Kids' cancer rates highest in Northeast

Kids' cancer rates highest in Northeast
Study may show reporting rates


CHICAGO (AP) | Surprising research suggests that childhood cancer is most common in the Northeast - results that caught experts off guard. But some specialists say it could just reflect differences in reporting.

The large government study is the first to find notable regional differences in pediatric cancer. Experts say it also provides important information to bolster smaller studies, confirming that cancer is rare in children but also more common in older kids, especially among white boys.

The study from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is based on data representing 90 percent of the U.S. population. It found that cancer affects about 166 out of every million children - a number that shows just how rare childhood cancers are.

The highest rate was in the Northeast, with 179 cases per million children, while the lowest was among children in the South, with 159 cases per million. Some experts suggested that could mean there is better access to care in the urban centers of the Northeast, leading to more diagnoses.

The rates for the Midwest and West were nearly identical, at 166 cases per million and 165 per million, respectively.

The cancer incidence in boys was 174 cases per million, compared with 157 cases per million in girls. In white children, the rate was 173 per million, versus 164 per million in Hispanics and 118 per million in blacks. Teenagers had higher rates than younger kids.

A total of 36,446 cases were identified in the study, which analyzed 2001-03 data from state and federal registries. The research appears in the June edition of Pediatrics, released Monday.

"It's very powerful that this study includes so much of the U.S. population so it gives us a good picture of where we are with the incidence of these childhood cancers," said Elizabeth Ward, the American Cancer Society's surveillance director.

Environmental factors might play a role, including exposure to radiation, said lead author Dr. Jun Li of the CDC. Radiation has been linked with the most common types of childhood cancer - leukemia, lymphoma and brain cancers.
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Hormone Therapy Not Best for Older Prostate Cancer Patients

Hormone Therapy Not Best for Older Prostate Cancer Patients

Older men with early-stage prostate cancer who are given hormone therapy before radiation seed implant therapy face a 20 percent greater risk of dying than those who get radiation treatment alone, new research suggests.

Focusing on men over the age of 70, the study summed up the risks of death from any cause linked to androgen-deprivation therapy. Such treatment is sometimes given before radiation treatment to lower male hormone levels, shrink the prostate, and retard cancer growth. Brachytherapy itself involves the insertion of small radioactive seeds into the prostate to destroy cancer cells.

"We know that hormone therapy has a lot of side effects," noted study author Dr. Amy M. Dosoretz, a radiation oncology resident with the Harvard Radiation Oncology Program in Boston. "Depression, fatigue and anemia, among others. Yet it can be worth it, because it has a significant benefit for many patients. But for some patients, the risks may outweigh the benefits. And here, we found that in this particular group of patients -- early-stage prostate cancer patients over 70 -- there was an increased risk for mortality."

Dosoretz and her colleagues were expected to present their findings Tuesday at the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology annual meeting, in Boston.

The team's risk assessment is based on a mortality analysis involving more than 1,700 early-stage, localized prostate cancer patients. The men were between the ages of 70 and 91, and received either hormone and brachytherapy treatments or brachytherapy alone between 1991 and 2005.

For those who received hormone therapy, treatment lasted three and a half months on average.

The authors found that undergoing such hormonal intervention was associated with an increased risk of dying from all causes. Being older and having a more aggressive form of prostate cancer was similarly associated with an increased risk of dying from all causes.

"But we still don't know exactly why there's an increased risk for mortality for these patients," Dosoretz cautioned. "So, we need to look into this important issue further, with randomized trials that take in all the bias. Meanwhile, when deciding about hormone therapy treatment, it's important -- especially among elderly men who have early-stage prostate cancer -- to really weigh the benefits and risks."

Dr. Charles J. Ryan, a urologic cancer specialist and an assistant clinical professor of medicine in the division of hematology/oncology at the University of California, San Francisco, agreed.

"We have a pretty good sense that hormone therapy can increase the relative risk for cardiac risk, diabetes and some of the major problems that are likely to kill patients with prostate cancer," Ryan noted. "However, here, the researchers do not address prostate-cancer specific mortality but rather all-cause mortality. And it does a disservice to what hormone therapy can do well to ignore the fact that there have been several studies going back years that show that hormone therapy in addition to radiation improves survival for high-risk patients."

"So, basically, the decision with what to do with hormone therapy needs to be taken in the context of risk," Ryan said.

Cancer link to hormone therapy

Cancer link to hormone therapy

A DROP in the number of breast cancer cases coinciding with a reduction in hormone therapy use is likely to reignite the debate over treatments for women experiencing menopause.

The numbers of Australian women aged over 50 diagnosed with breast cancer has dropped by 7 per cent - equivalent to 600 fewer cases - between 2001 and 2003, during which there was also a 40 per cent decrease in those taking hormone replacement therapy (HRT), a study published in the Medical Journal Of Australia yesterday shows. It was the first time in 20 years the breast cancer rate had declined.

The findings of the study, by the NSW Cancer Council and the Australian National University, back up research linking HRT use to increased breast cancer rates.

Dr Andrew Penman, CEO at the Cancer Council NSW, said the "findings are great news for women".

"The correlation between the drop in breast cancer cases and HRT use is clear and its importance can't be underestimated," Dr Penman said.

The director of the National Breast and Ovarian Cancer Centre, Dr Helen Zorbas, said although the link was "likely" the study did not categorically show a drop in HRT caused the decrease in cancer rates and did not change the advice to women regarding the use of HRT for the short-term relief of menopausal symptoms such as hot flushes.

"There may be other factors which could be contributing to this decrease in breast cancer incidence," she said.

The study did not say how long the women had been taking the HRT.

Dr Zorbas said for every 1000 women in their 50s taking HRT over five years, there would be an additional four women diagnosed with breast cancer but the risk returned to normal within a few years of stopping treatment.

"All the data … shows that taking combined HRT does increase the risk for breast cancer with the longer duration of use increasing the risk," she said.

Millions of women around the world stopped using HRT after it was linked with increased breast cancer rates in the controversial Women's Health Initiative report in 2002, which last month was criticised as flawed at a World Congress in Madrid.

German, 2 French share Nobel medicine prize

German, 2 French share Nobel medicine prize


STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AP) -- Germany's Harald zur Hausen and French researchers Francoise Barre-Sinoussi and Luc Montagnier have shared the 2008 Nobel Prize in medicine.


The trio received the prize for their discovery of a pair of major viruses including HIV and ones that cause cervical cancer.

AlphaMed Inc. has been awarded a $750,000 peer review grant from the National Cancer Institute to continue development of its targeted melanoma thera

Funds from this grant will be used to develop an imaging capability required for treatment planning. For the clinic, treatment planning is required to demonstrate tumor uptake and is used to calculate the dose of
the therapeutic that would be administered to patients. Previously, in preclinical animal tests, AlphaMed demonstrated a cure with its targeted radiotherapy. Increasing doses of its therapy were injected into the blood stream of several groups of animals. Every animal receiving even the lowest dose showed life extension. In two separate tests, approximately half the animals receiving the highest dose were cured. Maximum tolerated dose has not been reached. More than 90% of the compound cleared the body within two hours of administering the dose. Biodistribution studies showed high tumor uptake when compared with other organs.

How it works - a molecule that binds to receptors overexpressed in approximately 75% of melanomas is labeled with lead-212, an isotope that AlphaMed produces. The decay of this isotope releases large amounts of energy that destroys targeted tumor cells. For treatment planning, the same molecule is labeled with Pb-203, an isotope that can be imaged and of the same element as the therapeutic. This work has been published in peer review journals: Clinical Cancer Research and the Journal of Nuclear Medicine.

AlphaMed is seeking partners to assist in completing drug development for its therapeutic and treatment planning products.

Melanoma is a deadly form of skin cancer. According to the American Cancer Society, approximately 60,000 people in the US will be diagnosed with melanoma and 8,000 people will die from the disease this year. AlphaMed's targeted therapy offers hope of a cure for this disease.

AlphaMed Inc.
Mr. Richard Testa, 978-929-9190
President
richard.testa@alphamed.biz

Alternative Cancer Cure Teatment Options are Gaining Popularity and Trust

Medical science has taken great strides forward. However, the vulnerability to many diseases like cancer, remain. Thus, billions of dollars are spent on researching alternative cancer cure treatments every year through out the world. Alternative cancer cure encompasses methods, natural and otherwise, that go beyond the traditional realm of surgery, radiation or chemotherapy. Some of them are:

Physical Touch method
Amidst the varied alternative cancer cure methods, Manual Healing or the Physical Touch method is widely known. In its arsenal, you have the age-old Chinese practice of Acupuncture. Here needles are put in the skin into specific energy flow ways in order to balance it. Though it is a debatable point whether Acupuncture can actually cure cancer, it has been to be a definite pain alleviator.

Reiki
The Japanese observation of Reiki is another alternative cancer cure methodology, which also works along similar lines. A Reiki master can unclog your congested energy pathways to relieve you of the pain of the disease and the treatment.

Chiropractic
Chiropractic provides a remedy for musculoskeletal disorders by working on the spine and the neck. Chiropractors believe that this boosts the immune system by restoring the bodily balance that had gone haywire due to cancer.

Massages
Massages, though not proven effective as a cancer cure, provide relief from pain and discomfort.

Nutritional Therapy
Amongst the other kinds of alternative cancer remedy, Nutritional Therapy is the most widely publicized. It has been medically proved that some food prevent and can even cure some cancer forms like breast cancer. In fact, recent discoveries point out to the cancer-combating agents present in fruits like pomegranates and red berries.

Naturopathy and Homeopathy
Naturopathy and Homeopathy are grounded on similar lines. Both therapies believe in achieving bodily harmony, which in turn rouses the self-healing process, which can relieve the symptoms of many forms of cancer like prostate, colon, liver or skin. The core difference in these two cancer remedy methods lies in their modus operandi.

While Homeopathy is almost like vaccination, wherein trace amounts of cancer-inducing agents are introduced in the body in an attempt to trigger a defense mechanism to combat the disease, Naturopathy is actually an amalgamation of various methods like Homeopathy, usage of herbal substances or electrical treatment to achieve the requisite bodily balance.

Other upcoming alternative treatments include:

While many alternative cancer treatment methods agree to the use of natural processes, some like the oxygen and ozone therapies profess the injection of oxygen and ozone to retard the growth of cancer cells and even have them transmute into normal cells.

Recently gaining ground in the dominion of alternative cancer treatment methodologies is the Bristol Approach, combining physical, psychological, emotional and spiritual therapies, aimed at corporal and mental well being.

Its underlying philosophy shares ground with many holistic lines of treatment. These empower the mind to control the bodily processes. The Bristol Approach also incorporates numerous self-help techniques to aid the cancer patient during this treatment period.

The synergistic effect of these alternative cancer cure methods is far greater than when used in seclusion. The alternative treatment is doubly effective when used in conjunction with some conventional mode of cancer remedy.

David Maillie is an alumni of Cornell University and specializes in the manufacture of various skin peels, skin cancer, and acne treatments for doctors offices and medispas. He can be reached at M.D. Wholesale: http://www.bestskinpeel.com

Americans, Chinese Establish International Center

Americans, Chinese Establish International Center

Western medical professionals, as a whole, have been slow to embrace the practices of traditional Chinese medicine. A new international scientific partnership, however, could now mark a significant step toward greater acceptance of Eastern medical care.

The venture involves researchers at M. D. Anderson and the Cancer Hospital, Fudan University (CHFU) in Shanghai, China. A $263,000 grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) will establish the International Center of Traditional Chinese Medicine for Cancer, which will investigate the benefits of some traditional Chinese medicine for cancer patients.

During the two-year pilot study, funded by the NCI's Office of Cancer Complementary and Alternative Medicine, the center will investigate three aspects of traditional Chinese medicine:

* Herbal and natural treatments that target the disease and cancer- and treatment-related symptoms
* Acupuncture for dealing with some side effects of cancer treatment
* Bio-behavioral effects of qigong and other mind/body-based interventions

Global milestone

This is the first NCI grant to support the development of an international partnership to study the use of traditional Chinese medicine for cancer treatment. The multidisciplinary team includes researchers from both institutions.

The scientists come from the following disciplines:

* Integrative medicine
* Traditional Chinese medicine
* Radiation oncology
* Anesthesiology
* Experimental therapeutics
* Cancer biology
* Surgery
* Palliative care and rehabilitation medicine
* Epidemiology
* Medical oncology
* Behavioral science

As a part of the agreement entered into by M. D. Anderson and CHFU, the institutions will collaborate on a range of clinical, educational and cancer research efforts.

"We recognize that innovation and collaboration are key to success in the fight against cancer," says M. D. Anderson President John Mendelsohn, M.D. "Traditional Chinese medicine has a remarkable history.

By applying Western scientific methodology, we hope this pilot study will help open the doors to important discoveries that will result in better treatment and quality of life for cancer patients worldwide."

In addition to collaborating on a study of traditional Chinese medicine, both institutions plan to work together in areas of translational and population research, as well as in increasing the educational exchange among faculty.

"There is much that cancer experts in China and the United States can learn from each other," says Lorenzo Cohen, Ph.D., chief of the section of integrative medicine at M. D. Anderson and principal investigator on the study. "We hope open communication and a free exchange of scientific ideas will allow Western practitioners to learn about concepts of traditional medicine and expose Chinese practitioners to our approach to clinical research."

Broadening horizons

Interest in complementary and alternative therapies in the United States has increased dramatically in recent years. Mental exercises like relaxation and meditation, physical activities such as yoga and dance, or the use of herbal supplements and vitamins are more accepted today for maintaining good health. Before beginning any new regimen, cancer patients need to know how these therapies interact with or complement treatment prescribed by their doctors.

Dr. Lorenzo Cohen"Many patients begin some form of complementary therapy without the consent or knowledge of their doctors," Cohen says, "but it's important that a therapy complement, not impede, other treatments that their doctors prescribe. With more research and better information about these therapies, physicians and patients can evaluate these options thoroughly and know with more certainty which options are appropriate for their care."

In traditional Chinese medicine, practitioners attempt to maintain health by restoring the balance and flow of energy in the body - addressing symptoms as they relate to an imbalance of energy instead of treating a particular disease or medical condition. It is a practice dating back more than 5,000 years. However, many of these therapies have not been clinically tested using Western methods of clinical research.

At the same time, some important chemotherapy agents used in conventional Western medicine have been derived from products used in traditional Chinese medicine. More work needs to be done to investigate and document these agents before researchers can understand the role they may play in fighting and treating cancer.

"We hope to plant a seed that will expand our collaboration on evidence-based research of complementary therapies to treat cancer and cancer-related symptoms," Cohen says.