News
January 4, 2010
Vitamin D is important in women with breast cancer.
Vitamin D deficiency appears to be associated with decreased bone mineral density and an increased likelihood of the breast cancer coming back. During chemotherapy and treatment, women with breast cancer are at higher risk of experiencing bone loss. In addition, hormonal therapies (aromatase inhibitors) may further impact bone health. A recent study found that 69% of patients undergoing treatment for breast cancer were vitamin D deficient. 50,000 IU per week of supplemental vitamin D turned out to be the most efficient manner to correct the deficiency. After 12 to 16 weeks, a repeat vitamin D level should be obtained to determine the need for subsequent treatment and the appropriate vitamin D dose. Caution is advised, since it is possible to get too much vitamin D.
November 1, 2009
Ginger quells chemo related nausea
In a study from the Mayo Clinic, researchers found that 1 g of Ginger twice-daily taken by mouth reduces chemotherapy induced nausea by 40% when compared to patients that received a placebo. Patients took Ginger in capsule form starting three days before the first chemotherapy infusion. 1 g of Ginger is equal to about a half teaspoon of loose ginger.
May 1, 2009
Pomegranate juice slows prostate cancer progression
The consumption of pomegranate juice has a beneficial effect on patients that underwent surgery or radiation therapy for prostate cancer and experienced a rising PSA level. The rise in PSA level over time was decreased by 75%. Participants of that study were given 8 ounces of pomegranate juice per day on the average. These patients were followed for 4 1/2 years.
April 29, 2009
Vitamin E, selenium or soy do not prevent prostate cancer progression
The result of the recently published SELECT study was disappointing. Researchers found that vitamin E, selenium and soy did not prevent progression of high grade prostate cancer. In this study, 303 men were randomly assigned to daily treatment with 40 g of soy protein, 800 IU of vitamin D and 200 mcg of selenium or placebo for three years. These supplements did not prevent progression of prostate cancer which occurred in 26.4% of patients. The authors concluded that this is an important finding "since many of these supplements are promoted falsely to the general public as having beneficial effects on cancer prevention and progression". (Christopher Amling 5/09)
February 5, 2009
High selenium intake did not reduce risk for bladder cancer
To determine the association between concentrations of toenail selenium and the risk for bladder cancer, researchers compared selenium levels of 767 patients with newly diagnosed bladder cancer identified through the New Hampshire State Cancer Registry with 1,108 controls from the general population. Compared with controls, the case group consisted of more smokers and men; selenium concentrations were lower (0.88 mcg/g vs. 0.86 mcg/g).
Participants were divided into quartiles based on selenium concentrations: Q1 <0.77 mcg/g, Q2 0.77-0.86 mcg/g, Q3 0.87-0.95 mcg/g and Q4 >0.95 mcg/g. The researchers controlled for age, sex and pack-years of smoking. They used regression analyses to produce ORs and CIs.
Women in the highest vs. lowest quartile had an OR of 0.66(95% CI, 0.40-1.10). The OR for highest vs. lowest quartile never smokers was 0.78 (95% CI, 0.44-1.37), for moderate smokers the OR was 0.61 (95% CI, 0.39-0.96) and for heavy smokers the OR was 1.44 (95% CI, 0.91-2.27).
According to the researchers, the interaction between pack-years and selenium was significant (P=.01). They also reported a dose-response relationship across all four quartiles in men and women for tumors with strong intensity p53 staining.
Source HemOncToday
November 5, 2008
Patient's as artists!
We now have a new page called Patient's as artists to showcase the works of our talented patients.
September 30, 2008
Cancer and the Immune System
We know that the body's immune system plays an important role in controlling cancer. Some cancers -- such as kidney cancer and melanoma -- have been linked more closely to eliciting an immune response than others. We know for example that Interferon improves the outcome in some patients with melanoma when administered following surgery. Interferon is an important substance produced by a certain type of white blood cell in response to viral infections. It is part of the immune system's defensive response to fight off viruses.
Along the same lines a number of investigators have attempted to create cancer vaccines that help the body to mount an immune response to certain cancers. At the American Cancer Society meeting in 2008 data from a study (EORTC 18961) that involved 1300 patients with stage II melanoma was presented. After undergoing complete removal of the melanoma, these patients were randomly assigned to receive either vaccination with the adjuvant ganglioside GM2-KLH21 or no treatment (observation only). Disappointingly five years into the study the patients receiving the vaccine did not do as well as the ones that did not received any additional therapy.
September 29, 2008
Essential nutrient found in eggs reduces Breast cancer risk by 24%
Choline, an essential nutrient found in foods such as eggs is associated with a 24% decrease in the risk of developing breast cancer, according to a study from the US National Institutes of Health (NIH). The study involved 3000 adult women. Women with the lowest intake consumed a daily average of 196 mg or less of choline. Similar results were found in other studies, including a study published by researchers at Harvard University and a third study on Chinese women.
Only 10% of Americans currently meet the recommended intake of choline which is 550 mg per day for men and breast-feeding women, 425 mg per day for women and 450 mg per day for pregnant women. One egg contains 125.5 mg of choline. Choline is found exclusively in the eggs yolk. Other top food sources of choline include liver, wheat germ and cauliflower.
September 10, 2008
Vitamin D deficiency linked to worse prognosis in Breast cancer
A study presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting reported on Vitamin D levels in women with breast cancer. Women with a vitamin deficiency at the time of breast cancer diagnoses are 95% more likely to experience metastases and 73% more likely to die compared with women with adequate vitamin D levels.
Women with vitamin D levels less than 50 nmol/l are more likely to have high grade (more aggressive)tumors. The study was conducted in Toronto and involved 512 women with breast cancer. There may be an association between vitamin D levels and breast cancer, however, the authors of the study cautioned that it is not clear whether low vitamin D levels are the cause of a poor outcome. Further studies are needed to address this question.
