Heavy Drinkers Outlive Nondrinkers, Study Finds - TIME

One of the most contentious issues in the vast literature about alcohol consumption has been the consistent finding that those who don't drink tend to die sooner than those who do. The standard Alcoholics Anonymous explanation for this finding is that many of those who show up as abstainers in such research are actually former hard-core drunks who had already incurred health problems associated with drinking.

But a new paper in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research suggests that — for reasons that aren't entirely clear — abstaining from alcohol does tend to increase one's risk of dying, even when you exclude former problem drinkers. The most shocking part? Abstainers' mortality rates are higher than those of heavy drinkers.
...
...

Cancer: Effect of Your Bed and How you Sleep on it

Curiously, the cancer rate is 10 percent higher in the left breast than in the right. This left-side bias holds true for both men and women and it also applies to the skin cancer melanoma. Researchers Örjan Hallberg of Hallberg Independent Research in Sweden and Ollie Johansson of The Karolinska Institute in Sweden, writing in the June issue of the journal Pathophysiology, suggest a surprising explanation that not only points to a common cause for both cancers, it may change your sleeping habits.

For unknown reasons the rates of breast cancer and melanoma have both increased steadily in the last 30 years. Exposure to the sun elevates the risk of melanoma, but the sun's intensity has not changed in the last three decades. Stranger still, melanoma most commonly affects the hip, thighs and trunk, which are areas of the body protected from the sun. What is responsible for the left-side dominance and increasing incidence of these cancers?
...
...

Coffee, Tea, Caffeine Intake, and Risk of Adult Glioma in Three Prospective Cohort Studies — Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention

Abstract

Current data suggest that caffeinated beverages may be associated with lower risk of glioma. Caffeine has different effects on the brain, some of which could play a role in brain carcinogenesis, and coffee has been consistently associated with reduced risk of liver cancer, thus suggesting a potential anticarcinogenic effect. A total of 335 incident cases of gliomas (men, 133; women, 202) were available from three independent cohort studies. Dietary intake was assessed by food frequency questionnaires obtained at baseline and during follow-up. Cox proportional hazard models were used to estimate incidence rate ratios (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) between consumption of coffee, tea, carbonated beverages, caffeine, and glioma risk adjusting for age and total caloric intake. Estimates from each cohort were pooled using a random-effects model. Consumption of five or more cups of coffee and tea daily compared with no consumption was associated with a decrease risk of glioma (RR, 0.60; 95% CI, 0.41-0.87; Ptrend = 0.04). Inverse, although weaker, associations were also observed between coffee, caffeinated coffee, tea, and carbonated beverages and glioma risk. No association was observed between decaffeinated coffee and glioma risk. Among men, a statistically significant inverse association was observed between caffeine consumption and risk of glioma (RR, 0.46; 95% CI, 0.26-0.81; Ptrend = 0.03); the association was weaker among women. Our findings suggest that consumption of caffeinated beverages, including coffee and tea, may reduce the risk of adult glioma, but further research is warranted to confirm these findings in other populations. Cancer Epidemiol Biomakers Prev; 19(1);39–47

BBC News - Herpes virus used to treat cancer

Doctors say they have used a genetically engineered herpes virus to treat successfully patients with head and neck cancer.

A London hospital trial of 17 patients found that use of the virus alongside chemotherapy and radiotherapy helped kill the tumours in most patients.

It works by getting into cancer cells, killing them from the inside, and also boosting the patient's immune system.

Further trials are planned for later in the year.

Head and neck cancer, which includes cancer of the mouth, tongue and throat, affects up to 8,000 people every year in the UK.
...
...

Cancer Decisions® - Avastin: Stunning Reversal

Sunday, 25 July 2010

In a stunning rebuke to the former director of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), an advisory panel has recommended removing the approval of the drug Avastin (bevacizumab) for breast cancer. The vote was 12 to 1 to revoke the previous approval. The panel concluded that the drug was not in fact helping breast cancer patients. In 2008 I joined with Breast Cancer Action (BCA), based in San Francisco, in opposing this approval. But at the time there was no stopping Avastin's manufacturer, Genentech, and the drug has gone on to become the world's best-selling cancer drug, with worldwide sales of around $6 billion.


According to an informative article in the New York Times, "The product has at times been hailed as a near miracle" (Pollack 2010). Supposedly, the current data on advanced breast cancer corrects the initial impression of benefit that led to its 2008 approval in advanced BC. I for one was never impressed by the data in BC and argued forcefully against approval for that indication.
...
...

BBC News - 'Cut down on meat to lose weight'

As I understand it, up to 2/3 of protein can be turned into glucose by the body.  So it is important not to consume too much meat if you have a brain tumor.  You must especially avoid anything containing sodium nitrite, such as sausages or ham.  Carbohydrates are also to be avoided as much as possible, especially those in processed food.  Fat is very important, and the quality of fat must be good, such as coconut oil, olive oil and small amounts of meat from animals fed on grass, and non-farmed fish.  Pasteurized dairy products must be avoided also.  Click here to search my site for 'ketogenic diet', which is a high-fat diet that I use.

22 July 2010 Last updated at 07:21 ET

Eating less meat may be the key to keeping a healthy weight, say researchers.

A European study of almost 400,000 adults found that eating meat was linked with weight gain, even in people taking in the same number of calories.

The strongest association was found with processed meat, such as sausages and ham, the Imperial College London team reported.
...
...

New Hope for Cancer Patients Found in Citrus Peels

In this report, scientists have found that something contained in the peels and rinds of citrus fruits (oranges, lemons and apples) is actually quite effective in helping to fight cancer.  I often drink a lemon (including the peel) blended in a Vita-mix blender mixed with coconut oil/olive oil and water, for breakfast and was happy to see report this recently.

Ross


PRNewswire

07-02-10

SANTA ROSA, Calif., July 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Researchers at Columbia University recently analyzed the positive effects of Modified Citrus Pectin (MCP) on human and mouse prostate cancer cell lines. The results, as reported by lead researcher Dr. Aaron Katz in the most recent publication of Integrative Cancer Therapies(1), show that MCP inhibits cell proliferation and induces apoptosis (programmed cell death) in both androgen-dependent and androgen-independent cancer cells in a time and dose-dependent manner. "Along with diet, exercise and lifestyle changes, MCP helps my patients keep the cancer at bay and slows its growth, thereby reducing its negative impact on their life," says Dr. Geo Espinosa, Director of the Integrative Urology Center at NYU.

...
...

Police officer looks to China for a cure for rare cancer

Jessica McMinn Tennant turned down an aisle in the Walmart where she was shopping and was surprised to see a man she had never met wearing a T-shirt supporting her husband's fight against cancer.

It's been more than three months since her husband, Brian, a Waynesburg police officer who turns 27 today, was diagnosed with a grade 3 glioma on his brain stem. Tumors like his are almost unheard of in someone older than 10.

Since Mr. Tennant's diagnosis in March, the Greene County community has rallied around the family, raising more than $50,000 by selling T-shirts and bracelets and hosting events like today's first Greene Ride to help fund the family's upcoming trip to Beijing for an experimental treatment.

...
...