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September 19, 2008
News
Headlines
BMI and Weight Gain
Unrelated to Colon Cancer Recurrence Risk
Sentinal Node Biopsy
Warranted in Some Cases of Thin Melanoma
Adding Zoledronic
Acid to Breast Cancer Therapy Improves Outcomes
Avastin Slows
Progression of Lung Cancer
Voice Outcome
Similar with Endoscopic Surgery or Radiotherapy for Glottic
Cancer
Trabectedin Shows Promise in Recurrent Ovarian Cancer
Strict Mediterranean
Diet Offers Big Health Boost
New Chemical Slows
Progression of Pancreatic Cancer in Lab
Botulinum Toxin A
Effective for Persistent Cystitis Following Cancer
Treatment
No Such Thing as a Safe Tan
Cancerpage news is updated daily, Monday
through Friday, and on the weekends as
warranted. More
than twenty-seven new articles have been added to cancerpage news
since the last newsletter. To see ALL the latest stories, go to the
cancerpage.com search
page and click on Submit (but
leave search field black.)
Bogus Cancer Cures
- Action Taken
After more than 100 warning
letters from the federal government and changes to claims made on web
sites and in televised and print ads, the Federal Trade Commission filed
compaints against five companies yesterday, and announced settlements with six
others as it launched a major cancer-cure fraud campaign.
Read
an Associated Press story here .
Go
to the FTC web site here
. Latest FDA List 0f 187 fake Cancer Cures to
Avoid
.
Blood Clots! - Spot Em - Prevent
Em
The U.S. Surgeon
General wants you to know how serious a health issue DeepVein Thrombosis [DVT]
(blood clots) is, especially for people who can't move around well or who
have recently had surgery. If you are over 65 years old
or are being treated
for cancer, your risk is higher too. A major public awareness
campaign has been launched.
Read more about DVT - the
signs and when to call the doctor - here
. En
Espanol, here.
FDA Notice to Oncologists and
Patients About Rituxan
Genentech informed doctors
of changes to prescribing information for Rituxan - which is prescribed for
non-Hodgkins Lymphoma - regarding a case of progressive multifocal
leukoencephalopathy (PML) leading to death in a rheumatoid arthritis patient
with who received Rituxan. The patient developed an infection with
resultant PML and died 18 months after taking the last dose of Rituxan.
Healthcare professionals treating patients with Rituxan are urged to
consider PML in any patient presenting with new neurological
symptoms.
Read the Genentech note
here
.
Colon Cancer Screening
Interval - What's Best?
A study in the New England Journal of
Medicine this week
found a low risk of colon cancer in folks of regular risk five
years after a clean colonoscopy. So it looks like the 5-year interval
between colonscopies is valid, but what about the widely recommended 10-year
interval? Dr. Thomas F. Imperiale, of the Indiana University School of Medicine,
lead author of the study, says he starts talking to his patients about
re-testing after 7 to 8 years, depending on the patient's
characteristics. Risk of colon cancer increases with age, and can
increase with changes in lifestyle behaviors such as smoking, alcohol
consumption, and physical activity.
Read more in a cancerpage story here
.
In the Lab - In the
Clinic
Wisconsin researchers report
making a synthetic version of a protein that cancer cells need to break off from
the main tumor and move to a new location in the body such as the bone
marrow, lymph nodes, brain, lungs, or liver. CXCL12 chemokines regulate
cell movement. "We hope that stable synthetic versions of CXCL12 will
allow us to conduct proof-of-concept studies about cancer prevention," the
Medical College of Wisconsin 's Brian Volkman, Ph.D, says. "It's clear that
CXCL12 is an important molecule for designing new ways to treat cancer."
Read
more about the Valkman team's research and where it's headed
here.
Gene-therapy for pain relief?
University of Michigan Health Systems researchers have launched a phase I
clinical trial to test it out. They're using the the herpes simplex virus
(the one that causes cold sores) to deliver the gene for enkephalin, one of the
body's natural pain relievers. "In this trial the enkephalin peptide,
produced as a result of the gene transfer, will be released selectively in the
spinal cord at a site involved in transmitting pain from the affected body part
to the brain."
Read
more about it here. Twelve patients are being
recruited .
Preserving
Fertility After Cancer
MyOncofertility.org
Check out MyOncofertility.org a
web site built by
The Oncofertility Consortium
. The Consortium is supported by a grant from the National Institutes of
Health to advance research into reserving fertility in people facing a diagnosis
and treatment for cancer. It is headquartered at Northwestern University.
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