Jan
01
2005

PSA Screening For Prostate Cancer Not Obsolete

By | Cancer, Men's Health, Prevention

Like with any test there are false positive results, and the blood test called PSA (short for Prostate Specific Antigen) has received some criticism as a result. Negative comments likening it to “Shooting flies with a bazooka” have been voiced, and yet, statistics on the mortality due to prostate cancer tell a different story.

In recent years the mortality rate in North America is down by 25%, and part of it is due to PSA. Currently there is no more effective testing in place, so the alternative is not attractive. It is like going back to the bad old times, where men where diagnosed only, once the prostate cancer was advanced, had formed metastases, and hopes for a cure were remote. There are promising new tests under development which at one point in time will replace the PSA, but for now it’s still the best test available. The only other way to find prostate cancer is by doing a biopsy.

PSA Screening For Prostate Cancer Not Obsolete

PSA Screening For Prostate Cancer Not Obsolete

More info on prostate cancer prevention: http://nethealthbook.com/cancer-overview/prostate-cancer/prostate-cancer-prevention/

Reference: National Review Of Medicine, December 15, 2004, page 22

Last edited October 27, 2014

Nov
01
2004

Flax Seed A Source Of Omega 3

By | Cancer, Diabetes, Heart Disease, High Blood Pressure, Men's Health, Nutrition, Vitamins and supplements, Women’s Diseases

Prevention has been gaining more momentum for public health as well as for the health conscious individual. Instead of looking at salvation from a slew of diseases like arteriosclerosis, high blood pressure, osteoporosis, Alzheimer’s, and the complications from diabetes in the form of super pills, prevention looks a lot more promising.
Flax seed has been around for several thousand years, but it has been making a name for itself as part of healthy eating.

Its most important components are its fiber content, the alpha-linoleic acid, and the lignans. Eating flax seed helps to mop up cholesterol in the bowel, and studies have shown a drop in the “bad” LDL cholesterol levels. Duke University is publishing results that show flax seed to be helpful in blocking prostate cancer. A publication going back to August 2001 in the Archives of Ophthalmology point out the fact, that the omega-3 fatty acids, which are contained in flax seed, reduce the risk of macular degeneration. The same omega-3 fatty acids also have a favorable influence in the glucose response after a meal, a fact that is important for the prevention of diabetes.

It has to be mentioned at this point, that flax seed oil does not have all the benefits, as the fiber has been removed, and some of the benefits get lost as a result of the temperature used with processing. Also, just eating a spoon full of flax seeds will not be the answer, as flax seed is not fully used during digestion (the seeds are simply excreted in a bowel movement). To unlock the benefits it is best, to grind the seed.

Flax Seed A Source Of Omega 3

Flax Seed A Source Of Omega 3

A coffee mill does the job well enough, and freshly ground seeds are better than the pre-ground variety that has been sitting around in the bin of a store for some time. Two teaspoons of ground flax seed mixed with some yogurt and fruit makes for a good starter in the morning or an easy evening snack. A slice of flax seed bread does not give you the benefits; remember that heat during cooking or baking destroys the key components.
The nice part about flax seed is the fact, that it is inexpensive, plentiful, has no adverse side effects*, and it is the ounce of prevention which is readily available to you.

More info on Omega-3: http://nethealthbook.com/news/inflammation-extinguished-omega-3/

Reference: The Medical Post, October 12, 2004, page 13

* Comments (added Aug.28, 2005): Despite the Duke University study cited above there are disturbing news from a 14 year follow-up prospective study that has been confirmed by other studies showing that there are side-effects. This study showed that in males there is a 2-fold risk of developing invasive prostate cancer when flax seed was the supplement used. As flax seed contains alpha-linolenic acid (=ALA) and fish oil contains eicosapentaenoic acid (=EPA), there are striking differences of action that have not yet been defined in more detail. The same study showed that over 14 years EPA (when mixed with DHA) lowered the risk of getting invasive prostate cancer by 26%. Until it is known more how flax seed works, it likely is wiser to to take a molecularly distilled EPA/DHA supplement daily as this also reduces the cardiovascular risk, but at the same time prevents cancer.

Last edited October 27, 2014

Nov
01
2004

Not All Vitamins Prevent Cancer

By | Cancer, Nutrition, Prevention, Vitamins and supplements

Even in the recent past, vitamins were looked at as an essential weapon to prevent illness, however, a large study by the Cochrane Hepato-Biliary Group at the Centre for Clinical Intervention Research at Copenhagen University has come up with disappointing evidence.

A large evidence-based analysis was performed involving a population of 170,525 persons who were enrolled in randomized trials. They received a regimen of antioxidant supplementation that included beta-carotene, vitamin A, vitamin C, and vitamin E daily or on alternate days for 1 to 12 years, along with selenium every year for 2 to 4 years.
All trials reported the separate or combined incidence of cancer of the esophagus, colon, pancreas, stomach or the liver.
Results showed that beta-carotene alone, the most widely tested antioxidant for cancer prevention, did not have substantial cancer-fighting properties in gastrointestinal cancers. The devastating blow is the fact that beta-carotene in combination with vitamin A and vitamin C significantly increased mortality! Recent studies examining vitamin C show, that it can be an antioxidant, but it also can be a pro-oxidant (the less desirable quality). Trials involving selenium very clearly showed that it might have beneficial effects on the incidence of gastrointestinal cancers.
Following these news it would be a grave mistake to assume, that fruit and vegetables with their built-in antioxidants, micronutrients, dietary fiber and beneficial plant-chemicals have fallen off grace.

Not All Vitamins Prevent Cancer

Not All Vitamins Prevent Cancer

The truth is, that fruit and vegetables typically contain safe levels of vitamins. Most studies have reported that adequate intake of fruit and vegetables are indeed associated with a low incidence of cancer.
The study, however, clearly points out the pitfalls of vitamin supplementation.
-“The more the better” does not apply when it comes to taking vitamins.
-Antioxidants according to this study are not as beneficial for cancer prevention as was thought of in the past.
– Only vitamin C and selenium held up to the scrutiny of the evidence-based researchers with regard to having preventative effects regarding the above named gastrointestinal cancers.

Reference: The Lancet, Vol. 364, Number 9441, pg.1219-28,  October 2, 2004

Last edited December 7, 2012

Sep
01
2004

Second Hand Cigarette Smoke Kills

By | Cancer, Heart Disease, Men's Health, Women’s Diseases

A recent publication in the British Medical Journal was reviewed in the Aug.10 issue of The Medical Post. The study was concerning detailed census data from New Zealand where two cohorts of the population were compared in 1981 and 1996.

The 1981 study involved 286,796 people, the 1996 study involved 382,462 people. Both cohorts were further classified into exposure to second hand smoke and non-exposure meaning that they lived in a smoke-free home (controls). I have elected to show the results in a graph below for ease of reference. The authors Dr. Tony Blakely and others from the University of Otago had followed each cohort for 3 years and recorded death rates (mortality rates) for each of the subgroups.

They pointed out that there was a 15% increase in premature death for those exposed to second hand smoke when compared to the controls who were not exposed.

Comments: 1. The mortality in the 1996 study (in blue bars in the graph below) for males is what the authors quoted (15.1%). However, for females, the death rate was even higher with regard to exposure to second hand smoke: mortality was 26.7% higher when the exposed group is compared to the controls.

Second Hand Cigarette Smoke Kills

Second Hand Cigarette Smoke Kills

2. The 1981 study (green bars in the graph below) had a much higher overall mortality than the overall mortality in the 1996 study (blue bars). This likely is due to the 15 year interval between the two study groups and the fact that during that time in New Zealand as in many other industrialized countries the death rate from cigarette smoke exposure has declined significantly.

One such study indicates a reduction between 1981 and 1997 of 38% in all preventable deaths, which includes death as a result of exposure to cigarette smoke. The average death rate reduction in the New Zealand study over the 15 years was 31.7% for men and 29.35% for women when the exposed groups and control groups were pooled.

3. The controls and the relationship of the subgroups within the 1996 study (the blue bars in the graph below) were very consistent , but were not consistent within the 1981 study (green bars).

For instance, the controls of death rates should always be smaller in both males and females when compared to the groups that were exposed to second hand cigarette smoke. In the 1996 study this was the case, but in the 1981 study this was not the case. This may indicate that there were other negative factors included in the 1981 study leading to premature death or that the controls were simply also exposed to cigarette smoke in the past.

Mortalitiy Rates (%) Resulting From Exposure to Second Hand Smoke in New Zealand Study
 Second Hand Cigarette Smoke Kills1

Conclusion: This is an important study as it is based on large numbers and it shows that even relatively small concentrations of cigarette smoke in the environment make a measurable difference in terms of death rates among the population. It also confirms the fact that the death toll has been reduced by about 30% in the population within 15 years (between 1981 and 1996), because many people have quit smoking during that time period and this is measurable as indicated above (green bars higher on average than blue bars).

More info on:

Heart attacks: http://nethealthbook.com/cardiovascular-disease/heart-disease/heart-attack-myocardial-infarction-or-mi/

Lung cancer: http://nethealthbook.com/cancer-overview/lung-cancer/

Reference: The Medical Post, Aug. 10, 2004, page 48

Last edited October 27, 2014

Jun
01
2004

New Antibody Treatment For Colon Cancer

By | Cancer

The drug Cetuximab landed Martha Stewart in the middle of an insider-trading scandal back in December of 2001. Inside information stated that the FDA had turned down the application for this drug in December. However, now there is good news for patients.

The FDA has recently approved the drug, also known as Erbitux. The medication offers treatment for patients with metastatic colorectal cancer who are not tolerating chemotherapy with irinotecan. The most innovative feature of Erbitux is the fact, that it is the first-of-its-kind antibody that inhibits a specific protein, which in turn stops cell division of cancer cells. Clinical trials that were done in Europe consisted of testing stage III colorectal cancer patients with irinotecan (chemotherapeutic agent) alone or in combination with Cetuximab (equivalent of Erbitux). The survival advantage was almost 9 months better in the combination group. Cetuximab alone also had a certain effect, but was not as good as the combination therapy. In the next few years more of these new antibody therapies will be tested in clinical trials to check out the safety and the effectiveness in various cancer types.

New Antibody Treatment For Colon Cancer

New Antibody Treatment For Colon Cancer

More info on colon cancer treatment: http://nethealthbook.com/cancer-overview/colon-cancer/colon-cancer-treatment/

Based on a paper by Harris M – Lancet Oncol – 01-MAY-2004; 5(5): 292-302: “Monoclonal antibodies as therapeutic agents for cancer”.

Last edited October 26, 2014

Jun
01
2004

Green Tea Knocks Out Leukemia Cells

By | Cancer, Prevention

Cancer is less common in eastern Asia, where green tea is the most common beverage.
In April 2004 a study was published in the journal “Blood”, which shows that green tea has killing powers in the unpredictable and slow form of B cell leukemia. A component in green tea called epigallocatechin (EGCG) disturbs the chemical information flow in leukemia cells in lab cultures.

It means that the communication between the cells is disturbed, and cancer cells cannot multiply.

Dr. Neil Kay of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. is confident that the compound EGCG will be of benefit especially in the treatment of early-stage patients.
In the meantime, a flavorful soothing cup of green tea has its benefits.

More info on leukemia: http://nethealthbook.com/cancer-overview/leukemia/

Based on National Review of Medicine (Canada), April 30,2004

Green Tea Knocks Out Leukemia Cells

Green Tea Knocks Out Leukemia Cells

Last edited October 26, 2014

May
01
2004

Chronic Inflammation Causes Cancer, Heart Attacks And More

By | Anti-aging medicine, Arthritis, Cancer, Heart Disease, Obesity

When the Time Magazine devotes 7 full pages in the March 22, 2004 issue to the topic of inflammation as the source of most of the diseases of the Western World, you know that something important is happening in medicine. Christine Gorman and Alice Park have summarized some of the groundbreaking research of the past few years in this article. I will report about this article here, but also include direct links regarding some of the relevant research the authors have mentioned including some of the key links regarding the metabolic syndrome, which was not mentioned in the article.

Since the beginning of the obesity wave in North America it has become obvious that a cluster of diseases such as heart attacks, strokes, Alzheimer disease, cancer of the colon, multiple sclerosis, arthritis and others have also become more frequent. Dr. Paul Ridker, a cardiologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, was one of the pioneers of investigating inflammation as a possible cause and the common denominator of these diverse illnesses. He noticed that certain patients got heart attacks although their blood LDL cholesterol levels (the “bad” cholesterol) were normal. The theory at that time was that all patients who would develop heart attacks would come from a high-risk group of patients with elevated LDL cholesterol. The problem was that 50% of patients with heart attacks had normal LDL cholesterol levels. Dr. Ridker suspected that the C-reactive protein (CRP), which is found to be elevated in the blood of rheumatoid patients, would be somehow involved in the disease process of hardening of the arteries before a heart attack would occur. CRP is produced by the liver cells and by the lining cells of arteries in response to a general inflammatory reaction in the body. Examples of this would be rheumatoid arthritis patients and patients with autoimmune diseases, where CRP levels can be readily measured with a blood test. Dr. Ridker found that there was a very good correlation between the CRP level and the degree of inflammation as well as the risk for developing heart attacks and strokes. Further investigation by others confirmed that CRP levels were perhaps more important than LDL levels in predicting impending heart attacks. This is so, because CRP is the body’s substance in the blood stream that would be responsible for breaking up LDL containing deposits (plaques) in the walls of the arteries, which leads to heart attacks in the heart and to strokes in the brain.

Chronic Inflammation Causes Cancer, Heart Attacks And More

Chronic Inflammation Causes Cancer, Heart Attacks And More

Other investigators found that CRP was only one link in a complex chain of events that includes inflammatory substances (cytokines) from the fat cells as well as insulin and insulin-like growth factors from the metabolic syndrome. Leptins are also a factor as has been discussed under this link.
Dr. Steve Shoelsen from the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston has developed a mouse model for the metabolic syndrome. These mice will produce huge amounts of inflammatory substances in their fatty tissue in response to any inflammatory process that is started in them. Anti-inflammatory drugs such as the statins or metformin, it is hoped, will be shown conclusively to dampen the inflammatory process and prevent heart attacks, strokes and diabetes as well as cancer, Alzheimers disease and arthritis. Heart disease has already been shown to be improved by anti-inflammatory drugs. Asthma is an inflammatory disease of the small bronchial tubes, which can be stabilized with the anti-inflammatory drug Avastin.

What can we do as consumers to prevent some of those life-threatening diseases? By reducing our weight through calorie restriction on a low-glycemic diet we can help to reduce the insulin-like hormone substances of the fatty tissue. Regular exercise of at least 30 minutes of a brisk walk daily or the equivalent of other sports activities will half our risk for colon cancer and many other cancers. A diet rich in fruits and vegetables as well as fish and fish oils will reduce the amount of free radicals in our system cutting down on the circulating inflammatory substances. This prolongs life, prevents all of the major diseases of modern civilization and leads to longevity as the study of the Okinawa diet has shown.

Based on an article in the Time Magazine, March 22, 2004 edition, page 54 to 60.

Here is a chapter on arteriosclerosis from the Net Health Book, which explains inflammatory changes of the arterial wall:

http://nethealthbook.com/cardiovascular-disease/heart-disease/atherosclerosis-the-missing-link-between-strokes-and-heart-attacks/

Last edited October 26, 2014

May
01
2004

Sugar And Starchy Foods Cause Colorectal Cancer

By | Cancer, Heart Disease, Nutrition

A study from the Harvard University involving 38,000 women and having been started in 1993 has surprised the researchers. They wanted to find out whether there were certain foods that may cause colon and rectal cancer. So they administered a “food-frequency” questionnaire with 131 questions to women 45 years or older who entered into the study. Such factors as low-dose aspirin, vitamin E and beta-carotene were included in the questionnaire as was the exact food composition for the year prior to enrolment into the study.

A sugar load (glycemic load) was calculated. This way the impact of various sugar and starch containing foods could be assessed and compared among different subgroups regarding the later development of cancer in the colon and rectum.
When Dr. Susan Higginbotham and Dr. Simin Liu analyzed the diets of the 174 patients who did develop cancer (26 rectal cancers, 148 colon cancers) they found that the women with the highest sugar and starch load were 3 times more likely to develop cancer than the controls with a low glycemic load. High glycemic load foods are candy, cakes, cookies; any other refined flour products including white bread, pasta, French fries and baked potatoes. Together with other literature in this field the authors of this study concluded that the high glycemic food load leads to increased insulin levels in the blood as well as insulin-like growth factors. This in turn leads to cell division in normal and cancerous cells including the lining of the colon and rectum. In addition it is known that the C-reactive protein promotes an inflammatory response that will lead to heart attacks and to cancer.

Sugar And Starchy Foods Cause Colorectal Cancer

Sugar And Starchy Foods Cause Colorectal Cancer

Dr. Bob Bruce from the University of Toronto has shown in his research on colon cancer that insulin and related factors are important in the promotion of this cancer. He commented regarding the Harvard study reviewed here that more research is required before the exact cause of cancer of the colon and rectum would be understood. This knowledge is required before more effective preventative measures can be found other than a simple reduction of sugar and starch in the foods we eat.

Based on the Feb.4 edition of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute (U.S.) and the National Review of Medicine (Canada) March 15, 2004.

More info about Colorectal cancer can be found through this link.

Last edited October 26, 2014

Apr
01
2004

Breast Cancer And Miscarriages; Fear-Mongering Debunked

By | Cancer, Women’s Diseases

For many years there were conflicting reports about the emotionally charged topic of whether miscarriages (=spontaneous abortions) or induced abortions (also simply known as abortions) would lead to an increased risk for these women later in life. The problem was that the studies could not be directly compared because they differed in size, in age group and whether the women had one or more children or none.

The studies also differed in respect to whether they were prospective or restrospective. In this context a prospective study is one where it was known at the outset before the women developed breast cancer whether or not there was a history of a spontaneous or induced abortion in the past. A retrospective study would be one where a group of women with established breast cancer would be asked retrospectively whether or not they had a history of abortions (spontaneous or induced).

It turns out that the discrepancies between these studies in the past were largely because of the significant difference between the data of the unreliable retrospective studies and the very reliable prospective studies.

On March 27, 2004 the Lancet reported about a study that had been undertaken by the Collaborative Group on Hormonal Factors in Breast Cancer (seat of the Secretariat in Oxford, England). This study involved hundreds of scientists and clinicians from the major Cancer Clinics around the world who gathered the world-wide epidemiological evidence about breast cancer and pooled the data regarding 53 studies from 16 countries.

Breast Cancer And Miscarriages; Fear-Mongering Debunked

Breast Cancer And Miscarriages; Fear-Mongering Debunked

A total of 83,000 women with breast cancer around the world had been included in this study. The data was separated into sub-categories. For instance, 44,000 women were included in the prospective branch of the study and 33,000 in the retrospective branch. The data was carefully controlled for the factors mentioned above and many other differences to ensure that the data could be compared (rules of evidence-based medicine).

The surprise finding was that there was no statistical difference regarding the risk for developing breast cancer in the prospective branch of the study between the group of women who never were pregnant, those who had one or more children and those who had miscarriages or abortions in the past. However, the retrospective studies reported a higher incidence of breast cancer because of an observer bias. The researchers and clinicians concluded that the data of the restrospective studies were unreliable because they were not carefully controlled and there likely was more reliable reporting of the women who had developed breast cancer than the control groups who likely underreported their histories thus resulting in misleading conclusions.

Summary: Women do not have a higher risk of developing breast cancer following spontaneous or induced abortions. Forget all of the fear-mongering that you may have heard in the past in the popular press.

More information about causes of breast  cancer: http://nethealthbook.com/cancer-overview/breast-cancer/causes-breast-cancer/

Lancet 2004; 363: 1007-16.

Last edited October 26, 2014

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Apr
01
2004

Lycopene Of Tomatoes Fights Cancer Cells

By | Cancer, Nutrition

Dr. John Erdman Jr. from the University of Illinois has done epidemiological studies that suggest that the red color of tomatoes, which is provided by lycopenes, is only effective against prostate cancer, if the whole tomato is consumed.

The professor of food science and human nutrition found that other phytochemicals in the tomato act in concert with lycopene to protect against cancer. To prove this more conclusively, he designed an experiment involving 194 rats with prostate cancer into three groups.

Group 1 was the control group without any detectable lycopene in their diet. Group 2 was fed the control diet with purified lycopene. Group 3 was fed the control diet with ground-up tomato paste (with seeds and skins). Group 3 was the only group where the risk of dying from prostate cancer was reduced by 30%. Group 2 rats had the same high death rates as the control group. These results were recently published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

Dr. Erdman concluded that taking lycopene is not as effective as eating the whole tomato to prevent cancer of the prostate. He also suggested to use whole tomato products in tomato juice, in salads, pasta and pizzas.

Lycopene Of Tomatoes Fights Cancer Cells

Lycopene Of Tomatoes Fights Cancer Cells

Based on an article in the Medical Post, Vol 40, No.8, Feb.24, 2004 (page 33).

Link to prostate cancer chapter of the Net Health Book.

Last edited December 8, 2012