Stand Up To Cancer

In case you haven't already heard, SU2C had some exciting news of its own to announce this week. Our Scientific Advisory Committee has announced its first five Dream Teams, slated to receive over $70 million in funding over the next three years. You can read all about our 2009 Dream Teams and their projects here:
http://www.standup2cancer.org/meet_the_dream_teams.php

Using a cutting-edge gene scanning method, Harvard researchers have identified a gene mutation involved in as many as 30% of cancers, according to a study published in the journal Cell. The KRAS mutation has proved resistant to targeted cancer therapies so far, but there could be a way to "silence" them, thereby creating a drug with a better chance of fighting KRAS-mutation cancers like leukemia, pancreatic cancer and lung cancer.
http://www.reuters.com/article/scienceNews/idUSTRE54R5X420090528

Here's some good news from the American Cancer Society's annual report on "Cancer Facts and Figures": fewer people are getting cancer now, and fewer people are dying from it. A decrease in deaths from lung, prostate and colorectal cancer between 1990 and 2005 accounted for the change in men's death rates, and a similar decrease in colorectal and breast cancer accounted for the change in women's death rates. The incidence of cancer is also on the decline, falling 1.8% per year for men and 0.6% per year for women.
http://www.nydailynews.com/lifestyle/health/2009/05/27/2009-05-27_cancer_deaths_are_on_the_decline.html

A new study in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute confirms what many already suspected: that survivors of pediatric cancer have a high risk of developing a second primary cancer later in life. The study is the first to look at childhood cancer survivors in the long-term, following a group of over 47,000 people who were diagnosed with pediatric cancer from 1943 to 2005. "This study quantified long-term temporal patterns of increased risk of cancer at specific sites in survivors of childhood cancer," the authors wrote. "The results may be useful in the screening and care of these individuals."\
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090526162840.htm

It's summertime again, and that means it's time for the beach, the pool, and the immersion in SPF 15 that comes with both. Except now some experts are saying sunscreen does little to reduce your risk of developing cancer. In fact, by blocking your skin's intake of vitamin D, it could be upping your chances of developing the disease. "Our reliance on sunscreen as protection against skin cancer is about as effective as the emperor's magic clothing," the author of this fascinating - and frightening - article says.
http://www.toyourhealth.com/mpacms/tyh/article.php?id=1195

Finally, the WaPo has a great article on the food-as-medicine trend. Daphne Miller often prescribes food instead of drugs to patients for whom medication isn't working or is causing untenable side effects. For instance, did you know that white button and shiitake mushrooms can boost your immune system - and that the best way to experience the boost is to eat the actual mushrooms, not take supplements? "A tasty dish made with inexpensive ingredients from the local market could sidestep many [patient] concerns," Miller writes. "After all, food is the one medicine that we seem quite willing to swallow -- at least three times a day."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/22/AR2009052202280.html

That's all for this week, but I'll be back next Thursday with more!

--Cat