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Hormone Rx May Protect Women With Breast Cancer Gene
Postmenopausal women carrying breast cancer-linked BRCA gene mutations who took hormone replacement therapy actually reduced their risk for breast cancer, researchers report.
The study's authors called the finding "reassuring."
"I have no reservation about recommending HRT to my patients who have a [BRCA] mutation and who have had an oopherectomy [removal of ovaries] and, particularly, young women with surgical menopause," stated Dr. Steven Narod, senior author of the study and chair of breast cancer research at Women's College Hospital in Toronto. "I feel completely, absolutely, 100 percent comfortable in recommending HRT to BRCA carriers."
The study was published in the Sept. 23 issue of theJournal of the National Cancer Institute.
In a prepared statement, Dr. Amos Pines, immediate past president of the International Menopause Society (IMS), said the results support "the IMS view that HRT in the early postmenopausal period is safe and may be prescribed without concerns when needed."
Other commentators, however, approached the subject more conservatively, including IMS Secretary General Dr. Regine Sitruk-Ware.
"Given the limitations of the design and size of the study, caution is still recommended for the use of HRT in women who are carriers of a genetic mutation that expose them to a higher risk of breast cancer in their life," Sitruk-Ware said, also in a prepared statement.
Another expert agreed.
"These observational studies are small and have misled before," said Dr. Jay Brooks, chairman of hematology/oncology at Ochsner Health System in Baton Rouge, La. "I would still advise my patients who have a mutational BRCA status, if at all possible, to use as little exogenous estrogen as possible and for as little time as possible."
Some 3 percent of invasive cancers can be attributed to either a BRCA 1 or BRCA 2 gene mutation, which elevate a woman's lifetime risk of developing breast cancer to 60 percent to 80 percent. The National Cancer Institute puts the lifetime risk of developing breast cancer for an average American woman at 12.7 percent.
Many women with a BRCA mutation elect to have their ovaries removed at a relatively young age to reduce their breast cancer risk.
For this matched case-control study, researchers analyzed tumor samples from 472 postmenopausal women with a BRCA 1 mutation, some of who had undergone endocrine therapy (removing estrogen) before surgery for breast cancer. The other women also carried the BRCA1 mutation but had no history of breast cancer.
****Read More**** Postmenopausal women carrying breast cancer-linked BRCA gene mutations who took hormone replacement therapy actually reduced their ris... more -
Breast cancer 'kills more poor'
Breast cancer is more likely to kill poor women than their more affluent counterparts, research shows.
A study of breast cancer patients in England and Wales diagnosed between 1986 and 1999 found overall long-term survival rates are improving.
However, survival rates one year after diagnosis were worse among poor women than those who were more affluent.
And the British Journal of Cancer study found this "deprivation gap" doubled five years after diagnosis.
The study, which looked at more than 380,000 women, found that even after adjustijng for other causes of death, the five-year survival rate was about 6% higher for affluent women.
The figures are part of a detailed analysis of survival rates for the 20 most common forms of cancer.
The researchers found that one-year survival rates tended to be higher among affluent women across a range of cancers.
However, breast cancer was the only form of the disease for which this deprivation gap continued to widen years after diagnosis.
Lead researcher Professor Michel Coleman, an epidemiologist for Cancer Research UK, said women from poor backgrounds might be less likely to access radiotherapy or drug treatment.
Others said the key could be that patients living in deprived areas were more likely to be diagnosed at a late stage, or to have other life-threatening diseases.
Improvements
Dr Sarah Cant, of the charity Breakthrough Breast Cancer, said there had been significant improvements in access to services and treatments since the 2000 Cancer Plan which would not be be reflected in the study.
However, she said: "The inequalities in breast cancer survival between richer and poorer women that have been identified are of great concern.
"It is vital to continue to investigate the exact causes of any inequalities so appropriate measures to tackle them can be taken."
Professor Mike Richards, National Cancer Director for England, said there tended to be a difference of opinion between clinicians and epidemiologists about the reasons for a deprivation gap.
He said: "In general clinicians were likely to attribute the deprivation gap in survival mainly to the fact that people from poorer backgrounds had other diseases as well as cancer.
"By contrast statisticians put more emphasis on late diagnosis in deprived groups as a cause for poorer survival.
"These differences of opinion highlight the need for high quality information on the details of cancer staging and additional diseases to be collected by clinical teams and made available to the cancer registries."
For most cancers survival up to 10 years has improved significantly between those diagnosed in the mid 1980s and the late 1990s.
But there was almost no change in survival for lung, pancreatic, cervical and bladder cancer. Breast cancer is more likely to kill poor women than their more affluent counterparts, research shows. ... more -
Psilocybin treatment of death anxiety
Heffter Research Institute's board member Charles S. Grob was surprised when the producers of the Fox Television Network's "The Morning Show With Mike and Juliet" asked him to talk live about his psilocybin research with cancer patients. Grob sent them to Norbert Litzinger, volunteer Director of Development and husband of Pam Sakuda, a patient in the study who passed away a year and a half ago. The live interviews with Grob, Litzinger and another of Grob's subjects -- is heartening to watch.
For more information - www.heffter.org Heffter Research Institute's board member Charles S. Grob was surprised when the producers of the Fox Television Network's &... more -
Tobacco 'could help treat cancer'
The tobacco plant - responsible for millions of cancer cases - may actually offer the means to treat one form of the disease, a study suggests.
US scientists used the plant to "grow" key components of a cancer vaccine.
The National Academy of Sciences study suggests they could be used to tackle a form of lymphoma.
UK specialists said while "potentially exciting", more research would be needed to test how well the vaccine actually worked.
The ironic new role for tobacco is the work of researchers from Stanford University in California.
They are using the plants as factories for an antibody chemical specific to the cells which cause follicular B-cell lymphoma, a type of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.
These antibodies are put into a patient newly-diagnosed with the disease, to "prime" the body's immune system to attack any cell carrying them.
If successful, this would mean the body would then recognise and destroy the lymphoma cells.
However, every patient's antibodies are different, and would need to be produced quickly once the diagnosis was made.
The idea is not a new one - attempts have already been made to grow these antibodies inside animal cells, with mixed success.
However, a plant-grown vaccine would be much cheaper and in theory could carry less risk to the patient, as animal cells might hold unknown viruses.
So far, the experimental vaccine has only been tested on a handful of patients to check for any side-effects of using plant-produced antibodies, so its effectiveness at fighting the disease is uncertain. The tobacco plant - responsible for millions of cancer cases - may actually offer the means to treat one form of the disease, a study ... more -
Mom Accused of Denying Son Medicine
This Massachusetts mom withholds cancer meds from Jeremy Fraser, her 8-year-old autistic son, after a good prognosis. Now the cancer has returned and there's nothing they can do, his likelihood to overcome dropping from 85-90% to 10%. What drives these parents to do such things, when "in all likelihood, Jeremy Fraser will not see his ninth birthday?" This Massachusetts mom withholds cancer meds from Jeremy Fraser, her 8-year-old autistic son, after a good prognosis. Now the cancer... more
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PHYSICIAN HAS DISCOVER THE CURE OF CANCER, "BIOMAGNETISM"
Dear Friends :
I Think this is the news of the Century and the most important , IS REAL, DR. ISAAC GOIZ DURAN MD in Mexico City has discover the most extraordinary scientific achievement, the Cure of Cancer with his invention " The Biomagnetic Pair" , science that work with natural magnets over the body and destroy the cycle of life of microorganism, like virus, bacterias, etc , with no side effect, no pain, drugs of any type and no machinery or electric device, and work even in terminal cancer patient.
He has been recognize and publish his books by the Medical Department at the University Autonoma of Chapingo in Mexico and National University of Loja in Ecuador, and is in practice in different Latin American Countries and Germany , in Hospitals and Medical Clinics.
Myself , I was a breast cancer patient from Cedar Sinai Hospital, in Los Angeles, California and I was going to go under chemotherapy and radiotherapy, but I got cure, 4 years ago ,from my Lobular Carcinoma by this doctor.
Actually I have a Medical office in Encino, Los Angeles, where is the very first place that offer this therapy in USA with extraordinary results, in different diseases like Diabetes, Lupus, Psoriasis and other that are caused by microorganism.
I hope you will give the importance that this news have , because in USA only
250,000 women a year receive their diagnosis of breast cancer, and they don't know, that exist the cure of Cancer and in only 2 sessions in this therapy.
Maria Valdivia Dear Friends : ... more -
Specter Would 'Absolutely' Use Medical Marijuana
U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) reportedly asserted that he would "absolutely" use medical marijuana to mitigate the effects of his cancer if Pennsylvania allowed it and if his doctor issued a prescription. U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) reportedly asserted that he would "absolutely" use medical marijuana to mitigate the effects... more
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Light can now be used to treat cancer. Why are we not told?
Photodynamic therapy treats cancer without the side effects of chemo. It relies on tumour-killing drugs that are activated only by light. Photodynamic therapy treats cancer without the side effects of chemo. It relies on tumour-killing drugs that are activated only by lig... more
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Cancer gone in seven days?
Skin cancer capital of the world ... a range of new melanoma treatments are being trialled in Australia. Professor Thompson said an earlier trial of 20 patients showed between 60 and 80 per cent of tumours were successfully treated with one injection Skin cancer capital of the world ... a range of new melanoma treatments are being trialled in Australia. Professor Thompson said an ea... more
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Check Out Your Chewing Gum, It May Cause Cancer
A substance used to make chewing gum could soon be declared toxic by the federal government after an international agency found that it might cause cancer in lab rats. A substance used to make chewing gum could soon be declared toxic by the federal government after an international agency found that i... more
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Cancer cured?
What if we told you that a guy with no background in science or medicine-not even a college degree-has come up with what may be one of the most promising breakthroughs in cancer research in years?
Well it's true, and if you think it sounds improbable, consider this: he did it with his wife's pie pans and hot dogs.
His name is John Kanzius, and he's a former businessman and radio technician who built a radio wave machine that has cancer researchers so enthusiastic about its potential they're pouring money and effort into testing it out.
Here's the important part: if clinical trials pan out-and there's still a long way to go-the Kanzius machine will zap cancer cells all through your body without the need for drugs or surgery and without side effects. None at all. At least that's the idea. What if we told you that a guy with no background in science or medicine-not even a college degree-has come up with what may be one of... more -
Smoking: It is all in the genes.
Genetic differences between people that may help explain why some smokers get lung cancer and others do not. Scientists have pinpointed a region of the genome containing genes that can put smokers at even greater risk of contracting the killer disease. Genetic differences between people that may help explain why some smokers get lung cancer and others do not. Scientists have pinpointe... more
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London Hospital Fire Breaks Out
Firefighters are battling a major blaze that has forced patients to be evacuated from Europe's largest cancer hospital.
The fire brigade said the blaze, on the top floor of the Royal Marsden hospital in Chelsea, south-west London, was "extremely serious". Firefighters are battling a major blaze that has forced patients to be evacuated from Europe's largest cancer hospital. ... more -
Cuba Producing Cancer-fighting Scorpion Venom
Since August, the eastern Cuban province of Las Tunas has been stockpiling quantities of scorpion venom for the treatment of cancer patients.
The venom which is "harmless to the human body" has shown to be "highly effective treatment of tumours and illnesses related to the central nervous system."
Scientists have also seen improvements in "patients suffering from lung, uterus, prostate and pancreas ailments". Ok, so I'm guessing it's 'improvements' as I don't think the report would consider the treatment "successful" otherwise.
Foreign demand is expected to rise as soon as the treatment is patented. Since August, the eastern Cuban province of Las Tunas has been stockpiling quantities of scorpion venom for the treatment of cancer pa... more
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