar.com/living/liv-columns-blogs/article41265423.html

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10 Lifestyle Tips for Cancer Prevention

                                  Looking for ways to cut your risk of developing cancer? Here's a list of 10 diet and activity recommendations highlighted this week in Chicago at the annual meeting of the American Dietetic Association (ADA).

•  Be as lean as possible without becoming underweight.
•  Be physically active for at least 30 minutes every day.
•  Avoid sugary drinks, and limit consumption of high-calorie foods, especially those low in fiber and rich in fat or added sugar.
• Eat more of a variety of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and legumes (such as beans).
• Limit consumption of red meats (including beef, pork, and lamb) and avoid processed meats.
•   If you drink alcohol, limit your daily intake to two drinks for men and one drink for women.
•   Limit consumption of salty foods and food processed with salt (sodium).
• Don't use supplements to try to protect against cancer.
•  It's best for mothers to exclusively breastfeed their babies for up to six months and then add other liquids and foods.
•  After treatment, cancer survivors should follow the recommendations for cancer prevention.

         At the ADA meeting, experts provided practical tips for following those recommendations, which were issued last year by the nonprofit American Institute for Cancer Research and its sister organization, the World Cancer Research Fund International.

Why These Cancer Recommendations?

      Walter Willett, MD, DrPH, an epidemiology professor who leads the nutrition department the Harvard School of Public Health, was on the international team of scientists that wrote the recommendations.

At the ADA meeting, Willett said the first recommendation -- to be as lean as possible within the healthy weight range -- is "the most important, by far."

But there is one recommendation that Willett says may be a "mistake" -- the one about not taking supplements. Vitamin D supplements may lower risk of colorectal cancer and perhaps other cancers, notes Willett. He predicts that that recommendation will be a top priority for review. 

How to Follow the Recommendations

          Karen Collins, MS, RD, CDN, is the nutritional advisor for the American Institute for Cancer Research. She reviewed the recommendations before they were issued last year, and she joined Willett in talking to ADA members.

Collins provides these tips for each of the recommendations:

    1.Be as lean as possible without becoming underweight: Don't just look at the scale; check your waist measurement as a crude measurement of your abdominal fat, Collins says. She recommends that men's waists be no larger than 37 inches and women's waists be 31.5 inches or less.
   2. Be physically active for at least 30 minutes every day: You can break that into 10- to 15-minute blocks, and even more activity may be better, notes Collins.
    3.Avoid sugary drinks and limit consumption of energy-dense foods: It's not that those foods directly cause cancer, but they could blow your calorie budget if you often overindulge, notes Collins, who suggests filling up on fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.
   4. Eat more of a variety of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and legumes such as beans: Go for a variety of colors (like deep greens of spinach, deep blues of blueberries, whites of onions and garlic, and so on). Most Americans, says Collins, are stuck in a rut of eating the same three vegetables over and over.
    5.If consumed at all, limit alcoholic drinks to two for men and one for women per day: Watch your portion size; drinks are often poured liberally, notes Collins. Willett adds that the pros and cons of moderate drinking is something that women may particularly need to consider, weighing the heart benefits and increased breast cancer risk from drinking.
    6.Limit red meats (beef, pork, lamb) and avoid processed meats: Limit red meats to 18 ounces per week, says Collins, who suggests using chicken, seafood, or legumes in place of red meat. Collins isn't saying to never eat red meat, just do so in moderation.
    7.Limit consumption of salty foods and foods processed with sodium: Don't go over 2,400 milligrams per day, and use herbs and spices instead, says Collins. She adds that processed foods account for most sodium intake nowadays -- not salt you add when cooking or eating.
    8.Don't use supplements to protect against cancer: It's not that supplements are bad -- they may be "valuable" apart from cancer prevention, but there isn't evidence that they protect against cancer, except for vitamin D, says Collins.
    9.It's best for mothers to breastfeed babies exclusively for up to six months and then add other foods and liquids: Hospitals could encourage this more, Collins says.
    10.After treatment, cancer survivors should follow the recommendations for cancer prevention. Survivors include people undergoing cancer treatment, as well as people who have finished their cancer treatment.

Making Cancer Prevention Simpler

Overwhelmed? Collins boiled the 10 recommendations down to these three:

    Choose mostly plant foods. Limit red meat and avoid processed meat.
    Be physically active every day in any way for 30 minutes or more.
    Aim to be a healthy weight throughout life.

Keep in mind that these tips are about reducing -- but not eliminating -- cancer risk. Many factors, including genes and environmental factors, affect cancer risk; diet and exercise aren't the whole story, but they're within your power to change.

To know more about:

• Top 10 Foods That Increase Cancer Risk
•  Top 10 Foods and Drinks for Cancer Prevention
•  Cancer prevention: 7 tips to reduce your risk

Source from :http://www.webmd.com/cancer/news/20081028/10-lifestyle-tips-for-cancer-prevention

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Cancer prevention: 7 tips to reduce your risk

                   You've probably heard conflicting reports about cancer prevention. Sometimes the specific cancer-prevention tip recommended in one study or news report is advised against in another.

In many cases, what is known about cancer prevention is still evolving. However, it's well accepted that your chances of developing cancer are affected by the lifestyle choices you make.

So if you're concerned about cancer prevention, take comfort in the fact that some simple lifestyle changes can make a big difference. Consider these seven cancer prevention tips.

1. Don't use tobacco

Using any type of tobacco puts you on a collision course with cancer. Smoking has been linked to various types of cancer — including cancer of the lung, bladder, cervix and kidney. And chewing tobacco has been linked to cancer of the oral cavity and pancreas. Even if you don't use tobacco, exposure to secondhand smoke might increase your risk of lung cancer.

Avoiding tobacco — or deciding to stop using it — is one of the most important health decisions you can make. It's also an important part of cancer prevention. If you need help quitting tobacco, ask your doctor about stop-smoking products and other strategies for quitting.

2. Eat a healthy diet

Although making healthy selections at the grocery store and at mealtime can't guarantee cancer prevention, it might help reduce your risk. Consider these guidelines:

    Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables. Base your diet on fruits, vegetables and other foods from plant sources — such as whole grains and beans.
    Limit fat. Eat lighter and leaner by choosing fewer high-fat foods, particularly those from animal sources. High-fat diets tend to be higher in calories and might increase the risk of overweight or obesity — which can, in turn, increase cancer risk.
    If you choose to drink alcohol, do so only in moderation. The risk of various types of cancer — including cancer of the breast, colon, lung, kidney and liver — increases with the amount of alcohol you drink and the length of time you've been drinking regularly.

3. Maintain a healthy weight and be physically active

Maintaining a healthy weight might lower the risk of various types of cancer, including cancer of the breast, prostate, lung, colon and kidney.

Physical activity counts, too. In addition to helping you control your weight, physical activity on its own might lower the risk of breast cancer and colon cancer.

Adults who participate in any amount of physical activity gain some health benefits. But for substantial health benefits, strive to get at least 150 minutes a week of moderate aerobic activity or 75 minutes a week of vigorous aerobic physical activity. You can also do a combination of moderate and vigorous activity. As a general goal, include at least 30 minutes of physical activity in your daily routine — and if you can do more, even better.

4. Protect yourself from the sun

Skin cancer is one of the most common kinds of cancer — and one of the most preventable. Try these tips:

    Avoid midday sun. Stay out of the sun between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., when the sun's rays are strongest.
    Stay in the shade. When you're outdoors, stay in the shade as much as possible. Sunglasses and a broad-rimmed hat help, too.
    Cover exposed areas. Wear tightly woven, loosefitting clothing that covers as much of your skin as possible. Opt for bright or dark colors, which reflect more ultraviolet radiation than pastels or bleached cotton.
    Don't skimp on sunscreen. Use generous amounts of sunscreen when you're outdoors, and reapply often.
    Avoid tanning beds and sunlamps. These are just as damaging as natural sunlight.

5. Get immunized

Cancer prevention includes protection from certain viral infections. Talk to your doctor about immunization against:

    Hepatitis B. Hepatitis B can increase the risk of developing liver cancer. The hepatitis B vaccine is recommended for certain high-risk adults — such as adults who are sexually active but not in a mutually monogamous relationship, people with sexually transmitted infections, intravenous drug users, men who have sex with men, and health care or public safety workers who might be exposed to infected blood or body fluids.
    Human papillomavirus (HPV). HPV is a sexually transmitted virus that can lead to cervical and other genital cancers as well as squamous cell cancers of the head and neck. The HPV vaccine is available to both men and women age 26 or younger who didn't have the vaccine as adolescents.

6. Avoid risky behaviors

Another effective cancer prevention tactic is to avoid risky behaviors that can lead to infections that, in turn, might increase the risk of cancer. For example:

    Practice safe sex. Limit your number of sexual partners, and use a condom when you have sex. The more sexual partners you have in your lifetime, the more likely you are to contract a sexually transmitted infection — such as HIV or HPV. People who have HIV or AIDS have a higher risk of cancer of the anus, liver and lung. HPV is most often associated with cervical cancer, but it might also increase the risk of cancer of the anus, penis, throat, vulva and vagina.
    Don't share needles. Sharing needles with an infected drug user can lead to HIV, as well as hepatitis B and hepatitis C — which can increase the risk of liver cancer. If you're concerned about drug abuse or addiction, seek professional help.

7. Get regular medical care

Regular self-exams and screenings for various types of cancers — such as cancer of the skin, colon, prostate, cervix and breast — can increase your chances of discovering cancer early, when treatment is most likely to be successful. Ask your doctor about the best cancer screening schedule for you.

Take cancer prevention into your own hands, starting today. The rewards will last a lifetime. 

source from :www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/adult-health/in-depth/cancer-prevention/art-20044816 

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Top 10 Colon Cancer Prevention Tips

                         Colon cancer  is one of the most common, and yet preventable, cancers. To help protect yourself and your loved ones from the disease, follow these ten colon cancer prevention tips.
 

1. Go to a doctor if you have any colon cancer symptoms.

Usually, colon cancer doesn't have any symptoms. However, in the later stages, symptoms may include thin stools, cramping, unexplained weight loss, and bloody stools.

2. If you're 50 or older, schedule a colon cancer screening.

Then actually go to the appointment. More than 90 percent of people diagnosed with colon cancer are 50 or older and the average age of diagnosis is 64. Research indicates that by age 50, one in four people has polyps (colon cancer precursors). Getting screened is an excellent colon cancer prevention method.

3. Eat a balanced diet.

Diets high in fat and cholesterol (especially from animal sources) have been linked to increased colon cancer risk. High-fiber diets, however, have shown a protective effect.

4. Maintain a healthy weight.

All other things equal, obese men seem to be more at risk for colon cancer than obese women. Also, certain body types seem to influence risk more than others. Studies indicate that extra fat in the waist (an apple shape) increases colon cancer risk more than extra fat in the thighs or hips (a pear shape).

5. Maintain an active lifestyle.

Research indicates that exercising can reduce colon cancer risk by as much as 40 percent. Exercise also tends to reduce the incidence of other risk factors for colon cancer, like obesity and diabetes.

6. Consider genetic counseling.

People who carry genetic mutations linked to hereditary colon cancer are the most likely to develop the disease. If someone in your family has FAP or HNPCC, or if you're of Ashkenazi Jewish descent, you should seriously consider adding genetic counseling to your colon cancer prevention plan.

7. Learn your family medical history.

Did you know your family medical history can impact your chances of developing colon cancer? When discussing colon cancer prevention with your doctor, remember to mention if family members have had polyps or colon cancer. Other cancers (such as stomach, liver, and bone) may also be relevant.

8. Talk to a doctor about your personal medical history.

As you may have guessed, discussing your own medical history is extremely important when it comes to colon cancer prevention. Sometimes we feel like doctors aren't interested in what we have to say, so we try to answer their questions as quickly and succinctly as possible. But it's alright - and advisable - to talk about your health history. Of particular concern are polyps, certain cancers, and chronic inflammation of the bowel - all of which can increase the risk of developing colon cancer.

9. Don't smoke.

Yes, it's a risk factor for colon cancer too. Smoking increases your risk for two main reasons. First, inhaled or swallowed tobacco smoke transports carcinogens to the colon. Second, tobacco use appears to increase polyp size.

10. Reduce radiation exposure.

Is radiation really relevant to colon cancer prevention? The short answer is yes. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, colon cancer has been caused by doses of about 1,000 millisieverts. So, what the heck is a millisievert and how do you keep from racking up 1,000 of them? (Learn more about this colon cancer prevention tip.)

If you'd like to share this article with others, feel free to print the Colon Cancer Prevention pamphlet.
source from : http://coloncancer.about.com/od/cancerprevention/a/Colon_Cancer.htm

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10 Warning Signs of Colon Cancer You Shouldn’t Ignore

                                       Medical professionals often refer to colorectal cancer, which includes colon cancer that affects the large intestine and rectal cancer that affects the lower most part of the large intestine.

According to the American Cancer Society, 1 in 20 people are at a risk of developing colorectal cancer during their lifetime.

The exact cause of colorectal or bowel cancer is not known. However, it is believed to develop when healthy cells become abnormal and start growing in number and accumulate in the lining of the colon, forming polyps. Left untreated, polyps may become cancerous.

     Several factors increase your risk of developing colon and rectal cancer, including aging (above 50 years), some types of bowel diseases, family history, obesity, smoking, excessive alcohol intake, a sedentary lifestyle, Type 2 diabetes and regular intake of processed foods or red meats.

African-Americans are at a greater risk of colon cancer than people of other races.

As it can be difficult to treat colon cancer after it spreads to nearby areas, it is important to know what the early symptoms are. This can help you seek early treatment and give you a better chance in recovery.

Here are the top 10 warning signs of colon cancer you shouldn’t ignore.

1. Constipation

Constipation is an important sign of cancer in the colon. A 2011 study published in the Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention highlights the link between constipation and colorectal cancer risk.

An earlier 2004 study published in the European Journal of Cancer supported the hypothesis that constipation or laxative use increases the risk of colon cancer.

A tumor present at the far end of the colon can make it very difficult to eliminate waste products, thereby causing constipation.

If you persistently have fewer bowel movements per week, without any prior problem of constipation, consult your doctor to find out the exact cause.

2. Diarrhea

If you suffer from diarrhea for more than a couple of weeks, it may be an early symptom of colon cancer.

When a tumor partially obstructs the bowel, it can cause alternating constipation and diarrhea due to leakage of liquid stool.

You may also experience frequent gas, abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting. Plus, a tumor may irritate or narrow the lining of the intestine.

It is important to consult your doctor when you have diarrhea that lasts more than a few days, as it can lead to dehydration, drain your body of nutrients and signal other serious problems, such as cancer.

3. Blood in Stools

Most often, blood in the stool is due to piles (hemorrhoids), where the veins in the back passage become fragile and cause a little bleeding during a bowel movement. This type of bleeding is generally red.

However, if you notice dark red or black blood in your stool, it can be a sign of cancer, such as bowel, rectal or colon cancer. It can also be due to a stomach ulcer.

Whether bleeding is due to piles, a stomach ulcer or cancer, it’s important to get it checked by a doctor. Proper diagnosis is essential for appropriate treatment.

4. Constant Feeling of a Bowel Movement

If you have a constant feeling of urgently needing to have a bowel movement or to strain but no stool is passed, it is not a good sign. This feeling can occur even after having a bowel movement.

Changes in your pattern of bowel movements can be a sign of colon cancer. It can occur when a tumor blocks the bowel and prevents you from completely emptying your bowels.

If you persistently have the sensation of incomplete evacuation after a bowel movement, discuss the problem with your doctor.

5. Narrow Stools

Thin, narrow stools are also a warning of possible colon cancer. A tumor present in the left side of the colon obstructs the passageway and often leads to narrow stools.

Do not delay discussing any change in your stools with your doctor. Diverticulitis and anal cancer can also cause narrowing of the stools.

6. Tender Abdomen or Abdominal Pain

If your abdomen, especially the lower part, hurts or feels tender when touched, this can be an early indication of tumor growth in the digestive tract, colon or rectum. In fact, abdominal pain is common in people who are later diagnosed with colon cancer.

A tumor can cause a block in the colon, restricting blood flow. This leads to abdominal pain that can be severe. This pain also can indicate that the cancer has begun to spread to other organs.

If abdominal pain or tenderness persists for more than 2 to 3 days, consult your doctor for proper diagnosis.

7. Unexplained Anemia

Anemia refers to a low red blood cell count in the body. The hemoglobin in red blood cells carries oxygen throughout the body.

Symptoms of anemia, such as pale skin, a fast or irregular heartbeat, shortness of breath, dizziness, and cold hands and feet, should not be taken lightly.

Unexplained anemia may be due to colon cancer. Typically, cancer in the right-side of the colon causes iron-deficiency anemia. This happens when tumors start bleeding slowly into the digestive tract, causing blood loss over time.

A 2008 study published in the British Journal of Cancer confirms a strong connection between anemia and cancer, with the risk rising as the hemoglobin level falls. This study also confirms iron deficiency as an independent predictor of cancer.

If you have signs of anemia, consult your doctor immediately to get your hemoglobin level checked.

8. Unexplained Weight Loss

If you are above the age of 50 and rapidly losing weight without any known reason, it is a cause for concern. Sudden, unexplained weight loss can indicate a serious health problem, including colon or rectal cancer.

A 2006 study published in the Annals of the Royal College of Surgeons of England found that unexplained weight loss happens mostly during advanced stages of colorectal cancers.

The growth of a tumor can lead to loss of appetite, as cancer can affect your metabolism, thus causing weight loss.

If you are rapidly losing weight without changing your diet or exercise routine, discuss this with your doctor.

9. Weakness and Fatigue

Another early symptom of colon cancer is fatigue, weakness and general malaise. Fatigue and tiredness after doing a laborious task is to be expected, but if you feel tired and weak most of the time, despite resting, do not take it lightly.

Large polyps or tumors in the colon can lead to iron-deficiency anemia that causes lower oxygen levels in the blood. This contributes to fatigue.

Fatigue and weakness can also be related to a number of chronic illnesses and medical disorders, sovisit your doctor to find outthe exact cause.

10. Gas and Bloating

Most people suffer from gas and bloating occasionally, but if the problem occurs along with some of the other symptoms mentioned here, it may be an indication of a tumor growing in the colon.

A tumor causes obstruction in the colon. Depending on the severity of the blockage, gas, solid and liquid may be prevented from passing out of the body. This in turn causes progressive bloating as well as gas.

If you have a lot of discomfort due to gas and bloating, see a doctor to rule out the possibility of cancer.

Tips to reduce your risk of colon cancer:

1.     Include a variety of fresh fruits, fresh vegetables and whole grains in your diet.
2. Avoid drinking alcohol, or at least drink in moderation.
3. Stop smoking and use of other tobacco products.
4.  Exercise for at least 30 to 40 minutes, 5 times a week.
5. If you are overweight, take steps to lose weight gradually.
6.  Opt for regular screening tests to help prevent colon cancer.

 
source from : http://supertastyrecipes.com/2015/10/22/10-warning-signs-of-colon-cancer-you-shouldnt-ignore-2/

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Here Is How This 70-Year-Old Man Naturally Cured His Late Stage Colon Cancer

Colon cancer may be more prevalent in the population than you realise.

Did you know that it’s the third most common cancer for both men and women and the second most likely cancer to cause death in the USA? Half of the patients that are diagnosed with colon cancer officially die from cancer, and the other 30% are unaccounted for.

In 2011, the death toll for colon cancer reached 70%. Some of the methods for curing patients with colon cancer include surgery, which usually involves the removal of the colon and leaves patients wearing an external colostomy bag for the rest of their lives. Others may be treated with chemotherapy, which can be hit and miss in its outcome and cause patients greater discomfort and symptoms than before the treatment.

However, while these mainstream medicine treatments are more wildly accepted as helping and can work for some patients, other natural cancer clinic and practitioners have been discovering natural remedies and therapies for cancer. And Chris Wark was one of them. His website “Chris Beat Cancer” explains how he managed to beat cancer using only natural treatments and remedies.

He rejected traditional chemotherapy after feeling the treatment was only putting more poison into his body and couldn’t accept that this would cure his condition. After speaking to a naturopathic doctor, Chris began a curative natural diet and beat his cancer.



Another case is John Tanzi, who a few days before his 70th birthday was suffering from a much later stage of colon cancer, stage IV in fact.
He had been given just two to six months to live if he chose not to undertake the chemotherapy he was being offered. He decided not to undergo the traditional treatment after having seen other sufferers see out their last days in pain while on chemotherapy, reducing their quality of life significantly. He instead decided to research other options, how could he live out his final months feeling better rather than much worse?

And it worked. After consulting a natural doctor, he was instructed to change his diet to exclude all meats, refined sugar and dairy. This is known as the “Cancer Diet”. Next, after he began to feel better, he found a capsuled gel form of the original four-herb Essiac tea (please be aware that not all of these gels sold online are legitimate, ensure you check reviews and reports before purchasing). He combined the tea gel capsules with beta-1,3-glucan gel caps (take one for every 50 pounds of weight) and took them daily as instructed.

Beta glucans have been reported to work as an immuno-adjuvant therapy for cancer, mostly in Japan, and can naturally be found in shiitake mushrooms in the form of lentinan. Lentinan is an anti-cancer superfood that is believed to reduce tumor activity and lessen the symptoms of cancer.

This is just one example of a natural remedy and treatment program that worked for one cancer patient. However, John recommends that everyone should choose their own holistic and natural remedies according to their experience and health. After recovering from colon cancer John set up a Facebook page called “Holistic Cancer and Health Chat Room”, where members and guests can ask John questions and other cancer patients questions about natural remedies they have tried. The page also directs patients to reliable websites that sell natural remedies.

Source from : http://www.lifeadvancer.com/old-man-naturally-cured-colon-cancer

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The Top 10 Anti-Cancer Vegetables

                                       If you haven’t noticed, we are constantly bombarded with pleas from charities for cancer research money.

“Race for the Cure, Stand Up to Cancer, Buy Pink products, grow a Movember

Photo by David Grunfeld

mustache….”

This is often accompanied by the message  that “we are running out of funding for cancer research”.  And of course this is a problem, because “without funding for more research, we will never find a cure”.

Cue the shots of bald women and children poisoned by chemo, accompanied by dramatic music. Then insert a high-profile celebrity to say, “The cure is just around the corner.
Together we can make cancer history. Please give today.”

Here’s the reality. The mega billion dollar pharmaceutical industry has plenty of money to fund research, they would just prefer that you fund it with your donations instead of theirs.

Real problem #1  They are running out of your money.

Real problem #2 They are only interested in medicines they can patent.

Real problem #3  Research on nutrition and natural therapies is ignored.

There are literally thousands of published peer-reviewed studies demonstrating that the 100,000+ phytonutrients in plants have the ability to prevent and reverse cancer.
But because the pharmaceutical industry can’t figure out how to extract these compounds, synthesize them, and patent them for profit, they are ignored.

Doctors can’t even use this published information or they risk losing their license.

But you can!

One of my favorite studies was published in Food Chemistry, January 2009 called,
“The antiproliferative and antioxidant activities of common vegetables: A comparative study”

The title is so boring I almost fell asleep typing it, but hold on, because the results are awesome.

Researchers studied the inhibitory (cancer-stopping) effects of 34 vegetable extracts
on 8 different tumor cell lines.

They basically just ran vegetables through a juicer and then dripped the extracted juice on different cancer cells to see what would happen. Here’s what they found…

The #1 most powerful anti-cancer food was Garlic.

Garlic stopped cancer growth COMPLETELY against these tumor cell lines:

Breast cancer, brain cancer, lung cancer, pancreatic cancer, prostate cancer,
childhood brain cancer, and stomach cancer.

Leeks were #1 against kidney cancer. Garlic was #2.

But not just garlic and leeks, almost all vegetables from the Allium and Cruciferous families completely stopped growth in the various cancers tested. Here they are:

Allium vegetables: Garlic, Leeks, Yellow and Green Onions

Cruciferous vegetables: Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, Cauliflower, Kale, Red cabbage and Curly Cabbage

Spinach and Beet Root also scored in the top ten against many of the cancers tested.

Honorable mentions: Asparagus, fiddlehead, green beans, radishes and rutabaga.

Poor Performers: Acorn Squash, Bok Choy, Boston Lettuce, Carrot, Endive, English Cucumber, Fennel Bulb, Jalapeño, Orange Sweet Pepper, Potato, Radicchio, Romaine lettuce, and Tomatoes.

Here is an excerpt from the paper’s abstract:

“The extracts from cruciferous vegetables as well as those from vegetables of the genus Allium inhibited the proliferation of all tested cancer cell lines whereas extracts from vegetables most commonly consumed in Western countries were much less effective. The antiproliferative effect of vegetables was specific to cells of cancerous origin and was found to be largely independent of their antioxidant properties. These results thus indicate that vegetables have very different inhibitory activities towards cancer cells and that the inclusion of cruciferous and Allium vegetables in the diet is essential for effective dietary-based chemopreventive strategies.”

Translation:

-Allium and cruciferous veggies stopped cancer growth.
-Commonly consumed vegetables did not work as well.
-The antioxidant content of veggies was not a key anti-cancer factor.
-Different vegetables work for different cancers.
-Allium and cruciferous veggies should be eaten to prevent cancer.

So the most commonly consumed vegetables in Western countries had very little effect on cancer cell growth. The top three (potatoes, lettuce and carrots) account for 60% of the vegetables we Westerners are eating. 32% of our vegetable intake is potatoes, and half of that is actually french fries. Nice.

Dark greens, cruciferous veggies and garlic account for less than 1% of our Western diet!
Hello?

An interesting note:
            Radishes were shown to stop tumor growth by 95-100% for breast and stomach cancer, but had no effect and may have even increased tumor growth by 20-25% in pancreatic, brain, lung and kidney cancer. Definitely something to keep in mind.

You really need to look at the charts in the study to see which veggies worked best against which cancer.

Before you write off the “poor performers”

         It’s important to keep in mind that this is a laboratory study showing only what a vegetable extract did to when applied directly to cancer cells. The study does not take into account the vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients that indirectly support your body’s ability to detoxify and heal. For example, carrots are a great source of Vitamin A. Vitamin A supports your liver. Your liver is a critical component of your immune system because it detoxes your body. Cancer is a product of a toxic body, so detoxing your body is critical in healing cancer, and so on.

Having said all that, it makes sense to focus on eating tons of the veggies that were actually killing cancer in the lab.

Also this study confirms why what I did in 2004 worked.

I ate copious amounts of these cancer-fighting vegetables every day in my Giant Cancer-Fighting Salad, specifically spinach, kale, broccoli, cauliflower, onions, red cabbage, and garlic powder. I had no idea about leeks or else they would have been in there too.

And according to Dr. Richard Schulze’s recommendation, I ate several cloves of garlic per day. If garlic kills cancer, then I wanted to saturate my body with garlic. So I would just crush up the cloves and swallow them with a mouthful of water.
sources from : http://www.chrisbeatcancer.com/top-10-anti-cancer-vegetables/

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10 Essential Facts About Breast Cancer

Finding breast cancer in its early stages has many benefits.    

Javier Larrea/Getty Images

 

Chances are you have a friend or family member who’s faced breast cancer. After all, 1 in 8 women will be diagnosed with the disease at some point during their lives, according to the American Cancer Society (ACS).

Sometimes a disease doesn’t seem so scary when you know the basic facts, so we talked with a few breast specialists who have in-depth knowledge about the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of breast cancer. Read on to find out what you should know.

1. Experts differ on when to start getting regular mammograms.

While the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommends that women ages 50 to 74 get mammograms every two years, the ACS suggests that women begin getting annual mammograms at age 45. And some experts believe 40 is the right age to start getting mammograms.

“Breast cancer is an age-related disease, so if you look at women under 50, they get far fewer cancers than women over 50; but if you look at women in their forties compared to women in their fifties, there’s not that much of a difference,” says Monica Morrow, MD, chief of breast service in the surgery department at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City.

“We think the best thing for women’s overall health is to start at 40, because the best way to pick up small cancers is to have annual mammograms so you can see subtle changes in breasts over time,” Dr. Morrow says.

Finding cancer when the tumor is small has many benefits. “If it’s smaller, you can have less surgery — say, a lumpectomy rather than a mastectomy; it’s less likely to have spread to the lymph nodes; and you're therefore less likely to have those taken out with surgery," she says. "You're also possibly less likely to have chemotherapy.”

Talk to your doctor about when you should start getting mammograms and how often you should get them.

2. Breast self-exams may not save your life.

There’s no evidence that giving yourself a monthly breast self-exam (BSE) reduces the risk of dying from breast cancer, or that BSEs help in finding cancer earlier, according to the National Breast Cancer Coalition. Yet many physicians still recommend doing them.

“They allow you to get comfortable with what your tissue feels like, so that if there’s something new, you’ll notice it,” says Allyson F. Jacobson, MD, medical director of the breast program at Northwest Community Hospital in Arlington Heights, Illinois.

“You have more access to your breasts than anyone else. If you find something like a lump in your breast, sure, it can make you anxious," says Dr. Jacobson. "But if you're examining your breasts at regular intervals, you can potentially find something before the next time you see a doctor." She recommends doing a BSE the week after your period (if you still have menstrual periods), and no more than once a month.

Morrow adds that breasts are lumpy by nature, and for women who have especially lumpy breasts, self-exams may not be effective. “Every time they do an exam, they find a lump, and those women should not drive themselves crazy trying to do self-exams — especially if they’re in the age range to receive mammograms,” she notes.

3. Your breast size doesn’t matter.

Jacobson says the size of your breasts has no bearing on your risk for developing breast cancer. The same is true for detecting cancer with a mammogram.

“As long as the technologist can get the tissue within the plates to compress it and get the image done — which they can almost always do — there shouldn’t be a problem, " she says. "Even men can have mammograms, and there is very little breast tissue in the typical male.”

Whether or not you or a physician can feel a cancer depends on how close to the surface the cancer is, how different the texture of the cancer is from your breast tissue, and where the cancer is in the breast, says Morrow. “It’s not purely a matter of breast size.”

4. Breast cancer usually shows no signs or symptoms.

The point of mammograms is to detect cancer before symptoms occur, but sometimes cancer is missed on a mammogram.

The most common symptom of breast cancer is a painless lump or mass. But according to the ACS, other symptoms can include swelling; skin irritation; pain in the nipple or breast; an inward turning nipple; redness, scaliness, or thickening of the nipple or breast skin; and nipple discharge that isn’t breast milk.

“Awareness of your breasts is important. If you find something that’s new or different, whether you discover it in the shower or looking in the mirror or another way, bring it to your doctor’s attention,” says Morrow.

5. Most women who get breast cancer don’t have a family history.

More than 85 percent of women who get breast cancer have no family history of the disease, reports the ACS.

“While family history does increase your risk, not having breast cancer in your family does not by any means get you off the hook,” says Jacobson. Even if you have no family history, your risk of getting breast cancer over your lifetime is 12 percent.

“This is very high for a cancer. I see many women who find a lump and don’t think they need to worry, because no one in their family has had breast cancer,” says Jacobson.

RELATED: What Is the Best Diet for Cancer Prevention?

6. High risk factors are relative.

When the term "high risk" is used scientifically, Morrow says it means higher risk than someone without any risk factors. “Factors increase the risk of getting breast cancer, but there is no standard definition of what truly constitutes high risk.”

Still, in general Morrow says the biggest risk factors for getting breast cancer are being female and getting older. Some other risk factors, according to the National Cancer Institute, include:

    Being obese
    Having a close relative with breast cancer (specifically your mother, sisters, or daughters)
    Carrying the gene mutations BRCA1 and BRCA2
    Getting your first menstrual period before age 12
    Giving birth for the first time after age 30
    Never being pregnant
    Starting menopause at an older age
    Taking hormone therapy
    Drinking alcohol

Not all of these risk factors are equal; they range from questionable to truly high-risk.

7. Genetic testing is appropriate for some women, but not all. 

If you know that a close relative, such as your mother or sister, carries a breast cancer gene mutation (such as BRCA1 or BRCA2), talk with your doctor about genetic testing. If you don’t know whether a family member who had breast cancer was tested for a gene mutation, your doctor can determine if you’d be a good candidate for genetic testing.

“[The number of] women who have this increase in risk is relatively small,” says Morrow. Some other factors that may be markers of a higher risk, and that may merit getting a genetic evaluation, include:

    Having numerous relatives who have had breast cancer
    Having relatives who have had breast cancer at a younger age, before menopause
    Having relatives who have had cancer in both breasts
    Having male relatives who have had breast cancer
    Having relatives with both breast and ovarian cancer

Check with your insurance company about coverage for genetic testing, but note that the Affordable Care Act considers genetic counseling and testing for people at high risk a covered preventive service.

8. Breast cancer treatment is truly individual. 

Even though it’s beneficial to find your breast cancer in an earlier stage before it has spread, doing so doesn’t always mean that your treatment will be less aggressive.

“Sometimes we end up doing mastectomies instead of lumpectomies for stage 0 breast cancer, because the biology of cancer the patient has is more likely to be aggressive and shorten their survival,” says Morrow, adding that the same thing goes for chemotherapy.

“Just because a tumor is small versus large doesn’t mean it’s not serious. The biology of the tumor, no matter its size, is what matters,” she says.

By testing tumors, Morrow says it’s possible to determine how the cancer will behave. “Based on those characteristics, even if it’s a small stage I cancer, the potential of what it can do is what drives the treatment,” she says.

9. Mastectomy is not always the best treatment.

While a mastectomy, which is the removal of one or both breasts, is performed to get rid of cancer from the breasts or to prevent cancer from developing in women who are at high risk, Morrow says there is a myth surrounding the surgery.

“It’s often thought that if you have breast cancer in one breast, the safest thing to do is to have both of your breasts removed. For the average woman with breast cancer — meaning those who don’t have a genetic mutation — removing your other breast does nothing to prolong your life,” she says.

Morrow adds that breast cancer does not spread from breast to breast. “The risk of getting a second breast cancer in your other breast has been going down over time, because the drugs used to treat the first breast cancer reduce the risk of making a new cancer. But a lot of people say, ‘I want to see my children grow up. I want to be safe. I hear celebrities say it’s good to remove both.’ It’s just simply not true,” she says.

10. There are some things you can do to reduce your risk.

There is no proven way to prevent breast cancer, yet Jacobson says living a healthy lifestyle is your best defense.

“You can’t beat your DNA or your family history, so whatever you’re predisposed to, you are predisposed to. But there are things you can potentially control and maximize to your benefit,” she says.

Following a healthy diet rich in fruits and vegetables that contain antioxidants and cancer-fighting nutrients, as well as exercising, minimizing alcohol (more than one drink a day on average increases a woman’s risk), and maintaining a healthy weight can all be beneficial, she notes.

“There’s no magic bullet, or pill, or one specific thing, but these are some factors you can control,” she says.





Source from : http://www.everydayhealth.com/news/10-essential-facts-about-breast-cancer/

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What Is Pancreatic Cancer?

Though relatively rare, pancreatic cancer is the third leading cause of cancer death in the United States.

Cancer is a disease characterized by the abnormal, out-of-control growth of cells.

Pancreatic cancer occurs when this happens in the pancreas, a glad of the digestive and endocrine systems.

The pancreas helps the body digest food by secreting pancreatic juices containing digestive enzymes.

It also regulates blood glucose levels by secreting various hormones, notably insulin.

Pancreatic cancer is often life-threatening, and ranks as the third leading cause of cancer death in the United States, according to the National Cancer Institute (NCI).

Pancreatic Cancer Prevalence

     Compared with other cancers, pancreatic cancer is relatively rare, representing about 3 percent of all new cancer cases in the United States each year, according to the NCI.

The agency estimates that the country will see 48,960 new cases of pancreatic cancer in 2015, along with 40,560 deaths related to pancreatic cancer — representing almost 7 percent of the year's cancer deaths.

Pancreatic cancer predominately affects the elderly, and it is rare in people younger than 40 years old. The median age of pancreatic cancer diagnosis is 71.

The cancer is also about 30 percent more common in men than in women, and slightly more common in African Americans than in people of other races, according to the NCI.

Causes and Risk Factors

    Like all cancers, pancreatic cancer is caused by changes to the DNA of certain cells, which cause the cells to grow abnormally.

Various factors can make you more prone to getting pancreatic cancer.

Aside from age, race, and gender, risk factors include having any of the following medical conditions:

    Diabetes
    Chronic pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas)
    Cirrhosis, a form of scarring of the liver
    A family history of pancreatic cancer
    Inherited genetic mutations or disorders

However, other risk factors are related to lifestyle choices and can be changed.

For instance, smokers are about twice as likely to develop pancreatic cancer as people who have never smoked, according to the American Cancer Society.

People who are overweight or obese, or who have experienced heavy exposure to pesticides, dyes, or chemicals at work, are also at increased risk for pancreatic cancer.

Pancreatic Cancer Stages

  
      Pancreatic cancer is often categorized as being in one of five stages, which describe how far the cancer has spread and can help guide treatment:

    Stage 0: Also called carcinoma in situ, this stage occurs when there are abnormal cells in the lining of the pancreas that have not spread into deeper tissues of the organ.
    Stage 1: Cancer has formed, but it is still confined to the pancreas. The cancer is considered stage 1A if the tumor is 2 centimeters (cm) or smaller in diameter, and stage 1B if the tumor is larger than 2 cm.
    Stage 2: The tumor has spread beyond the
    Stage 3: The tumor has spread to nearby major blood vessels or nerves, but has not yet spread to distant body areas.
    Stage 4: The tumor has spread to distant tissues and organs, such as the lungs or liver.

Sources; http://www.everydayhealth.com/pancreatic-cancer/
pancreas. In stage 2A, the cancer has spread to nearby tissues and organs, but not to nearby lymph nodes. In stage 2B, the cancer has spread to nearby lymph nodes.

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Skin cancer

Skin cancer — the abnormal growth of skin cells — most often develops on skin exposed to the sun. But this common form of cancer can also occur on areas of your skin not ordinarily exposed to sunlight.

There are three major types of skin cancer — basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma and melanoma.

You can reduce your risk of skin cancer by limiting or avoiding exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation. Checking your skin for suspicious changes can help detect skin cancer at its earliest stages. Early detection of skin cancer gives you the greatest chance for successful skin cancer treatment.

Symptops:

 Where skin cancer develops

Skin cancer develops primarily on areas of sun-exposed skin, including the scalp, face, lips, ears, neck, chest, arms and hands, and on the legs in women. But it can also form on areas that rarely see the light of day — your palms, beneath your fingernails or toenails, and your genital area.

Skin cancer affects people of all skin tones, including those with darker complexions. When melanoma occurs in people with dark skin tones, it's more likely to occur in areas not normally exposed to the sun, such as the palms of the hands and soles of the feet.
Basal cell carcinoma signs and symptoms

Basal cell carcinoma usually occurs in sun-exposed areas of your body, such as your neck or face.

Basal cell carcinoma may appear as:

    A pearly or waxy bump
    A flat, flesh-colored or brown scar-like lesion

Squamous cell carcinoma signs and symptoms

Most often, squamous cell carcinoma occurs on sun-exposed areas of your body, such as your face, ears and hands. People with darker skin are more likely to develop squamous cell carcinoma on areas that aren't often exposed to the sun.

Squamous cell carcinoma may appear as:

    A firm, red nodule
    A flat lesion with a scaly, crusted surface

Melanoma signs and symptoms

Melanoma can develop anywhere on your body, in otherwise normal skin or in an existing mole that becomes cancerous. Melanoma most often appears on the face or the trunk of affected men. In women, this type of cancer most often develops on the lower legs. In both men and women, melanoma can occur on skin that hasn't been exposed to the sun.

Melanoma can affect people of any skin tone. In people with darker skin tones, melanoma tends to occur on the palms or soles, or under the fingernails or toenails.

Melanoma signs include:

    A large brownish spot with darker speckles
    A mole that changes in color, size or feel or that bleeds
    A small lesion with an irregular border and portions that appear red, white, blue or blue-black
    Dark lesions on your palms, soles, fingertips or toes, or on mucous membranes lining your mouth, nose, vagina or anus

Signs and symptoms of less common skin cancers

Other, less common types of skin cancer include:

    Kaposi sarcoma. This rare form of skin cancer develops in the skin's blood vessels and causes red or purple patches on the skin or mucous membranes.

    Kaposi sarcoma mainly occurs in people with weakened immune systems, such as people with AIDS, and in people taking medications that suppress their natural immunity, such as people who've undergone organ transplants.

    Other people with an increased risk of Kaposi sarcoma include young men living in Africa or older men of Italian or Eastern European Jewish heritage.
    Merkel cell carcinoma. Merkel cell carcinoma causes firm, shiny nodules that occur on or just beneath the skin and in hair follicles. Merkel cell carcinoma is most often found on the head, neck and trunk.
    Sebaceous gland carcinoma. This uncommon and aggressive cancer originates in the oil glands in the skin. Sebaceous gland carcinomas — which usually appear as hard, painless nodules — can develop anywhere, but most occur on the eyelid, where they're frequently mistaken for other eyelid problems.

When to see a doctor

Make an appointment with your doctor if you notice any changes to your skin that worry you. Not all skin changes are caused by skin cancer. Your doctor will investigate your skin changes to determine a cause.

Source from :
http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/skin-cancer/basics/definition/con-20031606
 http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/skin-cancer/basics/symptoms/con-20031606

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New breast cancer guidelines: screen later, less often

                  

The venerated cancer organization says women should start getting mammograms at 45 instead of 40, and that everyone can skip the routine manual breast checks by doctors.

An exhaustive review of the medical literature shows these measures just aren't very effective, according to the group. "The chance that you're going to find a cancer and save a life is actually very small," said Dr. Otis Brawley, the society's chief medical officer.

Now three key groups -- the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American Cancer Society, and the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force -- recommend different ages for starting regular mammograms: 40, 45 and 50 respectively.

While mammograms save lives, they can also cause harm, and each group does a different job of balancing the pros and cons.
In a move sure to befuddle women -- and anger some breast cancer survivors -- the American Cancer Society has issued new guidelines saying less screening for breast cancer is better than more.

Earlier testing is not necessarily better

        The problem with mammograms is that they have a relatively high false positive rate, which means women sometimes have to undergo painful and time-consuming tests only to find out they never had cancer in the first place.

The chances of false positives are especially high for women under 45, as they have denser breasts and tumors are harder to spot on an image. "If she starts screening at age 40, she increases the risk that she'll need a breast cancer biopsy that turns out with the doctor saying 'You don't have cancer, so sorry we put you through all this,'" Brawley said.

He said he knows women who've had false positives year after year. "False positives are a huge deal," he said. "These women are so frightened and inconvenienced they swear off mammography for the rest of their lives."

Six years ago, the federal government's Preventive Services Task Force caused a furor when it declared that women in their 40s didn't need to get routine mammograms. Younger women whose breast cancers were caught by mammograms angrily responded that they would have been dead if they'd followed that guideline.

They said they'd gladly risk a false positive, with all the inconvenient and sometimes painful followup, for the chance of finding a cancer.

Learning from that experience, the American Cancer Society has sought to soften its message, emphasizing that women in their early 40s should still be able to get mammograms if they want them, as long as they understand the risks.

There's the risk of a false positive, plus the risk that a mammogram could catch a very small breast cancer that will go away on its own, or never progress to the point that it hurts a woman. In other words, a mammogram could catch a tumor that isn't really worth catching.

But since doctors can't reliably discern the harmful from the harmless cancers, they treat them all. This means some women are getting potentially harmful treatments, such as radiation, chemotherapy and surgery, when their tumor would never have caused a problem, Brawley says.

A Canadian study looked at 44,925 women who were screened for breast cancer, and 106 of them fell into this category and were treated for breast cancer "unnecessarily," according to a review in the New England Journal of Medicine.

New guidelines have their critics

    While agreeing with the American Cancer Society that mammograms aren't perfect, some advocates for women criticized the group's new guidelines. First, they said the society looked mostly at studies of film mammography, which in the United States has almost been entirely replaced by digital mammography.

Digital mammograms generate clearer images and do a better job of finding cancer and have a lower false positive rate.

"It's like standard versus HD TV," said Dr. Therese Bevers, the chair of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network's guidelines panel for breast cancer screening and diagnosis, and the medical director of the Cancer Prevention Center at the MD Anderson Cancer Center.

Second, critics said the cancer society looked only at whether screening saved a woman's life, and not at whether screening caught a cancer early, so the woman could avoid the most drastic treatments, such as chemotherapy or mastectomy.

"The American Cancer Society made the value judgment that screening is only worth it if improves survival," said Dr. Marisa Weiss, a breast cancer survivor and president of Breastcancer.org. "There's an arrogance to that. Let women decide what's meaningful to them."

Insurance companies also decide

     The new guidelines also state that women over age 55 can choose to get a mammogram every other year, since breast cancers in post-menopausal women tend to develop more slowly.

To a great extent it will be insurance companies that decide at what age women get mammograms. In 2009, they typically continued to pay for mammograms starting at age 40 even though the government's task for force recommended mammograms starting at age 50.

But it's not clear what they'll do now that the American Cancer Society has also raised the age for mammograms.

"(Insurance) plans will certainly take these updated recommendations into account when evaluating their coverage policies," Clare Krusing, a spokeswoman for America's Health Insurance Plans, wrote to CNN in an email.

The new guidelines are meant for women at average risk of breast cancer. The society says women with a family history or who carry a gene that predisposes them to breast cancer may need to start screening earlier and more frequently.

As for the recommendation to discontinue routine manual breast exams by doctors, many advocates for women with breast cancer agree there's a lack of good evidence that they save lives, but some said they saw no reason to get rid of them.

"It's a free and added way of knowing whether or not a lump is there," said Leigh Hurst, founder of the Feel Your Boobies Foundation.

In the end, with so many different opinions on preventing breast cancer, experts are worried women will throw up their hands.

"Our biggest concern is that this will create a lot of potential havoc in the day-to-day practice of caring for women," said Dr. Christopher Zahn, the vice president of practice activities for ACOG.


Source from : http://edition.cnn.com/2015/10/20/health/new-acs-breast-cancer-screening-guidelines/

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What`s new in breast cancer research and treatment?

What`s new in breast cancer research and treatment?

     Research into the causes, prevention, and treatment of breast cancer is being done in many medical centers throughout the world.

Causes of breast cancer

Studies continue to uncover lifestyle factors and habits that alter breast cancer risk. Ongoing studies are looking at the effect of exercise, weight gain or loss, and diet on breast cancer risk.

Studies on the best use of genetic testing for BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations continue at a rapid pace. Scientists are also exploring how common gene variations may affect breast cancer risk. Each gene variant has only a modest effect in risk (10 to 20%), but when taken together they may potentially have a large impact.

Potential causes of breast cancer in the environment have also received more attention in recent years. While much of the science on this topic is still in its earliest stages, this is an area of active research.

A large, long-term study funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) is now being done to help find the causes of breast cancer. Known as the Sister Study, it has enrolled 50,000 women who have sisters with breast cancer. This study will follow these women for at least 10 years and collect information about genes, lifestyle, and environmental factors that may cause breast cancer. An offshoot of the Sister Study, the Two Sister Study, is designed to look at possible causes of early onset breast cancer. To find out more about these studies, call 1-877-4-SISTER (1-877-474-7837) or visit the Sister Study website (www.sisterstudy.org).

Chemoprevention

           Fenretinide, a retinoid, is also being studied as a way to reduce the risk of breast cancer (retinoids are drugs related to vitamin A). In a small study, this drug reduced breast cancer risk as much as tamoxifen.

Other drugs, such as aromatase inhibitors, are also being studied to reduce the risk of breast cancer.

For more information, see Medicines to Reduce Breast Cancer Risk.

Making decisions about DCIS

         In some women, DCIS turns into invasive breast cancer and sometimes an area of DCIS contains invasive cancer. In some women, though, the cells may never invade and remain localized within the ducts. If the cells don’t invade, DCIS cannot spread to lymph nodes or other organs, and so cannot be life-threatening. The uncertainty about how DCIS will behave makes it difficult for women to make decisions about what treatment to have, if any. Researchers are looking for ways to help with these challenges.

Researchers are studying the use of computers and statistical methods to estimate the odds that a woman’s DCIS will become invasive. Some of these methods are based on routinely available clinical information about the patient and her DCIS, whereas others also include information about changes in her tumor’s genes. Decision aids are another approach. They ask a woman with DCIS questions that help her decide which factors (such as survival, preventing recurrence, and side effects) she considers most important in choosing a treatment.

Another approach is to look at genes expressed by the DCIS cells using a test such as the Oncotype Dx DCIS Score. This test can be used to predict a woman’s chance of DCIS coming back or a new cancer developing in the same breast if she does not get radiation. So far, though, it hasn’t been studied well enough to predict how much someone would benefit from radiation after surgery for DCIS.

Another recent area of research and debate among breast cancer specialists is whether changing the name of DCIS to one that emphasizes this is not an invasive cancer can help some women avoid overly aggressive treatment.

New laboratory tests

Circulating tumor cells

       Researchers have found that in many women with breast cancer, cells may break away from the tumor and enter the blood. These circulating tumor cells can be detected with sensitive lab tests. Although these tests can help predict which patients may go on to have their cancer come back, it isn’t clear that the use of these tests will help patients live longer. They may potentially be useful for women with advanced breast cancer to help tell if treatments are working.

Newer imaging tests

   Newer imaging methods are now being studied for evaluating abnormalities that may be breast cancers.

Scintimammography (molecular breast imaging)

   In scintimammography, a slightly radioactive tracer called technetium sestamibi is injected into a vein. The tracer attaches to breast cancer cells and is detected by a special camera.

This technique is still being studied to see if it will be useful in finding breast cancers. Some radiologists believe it may helpful in looking at suspicious areas found by regular mammograms, but its exact role remains unclear. Current research is aimed at improving the technology and evaluating its use in specific situations such as in the dense breasts of younger women. Some early studies have suggested that it may be almost as accurate as more expensive magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans. This test, however, will not replace your usual screening mammogram.

Several other imaging methods, including thermal imaging (thermography) are discussed in Mammograms and Other Breast Imaging Procedures.

Treatment

Oncoplastic surgery

      Breast-conserving surgery (lumpectomy or partial mastectomy) can often be used for early-stage breast cancers. But in some women, it can result in breasts of different sizes and/or shapes. For larger tumors, it might not even be possible, and a mastectomy might be needed instead. Some doctors address this problem by combining cancer surgery and plastic surgery techniques, known as oncoplastic surgery. This typically involves reshaping the breast at the time of the initial surgery, and may mean operating on the other breast as well to make them more symmetrical. This approach is still fairly new, and not all doctors are comfortable with it.

New chemotherapy drugs

Advanced breast cancers are often hard to treat, so researchers are always looking for newer drugs.

A drug class has been developed that targets cancers caused by BRCA mutations. This class of drugs is called PARP inhibitors and they have shown promise in clinical trials treating breast, ovarian, and prostate cancers that had spread and were resistant to other treatments. Further studies are being done to see if this drug can help patients without BRCA mutations.

Targeted therapies

Targeted therapies are a group of newer drugs that specifically take advantage of gene changes in cells that cause cancer.

Drugs that target HER2: A number of drugs that target HER2 are currently in use, including trastuzumab (Herceptin), pertuzumab (Perjeta), ado-trastuzumab emtansine (Kadcyla), and lapatinib (Tykerb). Other drugs are being developed and tested.

Anti-angiogenesis drugs: For cancers to grow, blood vessels must develop to nourish the cancer cells. This process is called angiogenesis. Looking at angiogenesis in breast cancer specimens can help predict prognosis. Some studies have found that breast cancers surrounded by many new, small blood vessels are likely to be more aggressive. More research is needed to confirm this.

Bevacizumab (Avastin) is an example of anti-angiogenesis drug. Although bevacizumab turned out to not be very helpful in the treatment of advanced breast cancer, this approach still may prove useful in breast cancer treatment. Several other anti-angiogenesis drugs are being tested in clinical trials.

Other targeted drugs: Everolimus (Afinitor) is a targeted therapy drug that seems to help hormone therapy drugs work better. It is approved to be given with exemestane (Aromasin) to treat advanced hormone receptor-positive breast cancer in post-menopausal women. It has also been studied with other hormone therapy drugs and for treatment of earlier stage breast cancer. In one study, letrozole plus everolimus worked better than letrozole alone in shrinking breast tumors before surgery. It also seemed to help in treating advanced hormone receptor-positive breast cancer when added to tamoxifen. Everolimus is also being studied in combination with chemotherapy and the targeted drug trastuzumab. Other drugs like everolimus are also being studied.

Other potential targets for new breast cancer drugs have been identified in recent years. Drugs based on these targets are now being studied, but most are still in the early stages of clinical trials.

Bisphosphonates

     Bisphosphonates are drugs that are used to help strengthen and reduce the risk of fractures in bones that have been weakened by metastatic breast cancer. Examples include pamidronate (Aredia) and zoledronic acid (Zometa).

Some studies have suggested that zoledronic acid may help other systemic therapies, like hormone treatment and chemo work better. In one study of women being treated with chemo before surgery, tumors in the women getting zoledronic acid with chemo shrank more than those in the women treated with chemo alone.

Other studies have looked at the effect of giving zoledronic acid with other adjuvant treatments (like chemo or hormone therapy). So far, the results have been mixed. Some studies have shown that this approach helped lower the risk of the cancer coming back, but others did not. The results of one study linked the use of these drugs with adjuvant chemo with an increased risk of breast cancer recurrence in younger women. Overall, the data does not support making bisphosphonates part of standard therapy for early-stage breast cancer.

Denosumab

     Denosumab (Xgeva, Prolia) can also be used to help strengthen and reduce the risk of fractures in bones that have been weakened by metastatic breast cancer. It is being studied to see if it can help adjuvant treatments work better.
Vitamin D

A recent study found that women with early-stage breast cancer who were vitamin D deficient were more likely to have their cancer recur in a distant part of the body and had a poorer outlook. More research is needed to confirm this finding. It is not yet clear if taking vitamin D supplements would be helpful. Still, you might want to talk to your doctor about testing your vitamin D level to see if it is in the healthy range.


Source by : http://www.cancer.org/cancer/breastcancer/detailedguide/breast-cancer-new-research

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