Cancer Blog and Forum

The Pill doesn’t affect cervical pre-cancer risk
Risk not affected if women use hormonal contraceptives, research finds

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NEW YORK - Women with certain types of human papilloma virus (HPV) infection run the risk of developing CIN — cervical intraepithelial neoplasia, a type of pre-cancer. However, contrary to previous concerns, their risk is not affected if they use hormonal contraceptives, or by their history of pregnancy and childbearing, researchers have found.

Previous studies have suggested an increased risk of CIN with long-term oral contraceptive use and having more than one child, the investigators explain in the International Journal of Cancer, but such studies did not account for the possible confounding effect of cancer-related HPV infection.

Dr. Philip E. Castle from National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland and colleagues investigated the development of CIN in young women who tested positive for these types of HPV and had minimally abnormal Pap smears.

Among these women, the likelihood of finding CIN was no higher for current or former oral contraceptive users than for those who had never used the Pill, the team reports.

There was a marginal association with CIN and the current use of injectable or former Norplant use.

The number of pregnancies and children a woman had were not associated with being infected with the cancer-related strains of HPV, or with CIN in those who did have these infections, the researchers note.

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Some at breast-cancer risk get coffee break
Java improves odds for those with rare genetic mutation, Canadian study says

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By ANDRÉ PICARD
Friday, January 6, 2006
PUBLIC HEALTH REPORTER

Women who drink six or more cups of coffee a day can slash their risk of developing breast cancer by a startling 75 per cent -- but only if they have a genetic mutation that places them at extremely high risk of developing cancer in the first place, according to new Canadian research.

The study shows that women with the BRCA1 mutation, who have about an 80-per-cent risk of developing breast cancer before age 70, saw that risk fall to about 20 per cent if they were heavy coffee drinkers.

"The results are dramatic," said Steven Narod, Canadian Research Chair in Breast Cancer and principal author of the study.

However, in an interview, he cautioned that the findings apply only to a very specific subset of women. About one in 500 women in Canada carry the BRCA1 mutation, and an equal number carry the BRCA2 mutation. (The study results were unclear on whether they, too, benefited from coffee consumption.)

"I wish we saw these effects in every woman, but we don't," Dr. Narod said.

"Still, this provides some important information for women with the mutation," he said.

The new research, published in yesterday's edition of the International Journal of Cancer, involved 1,690 women with BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations.

Less than 5 per cent of the women in the study habitually drank six or more cups of coffee daily, but their risk reduction was by far the greatest.

Those who drank four to five cups a day saw their risk fall by 25 per cent, while those who drank one to three cups (the large majority) had a relative risk reduction of 10 per cent compared with women who drank no coffee.

Only women who drank caffeinated coffee derived any benefit. Women with the genetic mutation who drank decaf actually saw their risk increase slightly.

Parviz Ghadirian, a professor in the department of nutrition at the University of Montreal and co-author of the paper, said caffeine has a demonstrated effect on hormones, and the hormone estrogen in particular. (Excessive estrogen is known to cause breast cancer.)

He said caffeine helps the body metabolize (or break down) estrogen. Coffee is also an important source of phytoestrogens, which may have protective effect against cancer.

At the same time, caffeine can rob the bones of important minerals and hasten osteoporosis.

"It's a bizarre situation," Dr. Ghadirian said. "You don't want to suggest that people drink this much coffee -- six cups a day is a lot -- but for gene carriers, this is one thing we can tell them that is beneficial."

Some of these women have undergone mastectomies (and had their estrogen-producing ovaries removed) because they are so worried about getting breast cancer.

A less radical prevention option would likely be welcomed by those who carry the high-risk gene.

At the Centre for Research in Women's Health at Sunnybrook and Women's College Health Sciences Centre, where Dr. Narod practices, women with genetic mutations that predispose them to breast cancer are given a long list of dietary and lifestyle practices that can help them reduce risk.

Despite the new data, the researcher said he is unlikely to recommend enormous quantities of coffee.

Rather, Dr. Narod said he will continue to urge women to seek other sources of phytoestrogens (such as green leafy vegetables including broccoli and Brussels sprouts, and soy) and supplements such as DIM (Diindolylmethane, a broccoli extract sold in pill form).

The BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations are seen principally in women of Ashkenazi (Eastern European) Jewish heritage who have a first-degree relative (parent, sibling, child) with breast or ovarian cancer. Women who are not of Ashkenazi descent, but have a first-degree relative diagnosed with breast cancer before age 50 or a male relative with breast cancer, are also at higher likelihood of carrying the breast-cancer gene.

Dr. Narod said all women of Jewish descent should undergo genetic testing, as should anyone with a strong family history of breast or ovarian cancer.

In 2005, an estimated 21,600 women and 150 men were diagnosed with breast cancer, according to the Canadian Cancer Society. An estimated 5,300 women and 45 men died of breast cancer last year.

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This article in the Telegraph talks about a new stem cell discovery that may help fight breast cancer. New findings from two research teams -- one in Australia and the other in Canada -- have discovered a "mammary gland stem cell". The article explains the possible benefits of the discovery: "Under normal circumstances, the newly identified breast stem cell will produce healthy tissue. But it is believed that an accumulation of genetic errors, perhaps combined with external influences and a family predisposition, could cause the breast stem cell or a 'daughter' cell to produce faulty cells. The errant breast cell can then become a tumour factory." Like all scientific discoveries, more study is needed. The results from these studies are based on studies using mice, and it will take some time to translate the findings to humans.

The finding may also help explain the recurrence of breast cancer in many patients: "Chemotherapy works by targeting cells that are dividing rapidly, which is typical behaviour of cancer cells. But an errant stem-like cell may be more resistant to chemotherapy because it divides more slowly. So while chemotherapy can eliminate the bulk of cancer cells, the tumour factory itself - a breast cancer stem cell - may survive months or years later."

Read the full article here.

In this article, it talks about recent studies that show that people who excercise regularly prior to diagnosis of bowel cancer, had much higher survival rates compared to those who did not: "The chance of dying for regular exercisers was halved if they had stage two or three tumours - moderately advanced cancer which had not spread to other parts of the body, Dr Haydon said." Doctors were amazed by the magnitude of the survival benefit for bowel cancer patients.

Read the full article here.

A recent study has shown that dogs can be trained to sniff out cancer, and that the results can be more accurate that CT Scans. According to this article, "dogs were able to detect cancer from breath samples with an accuracy rate of between 88 and 97 per cent." The study trained dogs to detect cancer from breath samples, and included a control group of healthly people: "The current study used three Labrador retrievers and two Portuguese water dogs, 7 to 18 months old, who were trained by being given treats as rewards when they lay down in front of the cancer breath samples. In the double-blind study, not even their handlers knew which samples were from cancer patients, so the dogs had to wait until they left the room to be rewarded." In future, the study may lead to earlier detection of some cancers, which means treament can start sooner, possibly soon enough to stop the cancer before it spreads.

Read the full article here.

Drug maker Celgene has completed a trial for use of the drug Thalomid for use by cancer patients. The drug, which is commonly used to treat leprosy, has not yet been approved by the FDA to treat cancer. The recent study was terminated when the study reached statistical significance for treating patients with previously untreated multiple myeloma: The results seem impressive: " In a 270-patient trial, those given Thalomid plus the synthetic steroid dexamethasone went an average of 75.7 weeks before their disease progressed, compared with 27.9 weeks in patients given dexamethasone alone. Patients in the Thalomid group survived an average of 55.7 weeks without disease progression, versus 24.3 weeks in the dexamethasone-only group." This latest study should mean that Thalomid will soon be approved for treating multiple myeloma.

Read the full article.

A recent study has added support to the argument that screening for prostate cancer does not extend the lives of men diagnosed with the disease. The study compared two groups of men, one group has eventually died from prostate cancer with another group with similar ages and other factors. The study found that the group of surviving men with prostate cancer were not more likely to have been screened for prostate cancer prior to diagnosis.

Read the article here.

A recent study has reveal that a protein called alphaB-crystallin can trigger events that may cause breast cancer. This protein normally protects cells from stress damage: "The researchers found that women whose breast tumors express the alphaB-crystallin protein have a shorter survival, suggesting that alphaB-crystallin may be a useful molecular marker to identify women with aggressive breast cancer and to develop new targeted cancer therapies."

Read the article here.

Finding of new studies are showing that a new liquid-based test for cervical cancer is not any more effective than the tradional Pap smear test: " In a review of 56 studies, including more than one million slides, that looked at liquid-based and conventional cytology, Dr. Elizabeth Davey, from the University of Sydney in Australia, and colleagues found little differences in the two approaches. They report in the Lancet this week that the liquid-based tests did not detect any more serious cervical lesions, which could lead to cancer, than the conventional tests. Liquid-based and conventional cytology also produced a similar number of unsatisfactory slides."

Read the article here.

This article discussed a recent connection made between exposure to electric light (at night) and breast cancer. The connection stems from the fact that light exposure during darkness hours interferes with women's ability to produce melatonin, a hormone that manages the body's day and night rhythms.

David Blask, who lead the study, explains: "melatonin puts cancer cells, in particular breast-cancer cells, to sleep at night, but if the levels of this hormone are diminished by exposure to light at night, cancers become insomniacs and grow all the time."

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This article discussed a study that shows that tumeric (also known as curcumin) can help prevent prostate cancer. I have read previously about the benefits of tumeric, which is found in most curries (curry is not a spice, but rather a blend of different spices). They also tested phenethyl isothiocyanate (PEITC), commonly found in vegetables such as broccoli and cauliflower:

"The bottom line is that PEITC and curcumin, alone or in combination, demonstrate significant cancer-preventive qualities in laboratory mice, and the combination of PEITC and curcumin could be effective in treating established prostate cancers," said Ah-Ng Tony Kong, a professor of pharmaceutics at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey.

A recent study has revealed a reason why eating too much red meat can increase the risk of the cancer. Discussed in this article, scientists have that red meat increases levels of compounds in the bowel that can alter DNA and increase the risk of cancer: "They found that red meat consumption was linked to increased levels of substances called N-nitroso compounds, which are formed in the large bowel. The compounds may stick to DNA, making it more likely to undergo mutations that increase the odds of cancer." There is hope that the results of the stidy may help lead to methods of ealier detection of colorectal cancer.

This article suggests that cervical cancer vaccine may be arround the corner. The vaccine had performed incredibly well in trials. The vaccine actually targets certain types of the HPV virus, which is known to cause 70% of cervical cancer cases. This would be the first time that a drug has been released that directly targets cancer at the root cause.

Read the full article here.