Stand Up To Cancer

According to research released on Tuesday, a drug called iloprost may work to prevent lung cancer in those who have quit smoking. The drug, which is usually used to treat pulmonary hypertension, scleroderma and Raynaud's phenomenon, showed promise for preventing lung cancer in former smokers in a phase II clinical trial. "Oral iloprost significantly improves endobronchial dysplasia in former smokers and deserves further study to determine if it can prevent the development of lung cancer," the researchers concluded.
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN1867856420100518

Meanwhile, a new study disputes the link previously made between a high-carbohydrate diet and an increased risk of pancreatic cancer. Researchers from the NCI have found that carbohydrate intake might be a consequence, rather than a cause, of the disease; because fatty foods can create digestive issues, patients with the stomach problems that generally precede pancreatic cancer might be replacing some of the fat in their diets with carbs, which are easier to process. The finding could help scientists better understand inconsistent results from earlier studies.
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE64J60020100520

Fresh research in this month's issue of the Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology indicates that men who suffer from asthma or eczema may experience a lower risk of developing some of the most common types of cancer. These allergic conditions result from having a hyper-reactive immune system, which may bolster the body's ability to ward off other diseases: "Allergic conditions . . . might enhance the body's ability to remove malignant (cancer) cells, which might in turn lower cancer risk," said the article's lead author. "In our study, men with asthma had lower odds of getting stomach cancer and those with eczema had lower odds of developing lung cancer, when compared to men who did not have these conditions."
http://www.stlamerican.com/articles/2010/05/20/your_health_matters/health_news/health03.txt

Researchers at UConn have developed a new technique for detecting biomarker proteins associated with several types of oral cancer, including head and neck squamous cell carcinomas. Their technique detects bloodstream levels of the protein with record sensitivity, levels that increase before tumors even begin to form. The next step, the researchers say, is creating an automated system that can detect these biomarkers at the point of care, enabling doctors to detect cancers early or even head them off at the pass before a tumor has a chance to form.
http://today.uchc.edu/features/2010/may10/cancer.html

Finally, the long-awaited results of the first long-term study on cell phones and cancer came out Monday in the Journal of Epidemiology. But according to the director of the International Agency for Research on Cancer, which helped to coordinate the study, the results aren't conclusive: although overall there's no clear connection between cell phone use and cancer, among the 10% of the 12,000 participants who used their phones most often and for the longest periods of time - 30 minutes a day or more over 10 years or more - had a substantially higher risk than those who didn't use a phone at all. And those who used cell phones infrequently actually showed a lower risk of developing some brain tumors than people who only used landlines.
http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1989740,00.html

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

--Cat