Red and processed meats increase the risk of developing colorectal cancer.
The new report, just released as part of the World Cancer Research Fund and American Institute for Cancer Research (WCRF/AICR) Continuous Update Project (CUP), examined the links between colorectal cancer risk and diet, physical activity and weight - and update the findings of the 2007 Expert Report.
AICR now recommends people limit consumption to 18 cooked ounces of red meat a week – roughly the equivalent of five or six small portions of beef, lamb or pork – and avoid processed meat.
Experts say ounce for ounce, consuming processed meat increases risk twice as much as consuming red meat.
The American Cancer Society says, excluding skin cancers, colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer diagnosed in both men and women in the United States and third leading cause of cancer-related death in the United States. Recent estimates put the number of new colon cancer cases in the United States are for 2011 at 101,700 with an additional 39,510 new cases of rectal cancer.
The ACS says the lifetime risk of developing colorectal cancer is about 1 in 20, or 5 percent, and is slightly lower in women. It is expected to cause about 49,380 deaths this year.
The new findings regarding red and processed meat come from 10 new cohort studies added to the 14 previously included in the 2007 report on colorectal cancer risk.
The new systematic review of the evidence was carried out by WCRF/AICR–funded scientists at Imperial College London, who overall added 263 new papers on colorectal cancer to the 749 previously in the 2007 report.
The CUP Expert Panel also concluded foods containing dietary fiber reduce colorectal cancer risk - adding seven more studies to the existing eight from the 2007 Report and reaffirming AICR's recommendation for people to eat a plant–based diet, including whole grains, fruits, vegetables and beans.
Maintaining a healthy weight and being physically active are both linked to lowering colon cancer risk, while a healthy weight is linked to lower rectal cancer risk. Carrying excess fat, especially around the waist, is a convincing cause of colorectal cancer. There is also convincing evidence alcohol consumption increases colorectal cancer risk in men and probably in women.
"This report shows that colorectal cancer is one of the most preventable cancers," said Elisa Bandera, MD, PhD, who served on the World Cancer Research Fund/American Institute for Cancer Research's Continuous Update Project (CUP) Expert Panel that authored the report. "AICR has estimated that about 45 percent of colorectal cancer cases could be prevented if we all ate more fiber–rich plant foods and less meat, drank less alcohol, moved more and stayed lean. That's over 64,000 cases in the US every year."
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Barletta asks EPA for further investigation of 'cancer cluster'
In a sharply worded letter sent to the Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta requested further investigation into a Pittston neighborhood where residents say dozens of people have been diagnosed with or died of cancer.
Barletta, R-Hazleton, wants additional testing for hazardous materials in the soil, air and water around Mill and Carroll streets, located near the mouth of the Butler Mine Tunnel. Residents have wondered if the rash of cancer stems from the mine drainage tunnel, once illegally filled with millions of gallons of oil waste and chemicals.
"The residents of the Carroll/Mill neighborhood of Pittston, Pennsylvania, are scared," Barletta wrote to EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. "They are concerned that they and their children are exposed to something in the environment that is causing an unusual rise in cancer rates."
Barletta's request came a day after EPA officials told dozens of residents gathered at Martin L. Mattei Middle School in Pittston that the agency would not consider additional testing around Mill and Carroll streets. One man, disgusted by the response, stormed from the room and said, "You wasted all of our time."
Mitch Cron, the EPA's remedial project manager for the Butler Mine Tunnel Superfund Site, repeatedly told residents that they are not exposed to contaminants from the mine tunnel and that the water running through it is "generally very clean."
Residents didn't buy his explanation, nor a state Department of Health official's conclusion that the dozens of cases of cancer do not qualify as a cancer cluster.
Residents complained that the Department of Health based its conclusion upon too wide a swath of residents. Dr. Stephen Ostroff, director of the state's bureau of epidemiology, bolstered his argument with data culled from the entire 18640 area code, while residents argued the investigation should focus just on Mill and Carroll streets in Pittston.
Chris Meninchini, whose father Chuck lives on Carroll Street and has been diagnosed with lymphoma and colon cancer, suggested someone from EPA canvas the affected neighborhood.
"Someone from your department has to get up and do the job and go door to door," he told Cron.
Focusing on a specific neighborhood would not provide enough data for an adequate conclusion, Ostroff said, equating it to judging a baseball player's ability by his batting average only a few games into the season.
Barletta and state Sen. John Yudichak have both said that if the cause of the cancer is not the Butler Mine Tunnel, alternate causes must be investigated. The EPA's refusal to conduct more testing in the neighborhood in question specifically irked Barletta.
"Frankly, this is unacceptable," he wrote in his letter. "The EPA's own website indicates that one of the agency's primary reasons for existence is to ensure that 'all Americans are protected from significant risks to human health and the environment where they live, learn and work.'"
Barletta's office released the letter late Wednesday afternoon. EPA officials could not be reached for comment.
Barletta, R-Hazleton, wants additional testing for hazardous materials in the soil, air and water around Mill and Carroll streets, located near the mouth of the Butler Mine Tunnel. Residents have wondered if the rash of cancer stems from the mine drainage tunnel, once illegally filled with millions of gallons of oil waste and chemicals.
"The residents of the Carroll/Mill neighborhood of Pittston, Pennsylvania, are scared," Barletta wrote to EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. "They are concerned that they and their children are exposed to something in the environment that is causing an unusual rise in cancer rates."
Barletta's request came a day after EPA officials told dozens of residents gathered at Martin L. Mattei Middle School in Pittston that the agency would not consider additional testing around Mill and Carroll streets. One man, disgusted by the response, stormed from the room and said, "You wasted all of our time."
Mitch Cron, the EPA's remedial project manager for the Butler Mine Tunnel Superfund Site, repeatedly told residents that they are not exposed to contaminants from the mine tunnel and that the water running through it is "generally very clean."
Residents didn't buy his explanation, nor a state Department of Health official's conclusion that the dozens of cases of cancer do not qualify as a cancer cluster.
Residents complained that the Department of Health based its conclusion upon too wide a swath of residents. Dr. Stephen Ostroff, director of the state's bureau of epidemiology, bolstered his argument with data culled from the entire 18640 area code, while residents argued the investigation should focus just on Mill and Carroll streets in Pittston.
Chris Meninchini, whose father Chuck lives on Carroll Street and has been diagnosed with lymphoma and colon cancer, suggested someone from EPA canvas the affected neighborhood.
"Someone from your department has to get up and do the job and go door to door," he told Cron.
Focusing on a specific neighborhood would not provide enough data for an adequate conclusion, Ostroff said, equating it to judging a baseball player's ability by his batting average only a few games into the season.
Barletta and state Sen. John Yudichak have both said that if the cause of the cancer is not the Butler Mine Tunnel, alternate causes must be investigated. The EPA's refusal to conduct more testing in the neighborhood in question specifically irked Barletta.
"Frankly, this is unacceptable," he wrote in his letter. "The EPA's own website indicates that one of the agency's primary reasons for existence is to ensure that 'all Americans are protected from significant risks to human health and the environment where they live, learn and work.'"
Barletta's office released the letter late Wednesday afternoon. EPA officials could not be reached for comment.
Cancer now main cause of death in China
Cancer is now the leading cause of death in China. Data from the Chinese Ministry of Health reveals that cancer is implicated in close to a quarter of all deaths countrywide. Most striking is the high incidence of cancer in rural areas, as a result of widespread pollution.
As is common with many countries as they industrialise, the usual plagues of poverty -- infectious diseases and high infant mortality -- have given way to diseases more often associated with affluence, such as heart disease, stroke, and cancer.
But while this might be expected in China's richer cities, where bicycles are fast being traded in for cars and meat consumption is climbing, it also holds true in rural areas. In fact, reports from the countryside reveal a dangerous epidemic of "cancer villages" linked to pollution from some of the very industries propelling China's explosive economy.
By pursuing economic growth above all else, China is sacrificing the health of its people, ultimately risking future prosperity.
Lung cancer is the most common cancer in China. Deaths from this typically fatal disease have shot up nearly fivefold since the 1970s. In China's rapidly growing cities, like Shanghai and Beijing, where particulates in the air are often four times higher than in New York City, nearly 30 percent of cancer deaths are from lung cancer.
Dirty air
Dirty air is associated with not only a number of cancers, but also heart disease, stroke, and respiratory disease, which together account for over 80 percent of deaths countrywide. According to the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, the burning of coal is responsible for 70 percent of the emissions of soot that clouds out the sun in so much of China; 85 percent of sulfur dioxide, which causes acid rain and smog; and 67 percent of nitrogen oxide, a precursor to harmful ground level ozone.
Coal burning is also a major emitter of carcinogens and mercury, a potent neurotoxin. Coal ash, which contains radioactive material and heavy metals, including chromium, arsenic, lead, cadmium, and mercury, is China's number one source of solid industrial waste. The toxic ash that is not otherwise used in infrastructure or manufacturing is stored in impoundments, where it can be caught by air currents or leach contaminants into the groundwater.
Coal pollution combined with emissions from China's burgeoning industries and the exhaust of a fast-growing national vehicle fleet are plenty enough to impair breathing and jeopardize health. But that does not stop over half the men in China from smoking tobacco. Smoking is far less common among women; less than 3 percent light up. Still, about 1 in 10 of the estimated 1 million Chinese who die from smoking-related diseases each year are exposed to carcinogenic second hand smoke but do not smoke themselves.
Polluted water
In rural areas, liver, lung, and stomach cancers each accounts for close to 20 percent of cancer mortality. Liver cancer is more than three times as likely to kill a Chinese farmer as the average global citizen; for stomach cancer, rural Chinese have double the world death rate. These cancers are linked to water polluted by chemicals and sewage, along with other environmental contaminants.
As factories, plants, and mines discharge pollutants, rivers and lakes take on sickly hues. Even underground water sources become contaminated. Government data indicate that half of China's rivers and more than three out of every four lakes and reservoirs are too polluted for safe drinking, even after treatment. Nevertheless, they remain a primary source of water for many people.
More than 450 "cancer villages" have emerged across China in recent years, according to an analysis by geographer Lee Liu published in Environment magazine in 2010. These communities -- where an unusually high number of residents are struck by the same types of cancer -- tend to cluster in poorer areas along polluted waterways or downstream from industrial parks.
Whereas much of China's early industrial development took place along the coast, factories more recently have been locating where labor is cheaper and environmental oversight is less strict, pushing the so-called "cancer belt" inland.
Poisoned land
For villages once largely self-sufficient, the poisoning of their water and soil is devastating. The young and able-bodied often leave to seek income elsewhere. Those too old, too poor, or too sick to leave remain, struggling to work the poisoned land.
Liu notes that in some extreme cases, like in Huangmengying Village in Henan Province, "the death rate is higher than the birth rate and is rising rapidly," and not because of population aging. In this particular village, which gets blackened water from a tributary of the notoriously polluted Huai River, some 80 percent of the village's young people are chronically ill. Even one-year-olds are receiving cancer diagnoses. About half of all the village deaths between 1994 and 2004 were caused by liver, rectum, and stomach cancers.
More recent data is not readily available because the government official who initially made the numbers public was accused of "leaking state secrets," was fired from his job as the village's Party secretary, and now is reluctant to speak out, according to reporting for the Global Times.
Because of the lag time before diagnosis or death, plus the lack of health care in many of the poorest, most polluted areas, the magnitude of China's cancer epidemic could be far greater than imagined. And not all the environmental burden is borne locally. The contamination spans geography -- as toxins in products and crops are spread through markets and trade or are literally carried across oceans by global air currents -- as well as generations.
Birth defects
China's youth, and therefore the country's future, are at risk. Birth defect rates have been climbing rapidly in recent years in the major cities and countrywide. Chinese family planning officials link this "alarming rise" to environmental contamination. The coal mining and processing areas of Shanxi Province are home to the world's highest birth defect rate: over 8.4 percent.
Of the 1 million or so affected babies born each year in China, some 20 to 30 percent may be treated, but 40 percent will have permanent disabilities. The rest die shortly after birth.
Over the last several years, thousands of children living near lead mines, smelters, and battery plants have been poisoned. Deadly at excessive levels, lead in the blood is considered unsafe in any amount. Exposure can impair cognitive and nervous system development, stunt growth, hamper learning, and depress IQ. Heartbreaking news stories tell of the lost potential of children who lose their chance to go on to school or fail to thrive more generally due to their exposure to high environmental levels of lead.
For a country of one child families, it is no wonder to see more frequent "mass incidents" (the government's term for protests) sparked by the health fallout from pollution. In some cases, operations of the offending industries have been closed following protest; in others, the government has relocated entire communities to allow the polluters to continue operations. Yet in many situations, the contamination continues unabated.
It is easy to point a finger at unscrupulous industries and government officials willing to look the other way, but some responsibility for China's unhealthy environment originates outside the country's borders. Waste is frequently loaded up in container ships overseas and delivered directly to China. More insidiously, Western consumers lapping up artificially cheap "made in China" components and products have outsourced pollution to this factory for the world.
Toxic burden
Earlier this year near the release of China's latest 5-year plan, the New York Times quoted Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao's proclamation that "We must not any longer sacrifice the environment for the sake of rapid growth and reckless roll-outs." Yet while official rhetoric recognizes the importance of preserving the environment and the health of its people, the Chinese government still has a long way to go in bolstering transparency and enforcement of even the existing environmental regulations, not to mention strengthening protection.
If it does not do so, the country's toxic burden threatens to stall or even reverse the dramatic health gains of the last 60 years, which raised average life expectancy from 45 to 74 years and slashed infant mortality from 122 deaths per 1,000 births down to 20.
Economic gains could be lost as productivity wanes and massive health bills come due. Ultimately, a sick country can prosper only so long.
Janet Larsen is the Director of Research for the Earth Policy Institute.
As is common with many countries as they industrialise, the usual plagues of poverty -- infectious diseases and high infant mortality -- have given way to diseases more often associated with affluence, such as heart disease, stroke, and cancer.
But while this might be expected in China's richer cities, where bicycles are fast being traded in for cars and meat consumption is climbing, it also holds true in rural areas. In fact, reports from the countryside reveal a dangerous epidemic of "cancer villages" linked to pollution from some of the very industries propelling China's explosive economy.
By pursuing economic growth above all else, China is sacrificing the health of its people, ultimately risking future prosperity.
Lung cancer is the most common cancer in China. Deaths from this typically fatal disease have shot up nearly fivefold since the 1970s. In China's rapidly growing cities, like Shanghai and Beijing, where particulates in the air are often four times higher than in New York City, nearly 30 percent of cancer deaths are from lung cancer.
Dirty air
Dirty air is associated with not only a number of cancers, but also heart disease, stroke, and respiratory disease, which together account for over 80 percent of deaths countrywide. According to the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, the burning of coal is responsible for 70 percent of the emissions of soot that clouds out the sun in so much of China; 85 percent of sulfur dioxide, which causes acid rain and smog; and 67 percent of nitrogen oxide, a precursor to harmful ground level ozone.
Coal burning is also a major emitter of carcinogens and mercury, a potent neurotoxin. Coal ash, which contains radioactive material and heavy metals, including chromium, arsenic, lead, cadmium, and mercury, is China's number one source of solid industrial waste. The toxic ash that is not otherwise used in infrastructure or manufacturing is stored in impoundments, where it can be caught by air currents or leach contaminants into the groundwater.
Coal pollution combined with emissions from China's burgeoning industries and the exhaust of a fast-growing national vehicle fleet are plenty enough to impair breathing and jeopardize health. But that does not stop over half the men in China from smoking tobacco. Smoking is far less common among women; less than 3 percent light up. Still, about 1 in 10 of the estimated 1 million Chinese who die from smoking-related diseases each year are exposed to carcinogenic second hand smoke but do not smoke themselves.
Polluted water
In rural areas, liver, lung, and stomach cancers each accounts for close to 20 percent of cancer mortality. Liver cancer is more than three times as likely to kill a Chinese farmer as the average global citizen; for stomach cancer, rural Chinese have double the world death rate. These cancers are linked to water polluted by chemicals and sewage, along with other environmental contaminants.
As factories, plants, and mines discharge pollutants, rivers and lakes take on sickly hues. Even underground water sources become contaminated. Government data indicate that half of China's rivers and more than three out of every four lakes and reservoirs are too polluted for safe drinking, even after treatment. Nevertheless, they remain a primary source of water for many people.
More than 450 "cancer villages" have emerged across China in recent years, according to an analysis by geographer Lee Liu published in Environment magazine in 2010. These communities -- where an unusually high number of residents are struck by the same types of cancer -- tend to cluster in poorer areas along polluted waterways or downstream from industrial parks.
Whereas much of China's early industrial development took place along the coast, factories more recently have been locating where labor is cheaper and environmental oversight is less strict, pushing the so-called "cancer belt" inland.
Poisoned land
For villages once largely self-sufficient, the poisoning of their water and soil is devastating. The young and able-bodied often leave to seek income elsewhere. Those too old, too poor, or too sick to leave remain, struggling to work the poisoned land.
Liu notes that in some extreme cases, like in Huangmengying Village in Henan Province, "the death rate is higher than the birth rate and is rising rapidly," and not because of population aging. In this particular village, which gets blackened water from a tributary of the notoriously polluted Huai River, some 80 percent of the village's young people are chronically ill. Even one-year-olds are receiving cancer diagnoses. About half of all the village deaths between 1994 and 2004 were caused by liver, rectum, and stomach cancers.
More recent data is not readily available because the government official who initially made the numbers public was accused of "leaking state secrets," was fired from his job as the village's Party secretary, and now is reluctant to speak out, according to reporting for the Global Times.
Because of the lag time before diagnosis or death, plus the lack of health care in many of the poorest, most polluted areas, the magnitude of China's cancer epidemic could be far greater than imagined. And not all the environmental burden is borne locally. The contamination spans geography -- as toxins in products and crops are spread through markets and trade or are literally carried across oceans by global air currents -- as well as generations.
Birth defects
China's youth, and therefore the country's future, are at risk. Birth defect rates have been climbing rapidly in recent years in the major cities and countrywide. Chinese family planning officials link this "alarming rise" to environmental contamination. The coal mining and processing areas of Shanxi Province are home to the world's highest birth defect rate: over 8.4 percent.
Of the 1 million or so affected babies born each year in China, some 20 to 30 percent may be treated, but 40 percent will have permanent disabilities. The rest die shortly after birth.
Over the last several years, thousands of children living near lead mines, smelters, and battery plants have been poisoned. Deadly at excessive levels, lead in the blood is considered unsafe in any amount. Exposure can impair cognitive and nervous system development, stunt growth, hamper learning, and depress IQ. Heartbreaking news stories tell of the lost potential of children who lose their chance to go on to school or fail to thrive more generally due to their exposure to high environmental levels of lead.
For a country of one child families, it is no wonder to see more frequent "mass incidents" (the government's term for protests) sparked by the health fallout from pollution. In some cases, operations of the offending industries have been closed following protest; in others, the government has relocated entire communities to allow the polluters to continue operations. Yet in many situations, the contamination continues unabated.
It is easy to point a finger at unscrupulous industries and government officials willing to look the other way, but some responsibility for China's unhealthy environment originates outside the country's borders. Waste is frequently loaded up in container ships overseas and delivered directly to China. More insidiously, Western consumers lapping up artificially cheap "made in China" components and products have outsourced pollution to this factory for the world.
Toxic burden
Earlier this year near the release of China's latest 5-year plan, the New York Times quoted Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao's proclamation that "We must not any longer sacrifice the environment for the sake of rapid growth and reckless roll-outs." Yet while official rhetoric recognizes the importance of preserving the environment and the health of its people, the Chinese government still has a long way to go in bolstering transparency and enforcement of even the existing environmental regulations, not to mention strengthening protection.
If it does not do so, the country's toxic burden threatens to stall or even reverse the dramatic health gains of the last 60 years, which raised average life expectancy from 45 to 74 years and slashed infant mortality from 122 deaths per 1,000 births down to 20.
Economic gains could be lost as productivity wanes and massive health bills come due. Ultimately, a sick country can prosper only so long.
Janet Larsen is the Director of Research for the Earth Policy Institute.
Leading Causes of Death in Urban and Rural China, 2009
Urban Rural
Deaths Per 100,000
Malignant Tumor 167.6 159.1
Heart Diseases 128.8 112.9
Cerebrovascular Disease 126.3 152.1
Diseases of the Respiratory System 65.4 98.2
External Causes of Injury and Poison 34.7 54.1
Endocrine, Nutritional & Metabolic Diseases 20.3 11.3
Diseases of the Digestive System 16.6 14.6
Other Diseases 10.7 7.7
Diseases of the Genitourinary System 7.3 7.2
Diseases of the Nervous System 6.9 5.1
Infectious Disease (not including Respiratory Tuberculosis) 4.4 5.0
Undiagnosed Diseases 4.1 2.8
Mental Disorders 3.6 3.1
Congenital Malformations, Deformations and Chromosomal Abnormalities 2.3 2.2
Respiratory Tuberculosis 1.9 2.3
Diseases of the Musculoskeletal System and Connective Tissue 1.8 1.3
Diseases of the Blood and Blood-forming Organs and Immunodeficiency 1.6 1.0
Perinatal Diseases 1.5 2.5
Parasitic Disease 0.5 0.1
Pregnancy, Childbirth and the Puerperium 0.1 0.2
Source: Earth Policy Institute from National Bureau of Statistics of China
Data and additional resources available online at www.earth-policy.org.
Urban Rural
Deaths Per 100,000
Malignant Tumor 167.6 159.1
Heart Diseases 128.8 112.9
Cerebrovascular Disease 126.3 152.1
Diseases of the Respiratory System 65.4 98.2
External Causes of Injury and Poison 34.7 54.1
Endocrine, Nutritional & Metabolic Diseases 20.3 11.3
Diseases of the Digestive System 16.6 14.6
Other Diseases 10.7 7.7
Diseases of the Genitourinary System 7.3 7.2
Diseases of the Nervous System 6.9 5.1
Infectious Disease (not including Respiratory Tuberculosis) 4.4 5.0
Undiagnosed Diseases 4.1 2.8
Mental Disorders 3.6 3.1
Congenital Malformations, Deformations and Chromosomal Abnormalities 2.3 2.2
Respiratory Tuberculosis 1.9 2.3
Diseases of the Musculoskeletal System and Connective Tissue 1.8 1.3
Diseases of the Blood and Blood-forming Organs and Immunodeficiency 1.6 1.0
Perinatal Diseases 1.5 2.5
Parasitic Disease 0.5 0.1
Pregnancy, Childbirth and the Puerperium 0.1 0.2
Source: Earth Policy Institute from National Bureau of Statistics of China
Data and additional resources available online at www.earth-policy.org.
US Rep. Candice Miller asks CDC to look into rare cancer cases in St. Clair, Macomb counties
MARINE CITY, Mich. — A Michigan congresswoman has asked the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to investigate cases of a rare cancer cropping up in St. Clair and Macomb counties.
U.S. Rep. Candice Miller said in a letter to the CDC's director for environmental health that an inordinate number of Wilms' tumor cases have been identified in the area over the past four years.
"These numbers are higher than one would expect for such a rare cancer that typically has an incidence of one every three to five years locally and 500 per year nationally," Miller wrote, according to the Detroit Free Press.
She asked that the CDC help the St. Clair County Health Department and state Department of Community Health in probing possible causes.
The Detroit News reported Wednesday that since late April, the St. Clair County Health Department has been collecting data in the hope of clarifying whether an environmental factor may be playing a role in the seven or eight cases.
Marine City has industrial plants and sits more than 10 miles down the St. Clair River from a number of petrochemical plants in Sarnia, Ontario.
There is no clear indication the Wilms' tumor cases are linked to an environmental or genetic factor, health officials said.
The Times Herald of Port Huron reported the health department will update the public on the investigation during a June 2 meeting in Marine City.
U.S. Rep. Candice Miller said in a letter to the CDC's director for environmental health that an inordinate number of Wilms' tumor cases have been identified in the area over the past four years.
"These numbers are higher than one would expect for such a rare cancer that typically has an incidence of one every three to five years locally and 500 per year nationally," Miller wrote, according to the Detroit Free Press.
She asked that the CDC help the St. Clair County Health Department and state Department of Community Health in probing possible causes.
The Detroit News reported Wednesday that since late April, the St. Clair County Health Department has been collecting data in the hope of clarifying whether an environmental factor may be playing a role in the seven or eight cases.
Marine City has industrial plants and sits more than 10 miles down the St. Clair River from a number of petrochemical plants in Sarnia, Ontario.
There is no clear indication the Wilms' tumor cases are linked to an environmental or genetic factor, health officials said.
The Times Herald of Port Huron reported the health department will update the public on the investigation during a June 2 meeting in Marine City.
Rabbit virus analysed for cancer treatment
Southern Freemasons are spearheading research to change Southland's status as having New Zealand's highest rate of bowel cancers and plan a revolution in how the disease is treated that involves modifying a virus that decimated the rabbit population.
The treatment, being developed by the Southern District Health Board Oncology Research Unit and the University of Otago Medical School, has the backing of a $1.3 million Government grant – the highest-ever grant made by the Health Research Council of New Zealand.
SDHB consultant medical oncologist Chris Jackson told a meeting of Freemasons and the public at the Southland Masonic Centre on Tuesday night what he dubbed a "story".
"It's a story of community co-operation, collaboration and a story of a great opportunity."
And the story included rabbits.
More precisely, the virus underlying rabbit haemorrhagic disease, which is showing promise as a tool in the fight against cancer. RHD decimated New Zealand's, particularly Central Otago's, rabbit population in the 1990s.
The new treatment involves bioengineering the empty shell of the virus, known as virus-like particles (VLPs) and using them to stimulate the body's immune system against cancer.
That involved attaching tumour-associated proteins to the VLP shell like "a tail" to stimulate the cancer immune response to specifically target that cancer, Dr Jackson said.
With the green light for the colorectal cancer immunotherapy research, it was a case of refining the treatment, beginning clinical trials and collecting data for future research before a treatment could be launched in possibly three to four years, he said.
The development of the treatment is sponsored by Southland, Wickliffe and Otago Lakes Freemasons with the support of the Freemason's Charity.
One in three New Zealanders could expect to be affected by cancer and rates were increasing with life expectancy, he said.
However, the development of treatments in the past 30 years had shifted many forms of cancer from a "death sentence", he said.
The same could be said of colorectal, or bowel cancer, where the survival rate had quadrupled.
"There's room for hope and a lot of room for optimism, but there's a need for a new direction."
Colorectal cancer was still one of the leading cancers in New Zealand, Dr Jackson said. "And we still don't know anything about it ... it's a secret – a secret shame."
Dr Jackson said the Freemasons Oncology Fellowship had already funded a nurse to develop prostate cancer collaborations and trials set up with the Dana Farber Institute in Boston in the United States into localised prostate cancer and an international collaboration into advanced prostate cancer beginning this month.
Meanwhile, the Health Research Council had made its "highest-ever" grant into the colorectal cancer research, he said.
"I'm announcing this for the first time here tonight."
The treatment, being developed by the Southern District Health Board Oncology Research Unit and the University of Otago Medical School, has the backing of a $1.3 million Government grant – the highest-ever grant made by the Health Research Council of New Zealand.
SDHB consultant medical oncologist Chris Jackson told a meeting of Freemasons and the public at the Southland Masonic Centre on Tuesday night what he dubbed a "story".
"It's a story of community co-operation, collaboration and a story of a great opportunity."
And the story included rabbits.
More precisely, the virus underlying rabbit haemorrhagic disease, which is showing promise as a tool in the fight against cancer. RHD decimated New Zealand's, particularly Central Otago's, rabbit population in the 1990s.
The new treatment involves bioengineering the empty shell of the virus, known as virus-like particles (VLPs) and using them to stimulate the body's immune system against cancer.
That involved attaching tumour-associated proteins to the VLP shell like "a tail" to stimulate the cancer immune response to specifically target that cancer, Dr Jackson said.
With the green light for the colorectal cancer immunotherapy research, it was a case of refining the treatment, beginning clinical trials and collecting data for future research before a treatment could be launched in possibly three to four years, he said.
The development of the treatment is sponsored by Southland, Wickliffe and Otago Lakes Freemasons with the support of the Freemason's Charity.
One in three New Zealanders could expect to be affected by cancer and rates were increasing with life expectancy, he said.
However, the development of treatments in the past 30 years had shifted many forms of cancer from a "death sentence", he said.
The same could be said of colorectal, or bowel cancer, where the survival rate had quadrupled.
"There's room for hope and a lot of room for optimism, but there's a need for a new direction."
Colorectal cancer was still one of the leading cancers in New Zealand, Dr Jackson said. "And we still don't know anything about it ... it's a secret – a secret shame."
Dr Jackson said the Freemasons Oncology Fellowship had already funded a nurse to develop prostate cancer collaborations and trials set up with the Dana Farber Institute in Boston in the United States into localised prostate cancer and an international collaboration into advanced prostate cancer beginning this month.
Meanwhile, the Health Research Council had made its "highest-ever" grant into the colorectal cancer research, he said.
"I'm announcing this for the first time here tonight."
Strike Out Breast Cancer: Johnson finds her groove
Jackie Johnson was a little shaky to start Saturday, but the senior right-hander settled in nicely as Livonia Stevenson repeated as champion of the Strike Out Breast Cancer girls softball tourney held at Ford Field.
The Spartans spotted rival Livonia Churchill a 1-0 first-inning lead, but answered with a 3-run fourth inning to earn the victory and improve to 16-11 on the season.
Johnson allowed just five hits, walked just one and struck out six.
Churchill (18-11) tallied its lone run in the first inning on an RBI singled by Nicole Salloum.
But Johnson slammed the door shut the rest of the way with six scoreless innings.
“Her confidence level was pretty low at the start of the game, which I don't understand why,'' Stevenson coach Rob Witherspoon said. “But when her confidence goes up, all the sudden you see her ball moving and she starts honing in - it's nice to watch. We're going to need that confidence level at the top if we're going to continue.''
In the fourth inning, Churchill failed to haul in a short blooper just over second base and Morgan Copperstone later made them pay for the mistake with a 2-run single.
“It's something we work on every day in practice - the in-between balls between the outfield and infield,'' Churchill first-year Steve Gentilia said of the error. “It was a little bit of a miscommunication. The ball took a quick dive. The wind held it up there for a little bit, then gave up and fell. Those things happen. It's part of the game. We've got to pick that up and move after it.''
Alex Ferguson followed with an RBI groundout to give Stevenson a two-run cushion.
“The tale of one inning was the story of the game,'' Gentilia said.
Churchill pitcher Natalie Hiser gave up just six hits, walked only one and struck out five in also going all seven.
Rachel Jason and Salloum each had two hits for the Chargers, while Sarah Fier also had two for the Spartans.
On Wednesday, Stevenson lost two close games to host South Lyon East, 2-0 and 4-2, which cost the Spartans the KLAA Central Division title.
“Closing games has been our problem this year,'' Witherspoon said. “A lot of has to do with that we're so young. That's been our thing the last two weeks. We have to seal the deal. We've got to make the sale and close the game. We're starting to learn how to do that. As soon as we do that consistently, we're not going to be a bad team.''
Churchill, meanwhile, didn't get much traffic going in the bases.
“We put the ball on the bat a few times well, but every time we came up to bat the wind started swirling a little bit, picking up and held up our fly balls a bit,'' Gentilia said. “She's a good pitcher - Jackie Johnson. She controlled the tempo of the game out on the mound today and kept our hitters off balance.
“We've got to learn to attack the ball better in the batter's box and not be so timid in there and be a little more aggressive. And we're there. We left five runners on base and they left six, so it was a pretty even game all the way around.''
CHURCHILL 2, FRANKLIN 0:Natalie Hiser pitched a three-hit shutout Saturday as Livonia Churchill (18-10) turned back Livonia Franklin (16-13) in the first semifinal of the Strike Out Breast Cancer Tourney at Ford Field.
Hiser struck out five and did not allow a walk in outdueling Franklin junior Tiffany Lamble (9-8), who was making her first appearance in 10 days after being sidelined with a sore arm, also struck out five and walked only one in throwing a three-hitter herself.
“Hiser pitched well,'' Franklin coach Linda Jimenez said. “She did not get behind and threw first-pitch strikes.''
Churchill tallied both of its runs in the fifth inning as Casey Bias and Missy Sidor both singled and later scored on a Franklin bobble and throwing error.
STEVENSON 11, CLARENCEVILLE 0:Morgan Copperstone was the story in the second semifinal of the Strike Out Breast Cancer Tourney Saturday at Ford Field.
The sophomore pitcher allowed just one hit, struck out seven and walked only two in the five-inning mercy as the Spartans (15-11) downed Livonia Clarenceville (8-8).
Copperstone also starred on offense collecting three hits and knocking in four runs. Sarah King also added two hits.
Lauren Katz had the lone hit for the Trojans and starter Stephanie Bishop, who allowed eight hits, took the loss.
Clarenceville also committed three errors.
FRANKLIN 15, CLARENCEVILLE 0:Maggie Leins had two hits, scored twice and had three RBI as Livonia Franklin (17-13) won consolation game Saturday in four innings against visiting Livonia Clarenceville (8-9).
Afton DeWyse added a 2-run double, while Chelsea Williams chipped in with two singles, an RBI and scored three runs.
Tiffany Lamble (10-8) allowed just one hit, a walk and struck out one.
Justine Bateman, who gave up 11 hits and 10 walks in four innings, took the loss.
The Spartans spotted rival Livonia Churchill a 1-0 first-inning lead, but answered with a 3-run fourth inning to earn the victory and improve to 16-11 on the season.
Johnson allowed just five hits, walked just one and struck out six.
Churchill (18-11) tallied its lone run in the first inning on an RBI singled by Nicole Salloum.
But Johnson slammed the door shut the rest of the way with six scoreless innings.
“Her confidence level was pretty low at the start of the game, which I don't understand why,'' Stevenson coach Rob Witherspoon said. “But when her confidence goes up, all the sudden you see her ball moving and she starts honing in - it's nice to watch. We're going to need that confidence level at the top if we're going to continue.''
In the fourth inning, Churchill failed to haul in a short blooper just over second base and Morgan Copperstone later made them pay for the mistake with a 2-run single.
“It's something we work on every day in practice - the in-between balls between the outfield and infield,'' Churchill first-year Steve Gentilia said of the error. “It was a little bit of a miscommunication. The ball took a quick dive. The wind held it up there for a little bit, then gave up and fell. Those things happen. It's part of the game. We've got to pick that up and move after it.''
Alex Ferguson followed with an RBI groundout to give Stevenson a two-run cushion.
“The tale of one inning was the story of the game,'' Gentilia said.
Churchill pitcher Natalie Hiser gave up just six hits, walked only one and struck out five in also going all seven.
Rachel Jason and Salloum each had two hits for the Chargers, while Sarah Fier also had two for the Spartans.
On Wednesday, Stevenson lost two close games to host South Lyon East, 2-0 and 4-2, which cost the Spartans the KLAA Central Division title.
“Closing games has been our problem this year,'' Witherspoon said. “A lot of has to do with that we're so young. That's been our thing the last two weeks. We have to seal the deal. We've got to make the sale and close the game. We're starting to learn how to do that. As soon as we do that consistently, we're not going to be a bad team.''
Churchill, meanwhile, didn't get much traffic going in the bases.
“We put the ball on the bat a few times well, but every time we came up to bat the wind started swirling a little bit, picking up and held up our fly balls a bit,'' Gentilia said. “She's a good pitcher - Jackie Johnson. She controlled the tempo of the game out on the mound today and kept our hitters off balance.
“We've got to learn to attack the ball better in the batter's box and not be so timid in there and be a little more aggressive. And we're there. We left five runners on base and they left six, so it was a pretty even game all the way around.''
CHURCHILL 2, FRANKLIN 0:Natalie Hiser pitched a three-hit shutout Saturday as Livonia Churchill (18-10) turned back Livonia Franklin (16-13) in the first semifinal of the Strike Out Breast Cancer Tourney at Ford Field.
Hiser struck out five and did not allow a walk in outdueling Franklin junior Tiffany Lamble (9-8), who was making her first appearance in 10 days after being sidelined with a sore arm, also struck out five and walked only one in throwing a three-hitter herself.
“Hiser pitched well,'' Franklin coach Linda Jimenez said. “She did not get behind and threw first-pitch strikes.''
Churchill tallied both of its runs in the fifth inning as Casey Bias and Missy Sidor both singled and later scored on a Franklin bobble and throwing error.
STEVENSON 11, CLARENCEVILLE 0:Morgan Copperstone was the story in the second semifinal of the Strike Out Breast Cancer Tourney Saturday at Ford Field.
The sophomore pitcher allowed just one hit, struck out seven and walked only two in the five-inning mercy as the Spartans (15-11) downed Livonia Clarenceville (8-8).
Copperstone also starred on offense collecting three hits and knocking in four runs. Sarah King also added two hits.
Lauren Katz had the lone hit for the Trojans and starter Stephanie Bishop, who allowed eight hits, took the loss.
Clarenceville also committed three errors.
FRANKLIN 15, CLARENCEVILLE 0:Maggie Leins had two hits, scored twice and had three RBI as Livonia Franklin (17-13) won consolation game Saturday in four innings against visiting Livonia Clarenceville (8-9).
Afton DeWyse added a 2-run double, while Chelsea Williams chipped in with two singles, an RBI and scored three runs.
Tiffany Lamble (10-8) allowed just one hit, a walk and struck out one.
Justine Bateman, who gave up 11 hits and 10 walks in four innings, took the loss.
Comprehensive Cancer Centers introduce $6 million tumor-fighting machine
Until last June, cancer patients in Southern Nevada had but one way to treat tumors using radiation.
Patients had to come into clinics such as the Comprehensive Cancer Centers of Nevada five days a week for up to seven weeks to be treated for cancer using the conventional Varian radiation therapy machine.
At the Cancer Centers, thanks to a two-year, $10 million investment in advanced cancer-fighting technologies, doctors now can treat patients more quickly and with more precision than ever before.
At the heart of the new technologies being implemented is the CyberKnife radiosurgery machine at the Cancer Centers’ Summerlin location, 655 N. Town Center Drive. The $6 million state-of-the-art machine represents a breakthrough in treating hard-to-reach tumors, said James Sanchez, Cancer Centers president.
“We have often found ourselves in situations where the tumor was isolated and very difficult to get to from a surgical standpoint,” Sanchez said. “CyberKnife opens the door to treating tumors that weren’t possible to treat before.”
Ionized radiotherapy — using low doses of radiation to shrink tumors — has been a mainstay in cancer treatment for nearly 100 years. In the past few decades however, oncologists have developed a new method called radiosurgery to deliver higher doses of radiation to shrink and destroy tumors.
These high doses of radiation posed a challenge for radiation oncologists treating tumors in sensitive areas such as the brain or spine, Sanchez said. One of the downsides of radiation therapy has always been “fallout,” where the radiation treatment affects surrounding, healthy cells, causing “tremendous side effects” such as swelling, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and hair loss.
Furthermore, while normal tissues might be able to recover from low doses of radiation, they would be obliterated from higher doses, Sanchez said. Precision and accuracy became of paramount importance, he said.
“By being more accurate and being able to define the radiation to a very precise location, you reduce fallout. Therefore you have a higher rate of cure and a lower rate of complications,” Sanchez said. While a conventional Varian machine delivers radiation on a fixed rotational axis, the new CyberKnife machine uses a robotic arm with six degrees of freedom, said Raul Meoz, the medical director of Las Vegas CyberKnife at Summerlin. This flexible arm allows for full movement and precise delivery of radiation to small areas the size of a pen cap, he said.
“We wanted a device that could deliver high doses of radiation to very small areas,” Meoz said. “This is ideal for patients who can’t have surgery because of cardiac or pulmonary reasons.”
Higher dosages of radiation can lead to faster treatment times, Meoz said. Conventional radiation therapy can take seven weeks of daily five-minute treatments. With the CyberKnife machine, patients can finish treatment in three to five days, although each session can take up to an hour.
And because the cost of treatment is based on units of radiation being administered, it costs about the same to be treated with the CyberKnife as opposed to the conventional Varian, Sanchez said.
“Our group now has the ability to perform the same technologies as any other location, and it’s just a lot more convenient than to have patients leave the city to get treatment,” Sanchez said.
Sanchez estimates that in the two years before the CyberKnife purchase, the Comprehensive Cancer Centers sent more than 100 patients to California and Arizona. With the purchase of the CyberKnife machine, Las Vegas joins Reno in the state and about 200 locations worldwide to offer the treatment.
As part of the $10 million upgrade, the Cancer Centers also purchased an updated Varian machine called SmartArc and a new linear accelerator to administer radiosurgery to patients at its Henderson location in St. Rose Dominican Hospitals’ Siena Campus. Additional breast ultrasound machines as well as a PET-CT scanner to identify and diagnose cancers are being purchased in the second year of the technology upgrade, Sanchez said.
“It’s so vitally important to keep Las Vegas in the present future in terms of health care,” he said. “Technology, such as what we have now, will play a very vital role in the future of cancer care.”
Park Ridge director camps on roof for cancer awareness in Fletcher
Fuller thought he would do something different this year to rally Park Ridge employees in fundraising efforts for cancer research.
“This cause is important to me because my dad died of cancer 12 years ago,” Fuller said.
Park Ridge employees have raised more than $1,500 to keep Fuller on the roof for a little more than 24 hours-- $1 per minute. Kosha Parcell, CPhT, co-captain of Park Ridge Health’s Relay for Life team and a staff member at the Oncology and Infusion Center, contributed toward the cause.
“We actually raised more money than planned, but [Fuller] was willing to stay longer on the roof for us,” Parcell said. “We deal with cancer every day at work, and a lot of us have family members going through cancer treatments as well, so it means a lot to us to help find a cure.”
The proceeds raised will go to support the Park Ridge Health Relay for Life team and the Fletcher Relay for Life, which will take place July 15 at Fletcher Community Park.
Fuller has been an employee at Park Ridge Health for 15 years, and raises money each year to benefit the event.
Northwest Biotherapeutics Further Expands Ongoing Brain Cancer Trial
BETHESDA, Md., May 25, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Northwest Biotherapeutics (OTC.BB: NWBO) today announced that it has accelerated the addition of clinical trial sites, exceeding its projections for the doubling of such sites across the U.S. this calendar quarter, for enrollment of new patients into the Company's ongoing 240-patient randomized, double blind, placebo controlled clinical trial of DCVax® immune therapy for Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), the most lethal form of brain cancer.
The Company previously announced 4 clinical sites for new enrollment into the ongoing trial, located in Rochester, Cleveland, Detroit and Minneapolis. The Company has now added New York City (NYU) and Los Angeles (UCLA). In addition, the Company is nearing completion on 4 further sites, in New Jersey, Michigan, Texas and Washington. As a result, the Company expects to have a total of 10 clinical trial sites for new enrollment into its GBM brain cancer trial within this calendar quarter. This will substantially exceed the Company's projections in regard to the expansion of the clinical trial this quarter. At least 5 further clinical sites are anticipated to be added in the third quarter of this year, resulting in a total of 15 sites.
"We are gratified to have received such strong interest and cooperation from clinical centers throughout the U.S., and pleased to be ahead of schedule in completing the lengthy and complex institutional processes to make these centers operational for enrollment of additional new patients into our ongoing GBM brain cancer clinical trial," said Dr. Alton Boynton, CEO of NWBT.
In prior clinical trials of DCVax® immune therapy for GBM brain cancer, the results were striking: the patients who received DCVax® showed a median survival of 3 years, compared with median survival of only 14.6 months with standard of care today (surgery, radiation and chemotherapy). In addition, the patients treated with DCVax® did not have recurrence of their tumor for approximately 2 years, on average, as compared with tumor recurrence in just 7 months with standard of care today. Moreover, the patients treated with DCVax® did not experience any toxic side effects, in stark contrast to chemotherapies.
About Northwest Biotherapeutics
Northwest Biotherapeutics is a biotechnology company focused on developing immunotherapy products that treat cancers more effectively than current treatments, without toxicities of the kind associated with chemotherapies, and on a cost-effective basis. The Company has a broad platform technology for dendritic cell-based vaccines. The Company's lead clinical trial is a 240-patient Phase II trial in newly diagnosed Glioblastoma multiforme ("GBM"), the most aggressive and lethal of brain cancer. The Company also previously received clearance from the FDA for a 612-patient Phase III trial in prostate cancer, and clearance from the FDA for Phase I trials in five other cancers. The Company has also conducted a Phase I/II trial with DCVax® for recurrent metastatic ovarian cancer.
For further information about clinical sites and about the Company, please visit the Company's web site at www.nwbio.com.
Disclaimer
Statements made in this news release that are not historical facts, including statements concerning future treatment of patients with GBM using DCVax®-Brain and future clinical trials, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as "expects," "believes," "intends," and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from those projected in any forward-looking statement. Specifically, there are a number of important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated, such as the Company's ability to raise additional capital, risks related to the Company's ability to enroll patients in its clinical trials and complete the trials on a timely basis, the uncertainty of the clinical trials process, uncertainties about the timely performance of third parties, and whether the Company's products will demonstrate safety and efficacy. Additional information on these and other factors, including Risk Factors, which could affect the Company's results, is included in its Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") filings. Finally, there may be other factors not mentioned above or included in the Company's SEC filings that may cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in any forward-looking statement. You should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. The Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future events or developments, except as required by securities laws.
SOURCE Northwest Biotherapeutics
The Company previously announced 4 clinical sites for new enrollment into the ongoing trial, located in Rochester, Cleveland, Detroit and Minneapolis. The Company has now added New York City (NYU) and Los Angeles (UCLA). In addition, the Company is nearing completion on 4 further sites, in New Jersey, Michigan, Texas and Washington. As a result, the Company expects to have a total of 10 clinical trial sites for new enrollment into its GBM brain cancer trial within this calendar quarter. This will substantially exceed the Company's projections in regard to the expansion of the clinical trial this quarter. At least 5 further clinical sites are anticipated to be added in the third quarter of this year, resulting in a total of 15 sites.
"We are gratified to have received such strong interest and cooperation from clinical centers throughout the U.S., and pleased to be ahead of schedule in completing the lengthy and complex institutional processes to make these centers operational for enrollment of additional new patients into our ongoing GBM brain cancer clinical trial," said Dr. Alton Boynton, CEO of NWBT.
In prior clinical trials of DCVax® immune therapy for GBM brain cancer, the results were striking: the patients who received DCVax® showed a median survival of 3 years, compared with median survival of only 14.6 months with standard of care today (surgery, radiation and chemotherapy). In addition, the patients treated with DCVax® did not have recurrence of their tumor for approximately 2 years, on average, as compared with tumor recurrence in just 7 months with standard of care today. Moreover, the patients treated with DCVax® did not experience any toxic side effects, in stark contrast to chemotherapies.
About Northwest Biotherapeutics
Northwest Biotherapeutics is a biotechnology company focused on developing immunotherapy products that treat cancers more effectively than current treatments, without toxicities of the kind associated with chemotherapies, and on a cost-effective basis. The Company has a broad platform technology for dendritic cell-based vaccines. The Company's lead clinical trial is a 240-patient Phase II trial in newly diagnosed Glioblastoma multiforme ("GBM"), the most aggressive and lethal of brain cancer. The Company also previously received clearance from the FDA for a 612-patient Phase III trial in prostate cancer, and clearance from the FDA for Phase I trials in five other cancers. The Company has also conducted a Phase I/II trial with DCVax® for recurrent metastatic ovarian cancer.
For further information about clinical sites and about the Company, please visit the Company's web site at www.nwbio.com.
Disclaimer
Statements made in this news release that are not historical facts, including statements concerning future treatment of patients with GBM using DCVax®-Brain and future clinical trials, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as "expects," "believes," "intends," and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from those projected in any forward-looking statement. Specifically, there are a number of important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated, such as the Company's ability to raise additional capital, risks related to the Company's ability to enroll patients in its clinical trials and complete the trials on a timely basis, the uncertainty of the clinical trials process, uncertainties about the timely performance of third parties, and whether the Company's products will demonstrate safety and efficacy. Additional information on these and other factors, including Risk Factors, which could affect the Company's results, is included in its Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") filings. Finally, there may be other factors not mentioned above or included in the Company's SEC filings that may cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in any forward-looking statement. You should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. The Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future events or developments, except as required by securities laws.
SOURCE Northwest Biotherapeutics
Make Strides Against Breast Cancer and Win a Makeover!
Libby and Melody want you to walk on their teams! And because they want to make huge strides against breast cancer, they’re competing to see who can get the most people to register for their teams.
Every person who registers will be automatically entered to win a makeover, including a $1000 facial rejuvenation package from Grossman Plastic Surgery and a haircut and color from Blondies the Beauty Shop! So pick Team Libby or Team Melody, either way you’ll be making strides to save lives!
The American Cancer Society Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk is as unique and special as the stories that motivate their dedicated walkers, donors and volunteers. Each step they take is personal and each donation helps save lives.
Since 1993, nearly seven million walkers across the country have raised more than $400 million through Making Strides Against Breast Cancer - funding breakthrough breast cancer research and helping people stay well, get well, find cures and fight back.
Cancer survivor seeks help for ill Hanford workers
RICHLAND -- A cancer survivor asked a federal advisory board Wednesday to consider the suffering of Hanford workers and their families because of the deceit of a company that performed lab tests in the late '80s.
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health's Advisory Board on Radiation and Worker Health, meeting in St. Louis on Wednesday, discussed whether to ease rules for allowing ill Hanford Plutonium Finishing Plant workers to claim $150,000 in compensation.
The board made no decision, instead referring the issue to its Hanford working group for further discussion.
Oscar Valero, who worked at the Plutonium Finishing Plant during the years that lab tests were falsified, filed a petition with NIOSH to ease compensation requirements for workers there who later suffered from cancer.
If the federal government agrees to form a special exposure cohort for those ill workers, more people or their survivors could be eligible for $150,000 in compensation and the compensation would be paid without the sometimes lengthy process of estimating radiation exposure for each worker. Medical expenses also are paid by the program.
Valero started work at Hanford in 1984 after serving as a Marine and continues to work there today.
However, in 2002 he was diagnosed with gastric cancer and has filed a claim under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program, which compensates workers or their survivors if their cancer is determined to have been caused by exposure to radiation at Hanford or other Department of Energy sites.
Surgery was needed to remove two-thirds of his stomach and half of his esophagus, he told the board by telephone. Radiation treatments left his heart damaged.
"I live with physical limitations," he said. "My family and I bear emotional scars and psychological trauma. Our lives have been affected and changed forever."
The federal government has three times estimated the amount of radiation he was exposed to and given him three different results, he said. But none of them has shown that, in the government's opinion, the estimated radiation caused his cancer.
However, if radiation exposure cannot be adequately estimated for groups of workers, a special exposure cohort may be approved and workers automatically compensated for any of about 20 types of cancer that studies have linked to radiation exposure.
Valero and his attorney, Tom Foulds of Seattle, believe that problems with lab tests -- called bioassays -- of worker's bodily waste from 1987 through 1989 mean that radiation exposure for those workers cannot be adequately estimated. Urine and other samples were tested for radiation.
The company, U.S. Testing Co., admitted wrongdoing, said Sam Glover, a health physicist for NIOSH. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, which had hired U.S. Testing as a subcontractor, terminated their contract.
Among allegations made were that some managers were using cocaine on U.S. Testing Co. premises and that some test results were falsified.
However, NIOSH has recommended against approving Valero's petition to form a special exposure cohort for Plutonium Finishing Plant workers in the late '80s. Problems were identified with ecological samples rather than bioassays of workers' urine samples to check for internal radiation exposure, according to NIOSH.
It believes that based on a University of Washington report focusing on the bioassays, plus other data available to estimate worker exposure, adequate estimates can be made of individual worker's exposure.
However, another report commissioned by state and federal officials shows there were problems with procedures for the bioassay tests also and they cannot be relied upon, Foulds argued.
"I understand this is scientific based information, but let we also appeal to the sentiments of your heart in that you will do the righteous thing and your actions will right a wrong," Valero told the board.
A special exposure cohort already has been established that eases compensation requirements for most Hanford workers in jobs that could have exposed them to radiation while working for at least 250 days from October 1943 through June 1972. Possibly expanding the cohort to later years also is being considered.
For information on the compensation program, call 509-946-3333 or 888-654-0014.
Tri-City Herald reported this story at www.tri-cityherald.com
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health's Advisory Board on Radiation and Worker Health, meeting in St. Louis on Wednesday, discussed whether to ease rules for allowing ill Hanford Plutonium Finishing Plant workers to claim $150,000 in compensation.
The board made no decision, instead referring the issue to its Hanford working group for further discussion.
Oscar Valero, who worked at the Plutonium Finishing Plant during the years that lab tests were falsified, filed a petition with NIOSH to ease compensation requirements for workers there who later suffered from cancer.
If the federal government agrees to form a special exposure cohort for those ill workers, more people or their survivors could be eligible for $150,000 in compensation and the compensation would be paid without the sometimes lengthy process of estimating radiation exposure for each worker. Medical expenses also are paid by the program.
Valero started work at Hanford in 1984 after serving as a Marine and continues to work there today.
However, in 2002 he was diagnosed with gastric cancer and has filed a claim under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program, which compensates workers or their survivors if their cancer is determined to have been caused by exposure to radiation at Hanford or other Department of Energy sites.
Surgery was needed to remove two-thirds of his stomach and half of his esophagus, he told the board by telephone. Radiation treatments left his heart damaged.
"I live with physical limitations," he said. "My family and I bear emotional scars and psychological trauma. Our lives have been affected and changed forever."
The federal government has three times estimated the amount of radiation he was exposed to and given him three different results, he said. But none of them has shown that, in the government's opinion, the estimated radiation caused his cancer.
However, if radiation exposure cannot be adequately estimated for groups of workers, a special exposure cohort may be approved and workers automatically compensated for any of about 20 types of cancer that studies have linked to radiation exposure.
Valero and his attorney, Tom Foulds of Seattle, believe that problems with lab tests -- called bioassays -- of worker's bodily waste from 1987 through 1989 mean that radiation exposure for those workers cannot be adequately estimated. Urine and other samples were tested for radiation.
The company, U.S. Testing Co., admitted wrongdoing, said Sam Glover, a health physicist for NIOSH. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, which had hired U.S. Testing as a subcontractor, terminated their contract.
Among allegations made were that some managers were using cocaine on U.S. Testing Co. premises and that some test results were falsified.
However, NIOSH has recommended against approving Valero's petition to form a special exposure cohort for Plutonium Finishing Plant workers in the late '80s. Problems were identified with ecological samples rather than bioassays of workers' urine samples to check for internal radiation exposure, according to NIOSH.
It believes that based on a University of Washington report focusing on the bioassays, plus other data available to estimate worker exposure, adequate estimates can be made of individual worker's exposure.
However, another report commissioned by state and federal officials shows there were problems with procedures for the bioassay tests also and they cannot be relied upon, Foulds argued.
"I understand this is scientific based information, but let we also appeal to the sentiments of your heart in that you will do the righteous thing and your actions will right a wrong," Valero told the board.
A special exposure cohort already has been established that eases compensation requirements for most Hanford workers in jobs that could have exposed them to radiation while working for at least 250 days from October 1943 through June 1972. Possibly expanding the cohort to later years also is being considered.
For information on the compensation program, call 509-946-3333 or 888-654-0014.
Tri-City Herald reported this story at www.tri-cityherald.com
Women with high co-pays prone to stop cancer drug
(Reuters Health) - Women taking breast cancer drugs are more likely to skip days or drop the treatment entirely if their co-pay is high, U.S. researchers have found.
It's nothing new that people often don't take the medication their doctor prescribes, but for cancer drugs the consequences could be dire, experts say.
"Here we are talking about a life-saving drug," said Dr. Alfred Neugut of Columbia University Medical Center in New York, whose findings appear in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
"For drugs that are that important, maybe we need to set up mechanisms to provide ways to get around the co-pays or deductibles."
Some insurance companies already have programs in place to ensure lower co-pays for certain drugs, Neugut said, but they don't cover aromatase inhibitors, the focus of the new study.
Such drugs, including AstraZeneca's Arimidex, significantly lower the risk of death in breast cancer survivors who've gone through menopause.
While Arimidex can now be bought as a generic drug for only less than a dollar per pill, the drug cost more than $2,000 a year when the study was done.
Neugut and his colleagues used claims data from MedCo Health Solutions to find out what role patient co-pay might play in whether or not they took their drugs for the recommended five years.
Of more than 8,000 women aged 50 to 65, 20 percent stopped the medication early if their co-pay was less than $30.
By contrast, if the co-pay was $90 or more, 23 percent dropped the drugs ahead of time.
For older women, the gap was five nearly percent, which Neugut chalks up to less disposable income.
There were similar differences in the number of women who skipped at least 20 percent of days, and the gap remained even after the researchers considered possible explanations such as income and other factors.
"If the co-pay gets too high, it is going to stop people from taking a drug they really need," said Neugut, adding that earlier research has noted the same effect for prescriptions as a whole.
With the healthcare reform, more people are expected to be covered by Medicaid, which generally means they will have lower co-pay. Yet Neugut said it's unclear what effect that will have, given Medicaid beneficiaries have fewer resources to begin with.
He said the problem was more serious for cancer drugs than for other medicines, because the former treat a potential deadly disease.
In addition, cancer drugs have side effects, which may also deter women from taking them.
In general, Neugut told Reuters Health, "Less than 50 percent of women actually finish the five years -- and if you don't, you lose most or all of the survival benefit from the therapy."
SOURCE: bit.ly/ilztyr Journal of Clinical Oncology, May 25, 2011.
It's nothing new that people often don't take the medication their doctor prescribes, but for cancer drugs the consequences could be dire, experts say.
"Here we are talking about a life-saving drug," said Dr. Alfred Neugut of Columbia University Medical Center in New York, whose findings appear in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
"For drugs that are that important, maybe we need to set up mechanisms to provide ways to get around the co-pays or deductibles."
Some insurance companies already have programs in place to ensure lower co-pays for certain drugs, Neugut said, but they don't cover aromatase inhibitors, the focus of the new study.
Such drugs, including AstraZeneca's Arimidex, significantly lower the risk of death in breast cancer survivors who've gone through menopause.
While Arimidex can now be bought as a generic drug for only less than a dollar per pill, the drug cost more than $2,000 a year when the study was done.
Neugut and his colleagues used claims data from MedCo Health Solutions to find out what role patient co-pay might play in whether or not they took their drugs for the recommended five years.
Of more than 8,000 women aged 50 to 65, 20 percent stopped the medication early if their co-pay was less than $30.
By contrast, if the co-pay was $90 or more, 23 percent dropped the drugs ahead of time.
For older women, the gap was five nearly percent, which Neugut chalks up to less disposable income.
There were similar differences in the number of women who skipped at least 20 percent of days, and the gap remained even after the researchers considered possible explanations such as income and other factors.
"If the co-pay gets too high, it is going to stop people from taking a drug they really need," said Neugut, adding that earlier research has noted the same effect for prescriptions as a whole.
With the healthcare reform, more people are expected to be covered by Medicaid, which generally means they will have lower co-pay. Yet Neugut said it's unclear what effect that will have, given Medicaid beneficiaries have fewer resources to begin with.
He said the problem was more serious for cancer drugs than for other medicines, because the former treat a potential deadly disease.
In addition, cancer drugs have side effects, which may also deter women from taking them.
In general, Neugut told Reuters Health, "Less than 50 percent of women actually finish the five years -- and if you don't, you lose most or all of the survival benefit from the therapy."
SOURCE: bit.ly/ilztyr Journal of Clinical Oncology, May 25, 2011.
Oncologists hold key to curbing cancer costs
VCU Massey Cancer Center researchers propose evidence-based changes in oncologists' practice to cut cancer costs, ensure quality care for all and save money for future medical advances
Richmond, Va. (May 25, 2011) – The cost of cancer care is threatening to bankrupt our healthcare system. New drugs are prolonging life, but at staggering costs. This coupled with aging baby boomers and an increasing population mean the U.S. will spend $173 billion annually on cancer care by the year 2020. This trend is not sustainable; however, there are evidence-based ways to maintain or improve the quality of care while saving money for the new therapies being discovered every day.So argue VCU Massey Cancer Center researchers Thomas Smith, M.D., and Bruce E. Hillner, M.D., in an article in The New England Journal of Medicine, in which they present 10 changes medical oncologists can do to flatten costs, maintain or improve care and save money for future medical advances. Smith is a nationally recognized oncologist and Endowed Chair of Palliative Care Research at VCU Massey Cancer Center, and Hillner is a professor and eminent scholar in the Department of Internal Medicine at the VCU School of Medicine and member scientist at VCU Massey Cancer Center.
In a challenge to their colleagues one week before the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncologists (ASCO), the authors suggest changes in the behaviors and attitudes of medical oncologists that could save the nation billions of dollars.
"First, we take curative care and clinical trials off the table. They are vital to advances and save lives," says Smith. "However, we must critically examine our current practices for ways to reduce costs in order to maintain quality cancer care for all of our patients while continuing to advance medicine. This raises difficult issues that impact physician income and requires a new level of open and honest communication between doctors and patients. But the longer we wait to address these issues, the worse it will be for future patients."
The authors focus on the treatment of patients with incurable solid tumors, and many of their recommendations reinforce current ASCO and National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) evidence-based guidelines. Some of their proposals call for more frank discussions about end-of-life care between physicians and patients, and others urge increased scrutiny when using expensive treatments and surveillance tests. They argue that by establishing these guidelines, oncologists would be less likely to continue treatments in situations where the treatments no longer beneficial for the patient.
"It is important that we are compassionate and honest with our patients about when continuing chemotherapy causes more harm than good," says Hillner. "Two simple but critically important points: we should stop routinely giving chemotherapy to patients who are so weakened by the disease that they cannot walk unaided into the clinic. And when the cancer has grown through three successive regimens, it is time to switch teams and use hospice. Research has shown that for patients in these situations it is highly unlikely that continued chemotherapy will prolong life."
The authors suggest the following changes in oncologists' behavior:
- Limit surveillance testing or imaging to situations in which a benefit has been shown.
- Limit second-line and third-line treatment for metastatic cancer to sequential single-agent chemotherapy for most solid tumors.
- Limit chemotherapy to patients with good outcomes, with an exception for highly responsive disease.
- In metastatic solid cancers, replace the routine use of white-cell-stimulating factors with a reduction in the chemotherapy dose.
- For patients who are not responding to three consecutive regimens, limit further chemotherapy to clinical trials.
- Recognize that the costs of care are driven by what we do and do not do.
- Set more realistic expectations both for doctors and patients.
- Realign compensation to value cognitive services, rather than chemotherapy, more highly.
- Better integrate palliative care into usual oncology care (concurrent care).
- Accept the need for cost-effective analysis and for some limits on care.
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The full article is available at The New England Journal of Medicine. News directors: Broadcast access to VCU Massey Cancer Center experts is available through VideoLink ReadyCam. ReadyCam transmits video and audio via fiber optics through a system that is routed to your newsroom. To schedule a live or taped interview, contact John Wallace, (804) 628-1550.
About VCU Massey Cancer Center
VCU Massey Cancer Center is one of only 66 National Cancer Institute-designated institutions in the country that leads and shapes America's cancer research efforts. Working with all kinds of cancers, the Center conducts basic, translational and clinical cancer research, provides state-of-the-art treatments and clinical trials, and promotes cancer prevention and education. Since 1974, Massey has served as an internationally recognized center of excellence. It has one of the largest offerings of clinical trials in Virginia and serves patients in Richmond and in four satellite locations. Its 1,000 researchers, clinicians and staff members are dedicated to improving the quality of human life by developing and delivering effective means to prevent, control and ultimately to cure cancer. Visit Massey online at www.massey.vcu.edu or call 877-4-MASSEY for more information.
About VCU and the VCU Medical Center
Virginia Commonwealth University is a major, urban public research university with national and international rankings in sponsored research. Located on two downtown campuses in Richmond, VCU enrolls more than 32,000 students in 211 certificate and degree programs in the arts, sciences and humanities. Sixty-nine of the programs are unique in Virginia, many of them crossing the disciplines of VCU's 13 schools and one college. MCV Hospitals and the health sciences schools of Virginia Commonwealth University compose the VCU Medical Center, one of the nation's leading academic medical centers. For more, see www.vcu.edu.
Methodist Cancer Center celebrates National Cancer Survivor’s Day
SUGAR LAND — Methodist Sugar Land Hospital will join over 11 million American cancer survivors in observing the 24th annual National Cancer Survivor’s Day this year. Hundreds of communities throughout North America will host events on this day to celebrate life and demonstrate that there is hope. The contributions of the families, friends and healthcare providers who support cancer survivors will also be recognized.
The National Cancer Survivor’s Day Foundation (NCSD) administrator is encouraging everyone to participate in their community’s event.
“Come join in the fun and see for yourself that life can go on, and is sometimes even enhanced by a cancer diagnosis,” says Foundation spokesperson, Paula Chadwell. “National Cancer Survivor’s Day is a great opportunity for cancer survivors, caregivers, friends and family to come together and affirm the possibility of quality of life after a diagnosis of cancer,” added Clive Shkedy, M.D., radiation oncologist and medical director of Methodist Sugar Land Hospital’s Cancer Center.
NCSD started in the United States and is now worldwide, says Chadwell, and it is observed in countries as far away as Australia, Italy and Malaysia.
“A ‘survivor’ is anyone living with a history of cancer – from the moment of diagnosis through the remainder of life,” as defined by the Foundation. Cancer survivors may face many challenges such as hindered access to cancer specialists and promising new treatments, inadequate or no insurance, financial hardships, employment problems and psychological struggles. “Despite these difficulties, cancer survivors can live active, productive lives,” says Chadwell.
Methodist Sugar Land Cancer Center welcomes all local cancer survivors, caregivers, community leaders, Methodist Sugar Land Hospital physicians and anyone passionate about the cause to join us as we honor the survivors living with a history of cancer in America today. The Cancer Survivor’s Day Celebration and Luncheon will be held Friday, June 3, 2011 from 11:45-1:00 p.m. in Conference Rooms A-D at Methodist Sugar Land Hospital. RSVP Required. Please RSVP your attendance by May 31st to Frances Goerlich by calling (281)274-7930 or emailing at FGoerlich@tmhs.org.
For more information on Methodist Sugar Land Hospital, visit www.MethodistSugarLand.com or call (281) 274-7500 for a physician referral.
Cancer lobby seeks bipartisan approach
The Cancer Council has urged bipartisan support for measures to cut the cancer rate, including plain packaging of cigarettes.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Opposition Leader Tony Abbott on Thursday jointly launched the council's Australia's Biggest Morning Tea fundraiser at Parliament House in Canberra.
The council's national president Hendy Cowan told the gathering bipartisan support was needed to tackle the nation's single biggest cause of death.
He later launched a video detailing the work of the council and showing an example of the government's proposed plain packaged cigarettes as part of the council's preventative health strategy.
Ms Gillard told the gathering smoking rates had now dropped to 15 per cent, but more needed to be done and plain packaging would make "a measurable difference".
Mr Abbott's shadow cabinet has yet to consider the policy, but a number of coalition MPs have publicly supported plain packaging - delivering the government the numbers it needs to get the legislation passed.
The opposition leader told the function everyone should "do what we can to fight cancer".
But he said while government funding and policies were important "it's not what government does for us but what we do for ourselves" that makes a difference.
Since it was launched in 1994, the event has raised $90 million for cancer research, prevention and support.
While Ms Gillard - usually a heavy coffee drinker - sipped on a cup of weak black tea, Mr Abbott had a milky tea.
Two dozen MPs from all sides of politics attended the event.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Opposition Leader Tony Abbott on Thursday jointly launched the council's Australia's Biggest Morning Tea fundraiser at Parliament House in Canberra.
The council's national president Hendy Cowan told the gathering bipartisan support was needed to tackle the nation's single biggest cause of death.
He later launched a video detailing the work of the council and showing an example of the government's proposed plain packaged cigarettes as part of the council's preventative health strategy.
Ms Gillard told the gathering smoking rates had now dropped to 15 per cent, but more needed to be done and plain packaging would make "a measurable difference".
Mr Abbott's shadow cabinet has yet to consider the policy, but a number of coalition MPs have publicly supported plain packaging - delivering the government the numbers it needs to get the legislation passed.
The opposition leader told the function everyone should "do what we can to fight cancer".
But he said while government funding and policies were important "it's not what government does for us but what we do for ourselves" that makes a difference.
Since it was launched in 1994, the event has raised $90 million for cancer research, prevention and support.
While Ms Gillard - usually a heavy coffee drinker - sipped on a cup of weak black tea, Mr Abbott had a milky tea.
Two dozen MPs from all sides of politics attended the event.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Cancer-beef judgements “overreached”
The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) released a statement following that report that indicates Americans are already within that recommended limit.
In the NCBA statement, Shalene McNeill, PhD, RD, Executive Director, Human Nutrition Research at the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA), says, “WCRF’s judgments overreach the science on red meat and cancer. Americans should continue to build healthier diets with beef knowing the scientific evidence to support the role of nutrient-rich, lean beef in a healthy, balanced diet is strong. Nothing in this update should change the way Americans consume beef. In fact, Americans are consuming beef well within WCRF’s 500 gram (18 ounces) per week recommendation.
“As a scientist, registered dietitian and a mother, I will continue to recommend lean beef to Americans trying to build a healthier plate because of the unique package of nutrients and enjoyment it brings to a healthy diet,” McNeill continues.
The statement also discusses the fact that publicly available research has been funded and shared with the scientific community and health professionals that evaluates the science on red meat and cancer. This research concluded the available epidemiological evidence is not supportive of a causal association between red meat and colorectal cancer. The research findings and conclusions have been vetted among the scientific community at more than 10 national and international cancer, epidemiology and nutrition conferences and published in four peer-reviewed manuscripts in top-tier medical and scientific journals (see references here).
The statement continues with: “A single food can’t cause or cure cancer. Responsible health experts agree the best advice for reducing our risk of all types of cancer is don’t smoke, consume alcohol in moderation, maintain a healthy body weight by getting regular physical activity and enjoy a balanced diet that is rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains and lean protein, such as beef.”
European Week Against Cancer: A joint commitment to prevent cancer
Every year nearly 2.5 million EU citizens are diagnosed with cancer, which is also the second most common cause of death in Europe (29% of deaths for men, 23% for women). This figure is expected to rise due to the ageing European population. However, it is estimated that around one third of cancers could be prevented if people made healthier choices (or if people adopted healthier living habits). This year’s European Week Against Cancer, which has been re-launched under the leadership of the Association of European Cancer Leagues as one of the activities of the European Partnership for Action Against Cancer, will focus on healthy living. As a keynote speaker at the launch event in Brussels today, John Dalli, European Commissioner for Health & Consumer Policy, will encourage participants to promote cancer prevention through their organisations and institutions at national, regional and local levels.
Commissioner Dalli said: “My message at the occasion of this year’s European Week Against Cancer is simple: people can take steps to improve their health and avoid certain cancers, by making healthier choices. While public authorities cannot force people to change their behaviour, I believe that we have a duty to arm our citizens with the information they need to take control of their health”. To conclude: “I am committed to supporting Member States and stakeholders in their joint partnership efforts to prevent and control cancer in every way I can”.
For nearly a quarter of a century, the Commission has been working to identify and promote good practice in cancer-related prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care. By working together with the Member States, sharing knowledge, capacity and expertise in cancer prevention and control, more can be done to effectively tackle and combat cancer across the Union.
The EU’s policies include:
Prevention:
At European level, considerable resources have been allocated to promoting healthier lifestyles and better overall health of EU citizens, by addressing key risk factors such as excessive alcohol consumption, poor nutrition, physical inactivity and tobacco use. The 2006 EU Alcohol Strategy and 2007 Strategy for Europe on Nutrition, Overweight and Obesity-related health issues aim to set out an integrated approach with Member States and different stakeholders, including NGOs and industry, to reducing ill health due to these factors. On tobacco, the EU approach includes legislation (on advertising and tobacco products), supporting the Member States in areas including prevention, cessation and smoke-free environments and financing an EU-wide awareness-raising campaign.
The new EU campaign “Ex-Smokers are Unstoppable” will be launched in the coming weeks. In addition, the Commission is currently working on plans to put forward a proposal for the revision of the 2001 Tobacco Products Directive in 2012. Following an analysis of a consultation launched last year and the preparation of an impact assessment, the Directive could be strengthened and adapted to reflect international commitments, developments in tobacco products as well as advances in science.
Partnership:
The latest initiative of the Commission in the field of cancer is the European Partnership for Action Against Cancer (EPAAC) launched in September 2009. The Partnership brings efforts of different stakeholders together into a joint response to prevent and control cancer and aims to support Member States in tackling cancer more efficiently. By the end of the Partnership, all Member States should have integrated cancer plans. This should contribute to achieving the long-term aim which is to reduce the incidence of cancer by 15% by 2020.
The first Open Forum of the EPAAC will be held on 14-15 June 2011 in Spain and will focus on cancer healthcare and research.
Screening:
In December 2003, EU Health Ministers unanimously adopted a Council Recommendation on cancer screening which sets out principles of best practice in the early detection of cancer. Member States are invited to implement nationwide population-based screening programmes for breast, cervical and colorectal cancer, with appropriate quality assurance. European Guidelines on breast, cervical and colorectal cancer screening were last published in 2006, 2008 and 2011 respectively. They were published by the European Commission as benchmarks to assist the Member States to carry out screening in the most effective way possible.
Research:
EU financial support for cancer research since 2003 amounts to close to €1 billion, funding 183 projects. This support has created the necessary collaboration between cancer centres, researchers and patient advocacy groups in different countries to improve the way in which cancers are tackled, help make the best treatments available to everyone and reach more patients. Significant efforts are being made on breast cancer and rare cancers, melanoma, leukemia and cancer imaging. Cancer in women and children receives special attention. For example, for the first time in Europe, a project (PanCareSurFup- http://www.pancaresurfup.eu/) will focus on the long-term side effects of treatment in childhood cancer survivors.
Commissioner Dalli said: “My message at the occasion of this year’s European Week Against Cancer is simple: people can take steps to improve their health and avoid certain cancers, by making healthier choices. While public authorities cannot force people to change their behaviour, I believe that we have a duty to arm our citizens with the information they need to take control of their health”. To conclude: “I am committed to supporting Member States and stakeholders in their joint partnership efforts to prevent and control cancer in every way I can”.
For nearly a quarter of a century, the Commission has been working to identify and promote good practice in cancer-related prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care. By working together with the Member States, sharing knowledge, capacity and expertise in cancer prevention and control, more can be done to effectively tackle and combat cancer across the Union.
The EU’s policies include:
Prevention:
At European level, considerable resources have been allocated to promoting healthier lifestyles and better overall health of EU citizens, by addressing key risk factors such as excessive alcohol consumption, poor nutrition, physical inactivity and tobacco use. The 2006 EU Alcohol Strategy and 2007 Strategy for Europe on Nutrition, Overweight and Obesity-related health issues aim to set out an integrated approach with Member States and different stakeholders, including NGOs and industry, to reducing ill health due to these factors. On tobacco, the EU approach includes legislation (on advertising and tobacco products), supporting the Member States in areas including prevention, cessation and smoke-free environments and financing an EU-wide awareness-raising campaign.
The new EU campaign “Ex-Smokers are Unstoppable” will be launched in the coming weeks. In addition, the Commission is currently working on plans to put forward a proposal for the revision of the 2001 Tobacco Products Directive in 2012. Following an analysis of a consultation launched last year and the preparation of an impact assessment, the Directive could be strengthened and adapted to reflect international commitments, developments in tobacco products as well as advances in science.
Partnership:
The latest initiative of the Commission in the field of cancer is the European Partnership for Action Against Cancer (EPAAC) launched in September 2009. The Partnership brings efforts of different stakeholders together into a joint response to prevent and control cancer and aims to support Member States in tackling cancer more efficiently. By the end of the Partnership, all Member States should have integrated cancer plans. This should contribute to achieving the long-term aim which is to reduce the incidence of cancer by 15% by 2020.
The first Open Forum of the EPAAC will be held on 14-15 June 2011 in Spain and will focus on cancer healthcare and research.
Screening:
In December 2003, EU Health Ministers unanimously adopted a Council Recommendation on cancer screening which sets out principles of best practice in the early detection of cancer. Member States are invited to implement nationwide population-based screening programmes for breast, cervical and colorectal cancer, with appropriate quality assurance. European Guidelines on breast, cervical and colorectal cancer screening were last published in 2006, 2008 and 2011 respectively. They were published by the European Commission as benchmarks to assist the Member States to carry out screening in the most effective way possible.
Research:
EU financial support for cancer research since 2003 amounts to close to €1 billion, funding 183 projects. This support has created the necessary collaboration between cancer centres, researchers and patient advocacy groups in different countries to improve the way in which cancers are tackled, help make the best treatments available to everyone and reach more patients. Significant efforts are being made on breast cancer and rare cancers, melanoma, leukemia and cancer imaging. Cancer in women and children receives special attention. For example, for the first time in Europe, a project (PanCareSurFup- http://www.pancaresurfup.eu/) will focus on the long-term side effects of treatment in childhood cancer survivors.
New policy on cancer detection is worrisome
I have practised as a family doctor in Pointe Claire and in Phoenix, Az., for many years. The new guidelines for detection of breast cancer have me extremely worried.
In October 2009, the United States Preventative Services Task Force came out with new recommendations for detection of breast cancer. Canada was soon to follow with almost identical recommendations.
Breast self-examinations were not only unnecessary, but, according to an article in the Canadian Medical Journal, breast self-examination did more harm than good.
The recommendations that mammography should begin at age 50 and then be done every two years after were based on seriously flawed studies due in part to lack of surveillance of the women studied. The lengthy studies involved 260,000 Chinese and 120,000 Russian female factory workers.
Concerned, I contacted Robert A. Smith, director of cancer screening for the American Cancer Society, and Harvard radiology professor Dr. Daniel Kopans.
Both agreed the studies are flawed. Kopan believes mammograms should begin at age 40 and then be performed annually. That is also the recommendation of the Mayo Clinic.
Is it remotely possible that the USPSTF and Canadian Cancer Society have issued these new guidelines in order to implement cost savings while paying little attention to women's lives?
I suggest that just one visit to a hospice by the powers-that-be might give the most cost-conscious individual second thoughts.
We are talking of women's lives, and seriously flawed data.
In October 2009, the United States Preventative Services Task Force came out with new recommendations for detection of breast cancer. Canada was soon to follow with almost identical recommendations.
Breast self-examinations were not only unnecessary, but, according to an article in the Canadian Medical Journal, breast self-examination did more harm than good.
The recommendations that mammography should begin at age 50 and then be done every two years after were based on seriously flawed studies due in part to lack of surveillance of the women studied. The lengthy studies involved 260,000 Chinese and 120,000 Russian female factory workers.
Concerned, I contacted Robert A. Smith, director of cancer screening for the American Cancer Society, and Harvard radiology professor Dr. Daniel Kopans.
Both agreed the studies are flawed. Kopan believes mammograms should begin at age 40 and then be performed annually. That is also the recommendation of the Mayo Clinic.
Is it remotely possible that the USPSTF and Canadian Cancer Society have issued these new guidelines in order to implement cost savings while paying little attention to women's lives?
I suggest that just one visit to a hospice by the powers-that-be might give the most cost-conscious individual second thoughts.
We are talking of women's lives, and seriously flawed data.
Brides Against Breast Cancer bringing wedding-gown sale here
When Wendy Torres, 34, of Philadelphia's Wynnefield neighborhood, walks down the aisle in June, she'll be wearing the dress of her dreams.
That's not because it's extravagant - a strapless, mermaid-style Mon Cheri gown with a chapel-length train and Swarovski beading - or because she snagged the $2,500 dress for $460.
It's because the money she spent on her gown will support Making Memories, a wish-granting nonprofit for women and men with stage IV breast cancer.
Starting Thursday through Saturday, Philadelphia brides-to-be will have the opportunity to score similar deals when Brides Against Breast Cancer - an annual nationwide touring sale that brings discounted, new and used wedding dresses to 40 cities - comes to the Ramada Philadelphia Airport hotel.
Last year, the tour's first stop in Philadelphia raised $18,000, enough to fund 10 or more wishes filed with Making Memories, a 13-year-old organization based in Oregon.
"After reading the stories of people who submitted wishes, I knew that I had to buy the dress there," said Torres, who tried on 10 dresses at last June's sale. She was inspired by a close friend who has stage IV breast cancer, and her purchase was just one way to make her wedding about more than just herself and her fiance. "Some people had really simple wishes, like just having their parents flown in to visit, because they live in different states."
At each event, local breast cancer organizations and hospitals disseminate information about breast health and recommended screenings.
The rest of the event, though, is strictly about the brides-to-be.
Still, with 1,200 dresses from size 2 to 28, this isn't a "Running of the Brides"-style frenzy. Admission is free, and there are curtained fitting areas with mirrors and dressing stands, plus dozens of volunteers to assist. However, those who want first dibs can pay $35 to attend, with a friend, a wine-and-hors d'oeuvres night from 6 to 10 p.m. Thursday.
Brides Against Breast Cancer is the primary fund-raiser for Making Memories, which works with patients and their doctors to fulfill one wish. The most common wishes are for vacations or family reunions, although the foundation also has honored more unusual requests.
"We had a wish recipient who has a beautiful voice. She's a gospel singer," said Making Memories' wish director, Kelly Heisel. "We actually helped her record an inspirational CD to give to other women with breast cancer."
For others, Making Memories provides $1,000 grants - like one that helped a Macungie, Pa., woman self-publish a book she had been writing.
Even simple vacations, said Heisel, can give cancer patients something positive to anticipate. "It's exciting for them to be part of the planning," she said.
A year and a half after being diagnosed with stage IV breast cancer, Elizabeth Breish, 47, of Wilkes-Barre, said her wish, for a trip to Provincetown, Mass., was a chance both to retreat into happy memories and to sort through difficult emotions.
Breish had visited the resort town on the tip of Cape Cod for a single weekend two decades ago.
"It was beautiful, but there was so much more that I wanted to do there," she said. "The years went by, and I took care of my children as they grew. My youngest had brain cancer and I had to care for her until she passed, so I didn't really get a chance to take any other vacations.
"I really wanted to go back there at least one more time to relax and get away from doctors and medicine and needles."
Between museums, beach walks to collect shells for her four grandchildren, and, if she's strong enough, whale watching, she said she'll be using the time away to cope with a fresh round of bad news: Two new tumors were detected a few weeks ago.
"They're talking mastectomy, and I'm talking about finding a rock to crawl under," she said, sighing.
Breish is hoping this head-clearing getaway will give her the perspective needed to make tough decisions about her treatment options.
Living on a fixed income of $700 per month, Breish said, she never would have been able to afford the vacation. She's already written her obituary and is asking that, in lieu of flowers, donations be sent to Making Memories.
Heisel said the wishes of some beneficiaries are as much for their families as for themselves.
"With wish recipients that have little kids, it's important to show that Mommy can still have fun and laugh and play," she said. "They have that opportunity to give that memory to their kids and their loved ones."
That's not because it's extravagant - a strapless, mermaid-style Mon Cheri gown with a chapel-length train and Swarovski beading - or because she snagged the $2,500 dress for $460.
It's because the money she spent on her gown will support Making Memories, a wish-granting nonprofit for women and men with stage IV breast cancer.
Starting Thursday through Saturday, Philadelphia brides-to-be will have the opportunity to score similar deals when Brides Against Breast Cancer - an annual nationwide touring sale that brings discounted, new and used wedding dresses to 40 cities - comes to the Ramada Philadelphia Airport hotel.
Last year, the tour's first stop in Philadelphia raised $18,000, enough to fund 10 or more wishes filed with Making Memories, a 13-year-old organization based in Oregon.
"After reading the stories of people who submitted wishes, I knew that I had to buy the dress there," said Torres, who tried on 10 dresses at last June's sale. She was inspired by a close friend who has stage IV breast cancer, and her purchase was just one way to make her wedding about more than just herself and her fiance. "Some people had really simple wishes, like just having their parents flown in to visit, because they live in different states."
At each event, local breast cancer organizations and hospitals disseminate information about breast health and recommended screenings.
The rest of the event, though, is strictly about the brides-to-be.
Still, with 1,200 dresses from size 2 to 28, this isn't a "Running of the Brides"-style frenzy. Admission is free, and there are curtained fitting areas with mirrors and dressing stands, plus dozens of volunteers to assist. However, those who want first dibs can pay $35 to attend, with a friend, a wine-and-hors d'oeuvres night from 6 to 10 p.m. Thursday.
Brides Against Breast Cancer is the primary fund-raiser for Making Memories, which works with patients and their doctors to fulfill one wish. The most common wishes are for vacations or family reunions, although the foundation also has honored more unusual requests.
"We had a wish recipient who has a beautiful voice. She's a gospel singer," said Making Memories' wish director, Kelly Heisel. "We actually helped her record an inspirational CD to give to other women with breast cancer."
For others, Making Memories provides $1,000 grants - like one that helped a Macungie, Pa., woman self-publish a book she had been writing.
Even simple vacations, said Heisel, can give cancer patients something positive to anticipate. "It's exciting for them to be part of the planning," she said.
A year and a half after being diagnosed with stage IV breast cancer, Elizabeth Breish, 47, of Wilkes-Barre, said her wish, for a trip to Provincetown, Mass., was a chance both to retreat into happy memories and to sort through difficult emotions.
Breish had visited the resort town on the tip of Cape Cod for a single weekend two decades ago.
"It was beautiful, but there was so much more that I wanted to do there," she said. "The years went by, and I took care of my children as they grew. My youngest had brain cancer and I had to care for her until she passed, so I didn't really get a chance to take any other vacations.
"I really wanted to go back there at least one more time to relax and get away from doctors and medicine and needles."
Between museums, beach walks to collect shells for her four grandchildren, and, if she's strong enough, whale watching, she said she'll be using the time away to cope with a fresh round of bad news: Two new tumors were detected a few weeks ago.
"They're talking mastectomy, and I'm talking about finding a rock to crawl under," she said, sighing.
Breish is hoping this head-clearing getaway will give her the perspective needed to make tough decisions about her treatment options.
Living on a fixed income of $700 per month, Breish said, she never would have been able to afford the vacation. She's already written her obituary and is asking that, in lieu of flowers, donations be sent to Making Memories.
Heisel said the wishes of some beneficiaries are as much for their families as for themselves.
"With wish recipients that have little kids, it's important to show that Mommy can still have fun and laugh and play," she said. "They have that opportunity to give that memory to their kids and their loved ones."
KU Cancer Center joins forces with two partners to create treatment for blood cancers
The Kansas University Cancer Center has joined a partnership that will seek to create new treatments for blood cancers.
The partnership with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and the National Institutes of Health will begin with an effort to take an existing arthritis drug, auranofin, and use clinical trials to see if it is effective as a treatment for chronic lymphocytic leukemia.
On Wednesday, state, university and other officials praised the new collaboration.
Scott Weir, director of the KU Cancer Center’s Institute for Advancing Medical Innovation, said the KU Cancer Center is working on six existing drugs to see if they can be used as effective cancer treatments. Such drugs offer an expedited timeline to the marketplace because they have already received some clearances from the federal Food and Drug Administration.
Weir said that if all goes well in the clinical proof-of-concept trials for auranofin — the trials are expected to take 12 to 18 months — the drug would be licensed to an outside company, which would meet with the FDA to determine further requirements and specifications needed to take it to the marketplace.
The partnership allows each agency to leverage their strengths, Weir said:
• The NIH did the basic science that led to the discovery of auranofin’s potential as a cancer-fighting drug.
• The KU Cancer Center has extensive experience with drug development and discovery.
• The LLS will provide expertise in the blood cancer area and has active collaborations and connections in the pharmaceutical industry.
Funding for the project comes from the Kansas Bioscience Authority and the NIH, which both contributed $500,000 to the effort. LLS and KU added an additional $250,000 in philanthropic support.
“This is a perfect fit for our investment strategy,” said Brad Kemp, project director, Cancer Fighting Cures, for the Kansas Bioscience Authority.
The bulk of the collaborative work, he said, would be done in Kansas.
The NIH will also, on top of their direct funding, operate one of three clinical trials associated with the drug tests.
KU and LLS have collaborated before on clinical trials associated with a topical antifungal agent with cancer-fighting potential. That collaboration was so productive, said Louis DeGennaro, executive vice president and chief mission officer for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, that the two decided to collaborate again. The new partnership could reach beyond the current auranofin trial, he said.
“This can be a long-standing collaboration with multiple projects over an extended time period,” he said.
The partnership with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and the National Institutes of Health will begin with an effort to take an existing arthritis drug, auranofin, and use clinical trials to see if it is effective as a treatment for chronic lymphocytic leukemia.
On Wednesday, state, university and other officials praised the new collaboration.
Scott Weir, director of the KU Cancer Center’s Institute for Advancing Medical Innovation, said the KU Cancer Center is working on six existing drugs to see if they can be used as effective cancer treatments. Such drugs offer an expedited timeline to the marketplace because they have already received some clearances from the federal Food and Drug Administration.
Weir said that if all goes well in the clinical proof-of-concept trials for auranofin — the trials are expected to take 12 to 18 months — the drug would be licensed to an outside company, which would meet with the FDA to determine further requirements and specifications needed to take it to the marketplace.
The partnership allows each agency to leverage their strengths, Weir said:
• The NIH did the basic science that led to the discovery of auranofin’s potential as a cancer-fighting drug.
• The KU Cancer Center has extensive experience with drug development and discovery.
• The LLS will provide expertise in the blood cancer area and has active collaborations and connections in the pharmaceutical industry.
Funding for the project comes from the Kansas Bioscience Authority and the NIH, which both contributed $500,000 to the effort. LLS and KU added an additional $250,000 in philanthropic support.
“This is a perfect fit for our investment strategy,” said Brad Kemp, project director, Cancer Fighting Cures, for the Kansas Bioscience Authority.
The bulk of the collaborative work, he said, would be done in Kansas.
The NIH will also, on top of their direct funding, operate one of three clinical trials associated with the drug tests.
KU and LLS have collaborated before on clinical trials associated with a topical antifungal agent with cancer-fighting potential. That collaboration was so productive, said Louis DeGennaro, executive vice president and chief mission officer for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, that the two decided to collaborate again. The new partnership could reach beyond the current auranofin trial, he said.
“This can be a long-standing collaboration with multiple projects over an extended time period,” he said.
Hundreds enjoy cuppa for cancer
The first of Bundaberg's Australia's Biggest Morning Tea events was held yesterday to raise money for the Cancer Council.
Argyle Gardens administration assistant Robin Vincent said the morning tea and choral performance was a huge success.
“We had a wonderful day with around 95 residents attending and raising more than $700,” Ms Vincent said.
“A lot of our residents and staff have been affected by cancer and today our choir conductress announced she also had cancer and was here today thanks to money raised for cancer research; it was a very moving day,” she said.
Bundaberg Mature Women's Group vice-president Joan Pearce said about 120 people attended.
“It went extremely well. Everyone was really happy with their prizes they won at the cent sale and anyone who didn't win went away with a gift that was donated by a local Bundy business,” she said.
“We are really grateful for all the support we received; it was a joint effort for a great cause against cancer.”
Asian mushroom can stop prostate cancer
A mushroom used in Asian cooking can stop the growth of prostate cancer in mice, researchers in Australia have found.
A compound called polysaccharopeptide (PSP), extracted from the turkey tail mushroom, was found to target prostate cancer stemcells and suppress tumour formation in trials on mice.
Scientist Patrick Ling said conventional treatments, like chemotherapy and radiotherapy, targeted some cancer cells, but not stemcells.
Stemcells initiate cancer and cause the disease to spread, said Dr Ling, from the Australian Prostate Cancer Research Centre in Queensland.
'People believe that the cancer stemcell is one of the major reasons why the cancer treatment is not working,' he told AAP.
'If you can come up with some treatments that can target those cancer stemcells you may actually be able to improve treatments.
'We find that this mushroom extract is very effective in targeting those cancer stemcells.'
In a trial involving almost 20 mice carrying a gene to develop prostate cancer, scientists fed PSP to about half for 20 weeks while the others went without.
All of those eating the extract didn't develop the cancer, the others did.
'Our findings support that PSP may be a potent preventative agent against prostate cancer, through targeting of the prostate cancer stem cell population,' Dr Ling said.
The turkey tail mushroom is used in Asian soups to boost health, but Dr Ling said there's no research to suggest that simply eating the vegetable can have the same effect as his research has found.
More tests will be done later this year.
A compound called polysaccharopeptide (PSP), extracted from the turkey tail mushroom, was found to target prostate cancer stemcells and suppress tumour formation in trials on mice.
Scientist Patrick Ling said conventional treatments, like chemotherapy and radiotherapy, targeted some cancer cells, but not stemcells.
Stemcells initiate cancer and cause the disease to spread, said Dr Ling, from the Australian Prostate Cancer Research Centre in Queensland.
'People believe that the cancer stemcell is one of the major reasons why the cancer treatment is not working,' he told AAP.
'If you can come up with some treatments that can target those cancer stemcells you may actually be able to improve treatments.
'We find that this mushroom extract is very effective in targeting those cancer stemcells.'
In a trial involving almost 20 mice carrying a gene to develop prostate cancer, scientists fed PSP to about half for 20 weeks while the others went without.
All of those eating the extract didn't develop the cancer, the others did.
'Our findings support that PSP may be a potent preventative agent against prostate cancer, through targeting of the prostate cancer stem cell population,' Dr Ling said.
The turkey tail mushroom is used in Asian soups to boost health, but Dr Ling said there's no research to suggest that simply eating the vegetable can have the same effect as his research has found.
More tests will be done later this year.
China’s Cancer Deaths Spur Merck in Beijing
Cancer is worsening in China, where it causes an annual 2.1 million deaths. That’s luring overseas researchers intent on meeting surging demand for treatments.
BeiGene Ltd. hired 20 U.S.-educated scientists from companies including Johnson & Johnson and Merck & Co. to help find new cancer medicines since it formed last July. It got financial backing from Merck and is in talks with seven other drugmakers and venture capital firms to raise $100 million to $150 million, said John Oyler, its chief executive officer.
BeiGene is part of a vanguard of health-care startups in the world’s most populous country. They are tapping government incentives that promote research and innovation, while taking advantage of the skills and knowledge of overseas-trained Chinese. China’s death toll from cancer increased 5.6 percent from 2008 to 2010, according to the World Health Organization.
“We are starting to see some of the local companies take up market position in relatively new and complex drug categories, including oncology,” said Wang Jin, a Shanghai-based partner at consulting company McKinsey & Co.
The cancer mortality rate in China is about 144 per 100,000 people, according to the WHO in Geneva. That compares with 123 per 100,000 in the U.S., 135 in the U.K. and 76 in India. Almost one on five people in China will get a malignancy -- most likely lung, stomach, liver, esophageal or colorectal cancer -- before age 75, the WHO says.
$1.5 Billion Market
China’s cancer-drug market is worth more than $1.5 billion, according to the IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics. Oncology is among the top five therapy classes in China, where sales growth has exceeded 25 percent over the past five years, the Parsippany, New Jersey-based research group said in July.
Biotechnology is among five key industries that China’s government will promote during its 12th five-year plan spanning 2011 to 2015, according to a draft released March 5. The drive has helped spawn companies such as Cyagen Biosciences, located in Science City on the outskirts of Guangzhou, and Suzhou-based KeyBay Biotechnology.
Closely held BeiGene, based in Beijing, is studying drug candidates passed over by bigger companies to identify new products to fight China’s most common cancer-killers.
“We want to become the Genentech of China,” said Oyler, 43, referring to the South San Francisco-based developer of the cancer drug Avastin that Roche Holding AG (ROG) bought for $46.8 billion in 2009.
Of BeiGene’s 60-plus scientists, a third were born in China and received a U.S. education or worked at an American or European pharmaceutical company, Oyler said. The company plans to hire 140 scientists in 2011.
Merck, Glaxo
Its president, Peter Ho, a medical doctor, graduated from Yale University before working in cancer-drug development at Johnson & Johnson and GlaxoSmithKline Plc. (GSK) Chief Scientific Officer Pearl Huang has a PhD in molecular biology from Princeton University and led research groups at Merck and Glaxo. Chief Medical Officer George Chen has an MBA from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, and held senior posts at Glaxo, Eli Lilly & Co., Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) and Sanofi.
Wang Xiaodong, a naturalized U.S. citizen who founded BeiGene with Oyler, said he gave up posts at the U.S.-based Howard Hughes Medical Institute and a professorship at the University of Texas-Southwestern to return to China in 2003. He helped the Chinese government establish and expand the government-funded National Institute of Biological Sciences, which now has 800 researchers.
“I was in the U.S. for 26 years and built my entire academic career there,” said Wang, 48, who has remained the Beijing institute’s director, in an interview. “The most innate motivation coming back is to be part of what’s happening in China, which by any stretch of imagination is the most dramatic event in human history in the last 30 years.”
Sophisticated Science
More Chinese scientists are returning from abroad to work in China, attracted by more sophisticated research, including the development of biotechnology that make drugs from proteins produced by living cells, said McKinsey’s Wang. Previously, pharmaceutical jobs in China were mainly in sales and marketing, she said.
Wang Xiaodong and Oyler’s own money provided initial financing for BeiGene. Oyler declined to say how much Whitehouse Station, New Jersey-based Merck has invested, adding that the backing may lead to partnership deals.
“We are working together to evaluate areas of potential collaboration,” Dong Ruiping, Merck’s head of emerging markets research and development, said in an e-mailed statement about the BeiGene investment. He declined to disclose the amount.
BeiGene is testing five drug candidates. Two aim to improve on treatments already on the market, while the others use a novel mechanism of action to target a range of tumor types, Oyler said, declining to elaborate.
The plan is to test the most promising treatments in early- and mid-stage trials, usually involving hundreds of patients, Oyler said. Those that are successful may be sold back to larger drugmakers or co-developed with a partner that can finance late- stage studies typically involving thousands of patients.
BeiGene Ltd. hired 20 U.S.-educated scientists from companies including Johnson & Johnson and Merck & Co. to help find new cancer medicines since it formed last July. It got financial backing from Merck and is in talks with seven other drugmakers and venture capital firms to raise $100 million to $150 million, said John Oyler, its chief executive officer.
BeiGene is part of a vanguard of health-care startups in the world’s most populous country. They are tapping government incentives that promote research and innovation, while taking advantage of the skills and knowledge of overseas-trained Chinese. China’s death toll from cancer increased 5.6 percent from 2008 to 2010, according to the World Health Organization.
“We are starting to see some of the local companies take up market position in relatively new and complex drug categories, including oncology,” said Wang Jin, a Shanghai-based partner at consulting company McKinsey & Co.
The cancer mortality rate in China is about 144 per 100,000 people, according to the WHO in Geneva. That compares with 123 per 100,000 in the U.S., 135 in the U.K. and 76 in India. Almost one on five people in China will get a malignancy -- most likely lung, stomach, liver, esophageal or colorectal cancer -- before age 75, the WHO says.
$1.5 Billion Market
China’s cancer-drug market is worth more than $1.5 billion, according to the IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics. Oncology is among the top five therapy classes in China, where sales growth has exceeded 25 percent over the past five years, the Parsippany, New Jersey-based research group said in July.
Biotechnology is among five key industries that China’s government will promote during its 12th five-year plan spanning 2011 to 2015, according to a draft released March 5. The drive has helped spawn companies such as Cyagen Biosciences, located in Science City on the outskirts of Guangzhou, and Suzhou-based KeyBay Biotechnology.
Closely held BeiGene, based in Beijing, is studying drug candidates passed over by bigger companies to identify new products to fight China’s most common cancer-killers.
“We want to become the Genentech of China,” said Oyler, 43, referring to the South San Francisco-based developer of the cancer drug Avastin that Roche Holding AG (ROG) bought for $46.8 billion in 2009.
Of BeiGene’s 60-plus scientists, a third were born in China and received a U.S. education or worked at an American or European pharmaceutical company, Oyler said. The company plans to hire 140 scientists in 2011.
Merck, Glaxo
Its president, Peter Ho, a medical doctor, graduated from Yale University before working in cancer-drug development at Johnson & Johnson and GlaxoSmithKline Plc. (GSK) Chief Scientific Officer Pearl Huang has a PhD in molecular biology from Princeton University and led research groups at Merck and Glaxo. Chief Medical Officer George Chen has an MBA from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, and held senior posts at Glaxo, Eli Lilly & Co., Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) and Sanofi.
Wang Xiaodong, a naturalized U.S. citizen who founded BeiGene with Oyler, said he gave up posts at the U.S.-based Howard Hughes Medical Institute and a professorship at the University of Texas-Southwestern to return to China in 2003. He helped the Chinese government establish and expand the government-funded National Institute of Biological Sciences, which now has 800 researchers.
“I was in the U.S. for 26 years and built my entire academic career there,” said Wang, 48, who has remained the Beijing institute’s director, in an interview. “The most innate motivation coming back is to be part of what’s happening in China, which by any stretch of imagination is the most dramatic event in human history in the last 30 years.”
Sophisticated Science
More Chinese scientists are returning from abroad to work in China, attracted by more sophisticated research, including the development of biotechnology that make drugs from proteins produced by living cells, said McKinsey’s Wang. Previously, pharmaceutical jobs in China were mainly in sales and marketing, she said.
Wang Xiaodong and Oyler’s own money provided initial financing for BeiGene. Oyler declined to say how much Whitehouse Station, New Jersey-based Merck has invested, adding that the backing may lead to partnership deals.
“We are working together to evaluate areas of potential collaboration,” Dong Ruiping, Merck’s head of emerging markets research and development, said in an e-mailed statement about the BeiGene investment. He declined to disclose the amount.
BeiGene is testing five drug candidates. Two aim to improve on treatments already on the market, while the others use a novel mechanism of action to target a range of tumor types, Oyler said, declining to elaborate.
The plan is to test the most promising treatments in early- and mid-stage trials, usually involving hundreds of patients, Oyler said. Those that are successful may be sold back to larger drugmakers or co-developed with a partner that can finance late- stage studies typically involving thousands of patients.
New York weighs ban on indoor tans for kids as cancer risk
ALBANY -- Jennifer Sullivan fought with her parents about her sun worshipping habits. She had freckly Irish skin but loved to look bronzed. She sunbathed and went to tanning salons to achieve her goal.
"I was young and I thought I knew it all," Sullivan said.
Sullivan regrets it now. The Buffalo native is 35 and recovering from multiple surgeries to remove skin melanomas on her back and stomach. On Tuesday, she spoke at a news conference called by the American Cancer Society and several supporters to promote a bill that would ban children under 18 from indoor tanning.
The ban would help parents win arguments about tanning with their teens, Sullivan said.
New York is one of 11 states considering a ban on indoor tanning for children. Currently, New York prohibits children under 14 from indoor tanning but allows teenagers 14 to 18 to tan with written permission from a parent.
Several recent studies indicate that sun beds increase the risk of skin cancer in people age 15 to 29. An Australian study published earlier this month said the younger someone starts indoor tanning the greater the risk of skin cancer, and the danger increases for people who have more than 10 tanning sessions.
Meanwhile, cases of melanoma -- the deadliest form of skin cancer -- are rising among young women. The National Cancer Institute in 2008 found that the rate rose more than 50 percent for women age 15 to 29 between 1973 and 2004. That study did not address the cause of the increase.
A healthy dose of sun -- whether real or artificial -- helps build the body's vitamin D supply and has cancer fighting benefits, said Martin Tenniswood, a professor at the University at Albany School of Public Health's cancer research center, but he said there is no good evidence that a teenager's vitamin D levels influences cancer later in life.
For teens, "I think the risk of developing melanoma outweigh the benefits," Tenniswood said in a telephone interview.
Advocates for indoor tanning say there is no scientific consensus about the link between skin cancer and sun lamps.
John Overstreet, spokesman for Washington DC-based Indoor Tanning Association, said sun burns may cause cancer but a tan may protect people from cancer.
If this ban were to pass in New York, Overstreet said 16-year-olds would be able to shoot guns, drive cars, get married with their parent's permission and have children.
"But you wouldn't be able to get a suntan (indoors) even if your mom or dad signed a release," he said. "It's a crazy intrusion of government into our lives."
"I was young and I thought I knew it all," Sullivan said.
Sullivan regrets it now. The Buffalo native is 35 and recovering from multiple surgeries to remove skin melanomas on her back and stomach. On Tuesday, she spoke at a news conference called by the American Cancer Society and several supporters to promote a bill that would ban children under 18 from indoor tanning.
The ban would help parents win arguments about tanning with their teens, Sullivan said.
New York is one of 11 states considering a ban on indoor tanning for children. Currently, New York prohibits children under 14 from indoor tanning but allows teenagers 14 to 18 to tan with written permission from a parent.
Several recent studies indicate that sun beds increase the risk of skin cancer in people age 15 to 29. An Australian study published earlier this month said the younger someone starts indoor tanning the greater the risk of skin cancer, and the danger increases for people who have more than 10 tanning sessions.
Meanwhile, cases of melanoma -- the deadliest form of skin cancer -- are rising among young women. The National Cancer Institute in 2008 found that the rate rose more than 50 percent for women age 15 to 29 between 1973 and 2004. That study did not address the cause of the increase.
A healthy dose of sun -- whether real or artificial -- helps build the body's vitamin D supply and has cancer fighting benefits, said Martin Tenniswood, a professor at the University at Albany School of Public Health's cancer research center, but he said there is no good evidence that a teenager's vitamin D levels influences cancer later in life.
For teens, "I think the risk of developing melanoma outweigh the benefits," Tenniswood said in a telephone interview.
Advocates for indoor tanning say there is no scientific consensus about the link between skin cancer and sun lamps.
John Overstreet, spokesman for Washington DC-based Indoor Tanning Association, said sun burns may cause cancer but a tan may protect people from cancer.
If this ban were to pass in New York, Overstreet said 16-year-olds would be able to shoot guns, drive cars, get married with their parent's permission and have children.
"But you wouldn't be able to get a suntan (indoors) even if your mom or dad signed a release," he said. "It's a crazy intrusion of government into our lives."
Childhood Cancer Therapies Tied to Gastrointestinal Issues
More than 40% of survivors reported GI problems in the 20 years after treatment, study finds
Children who are successfully treated for cancer are at greater risk of developing mild to severe gastrointestinal problems down the road, a new study finds.Researchers from the University of California, San Francisco analyzed the self-reported gastrointestinal (GI) problems of 14,358 patients who survived at least five years following treatment for cancers such as lymphoma, leukemia, brain tumors or bone tumors.
Moreover, people diagnosed with cancer at an older age and who had to undergo more rigorous therapy (chemotherapy, radiation, surgery) were more likely to experience long-term GI issues, according to the study in the May issue of Gastroenterology.
About one in 500 young adults in the United States is a survivor of childhood cancer, the study authors noted in a UCSF news release.
"While physicians continue to learn about the long-term consequences of pediatric cancer and its therapy, it is essential that we provide comprehensive follow-up care that appropriately addresses the complications cancer survivors may experience," lead study author Dr. Robert Goldsby, pediatric cancer specialist at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital and director of the UCSF Survivors of Childhood Cancer Program, said in the news release.
"These are serious issues that can have a real impact on a person's quality of life," Goldsby added.
Cancer patient puts trust in God, alternative medicine
Bryan Harper, 48, of Florence, keeps a quote by former first lady Eleanor Roosevelt on the wall by his desk at Midway Motors in Hillsboro.
“We do not have to become heroes overnight,” Roosevelt said. “Just a step at a time, meeting each thing as it comes up, seeing it is not as dreadful as it appeared, discovering we have the strength to stare it down.”
Harper said that is his approach to cancer.
In mid-February he said he was feeling fine, but one day there was blood in his urine. He thought that perhaps he had passed a kidney stone, but thought it was odd that he hadn’t had any pain. After he drank a glass of water, the problem cleared up.
His urine was bloody again the next day. When he passed a blood clot, he decided it was time to see a doctor. The doctor couldn’t find anything wrong with him, but scheduled an appointment with a kidney specialist three days later.
The next day Harper’s stomach started hurting, and he went to the emergency room when it became too severe. That’s when he got the news. A scan showed two softball-sized masses on his left kidney.
“I couldn’t believe I had kidney cancer,” he said. “I never hurt a day before.”
Doctors removed the affected kidney a couple of days later. He felt fine recovering from the surgery.
“I’m just glad it wasn’t in both of them (kidneys),” Harper said. “It’s one of those things, you can live with one.”
However, about a week later a full-body scan showed the cancer had spread to both of his lungs.
“It’s pretty devastating news,” he said.
His doctor told him modern medicine has no cure for the kind of cancer he has. Radiation and chemotherapy can slow the progression of the cancer, but can’t stop it. Harper said he was grateful the doctor was straightforward with him. Since the news, he has continued to work at the car dealership.
“I’m not going to do chemo and radiation,” Harper said. “It won’t cure it.”
He said he had seen his father wither away while undergoing treatment for incurable cancer, and he didn’t want to follow that path.
“It’d be pretty easy to curl up in a corner, but that’s not me,” Harper said.
Instead, he is following a regimen of spiritual healing and herbal remedies. The healer he is working with has had success with other cancer patients, using diet and herbs intended to strengthen the immune system in conjunction with prayer. The diet he is on precludes pork, wheat and flour products, soda, and refined sugars.
“Cancer survives 100 percent on sugar,” he said.
Meanwhile Harper has been eating more fruits and vegetables. He said sticking to the diet is tough but possible.
“You can do it,” he said. “It’s doable, but I have to bring lunch.”
Harper trusts that with faith and determination, he can defeat the cancer.
“The Lord has given me a temple,” he said, referring to his body.
Harper said that there isn’t anything he could have done differently, except possibly getting expensive full-body scans on a regular basis. He doesn’t smoke, tries to eat healthy, is active, and has had regular physicals.
He said he plans to face the problem head-on.
“I’ve always believed you look fear in the eye,” Harper said. “Fear can be conquered.
“I know a lot of people think I have a death sentence,” he said. “It’s not a death sentence; it’s a reality check.”
Nobody lives forever, he said. He would prefer to live to see old age rather than succumb to cancer now, and he is doing what he can to fight it. But he isn’t afraid of death.
“I have no regrets so far in life,” Harper said. “It’s been good.”
Harsher cancer warning on tobacco products in the offing
With a clinical study pointing out to prevalence of cancer more among chewing tobacco users than cigarettes smokers, the government has decided to notify harsher pictorial warnings for smokeless tobacco products in the coming months. Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said Wednesday that the government was in the process of formulating a harsher policy on pictorial warnings after a report from Global Adult Tobacco Survey India in January had presented an alarming cancer scenario among tobacco users.
"We are in the process of formulating a new policy. We will have one policy for the type of pictorial warning for cigarette and bedi and another harsher warning for chewing, smokeless tobacco. This is because chewing tobacco is more dangerous and is being used by more number of people. It causes cancer in more users," Azad told reporters.
"The pictorial warnings are in the process of notification and can be notified any day. The Directorate of Visual Publicity has selected some pictures. There will be two types of warnings -- for cigarettes and for smokeless tobacco," he added.
Azad was addressing the media to highlight the achievements of the health ministry under him since 2009.
The Global Adult Tobacco Survey found out that 35 percent of Indian adults use tobacco in some form or the other, the minister said.
"Most unfortunately, 35 percent adult Indians use tobacco. Of this, 80 percent are men and 20 percent women. Of the 35 percent, 26 percent men and women use chewing tobacco and only nine percent smoke cigarettes," Azad said, reeling out figures from the study.
He said among the tobacco users with cancer, 80 percent was caused by chewing tobacco while only 20 percent due to cigarette use.
"Most people are worried about cigarettes, not knowing about the harm caused by smokeless tobacco," he added.
Azad noted that the Gobal Adult Tobacco Survey was the "biggest ever" in India conducted in 28 states and two union territories with technical cooperation from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and full funding by the Indian health ministry.
Tobacco was adding to both oral and lung cancer among Indians, he said, adding that all along India had relied on international agencies such as WHO for warnings about prevalence of cancer.
"Now we are trying to create a data of our own... a better data through screening in the entire country for both detection and treatment of cancer," he said.
He also noted that the government would launch a national programme for control and prevention of cancer, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and stroke, first in 100 districts in the most difficult and remote areas and later across the entire nation.
Under the programme, the health ministry would provide Rs 1 lakh assistance to cancer patients for early detection and treatment.
"About 100 patients in each of the 100 districts would get this assistance. That is, about 10,000 cancer patients in the select districts would be granted the funds for their treatment," he added.
He also quoted from a WHO warning on cancer to note that by 2015 the number of cancer deaths in India would touch seven lakh.
"We are in the process of formulating a new policy. We will have one policy for the type of pictorial warning for cigarette and bedi and another harsher warning for chewing, smokeless tobacco. This is because chewing tobacco is more dangerous and is being used by more number of people. It causes cancer in more users," Azad told reporters.
"The pictorial warnings are in the process of notification and can be notified any day. The Directorate of Visual Publicity has selected some pictures. There will be two types of warnings -- for cigarettes and for smokeless tobacco," he added.
Azad was addressing the media to highlight the achievements of the health ministry under him since 2009.
The Global Adult Tobacco Survey found out that 35 percent of Indian adults use tobacco in some form or the other, the minister said.
"Most unfortunately, 35 percent adult Indians use tobacco. Of this, 80 percent are men and 20 percent women. Of the 35 percent, 26 percent men and women use chewing tobacco and only nine percent smoke cigarettes," Azad said, reeling out figures from the study.
He said among the tobacco users with cancer, 80 percent was caused by chewing tobacco while only 20 percent due to cigarette use.
"Most people are worried about cigarettes, not knowing about the harm caused by smokeless tobacco," he added.
Azad noted that the Gobal Adult Tobacco Survey was the "biggest ever" in India conducted in 28 states and two union territories with technical cooperation from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and full funding by the Indian health ministry.
Tobacco was adding to both oral and lung cancer among Indians, he said, adding that all along India had relied on international agencies such as WHO for warnings about prevalence of cancer.
"Now we are trying to create a data of our own... a better data through screening in the entire country for both detection and treatment of cancer," he said.
He also noted that the government would launch a national programme for control and prevention of cancer, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and stroke, first in 100 districts in the most difficult and remote areas and later across the entire nation.
Under the programme, the health ministry would provide Rs 1 lakh assistance to cancer patients for early detection and treatment.
"About 100 patients in each of the 100 districts would get this assistance. That is, about 10,000 cancer patients in the select districts would be granted the funds for their treatment," he added.
He also quoted from a WHO warning on cancer to note that by 2015 the number of cancer deaths in India would touch seven lakh.
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