Stand Up To Cancer

Research continues to indicate that obesity is a risk factor for cancer. This LAT article summarizes neatly what's known about the connection: at least half a dozen types of cancer are believed to be directly affected by weight, including postmenopausal breast cancer, colon cancer, endometrial cancer, kidney cancer and pancreatic cancer. And a few types of the disease are actually correlated with lower body weight, such as lung cancer - smokers tend to be thinner than their nonsmoking peers.
http://www.latimes.com/features/health/fitness/la-he-obesity-cancer-20100322,0,2957276.story

At a hearing this week, the FDA asked a panel of outside doctors to consider a range of potential steps to regulate the tanning bed industry. Currently, the machines are rated as Class I medical devices, putting them in the same category as low-risk products like bandages and tongue depressors. By upping their classification to Class II, the FDA could require manufacturers of tanning beds to submit information about them before they hit the market. These moves come in the wake of last summer's WHO study indicating that tanning beds are a leading cause of skin cancer.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/03/25/earlyshow/health/main6332004.shtml

A new gene test can help identify which breast cancer patients are more likely to respond well to treatment with common chemotherapy drugs. In a meta-analysis of four breast cancer trials, researchers found that an abnormality on chromosome 17 is a "highly significant indicator" that the tumor will respond to anthracyclines. The finding, presented this week at the European Breast Cancer Conference, means doctors will be able to better tailor treatment to patients and avoid giving them toxic drugs that won't help.
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSLDE62N1HX20100325

In food-related news (my favorite kind!), new research shows that walnuts can reduce the size and growth rate of prostate cancer in animals. There is already evidence that tomatoes and pomegranate juice can reduce prostate cancer risk; now walnuts, a good source of several healthful substances, including omega-3 fatty acids, could be added to that list. "Walnuts should be part of a prostate-healthy diet," said Paul Davis, Ph.D., of the University of California-Davis, who headed the study. "They should be part of a balanced diet that includes lots of fruits and vegetables."
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2010/03/walnuts_prostate.html

Finally, a spike in occurrences of mouth cancer over the past fifty years sent researchers searching for the cause, and they may have found it: HPV, otherwise known as the sexually transmitted disease that causes cervical cancer. The authors of a study in the British Medical Journal suggest that the HPV vaccine be extended to boys as well as girls, helping to prevent the virus from causing the disease later in life.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/7521048/Rise-in-mouth-cancer-may-be-due-to-sexually-transmitted-infection-experts.html

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

--Cat