Early Detection Critical In Treating Pediatric Thyroid Cancer

Daily Science Journal (Feb. 6, 2008) — Efforts to treat pediatric papillary thyroid cancer are greatly improved by detecting the disease as early as possible, making the patient's age the most important factor in determining a prognosis, according to new research published in the February 2008 issue of the journal Otolaryngology -- Head and Neck Surgery.

The study, authored by Italian researchers, evaluated 2,709 patients who underwent a total thyroidectomy to treat papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). Among the group's pediatric patients (younger than 18 years old), the cancer was observed to be much more aggressive than that in adult patients. However, despite the aggressive course of the disease, this did not influence the patient's survival rate, since cases of pediatric cancer have a better prognosis than that in adults. As a result, the authors concluded that age of detection is the single most important factor to consider when issuing a prognosis.

Thyroid cancer is the third most common tumor malignancy in children. It is one of the few cancers that has increased in incidence rates over the past several years, with an estimated 11 percent increase from 2006 to 2007. Papillary thyroid cancer occurs in cells that produce thyroid hormones containing iodine. This type, the most common form of thyroid cancer in children, grows very slowly.

The study also confirms that PTC is more prevalent in younger patients, compared with other age groups; these patients also had significantly larger tumors. However, the study's authors concluded that the size of the tumor, which is considered a significant factor in determining prognosis in adult patients, does not play a significant role in a child's prognosis.

The study also suggests a longer period for follow-ups is in order to more accurately measure the success of treatment.

Adapted from materials provided by American Academy of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

Read the rest of this entry »

Kidney Cancer Drug Attacks A Major Type Of Acute Myeloid Leukemia

Daily Science Journal (Feb. 1, 2008) — A drug used to treat kidney cancer also targets a genetic mutation active in about one third of patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), the most common and lethal form of adult leukemia, researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center report in the Jan. 29 edition of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

In a Phase I clinical trial, the drug sorafenib reduced the median percentage of leukemia cells circulating in the blood from 81 percent to 7.5 percent and in the bone marrow from 75.5 percent to 34 percent among AML patients whose leukemia includes the FLT3-ITD mutation. Two patients had circulating leukemia cells, or blasts, drop to zero.

"AML patients with this mutation have a particularly poor prognosis, so this highly targeted drug appears to be a significant step forward in leukemia therapy," says senior author Michael Andreeff, M.D., Ph.D., professor in M. D. Anderson's Department of Stem Cell Transplantation and Cellular Therapy and Department of Leukemia.

The JNCI paper reports the drug's effect in lab experiments, a mouse model of the disease, and in a Phase I study of 16 patients with relapsed or resistant AML known to have the FLT3-ITD mutation.

There have been no major side effects in the clinical trial to date, so no maximum tolerated dose has been reached, Andreeff notes. The drug has little effect on cells with normal versions of the gene and does not interfere with normal blood cell formation.

A Phase I/Phase II clinical trial for AML is open at M. D. Anderson that combines sorafenib with the standard of care chemotherapy combination for AML, idarubicin and cytosine arabinoside. Presently, the trial is open for relapsed patients and those newly diagnosed with high-risk disease, says study co-author Jorge Cortes, M.D., professor in M. D. Anderson's Department of Leukemia. As safety and dose escalation research progress, sorafenib will be made available to other patients and assume a role in frontline therapy.

About 14,000 new cases of AML are diagnosed annually in the United States and the disease kills about 9,000 people each year. AML is characterized by swift proliferation of immature white blood cells in the blood and bone marrow that crowds out normal cells, leaving patients exposed to infection, severe anemia, and bleeding.

While major progress has been made treating some forms of leukemia and lymphoma, acute myeloid leukemia has seen less improvement in recent years. Andreeff says that's because AML exploits multiple molecular pathways and that these pathways differ from one type of AML to the next.

Andreeff and colleagues have shown that molecular pathways subverted and used by AML collude with each other, so when one pathway is blocked, the others redouble their efforts to fuel the disease.

"Here we have a great response against an important mutation, but sorafenib alone will not cure patients," Andreeff notes. Combination therapy will be required. Andreeff and colleagues are planning to examine other sorafenib combinations against FLT3-mutant disease.

After in vitro tests showed that sorafenib inhibited the growth of FLT3 mutant leukemia cell colonies, the research team tested the medication in a mouse model of the disease. Sorafenib-treated mice had a median survival of 36.5 days compared with 20.5 days in untreated mice. Bioluminescence imaging showed widespread cancer growth in untreated mice and barely detectable disease in those that had received the drug.

Sorafenib, known commercially as Nexavar® and co-developed by Bayer AG and Onyx Pharmaceuticals, already is approved for advanced renal cell carcinoma and inoperable liver cancer by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. It is being tested against other solid tumors.

The drug targets both tumor cell growth and angiogenesis - new blood vessels woven by cancer to sustain itself - by targeting two classes of kinases, which are enzymes that affect proteins by attaching phosphate groups to them.

Sorafenib's antileukemia effects appear to be superior to early results of new therapies under development that more narrowly target the FLT3 gene. Andreeff says the drug's ability to hit multiple kinases probably accounts for this, but the exact molecular mechanisms involved require further study.

Co-authors with Andreeff and Cortes are lead author Weiguo Zhang, M.D., Ph.D., who conducted most of the project's laboratory research, Marina Konopleva, M.D., Ph.D., Yue-xi Shi, Teresa McQueen, Xiaoyang Ling, Ph.D., all of the department of Stem Cell Transplantation and Cellular Therapy; David Harris, Zeev Estrov, M.D., and Alfonso Quintas-Cardama, M.D. all of the Department of Leukemia; and David Small, M.D. of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

Research was funded by grants from the National Cancer Institute, a Leukemia SPORE Career Development Award, and the Cancer Therapy Evaluation Program.

Adapted from materials provided by University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.

Read the rest of this entry »

Diabetes Makes It Hard For Blood Vessels To Relax

Daily Science Journal (Feb. 1, 2008) — One way diabetes is bad for your blood vessels is by creating too much competition for an amino acid that helps blood vessels relax, researchers say.

One way diabetes is bad for your blood vessels is by creating too much competition for an amino acid that helps blood vessels relax, researchers say. (Credit: Image courtesy of Medical College of Georgia)

That amino acid, L-arginine, is broken down by the enzyme arginase to urea, which helps the body eliminate toxins resulting from the proteins we eat. Diabetics have a lot of arginase activity, which means they use a lot more L-arginine, says Dr. Maritza Romero, postdoctoral fellow at the Medical College of Georgia and lead author of the paper published in the current issue of Circulation Research.

It also means too little L-arginine is available to help nitric oxide synthase make nitric oxide, the powerful vasodilator that helps blood vessels relax, says Dr. Romero, who works in the lab of Dr. R. William Caldwell, chair of the MCG Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology and the study's corresponding author.

Researchers also found the amino acid, L-citrulline, as well as statins, compounds known to lower cholesterol, prevent elevation of arginase activity, restoring normal dilation abilities in animal models of type 1 diabetes. In fact, L-citrulline can be recycled into L-arginine.

Now they want to know specific factors and pathways involved in arginase activation and develop pharmaceutical agents to combat excessive arginase activity in diabetes. They also suggest clinical trials of L-citrulline as a supplemental therapy for diabetics with vascular problems.

Their findings also help explain why L-arginine supplement, marketed to treat hypertension, chest pain, heart failure and more, may not work long term. In the January 4, 2006 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, Johns Hopkins researchers reported that a clinical trial of patients taking an L-arginine supplement following a heart attack didn't improve in their vascular tone or their hearts' ability to pump. In fact, more patients died who were taking L-arginine than placebo and the study was closed with the recommendation the supplement not be used by heart attack patients. The supplement still is widely marketed.

"The findings of increased arginase I activity in diabetes may limit other therapeutic approaches proposed for early endothelial dysfunction such as oral L-arginine supplementation," Drs. Thomas L. Luscher and Jan Steffel, of the University of Zurich Cardiovascular Research Institute write in an accompanying editorial. "Although dietary L-arginine supplementation has been shown to exert vascular protective effects in certain clinical settings, this approach is unlikely to be effective in diabetes, if the results of this study can be confirmed by patients in vivo. In fact, the findings of Romera et al may provide a possible explanation for the unexpected neutral or even adverse effects of oral L-arginine in some clinical studies, in particular patients with coronary artery disease and infarction."

A short intravenous course of L-arginine may provide short-term improvement in blood vessel tone, Dr. Romero notes. However most of L-arginine ingested goes directly to the liver to be broken down, not the bloodstream where it can promote relaxation of blood vessels, Dr. Romero says.

Arginase also is associated with vascular problems related to aging, hypertension, sickle cell disease, atherosclerosis and erectile dysfunction, Dr. Romero says. L-citrulline already is taken by some sickle cell patients to reduce breath-taking fibrosis in their lungs. In addition to helping the body turn toxins into urea that can be safely eliminated from the body, arginase also helps in collagen formation and cell proliferation, but too much can be bad. In fact, Drs. Caldwell and Romero are pursuing studies of how increased arginase activity may harden blood vessel walls.

Adapted from materials provided by Medical College of Georgia.

Read the rest of this entry »

Faster, More Sensitive Method For Detecting Anthrax

Daily Science Journal (Nov. 8, 2007) — Amid continuing concerns that anthrax might be used as a bioterrorism weapon, government researchers report development of a faster, more sensitive blood test for detecting the deadly toxins produced by the anthrax bacterium, Bacillus anthracis. The test produces results in only 4 hours and could save lives by allowing earlier detection of infection, they say.

Anthrax spores as photographed under an electron microscope. (Credit: Courtesy of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Standard identification of anthrax (Bacillus anthracis) infection relies on a combination of time-consuming steps, including cell culture and gene amplification, which can take several days to provide a diagnosis and have limitations for detecting early stages of infection. Early diagnosis is critical for effective treatment of pulmonary or inhalation anthrax, the most deadly form.

John R. Barr and colleagues in a multi-center team effort used a form of mass spectrometry to detect the presence of 'lethal factor,' the key toxin produced by the anthrax bug, in the blood of monkeys with inhalation anthrax.

The method took only four hours to identify the toxin and detected it at very low levels, demonstrating its potential for early detection of infection, the researchers say. The new method also shows promise as a research tool for providing a better understanding of the anthrax infection cycle and for evaluating the effectiveness of different therapies and methods to fight infections.

The article "Detection and Quantification of Anthrax Lethal Factor in Serum by Mass Spectrometry" is scheduled for publication in the Nov. 22 issue of ACS' Analytical Chemistry.

Adapted from materials provided by American Chemical Society, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

Read the rest of this entry »

Women With Breast Cancer Have Less Dermatitis When Treated With IMRT

Daily Science Journal (Oct. 30, 2007) — All women treated with radiation therapy for breast cancer are at risk of developing dermatitis--a sometimes-painful skin condition caused by radiation as it makes its way through the skin to the tumor area and tissue within the breast. But researchers at Fox Chase Cancer Center say women being treated with IMRT (intensity-modulated radiation therapy) are less likely to have serious dermatitis.

A reddening of the skin, dermatitis is often likened to a bad sunburn. It can begin in the first weeks of treatment as mild redness, dryness or itching of the skin and progress to a more intense skin reaction by the last week of radiation. When dermatitis is acute and severe, causing peeling, it is can be extremely painful, interfering with normal life activities and sometimes interrupting treatment.

"Dermatitis is a major quality-of-life concern," said Gary Freedman, M.D., a radiation oncologist at Fox Chase Cancer Center who studies the side effects of breast cancer treatment. "It can be so painful that wearing a bra or snug-fitting clothing isn't possible. In the most severe cases, the skin will actually bleed or be at risk of infection."

Freedman says IMRT can reduce the risk of dermatitis. IMRT allows the radiation to be distributed in more beams across the skin, avoiding the full-on assault of conventional radiation.

In this study, Freedman and his colleagues looked at the records of 804 consecutive patients with early-stage breast cancer. The women were treated with breast-conserving surgery and radiation therapy between 2001 and 2006.

In the earlier part of the study period, women were treated with conventional radiation therapy (n=405). Later in the study period, women were primarily treated with IMRT (n=399).

Of those treated with IMRT, 48 percent had grade 0/1 dermatitis and 52 percent had grade 2/3. Of those treated with conventional radiation, 25 percent had grade 0/1 dermatitis and 75 percent had grade 2/3.

"In addition to statistically fewer patients with serious dermatitis, women treated with IMRT who developed dermatitis had it for a shorter time period than those treated with conventional radiation," added Freedman. "These benefits were shown in all patients regardless of breast size."

He concluded, "This study confirms our current practice of recommending IMRT for all patients. The study seeks to provide further evidence for patients, physicians and insurance companies that IMRT should be standard practice."

The research was presented October 28, 2007 at the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology's 49th Annual Meeting in Los Angeles.

Fox Chase Cancer Center was founded in 1904 in Philadelphia as the nation's first cancer hospital. In 1974, Fox Chase became one of the first institutions designated as a National Cancer Institute Comprehensive Cancer Center. Fox Chase conducts basic, clinical, population and translational research; programs of cancer prevention, detection and treatment; and community outreach. For more information about Fox Chase activities, visit the Center's web site at http://www.fccc.edu or call 1-888-FOX CHASE.

Adapted from materials provided by Fox Chase Cancer Center, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

Read the rest of this entry »

Newly Identified Antibody May Neutralize Inhalation Anthrax Toxin

Daily Science Journal (Oct. 19, 2007) — A newly identified antibody capable of neutralizing the inhalation anthrax toxin in rabbits and monkeys may offer an alternative method of preventing and treating infection in humans say US researchers. Their findings appear in the October 2007 issue of the journal Infection and Immunity.

The intentional use of Bacillus anthracis, the causative agent of anthrax, continues to pose serious threat as a bioterrorism or biowarfare agent. Although vaccines currently available are highly effective, multiple doses are required therefore necessitating antibiotic therapy for those individuals exposed prior to scheduled completion.

Monoclonal antibodies (MAb) are derived from one clone of cells, recognize only one antigen (the protective antigen (PA) component of the anthrax toxin combines with the lethal factor for cell entry) and are described as highly specific and purified. In the study the fully human MAb (now recognized at MAb 1303) was selected after neutralizing the anthrax toxin in transgenic mice. MAb 1303 was then found to offer effective postsymptomatic treatment in rabbits exposed to aerosolized anthrax spores as well as serve as a protective agent in monkeys challenged with aerosolized anthrax spores following a single intramuscular injection.

"Selection of an anti-PA MAb by using a functional assay that is a surrogate for protection has resulted in the identification of a fully human MAb with potent activity in vivo and uncovered a previously unrecognized mechanism of antibody-mediated toxin neutralization that is important for currently used anthrax vaccines," say the researchers.

(L. Vitale, D. Blanset, I. Lowy, T. O'Neill, J. Goldstein, S.F. Little, G.P. Andrews, G. Dorough, R.K. Taylor, T. Keler. 2006. Prophylaxis and therapy of inhalational anthrax by a novel monoclonal antibody to protective antigen that mimics vaccine-induced immunity. Infection and Immunity, 74.10: 5840-5847.)

Adapted from materials provided by American Society For Microbiology.

Read the rest of this entry »

New Chemical Effective Against Anthrax

Daily Science Journal (Jul. 23, 2007) — Scientists have identified a chemical that could be used as a new drug against anthrax.

Anthrax is a deadly disease caused by spores that germinate into bacteria, which then release a deadly toxin. Spores that are inhaled by animals or people germinate in the lungs to form bacteria, which then spread throughout the body, releasing the toxin and triggering the disease. Since spore germination is needed to cause infection, preventing germination is a potentially efficient way to stop the infection.

Jurgen Brojatsch, Ernesto Abel-Santos, and colleagues identified seven chemicals that block the germination of cultured anthrax spores. They also showed that one of these compounds, 6-thioguanosine, blocked the spores' germination inside mammalian cells, thus blocking anthrax infection. The scientists are now planning to test 6-thioguanosine in mice infected with the anthrax bacterium. This compound is a known anticancer agent with well-studied pharmacological properties, which could help save time and money if it is used in clinical trials.

Article: "Identification of an in Vivo Inhibitor of Bacillus anthracis Spore Germination" by Monique Akoachere, Raynal C. Squires, Adel M. Nour, Ludmyl Angelov, Jurgen Brojatsch, and Ernesto Abel-Santos

Adapted from materials provided by American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

Read the rest of this entry »

Cosmetic Surgery Techniques Can Enhance Thyroid Surgery Results

Daily Science Journal (Jul. 11, 2007) — Cosmetic surgery techniques, such as having a patient sit or stand while incision sites are marked so they blend into natural lines of the body, can improve the aesthetic result of thyroid surgery as well, researchers say.

Dr. David Terris, a pioneer in minimally invasive techniques that have dramatically reduced the size of the hallmark base-of-the-neck incisions. (Credit: Image courtesy of Medical College of Georgia)

"We have found that while keeping the management of the underlying thyroid problem as the first priority, we can still achieve a maximal cosmetic result," says Dr. David Terris, a pioneer in minimally invasive techniques that have dramatically reduced the size of the hallmark base-of-the-neck incisions.

Dr. Terris, who chairs the Medical College of Georgia Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, wanted to know if cosmetic surgery principles he learned in the facial plastic surgery part of his training could further improve results.

He did a prospective analysis of 248 patients who required varying approaches to thyroid surgery, from a standard, several-inch-long neck incision to remove huge thyroids to minimally invasive techniques that cut the incision size in half to endoscopic approaches that reduce incision size half again. Patients were operated on at MCG Medical Center between September 2003 and June 2006.

Most thyroid patients requiring surgery are women – 198 women compared to 50 men in this new study published in the July issue of The Laryngoscope – and many are concerned with the cosmetic result, says Dr. Terris. "It matters to them how big the scar is, if it's even, if it's hidden in a skin crease, if the edges are nicely aligned."

All patients sat up to have their incision sites marked. "You want the incision to be in a location that corresponds to a cosmetically favorable area when you are upright at a dinner party, not stretched out on an operating room table," says Dr. Terris.

Other techniques applied included:

• Trimming traumatized edges at the incision sites. "Especially with the minimal-access techniques, the idea is to customize the incision to the size of the disease rather than one size fits all, which is how thyroid surgery was done just five or six years ago, with a big incision for everybody," says Dr. Terris. "Sometimes we still make big incisions, but more often, we make a smaller incision just big enough to get the thyroid out." Skin edges sometimes get frayed as surgeons remove large nodules from relatively small incisions. "Rather than make a bigger incision, we excise that edge so you have nice, fresh dges that come together quite well."
• Using surgical glues instead of sutures. "You can line up edges and get them accurately apposed without any risk of railroad-tracking using the glue," he says, referencing tracks left by traditional sutures or staples. "It's also convenient for patients because they don't have to come back on a certain date to get the stitches removed; they just peel it off."
• Minimizing trauma to surrounding skin. "The conventional way to get to the thyroid gland is to raise up the skin to the hyoid bone above the Adam's apple and down to the clavicles, then start working on the muscles in the throat that surround the thyroid gland, separate those, then get down to the gland." But all that raising of tissue, called flaps, means hoping it will lie back down as it's supposed to. "What we recognized is that you don't need to raise those flaps all the way up and all the way down. We make our incision, we go right down to the muscles, separate them, do the work we need to do, then close them. It saves time during surgery, it saves dissection and we are not creating a big space that we hope sticks back down."
• Minimizing use of drains. Drains to manage post-surgery oozing have been used pretty much since thyroid surgery was invented. "It used to be common, rather than removing the entire thyroid, to leave a little rind, if you will, of the thyroid behind," says Dr. Terris. The hope was the remaining tissue might reduce or even eliminate the need for thyroid medicine afterward. The reality is the patients ended up on medicine and the rind often caused oozing and sometimes recurrent disease. Now doctors take out the whole thyroid or all of one side, depending on the extent of the disease. Also today, minimally invasive techniques and other surgical improvements such as the thin, ultrasonic harmonic scalpel, have reduced overall surgical trauma. In the study, only 111 of the 248 patients got drains, 60 of whom had conventional thyroidectomy.

Researchers reported that only one of the 248 patients required additional treatment for their surgery scar; she received steroid injections for hypertrophic scarring.

"Although there continues to be enthusiasm for the use of these smaller incisions to accomplish thyroid surgery, it is likely that the application of well-known cosmetic principles is equally important to achieving optimal outcomes," Dr. Terris and his co-authors write.

Adapted from materials provided by Medical College of Georgia.

Read the rest of this entry »

Vitamin D And Flavonoids Examined For Impact On Breast And Ovarian Cancers

Daily Science Journal (Jul. 7, 2007) — While risk factors for breast and ovarian cancers include menopause, obesity, family history and specific genetic mutations, researchers also are looking at the role of diet in the development, as well as the treatment and prevention of these tumors. At the 97th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research, two groups of scientists using sophisticated statistical techniques report their findings of possible preventive properties of Vitamin D against breast cancer. Two other groups of scientists present their work analyzing the possibility that natural antioxidants found in plants, substances called flavonoids, could play a powerful role in preventing both breast and ovarian cancer.

Potential Reduction in Breast Cancer Risk Associated with Vitamin D: Abstract No. 4009

Though scientists have suspected that Vitamin D helps to prevent and possibly even treat breast cancer, population-based studies on the possible link have been few and of limited scope.

Now, new studies by researchers at the Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto suggest the "sunshine" vitamin may play a significant role in reducing breast cancer risk. The results, based on population data, found the reduction was most apparent among subjects exposed to the highest levels of vitamin D when they were young.

By interviewing about 576 patients who had been diagnosed with breast cancer and 1,135 people who had no cancer, the scientists discovered that significant reductions in breast cancer were found in those who had either worked in an outdoor job, had taken part in outdoor activities when young, or consumed cod liver oil or milk.

Working an outdoor job between ages 10 to19 resulted in an estimated 40 percent reduced risk of breast cancer, while frequent outdoor activities between ages 10 to 29 lowered breast cancer risk by an estimated 35 percent.

"These outdoor activities included those that didn't involve physical activity," said Julie Knight, who headed the Mount Sinai research team. "And so we believe that this is evidence of a reduction of breast cancer risk, associated with earlier exposure to the sun."

For dietary influences on cancer development, taking cod liver oil between ages 10 to 19 reduced breast cancer risk by about 25 percent, and consuming at least nine glasses of milk every week between the ages of 10 to 29 reduced the risk by 35 percent. The dietary and lifestyle reductions were significant, even when adjusted for other risk factors for breast cancer such as age, ethnicity, close relatives with breast cancer, age at menarche and age at a woman's first birth.

"What you are exposed to during breast development may be particularly important in determining future breast cancer risk," Knight said. "Current thinking is that exposures during adolescence or before a full-term pregnancy may have a greater effect, as that is when breast tissue is going through the most rapid development."

Knight emphasizes that these findings are preliminary estimates of the risk reduction of breast cancer brought about by Vitamin D. The researchers are now looking to solidify these findings, and determine whether physical exercise while outdoors is in any way associated with breast cancer.

Evidence of Need for Increased Vitamin D Fortification of Food Based on Pooled Analysis of Studies of Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D and Breast cancer: Abstract No. 4008

Increasing doses of dietary Vitamin D may help prevent breast cancer, with the optimal level of intake of Vitamin D more that three times the current average for Americans, according to a study conducted at the University of California, San Diego.

Previous studies have suggested a link between Vitamin D deficiency and higher incidence of breast cancer. Cedric Garland, Dr. P.H., and Edward Gorham, Ph.D., of UCSD, and their colleagues examined existing cancer studies to determine if higher Vitamin D levels in the blood could reduce the risk of cancer.

"There is a strong inverse dose-response relationship between the serum concentration of 25-hydroxyvitamin D and the risk of breast cancer," Garland said. "It's a close fit to a linear model," meaning that higher amounts of 25-hydroxyvitamin D in the serum resulted in decreased risk of breast cancer. The evidence further pointed to a level of Vitamin D measured in blood that correlated with a 50 percent reduction in the incidence of breast cancer.

Garland, Gorham and their colleagues studied a serum Vitamin D metabolite known as 25 hydroxyvitamin D and its association with breast cancer occurrence in a pooled study that included 1,760 women. The studies that provided the data for the pooled analysis were conducted by Elizabeth R. Bertone-Johnson and colleagues at Harvard, and L.C. Lowe and associates at Saint George's Hospital Medical School in London.

According to the pooled analysis, Vitamin D in blood serum equal to 52 nanograms per milliliter was associated with a 50 percent reduced risk of breast cancer. To move closer to a serum concentration of 52 nanograms/milliliter, a typical individual would have to consume no less than 1,000 International Units (IU) of Vitamin D every day, through supplements or vitamin D-fortified foods. Currently, a typical American consumes only 320 International Units of Vitamin D a day. The upper limit for vitamin D intake established by the National Academy of Sciences is 2,400 IU/day, but no toxic effects of vitamin D intake have been reported for intakes below 3,800 IU per day.

"There is no substantial downside to a serum level of 52 nanograms per milliliter of Vitamin D," said Gorham. "Such levels are common in sunny climates. There is no known adverse effect of serum levels below 160 nanograms per milliliter."

However, since many people use sunscreens and are involved in indoor occupations or shift work, dietary supplements and vitamin D fortified foods are necessary to maintain optimal levels of Vitamin D, the scientists noted.

High intakes of calcium, which could occur with intake of Vitamin D supplements containing calcium, could increase the risk of kidney stones, they warn. However, the dosage level of vitamin D associated with kidney stones in patients far exceeded 3,800 IU/day. Until more studies are completed, the scientists recommended that everyone consume at least 1,000 IU/day of vitamin D3.

Dietary Flavonoid Intake and Breast Cancer Risk among Women in the Long Island Breast Cancer Study Project: Abstract No. 4014

Flavonoids, a class of antioxidants found in plants, is associated with a reduced risk of breast cancer among post-menopausal women, according to results of the Long Island breast cancer study project. The results are one of the first epidemiologic studies to suggest that these compounds could have a chemoprotective effect among women.

Brian Fink, Susan Steck and Marilie Gammon of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and other colleagues studied data from a large study of breast cancer incidence and risk factors conducted among women living during the mid-1990s on Long Island, N.Y.

Breast cancer risk was reduced for the highest percentages of total flavonoid intake, compared to the lowest intake of the plant antioxidants. The decreased risk was about 45 percent among post-menopausal women. Risk decreases were not seen in pre-menopausal women. Specific flavonoids -- including flavones, flavan-3-ols and lignans -- were associated with reduced cancer risks ranging from 26 to 39 percent; other flavonoids, such as flavanones, isoflavones and anthocyanidins, showed no relationship with reduced cancer risk.

"These results are consistent with other studies conducted among Mediterranean women," said Fink. "Few epidemiologic studies have examined whether there is a relationship between breast cancer and dietary flavonoids. Our study proposes that dietary flavonoids can help American post-menopausal women reduce their risk of breast cancer."

The researchers examined data from the Long Island study, which was conducted by Dr. Gammon and colleagues between August 1996 and July 1997. The team compared data from 1,434 women with breast cancer to data from 1,440 women who were not diagnosed with the disease.

Flavonols, flavones, lignans and anthocyanidins are all flavonoids, molecules that give plants protection from oxidative damage due to disease and environmental stresses. Flavonoids are classified according to chemical structure, and have been studied for their varying degrees of effectiveness against human diseases, both in treatment and prevention. They are found in green tea, red wine, soybeans, fruit and vegetables.

"There are no recommended dietary standards for ingestion of flavonoids, and we do not know exactly how these chemicals may work on a cellular level," said Fink, whose work was supported with funding from the National Institutes of Health and the Lance Armstrong Foundation. "Minute differences in chemical structure could determine how a certain natural antioxidant may work to prevent disease, including cancer. More study is needed to determine why certain flavonoids appear to be effective at reducing cancer risk, and others do not appear to have these properties."

A Prospective Analysis of Dietary Flavonoid Intake and Epithelial Ovarian Cancer Incidence: Abstract No. 4013

The incidence of ovarian cancer may be reduced with increased consumption of dietary flavonoids, plant chemicals that are found in tea, red wine, fruits and vegetables, according to researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital and the Harvard School of Public Health.

The study, conducted by Margaret Gates, a doctoral candidate at the Harvard School of Public Health, looked at food intake surveys and ovarian cancer data from 66,384 participants in the Harvard Nurses' Health Study, which collected health data from 121,700 women over a period of 30 years. "This is the first prospective analysis of flavonoid intake and ovarian cancer incidence," Gates said.

Gates studied the association between flavonoid intake from food frequency questionnaires completed by the women in 1984, 1990, 1994 and 1998; and 344 confirmed cases of ovarian cancer diagnosed between 1984 and 2002. While there was a significant trend toward decreasing incidence of ovarian cancer with increasing total flavonoid intake, Gates warned that "because this is one of the first studies of the topic, this association needs to be evaluated in another prospective study population before conclusions can be made."

Gates also analyzed individual flavonoids to evaluate their impact on ovarian cancer incidence. The flavonoid kaempferol, which the nurses consumed primarily from caffeinated tea, broccoli and kale, was associated with decreased ovarian cancer risk. Women with the highest levels of kaempferol intake had a significant 38 percent decrease in ovarian cancer incidence, compared to women with the lowest levels of intake. Two other flavonoids, myricetin and quercetin, showed a possible inverse association with ovarian cancer risk, although the results were largely non-significant.

"The associations were stronger when exposure was defined as cumulative average flavonoid intake over a period of 14 years, which suggests that long-term intake of flavonoids may be important," Gates said.

But she cautioned that "these findings need to be confirmed by others before any public health recommendations can be made. However, if confirmed, consumption of flavonoids would provide another means for women to decrease their risk of ovarian cancer."

Adapted from materials provided by American Association for Cancer Research.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Elderberry Way To Perfect Skin

Daily Science Journal (Jul. 6, 2007) — Forget expensive moisturisers and cosmetic surgery, a compound found in the humble elderberry could give a natural boost to skin.

In the first study of its kind, researchers will explore whether the skin's condition is improved by a compound which gives berries their vibrant colour (called 'anthocyanin'). (Credit: iStockphoto)

In the first study of its kind, a team of researchers led by Prof Aedin Cassidy at the University of East Anglia and Dr Paul Kroon at the Institute of Food Research, will explore whether the skin's condition is improved by a compound which gives berries their vibrant colour (called 'anthocyanin').

In a 12-week trial starting in September, post-menopausal women will consume either extracts from elderberries or placebo capsules, and will have their skin's structure and appearance measured with state-of-the-art equipment used by experts in skin science. At the same time, researchers will also test whether the elderberry extract can reduce risk factors for heart disease.

"We already know that a healthy diet can help protect against heart disease and skin damage, and that a mixture of similar food components have been shown to improve the skin's structure. There is also evidence that the active components have anti-inflammatory properties, which may be important in helping people stay healthy," said UEA's Dr Peter Curtis who is leading the project.

"If the results of our study are positive, it may lead to innovations in skin health products and may also give us vital information about diets which promote healthier hearts."

Adapted from materials provided by University of East Anglia.

Read the rest of this entry »