Radiology and cardiovascular researchers from the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, S.C., have presented new data that shows the risk of cancer from exposure to radiation during computed tomography for cardiovascular disease has been overstated and that new estimates are several times lower than previously published conclusions. The MUSC researchers presented their findings at the American Heart Association’s meeting in New Orleans.

In previously published studies, different researchers concluded the risk of cancer from radiation exposure during CT for cardiovascular disease was approximately 1 in 114, but the new study suggests the risk is 1 in 1000.
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Scientists have thought that one way to foil a tumor from generating blood vessels to feed its growth - a process called angiogenesis - was by creating drugs aimed at stopping a key vessel growth-promoting protein. But now the opposite seems to be true.

Researchers at the Moores Cancer Center at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) in La Jolla have found evidence that blocking that protein target, called VEGF, or vascular endothelial growth factor, doesn’t really halt the process at all. Instead, cutting levels of VEGF in a tumor actually props up existing blood vessels, making them stronger and more normal, and in some cases the tumors larger. But as a result, the tumor is more vulnerable to the effects of chemotherapy drugs.

In a paper appearing online in the journal Nature, David Cheresh, Ph.D., professor and vice chair of pathology at the UC San Diego School of Medicine and the Moores UCSD Cancer Center and his co-workers mimicked the action of anti-angiogenesis drugs by genetically reducing VEGF levels in mouse tumors and inflammatory cells in various cancers, including pancreatic cancer. They also used drugs to inhibit VEGF receptor activity. In every case, blood vessels were made normal again.

The researchers say the findings provide an explanation for recent evidence showing that anti-angiogenesis drugs such as Avastin can be much more effective when combined with chemotherapy. The results may lead to better treatment strategies for a variety of cancers.

“We’ve discovered that when anti-angiogenesis drugs are used to lower the level of VEGF within a tumor, it’s not so much a reduction in the endothelial cells and losing blood vessels as it is an activation of the tumor blood vessels supporting cells,” said Cheresh. “This enables vessels to mature, providing a conduit for better drug delivery to the tumor. While the tumors initially get larger, they are significantly more sensitive to chemotherapeutic drugs.”
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The American Association for Cancer Research’s Seventh Annual International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research will focus on the latest biological, medical and social research behind cancer prevention. The conference will be held November 16 - 19, 2008, at the Gaylord National Convention Center in Washington, D.C., and more than 1,000 scientists and other professionals are expected to attend.

“This meeting has become a major venue for presenting cutting-edge research in basic, clinical, epidemiologic and behavioral science,” said meeting chair Steven M. Dubinett, M.D., director of the Lung Cancer Research Program at the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center. “As the only comprehensive conference on cancer prevention in the world, it continues to foster important transdisciplinary interactions that are vital to making critical discoveries.”

The 2008 program will cover a wide variety of cancer prevention topics and will specifically highlight some of the latest developments in the tumor microenvironment, international prevention mechanisms, integrative prevention and targeted prevention and treatment.
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According to the American Cancer Society (ACS), more than 16,000 new esophageal cancer cases are diagnosed each year in the U.S. Unfortunately the survival rate in these cases is only 10 percent. This alarming statistic is due largely to the fact that by the time the majority of cases are diagnosed, the cancerous tumors have grown to the point of inoperability. Raising patient awareness about potential conditions that, if left untreated, could progress into esophageal cancer, will encourage patients to seek the appropriate care through their physician.

Many people are aware that tobacco use increases the risk of developing esophageal cancer; however, there are several other common contributing risk factors including:

- Excessive alcohol consumption;
- Obesity;
- Lye ingestion; and,
- Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), also known as acid reflux or heartburn.

A recent ACS Gallup poll revealed that 44 percent of adults in the U.S. have heartburn at least once per month and that approximately 30 percent of esophageal cancer cases can be linked to GERD. GERD is a condition in which acid (with some pepsin and bile) splashes up from the stomach into the esophagus. These three fluids are potentially dangerous to the sensitive esophageal tissue, as they can inflame and damage the lining of the esophagus, a condition known as esophagitis.

If GERD becomes a chronic condition, it can develop into Barrett’s esophagus, a precursor to esophageal cancer. Barrett’s esophagus is a condition in which the color and composition of the cells lining the lower esophagus change due to repeated exposure to stomach acid. Only a small percentage of people with GERD develop Barrett’s esophagus, but once it is diagnosed, patients should be sure to meet with their physician regularly as they are at a greater risk of developing esophageal cancer.
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WHEN: November 16 - 19, 2008

WHERE: Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center Washington, DC

PROGRAM COMMITTEE CHAIRPERSON:
Steven M. Dubinett, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA

Through this annual conference and the AACR family of journals, including the newest journal, Cancer Prevention Research, AACR will continue to serve as a central point for disseminating information and cultivating the interactions that are so vital to advancing the cancer prevention field. The latest research in basic, clinical, epidemiologic, and behavioral science will be presented throughout the conference. Our outstanding committee of twenty co-chairpersons represents the diverse range of interests and scientific expertise that is required to develop such a comprehensive program.
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Breast cancer patients are risking their lives by failing to take the tamoxifen they are prescribed, according to a new study published in the British Journal of Cancer * today (Tuesday).

Half of the women failed to finish a five year course of the drug and one in five regularly forget to take a tablet.

Experts already know that taking tamoxifen for five years increases survival chances and the new research reveals that women who miss at least one tablet every five days have a 10 per cent greater risk of dying.

The researchers - based at the University of Dundee and funded by the Medical Research Council and Breast Cancer Research (Scotland) - used the prescription records of more than 2000 women to see how many did not complete the standard treatment of a tamoxifen tablet every day and linked this to other health records to see if they were more likely to die.

The results show that 10 per cent of women followed for one year stopped taking tamoxifen, 19 per cent of the women followed for at least two years had stopped, 32 per cent of the women followed for three and a half years had stopped and a total of 51 per cent of women followed for five or more years had stopped taking the drug.
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Dr. Gary J. Bennett, a professor at McGill University’s Department of Anesthesia, has been awarded a scientific research grant by The Neuropathy Association, a U.S. patient-based non-profit organization headquartered in New York City. Peripheral neuropathy results from injury to the peripheral nervous system, disrupting the body’s ability to communicate with its muscles, organs and tissues.

Every year, The Neuropathy Association - whose mission is to provide patient support and education, facilitate information exchange, advocate for patients’ interests and, most important, support research - awards two research grants. Dr. Bennett’s proposal is one of two awarded by the Association in 2008. Each grant is an award of $80,000, allocated at $40,000 per year for a two-year period.

Dr. Bennett’s proposal, Mechanism of Paclitaxel-Evoked Peripheral Neuropathy, is based on data suggesting the chemotherapy drug paclitaxel (Taxol®) causes neuropathy by a novel and previously unrecognized mechanism. The drug is used by tens of thousands of patients as a first-line drug in the treatment of ovarian, breast and non-small-cell lung cancer.

Neuropathy is a serious side-effect of several chemotherapy drugs. It can be severe and often painful, which leads to a decline in a cancer patient’s quality of life. The neuropathy can clearly limit the use of paclitaxel as an effective chemotherapeutic agent.
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Research into a cancer that is on the rise in the UK is to be presented at the University of Leicester.

It will discuss new studies at Leicester into the differences between benign and cancerous moles.

Postgraduate researcher Dr Philip Da Forno of the Department of Cancer Studies and Molecular Studies will describe new advances in the fight against malignant melanoma at a Doctoral Inaugural Lecture to be given today, 12 November.

Dr Da Forno has investigated the expression of a particular protein in the progress of the disease and the molecular differences between types of ‘Spitzoid’ melanocytic tumours and malignant melanoma

He said: “Malignant melanoma is a common cancer of the skin that is increasing in incidence in the United Kingdom. Early cancers are easily cured but once the disease has spread to other sites in the body, there is no effective treatment and the outcome is often fatal.
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Professor Vivien Chen, PhD,. Associate Professor Xiao Cheng Wu, MD, PhD and Assistant Professor Edward Peters, DMD, SM, ScD, at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans School of Public Health contributed five papers to the largest most comprehensive assessment of the burden of human papillomavirus (HPV)-associated cancers in the United States to date. The report, “Assessing the Burden of Human Papillomavirus (HPV)-Associated Cancers in the United States (ABHACUS),” is available now online and will be published in the November 15, 2008 supplement to the journal Cancer.

The publication reports that 25,000 cases of HPV-associated cancers were diagnosed in 38 states and the District of Columbia from 1998-2003. These include cancers of the cervix, vagina, vulva, penis, anus, oral cavity and oropharynx. Human papillomaviruses comprise about 100 different types, more than 30 of which are sexually transmitted. As the data were collected prior to the development of the HPV vaccine, they will provide baseline incidence rates to determine the effectiveness of the vaccine as well as cervical cancer screening programs in reducing the incidence of HPV-associated cancers and precancers.
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News articles that stress African-American health disparities, like higher cancer mortality rates than other groups, may discourage black patients from being screened for cancer, according to a Saint Louis University study. Instead, they are more likely to be tested for cancer after hearing positive messages that emphasize progress made among African-American cancer patients.

While the medical community typically has publicized health disparities as a means of motivating those most at risk to seek health care and take preventive action, it seems this tactic may have the opposite result.

“Traditionally, we’ve assumed that the best way to reach people who are at risk is to point out the disparity,” said Robert Nicholson, Ph.D., assistant professor of neurology and psychiatry at Saint Louis University School of Medicine and School of Public Health. “However, it appears that this may actually serve to discourage some people from being screened. It may be that disparity messages reinforce existing distrust of the medical system.”
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