Cancer - General

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General Cancer

Cancer Prevention Overview (PDQ®)

"The summaries in the cancer prevention section of PDQ address the prevention of specific types of cancer. Prevention is defined as the reduction of cancer mortality via reduction in the incidence of cancer. This can be accomplished by avoiding a carcinogen or altering its metabolism; pursuing lifestyle or dietary practices that modify cancer-causing factors or genetic predispositions; and/or medical intervention (chemoprevention) to successfully reverse preneoplastic changes. Much of the promise for cancer prevention comes from observational epidemiologic studies that show associations between modifiable lifestyle factors or environmental exposures and specific cancers. … The most consistent finding, over decades of research is the strong association between tobacco use and cancers of many sites. Hundreds of epidemiologic studies have confirmed this association. Further support comes from the fact that lung cancer death rates in the United States have mirrored smoking patterns with increases in smoking followed by dramatic increases in lung cancer death rates, and more recently decreases in smoking followed by decreases in lung cancer death rates in men. Infections may also be associated with cancer development. Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is a necessary event for subsequent cervix cancer, and vaccine-conferred immunity results in a marked decrease in precancerous lesions. … Additional examples of modifiable cancer risk factors include alcohol consumption (associated with increased risk of oral, esophageal, breast, and other cancers), physical inactivity (associated with increased risk of colon, breast, and possibly other cancers), and obesity (associated with colon, breast, endometrial, and possibly other cancers). Observational evidence shows associations between alcohol consumption, physical inactivity, and obesity and increased incidence of certain cancers."

Highlighted Articles

Vitamin D and prevention of breast cancer: Pooled analysis. (J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol. 2007)

"CONCLUSIONS: Intake of 2000IU/day of Vitamin D(3), and, when possible, very moderate exposure to sunlight, could raise serum 25(OH)D to 52ng/ml, a level associated with reduction by 50% in incidence of breast cancer, according to observational studies."

Sun Exposure and Prostate Cancer Risk: Evidence for a Protective Effect of Early-Life Exposure (Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention 2007)

"These findings suggest that, in addition to sun exposure in adulthood, sun exposure in early life protects against prostate cancer."

Highlighted Internet Site

NCI - General Cancer Prevention Information (includes specific cancers)

CONTINUE YOUR INFOMEDSEARCH RESEARCH with our previous InfoMedLinks. Start with InfoMedLinks 2006.

Cancer - General

General Information

NEWS:

Cancer 75% of all critical illness claims "Cancer is the biggest cause of critical illness in Ireland, accounting for three quarters of insurance claims by women. The equivalent figure for men is just under half, at 45%. Cancer and heart disease combined make up 75% of all claims, regardless of gender."

Cancer Strikes 1 in 2 Men and 1 in 3 Women"Cancer will affect 1 in 2 men and 1 in 3 women in the United States, and the number of new cases of cancer is set to nearly double by the year 2050."

Decline in Cancer Death Rate Accelerating

Report: Excess body fat linked to cancer: Staying slim, avoiding processed meats and alcohol lowers risk, study finds "A further finding was the strongest evidence yet that alcohol is a cause of cancer. If people must drink, the report said, they should limit their intake to two units a day for a man or one for a woman. A unit is a half pint of beer or a small glass of wine. The report recommended mothers breast-feed exclusively for the first six months after birth followed by complementary breast-feeding, after evidence showed breast-feeding protects the mother against breast cancer. "

Healthy Diet, Exercise Might Lower Chances of Cancer's Return "People who consumed the highest levels of the Western diet had almost quadruple the risk of recurrence or death compared with those who consumed the least in this category."

How much is a life worth? "Fighting cancer has always been one of the most expensive prospects in medicine — in part because the drugs that treat it are among the most costly on the market. But as Diekmeyer discovered, biotechnology treatments such as Herceptin are pushing prices into a whole other realm — one that may be out of reach for many people."

Many Genetic-Based Cancer Studies Flawed "Many cancer studies that rely on what scientists call genetic microarrays have critical flaws in their analyses or their conclusions. This means doctors are taking this flawed research and using it as the basis of treatment for cancer patients -- treatments that may adversely affect patient outcomes. That's the surprising conclusion of a new study by researchers at the U.S. National Cancer Institute that's published in the Jan. 17 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute."

Most cancers in Europe avoidable "The study, which looked at 11 cancers that can be prevented by changes to lifestyle, estimates that of 1.4 million cases, more than half—363 000 (59%) in men and 326 000 (45%) in women—could be avoidable."

People Don't Heed Warnings and Cancer Rates Soar Worldwide, UK Study Shows "RECORD numbers of people are developing "avoidable cancers" because of their lifestyle, despite warnings. Figures released Thursday show soaring levels of cancers caused by excessive sunbathing, obesity, alcohol and smoking. Cancer Research UK said rates of melanoma, the most dangerous form of skin cancer, had risen by more than 40 per cent in the past decade, making it the fastest rising cancer in the UK. The charity warned that some of the cancers could be avoided with simple lifestyle changes, such as quitting smoking, eating a balanced diet and taking regular exercise."

To Break the Disease, Break the Mold "Another aspect of the problem is our peer review system for financing research. It works well at eliminating poor investments, but it squelches innovation and fosters the old boy network."

Why is the UK lagging on cancer?

ARTICLES:

Cancer Communication: Health Information National Trends Survey 2003 and 2005

Cancer fatigue: Why it occurs and how to cope

Global Cancer Facts and Figures 2007

How Common Is Cancer? "Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in both men and women. Although prostate cancer and breast cancer occur more commonly than lung cancer, lung cancer is a more fatal disease. Early detection and treatment may also contribute to lower death rates for prostate and breast cancer."

JOURNAL ARTICLES:

Estimates of the cancer incidence and mortality in Europe in 2006. (Ann Oncol. 2007) "The most common form of cancers was breast cancer (429 900 cases, 13.5% of all cancer cases), followed by colorectal cancers (412 900, 12.9%) and lung cancer (386 300, 12.1%). Lung cancer, with an estimated 334 800 deaths (19.7% of total), was the most common cause of death from cancer, followed by colorectal (207 400 deaths), breast (131 900) and stomach (118 200) cancers."

Prevalence of pain in patients with cancer: a systematic review of the past 40 years. (Ann Oncol. 2007) "Of the patients with pain more than one-third graded their pain as moderate or severe. Pooled prevalence of pain was >50% in all cancer types with the highest prevalence in head/neck cancer patients (70%; 95% CI 51% to 88%). CONCLUSION: Despite the clear World Health Organisation recommendations, cancer pain still is a major problem."

Prognosis for long-term survivors of cancer. (Ann Oncol. 2007) "CONCLUSION: Prognosis for patients with cancer generally improved with each year survived. Patients with colorectal cancer, cutaneous melanoma or stage I breast cancer hardly exhibit any excess mortality after 3-15 years, whereas for patients with other tumours survival remained poorer than for the general population. Insight into conditional survival is especially useful for (ex)patients, who may use this information to plan their remaining life."

Serum Lycopene, Other Carotenoids, and Prostate Cancer Risk: a Nested Case-Control Study in the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial (Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention 2007)

Survival for eight major cancers and all cancers combined for European adults diagnosed in 1995-99: results of the EUROCARE-4 study. (Lancet Oncol. 2007) "FINDINGS: Mean age-adjusted 5-year relative survival for colorectal (53.8% [95% CI 53.3-54.1]), lung (12.3% [12.1-12.5]), breast (78.9% [78.6-79.2]), prostate (75.7% [75.2-76.2]), and ovarian (36.3% [35.7-37.0]) cancer was highest in Nordic countries (except Denmark) and central Europe, intermediate in southern Europe, lower in the UK and Ireland, and worst in eastern Europe. Survival for melanoma (81.6% [81.0-82.3]), cancer of the testis (94.2% [93.4-95.0]), and Hodgkin's disease (80.0% [79.0-81.0]) varied little with geography. All-cancer survival correlated with TNEH for most countries. Denmark and UK had lower all-cancer survival than countries with similar TNEH; Finland had high all-cancer survival, but moderate TNEH."

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