How Long am I Going to Live With my Metastatic Breast Cancer?

Posted on February 6, 2011 by wngai
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Metastatic breast cancer (MBC) is a disease that is essentially incurable.  Women with MBC are given chemotherapy at some stage of their illness to extend their lives.  When starting chemotherapy for MBC, most women would like to know how the treatment will affect their life expectancy. 

A new study published in December issue of Journal of Clinical Oncology should provide the answer to this important question.  The study analyzed and reported the average survival of 13,083 MBC patients involved in 36 randomized clinical trials under best-case, average and worst case scenarios. 

The analysis found that the median overall survival for metastatic breast cancer patients was 21.7 months while the length of time during and after treatment in which a patient is living with a disease that does not get worse was 7.6 months.  

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Yunzhi Slows Progression of Advanced Non-small Cell Lung Cancer

Posted on February 6, 2011 by wngai
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Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is a leading cause of cancer deaths, but most patients (over 69%) were diagnosed at advanced stages.  Although polysaccharide peptides (PSP), isolated from the fungus Yunzhi (Coriolus versicolor), have been reported to have anti-tumor effects in animal studies during chemotherapy, its efficacy to extend survival in humans has not been properly evaluated.  

The first study to demonstrate the efficacy of Yunzhi to strengthen the immune system and improve survival was reported in the 2003 issue of the Respiratory Medical Journal.  In that study, 34 patients who had advanced NSCLC and had received conventional treatment were randomized to receive either PSP or placebo for 28 days.  

After 28-day treatment with PSP, there was a significant improvement in blood leukocyte, neutrophil counts, serum IgG and IgM and percentage of body fat among the PSP, but not in the control group (P<0.05).  

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Finger Length Can Tell Whether You Are at Risk of Prostate Cancer?

Posted on February 6, 2011 by wngai
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Some people say Chinese palm reading is superstitious.  I disagree.  In Western Medicine, scientists also use retrospective studies to  identify individuals at risk of developing certain diseases (such as lung cancer). 

In the latest issue of British Journal of Cancer, investigators analyzed the right-hand pattern and prostate cancer risk in 5000 individuals.  

Over a 15-year period, researchers from the University of Warwick and The Institue of cancer Research (ICR) collected data on finger length in 1,524 patients with prostate cancer as well as 3,044 healthy people. 

They found that men with index finger longer ring finger had a lower risk (33% risk reduction) of getting prostate cancer.  The risk reduction was even greater (87% reduction) in men younger than 60 years old.  Men whose index and ring fingers were the same length had a similar prostate cancer risk to those with a shorter index than ring finger.

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Exercise Linked to Lower Risk of Death from Colon Cancer

Posted on February 6, 2011 by wngai
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In November of 2010, a study reported that women who exercised for at least 150 minutes a week might have a reduced risk for endometrial and postmenopausal breast cancer. 

Now, a new study conducted by the Siteman Cancer Center at Washington University School of Medicine and Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri, showed that regular long-term physical activity can make colon cancer less deadly. 

The researchers analyzed data from the American Cancer Society Cancer Prevention Study II (CPS-II) Nutrition Cohort (150,000 men and women) to see whether changes in physical activity could prevent colon cancer or reduce the risk of death from cancer. 

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Green, but not Black, Tea Reduce Risk for Coronary Heart Disease

Posted on February 6, 2011 by wngai
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We have previous reported that black tea can prevent lung cancer and modest tea consumption can cut cardiovascular disease. 

Now, another new study confirmed that green tea, but not black tea, has a protective role against coronary artery disease (CAD).  The results were published in the January issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2011. 

The analysis included 18 studies, 13 studies were on black tea and five studies were on green tea. 

The analysis found no association between black-tea intake and the risk for CAD, but a significant association between intake of green tea and a lower risk for CAD (38% risk reduction).  Increased intake of green-tea by one cup per day was associated with a 10% reduction in the risk for the development of CAD. 

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Exercise Improves Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Posted on February 6, 2011 by wngai
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Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is a bowel disorder characterized by chronic abdominal pain, discomfort, bloating, and alteration of bowel habits. 

Currently, there is no cure for IBS.  Medicines (such as laxatives, antispasmodics, antidepressants, prokinetics and anti-gas) are usually given to relieve the symptoms of IBS, but only 30% of patients respond to current treatment. 

However, a study, reported online January 4th in the American Journal of Gastroenterology, found that individuals who exercised had better chance of improvements in cramps, bloating, constipation and diarrhea. 

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Escitalopram (Lexapro) Relief Hot Flashes in Menopausal women

Posted on February 6, 2011 by wngai
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Recent concerns regarding the risk associated with estrogen and progesterone have resulted in its declining use and increased interest in nonhormonal treatments to manage menopausal symptoms. 

A 8-week, multicenter, placebo-controlled, study on 205 women found that escitalopram (an antidepressant) might be useful therapy to prevent menopausal hot flashes. 

After 8 week of treatment, patients who took escitalopram have 1.41 fewer hot flashes per day than women who took placebo.  

Furthermore, half (55%) of women in the escitalopram group versuus one third (36%) in the placebo group reported a decrease of at last 50% in hot flash frequency (P=0.009) at the 8-week follow-up.  

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Xifaxan Relives Symptoms of Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Posted on February 6, 2011 by wngai
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Our previous article reported the beneficial effects of exercise to relieve symptoms of irritable disease.  Now, two studies indicated that treatment with antibiotic, rifaximin (Xifaxan), for 2 weeks provides long-lasting, significant symptom relief in patients who have irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) without constipation. 

Rifaximin is currently approved by the US Food and Drug Administration to treat travelers’ diarrhea and hepatic encephalopathy. 

The 2 studies, TARGET 1 and TARGET 2, were placebo-controlled trials to study the effect of rifaximin in patients who had IBS without constipation. Participants were randomly assigned to receive 550 mg of rifaximin or placebo for 2 weeks, with follow-up for 10 additional weeks. 

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How to Prevent Colorectal and Lung Cancers in Diabetic Patients?

Posted on January 8, 2011 by wngai
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It is no news to diabetic patients they are at increased risk of developing liver, pancreatic and colorectal cancers.  What they want to know is how they can prevent cancers. 

In the September issue of Cancer Prevention Research, two studies (a small clinical trial and an animal study) suggested that metformin might suppress the development of precancerous colorectal lesions in humans and prevent tobacco-induced lung cancers in mice. 

In the first study, researchers from Yokohama City University School of Medicine in Japan randomized 12 nondiabetic patients with of rectal aberrant crypt foci (ACF- a marker of colorectal cancer) to treatment with metformin (250 mg/day) and 14 to no treatment. After 1 month, the metformin patients not only had fewer ACFs, they also had significant decreases in the proliferating cell nuclear antigen index. 

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Use of Aspirin was Found to Reduce Prostate Cancer Risk

Posted on January 8, 2011 by wngai
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Recent interest in the role of inflammation has sparked many studies to evaluate whether aspirin or other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs can prevent cancers.

In a case-control study designed to investigate the relation between pain relievers and prostate cancer risk, investigators evaluated the relationship between the use of anti-inflammatory drugs and the risk of prostate caner in 2000 individuals between 2002 and 2005.

The investigator found that use of aspirin was association with a significant 21% reduction in the risk of prostate cancer when compared with aspirin nonusers.

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