Stand Up To Cancer

The controversy over the new PSTF mammography screening guidelines rages on. This NPR interview with Dr. Carol Lee of Memorial Sloan-Kettering looks at a new side of the debate: whether there are better methods for detecting breast cancer in women under the age of 50. Lee touches on ultrasound, MRI and nuclear medicine techniques, but notes that so far none have been shown to be a suitable replacement for mammography.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2009/11/mammography_and_beyond_for_bre.html

A new study indicates that cutting the greenhouse gases responsible for global warming could come with a set of health benefits. According to The Lancet, a global effort to walk and cycle more, drive less, switch to cleaner-burning stoves and reduce dairy and meat consumption could not only save the environment - it could also save lives. "Climate change can seem a distant, impersonal threat: In fact, the associated costs to health are a very real and present danger," says the UK's Health Secretary. "We need well- designed climate-change policies that drive health benefits."
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601086&sid=aazEVJP_nSA8

Unraveling the mystery of breast cancer risk factors just got a little easier. New research helps to explain how pregnancy can protect against the disease: the pregnancy protein alpha-fetoprotein has been shown to slow the growth of breast cancer in rats. The study's lead researcher, who has worked for two decades to prove this thesis, says that one day the finding could be leveraged into better treatment for the disease. However, other researchers warn that further investigation is necessary.
http://www.webmd.com/breast-cancer/news/20091124/pregnancy-protein-may-slow-breast-cancer

The CDC has released a set of flu season guidelines tailored toward cancer patients and survivors, who face an increased risk of complications from the virus. In a new section of their website, they answer frequently asked questions about cancer and the flu, looking at what adult cancer patients and survivors should know about this winter's flu season, whether they should be vaccinated and what kinds of antiviral drugs should be prescribed.
http://www.cdc.gov/cancer/flu/

Finally, this piece from CNN.com looks at whether gay men are at an increased risk of developing colorectal cancer. Dr. Otis Brawley, CMO of the ACS, answers that both men and women who engage in anal intercourse are at an increased risk for developing anal cancer, but the risk factors for colorectal cancers have been shown to be the same regardless of sexual orientation - family history, age and presence of inflammatory bowel disease.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/expert.q.a/11/25/rectal.anal.cancer.risk.brawley/

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

--Cat