All clips tagged cancer : clipclip

Mammograms may lead to breast cancer "overdiagnosis" for some women

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504763_162-57408605...

clipped by odie Apr 03, 2012

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Notes by odie: (CBS/AP) A new study has called into question how effective mammograms are at predicting breast cancer. The study found mammograms may spot cancers far too slow-growing to ever cause a problem, resulting in "overdiagnosis" and the potential need for unnec

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(CBS/AP) A new study has called into question how effective mammograms are at predicting breast cancer. The study found mammograms may spot cancers far too slow-growing to ever cause a problem, resulting in "overdiagnosis" and the potential need for unnecessary chemotherapy and surgery.

PICTURES: Busted! 8 mammogram truths every woman must know

For years, women have been urged to get screened for breast cancer because the earlier it's found, the better chances for treatment and survival. Now researchers have found more evidence suggesting that's not always true.

A study in Norway estimates that between 15 and 25 percent of breast cancers found by mammograms wouldn't have caused any problems during a woman's lifetime, but these tumors were being treated anyway, often by being surgically removed and sometimes treated with radiation or chemotherapy, because there's no certain way to figure out which ones may be dangerous and which are harmless.

For the study, published in the April 3 issue of Annals of Internal Medicine, researchers analyzed nearly 40,000 breast cancer cases, including 7,793 that were detected after routine screening began. They estimated that between 1,169 and 1,948 of those women were overdiagnosed and got treatment they didn't need.

"We are curing people who don't need to be cured," Dr. Otis W. Brawley, chief medical officer of the American Cancer Society, told WebMD.

The researchers took advantage of the staggered decade-long introduction of a screening program in Norway, starting in 1996. That allowed them to compare the number of breast cancers in counties where screening was offered with those in areas that didn't yet have the program. Their analysis also included a decade before mammograms were offered. Under the Norway program, screening was offered every two years to women ages 50 to 69.

Kalager and her colleagues looked only at invasive breast cancer. The study did not include DCIS, or ductal carcinoma in situ - an earlier stage cancer confined to a milk duct.

They found that for every 2,500 women offered screening, one death from breast cancer will be prevented but six to 10 women will be overdiagnosed and treated.

Study leader Dr. Mette Kalager and other experts said women need to be better informed about the possibility that mammograms can pick up cancers that will never be life-threatening when they consider getting screened. The problem? Doctors don't have a good way of knowing which tumors will be dangerous.

"Once you've decided to undergo mammography screening, you also have to deal with the consequences that you might be overdiagnosed," said Kalager, a breast surgeon at Norway's Telemark Hospital and a visiting scientist at Harvard School of Public Health. "By then, I think, it's too late. You have to get treated."

The problem of overdiagnosis has been long recognized with prostate cancer.

"The truth is that we've exaggerated the benefits of screening and we've ignored the harms," he said. "I think we're headed to a place where we realize we need to give women a more balanced message: Mammography helps some people but it leads others to be treated unnecessarily."

In an accompanying editorial published in the same issue, Dr. Joann Elmore of the University of Washington School of Medicine and Dr. Suzanne Fletcher of Harvard Medical School wrote that overdiagnosis probably occurs more often in the U.S. because American women often start annual screening at an earlier age and American radiologists are more likely to report suspicious findings than those in Europe.

Radiologists could help by raising the threshold for noting abnormalities, they wrote.

A "watch-and-wait" approach has been suggested instead of an immediate biopsy, but the editorial writers acknowledge that could be a "tough sell" for some women and radiologists alike.

They said most women aren't aware of the possibility of overdiagnosis.

"We have an ethical responsibility to alert women to this phenomenon," they wrote.

The study is the latest to explore overdiagnosis from routine mammograms - finding tumors that grow so slowly or not at all and that would not have caused symptoms or death. Previous estimates of the problem have varied.

A study published in the Oct. 18 issue of Annals of Internal Medicine found that more than half of women who start getting annual mammograms in their forties can expect to have a false positive, being called back in for additional screening. Of the women who are called back, about 7 percent are advised to undergo a biopsy of the breast that turns out to be negative (meaning no cancer is present). A Swedish study last summer found mammograms prevented 30 percent more breast cancer deaths compared with women who weren't screened, HealthPop reported.

In 2009, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force set off controversy when it suggested that the decision about whether to start mammography before age 50 should be based upon a variety of factors, including the patient's risk level. The American Cancer Society continues to recommend annual mammography screening for all women starting at 40.

U.S. Cancer Rates Could Be Cut in Half Today Based on What’s Already Known

http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observation...

clipped by odie Mar 29, 2012

breakthrough cancer drub lives Science Translational Medicine

Notes by odie: More than half a million people died from cancer in the U.S. in 2011. We have many astounding advances in medicine to thank for that number not being higher. But that grim figure could also be a lot lower even without a breakthrough drug for breast or lun

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More than half a million people died from cancer in the U.S. in 2011. We have many astounding advances in medicine to thank for that number not being higher. But that grim figure could also be a lot lower even without a breakthrough drug for breast or lung cancer.

In fact, more than 280,000 of those lives could have been spared by preventing the disease in the first place—all via behavioral and research changes based on scientific discoveries that have been made already, according to a new review article published online March 28 in Science Translational Medicine. This statistic is not new, the researchers pointed out, but quibbling over details of exactly how many cases of—or deaths from—each form of cancer are due to preventable risk factors, the researchers noted, has delayed investment in mitigating the risks that researchers already know about, the authors argued.

“We actually have an enormous amount of data about the causes and preventability of cancer,” Graham Colditz, a professor at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and co-author of the new study, said in a prepared statement. “It’s time we made an investment in implementing what we know.”

Scientists know, for instance, that more exercise and less alcohol intake can lower the risk for breast cancer and that quitting smoking drastically reduces the risk for lung cancer. We also know that vaccines for HPV and hepatitis can reduce liver and cervical cancers by more than half and that aspirin can reduce overall cancer death by some 20 percent. Getting these interventions to the right people, however, is easier said than done.

“The obstacles to these efforts are societal and arise from the organization of institutions, including academia, and in the habits of daily life,” the researchers wrote.

And habits can be hard to break, especially the biggest cancer-causing habit of all: smoking. Without smoking, at least 75 percent of all lung cancer cases in the U.S. could be avoided, they noted.

Research, too, needs to change the ways it gets things done. With the lion’s share of funding for cancer research allocated to seeking new treatments, the science of prevention can get short shrift—in funding and in academic esteem. Although much progress has been made in developing treatments to extend the lives of those who already have specific kinds of cancer, the researchers suggested that “behavioral interventions, such as smoking cessation or promotion of physical activity can diminish incidence and mortality of many types of cancer and other chronic diseases while at the same time improving quality of life.”

Colditz and his colleagues suggested that professional prestige be bestowed not just on basic biological discoveries, but also on applied medicine and those who discover how to make the best use of what we already know. “There is much more the United States and the world and be doing to prevent cancer. Right now,” they wrote.

Perhaps one the biggest hurdles in putting prevention to work, however, has been our own rush to see results. “Humans are impatient, and that human trait itself is an obstacle to cancer prevention,” they noted. “Studies that focus on short-term exposures or short-term follow-up almost certainly will miss the true benefits of prevention.”

For example, despite reductions to the amount of asbestos workers could be exposed to starting in the 1970s in the UK, rules were slow to be fully implemented and extended to lower levels of exposure. So, asbestos-related cancers will probably keep rising there until 2020. Likewise, on an individual level, someone who quits smoking drops his or her risk of lung cancer by 13 percent in the first five years after stopping. Not bad, but by 10 years out, the risk drops by 33 percent.

So to really prevent more cancers over the long haul, researchers and policy makers should take the long view—interventions and study participants should be followed not for two or five years, the researchers noted, but for 20 and beyond. And these studies should start earlier. Many cancers take decades to develop, and even lifestyle choices made in our youth, such as alcohol use and lack of physical activity, can impact cancer risk down the road. So to realize the biggest results, the authors noted, “studies and interventions should be targeted at the early stages of the human life span, but this rarely happens.”

Colditz and his colleagues also argued that achieving dramatic cuts to cancer incidence requires immediate action—individually and collectively. “Each passing year leaves a substantially greater portion of the world population at risk for cancer, despite our current knowledge,” they wrote. “We have a moral responsibility to act now and reduce that burden.”

Celulas Madre

http://celulas-madres-adultas.blogspot.com/

clipped by miamilux Mar 27, 2012

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Notes by miamilux: Las Celulas Madre, milagro de vida. Gracias a JDI International en base a las Algas AFA, podemos incrementar en un 30% nuestro nivel de Celulas Madres Adultas en nuestro Torrente Sanguineo desde nuestra medula osea

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Celulas Madre Milagro de la Vida

http://www.celulasmadre.me

clipped by miamilux Mar 22, 2012

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Notes by miamilux: Celulas madre, milagro de vida. JDI International utiliza el producto Vita-Stim patentado por el Dr. John Capello para prevenir y mejorar tu salud, regenerando las celulas dañadas de tu organismo. Basado en las algas AFA, un verdadero milagro de vida

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Aspirin a day may keep cancer away

http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/health/143...

clipped by odie Mar 21, 2012

asprin cancer one per day reduce risk tumors

Notes by odie: Taking aspirin every day may significantly reduce the risk of many cancers and prevent tumors from spreading, according to two new studies published Tuesday.

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Taking aspirin every day may significantly reduce the risk of many cancers and prevent tumors from spreading, according to two new studies published Tuesday.

The findings add to a body of evidence suggesting that cheap and widely available aspirin may be a powerful if overlooked weapon in the battle against cancer. But the research also poses difficult questions for doctors and public health officials, as regular doses of aspirin can cause gastrointestinal bleeding and other side effects. Past studies have suggested that the drawbacks of daily use may outweigh the benefits, particularly in healthy patients.

One of the new studies examined patient data from dozens of large, long-term randomized controlled trials involving tens of thousands of men and women. Researchers at the University of Oxford found that after three years of daily aspirin use, the risk of developing cancer was reduced by almost 25 percent when compared with a control group not taking aspirin. After five years, the risk of dying of cancer was reduced by 37 percent among those taking aspirin.

A second paper that analyzed five large randomized, controlled studies in Britain found that over 6 1/2 years on average, daily aspirin use reduced the risk of metastatic cancer by 36 percent and the risk of adenocarcinomas -- common solid cancers, including colon, lung and prostate cancer -- by 46 percent.

The studies, led by Dr. Peter M. Rothwell, a professor of clinical neurology at the University of Oxford, were published in the medical journal the Lancet. A third paper by Rothwell and his colleagues, published in the Lancet Oncology, compared the findings of observational studies and randomized trials of aspirin.

There is an urgent need for clinical trials of treatment regimens incorporating aspirin, Rothwell said. "What really jumps out at you in terms of prevention is the striking 75 percent reduction in esophageal cancer and a 40 to 50 percent reduction in colorectal cancer, which is the most common cancer right now," he said. "In terms of prevention, anyone with a family history would be sensible to take aspirin."

"I think he's on to something. I just want to be cautious, and I don't want to exaggerate," said Dr. Otis Brawley, chief medical officer of the American Cancer Society.

One Third of Cancers Caused by Lifestyle Factors

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/754931

clipped by odie Dec 07, 2011

1/3 alcohol cancer diet lifestyle factors obesity tobacco

Notes by odie: One third of all cancers are caused by 4 common lifestyle factors — tobacco, diet, alcohol, and obesity.

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December 7, 2011 — One third of all cancers are caused by 4 common lifestyle factors — tobacco, diet, alcohol, and obesity.

This finding comes from a detailed review of lifestyle and environmental factors. Researchers calculated the fraction of cancers that can be attributed to each of these factors. The huge study was published as a supplement to the December issue of the British Journal of Cancer.

"This is the most comprehensive review of cancer and lifestyle undertaken to date," said lead author Max Parkin, MD, professor of epidemiology at Queen Mary University, London, United Kingdom. He was speaking at a press conference held by Cancer Research UK, which sponsored the review.

The review was based on the most recent data available; researchers based their 2010 estimates on British incidence figures from 1993 to 2007. The team then calculated the proportion of cancers that could be attributed to the following factors: smoking tobacco, drinking alcohol, lack of fruit and vegetables, lack of fiber, eating red and processed meat, too much salt, being overweight or obese, lack of physical exercise, radiation (ionizing and ultraviolet), occupational exposure (e.g., asbestos), infections (e.g., human papillomavirus [HPV]), and — specifically for women — postmenopausal hormone replacement therapy and lack of breast-feeding.

"Many people believe that cancer is down to fate or is 'in the genes,' and that it is the luck of the draw whether they get it," Dr. Parkin said. However, he added, "looking at the evidence, it's clear that about 40% of all cancers are caused by things we mostly have the power to change."

The figure is 45% in men and 40% in women; that difference was mostly accounted for by breast cancer in women, Dr. Parkin noted.

In the United Kingdom, this means that around 134,000 cancers annually could be prevented — just over 100,000 of these cases were attributed to tobacco, unhealthy diets, alcohol, and excess weight. Smoking was by far the most important factor, accounting on its own for 60,000 cancers in the United Kingdom each year, or 1 in 5 of all cancers diagnosed, Dr. Parkin emphasized.

Several findings in the review were rather surprising, he said.

"We didn't expect to find that eating fruit and vegetables would prove to be so important in protecting men against cancer," he said. "And for women, we didn't expect being overweight to have a greater effect than alcohol."

Cancers in Men

Risk Factor	Cancers Attributed to Risk Factor (%)
Tobacco	23.0
Lack of fruit and vegetables	6.1
Occupational exposure	4.9
Alcohol	4.6
Overweight and obesity	4.1
Excessive sun exposure and sunbeds	3.5

Cancers in Women

Risk Factor	Cancers Attributed to Risk Factor (%)
Tobacco	15.6
Overweight and obesity	6.9
Infections (e.g., HPV)	3.7
Excessive sun exposure and sunbeds	3.6
Lack of fruit and vegetables	3.4
Alcohol	3.3

The measure used in this review was the population-attributable fraction. Some of the lifestyle factors studied overlap one another, so the percentages add up to more than 100%, Dr. Parkin noted. In lung cancer, for example, the population-attributable fraction for tobacco was 85%, for occupation factors was 13.2%, for lack of fruit and vegetables was 9%, and for ionizing radiation was 4.7%.

In combination, these lifestyle factors account for 89.2% of cases of lung cancer, and just over 10% of lung cancers are not linked to any of these factors, he explained. However, a healthy lifestyle is still no guarantee that you can reduce the risk of getting cancer, he said. "There is always a chance element. While we can modify the probabilities, we can't remove that chance element," he said.

"The vast majority of lung cancer can be prevented," said Sara Hiom, information officer for Cancer Research UK. Although nationwide antismoking campaigns have been very effective at reducing the number of people who smoke, the decline has leveled off and is now at a constant 22% of the population. "We must try to drive this down further, and especially prevent young people from taking up the habit," she said. Cancer Research UK is considering how to publicize the fact that other cancers, in addition to lung cancer, can be caused by smoking; the charity is also working with the British government on an initiative for plain packaging of tobacco.

Cancer Research UK is also working on ways to emphasize messages about diet, excess weight, and the importance of physical activity, she told journalists. About one quarter of the population in the United Kingdom is now overweight, she noted. The charity has been running a major "sun smart" campaign to tackle the increase in malignant melanoma seen in recent years, emphasizing the risk for cancer from sudden extreme sun exposure among pale Caucasians, the so-called holiday "sunshine binge."

Dr. Parkin noted that any prevention strategies must be "reasonable." For example, the review considered no alcohol intake as the optimum, but it is not realistic to encourage everyone to stop drinking; in any case, there is some evidence to suggest that a small amount of alcohol has cardiovascular benefits. Overall, however, following healthy lifestyle options will reduce the risk for other diseases in addition to cancer, he said.

In an introduction to the supplement, Sir Richard Peto, FRS, from Oxford University, United Kingdom, points out that controlling the 4 lifestyle factors that contribute most to cancers — tobacco, alcohol, diet, and obesity — would also substantially reduce the burden of other noncommunicable diseases, particularly cardiovascular, diabetic, renal, and hepatic disease.

Tips To Choose The Best Breast Cancer Hospital

http://www.articlesbase.com/cancer-articles/tip...

clipped by alishafedrix Aug 24, 2011

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Notes by alishafedrix: Breast cancer is a disease in which cancer cells form in the tissues of the breast. Find more information Breast Cancer Harrisburg, visit website Theoakwoodcenter.org.

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T-CELL Assassins! Amazing Breakthrough In Fighting Leukemia

http://backpagemagazine.com/2011/08/15/t-cell-a...

clipped by frankbuddenbrock Aug 16, 2011

American Cancer Society Cancer chronic lymphocytic leukemia Dr. Carl June Dr. Lee M. Nadler Harvard Medical School Leukemia Los Angeles Times T-CELL University of Pennsylvania

Notes by frankbuddenbrock: Last year, nearly 1.5 million new cases of cancer were expected to be diagnosed according to the American Cancer Society, with 559,650 people expected to die from the disease. Cancer is a mystifying, unfair, and growing epidemic. Even with the amount of t

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