Microfluidic device promises

rapid detection of cancer and HIV

Limits Breast Cancer Stem Cells,

Study Finds

Science (May 5, 2010) — A compound derived from broccoli could help prevent or treat breast cancer by targeting cancer stem cells — the small number of cells that fuel a tumor’s growth — according to a new study from researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center.

The study tested sulforaphane, a component of broccoli and broccoli sprouts, in both mice and cell cultures. Researchers found sulforaphane targeted and killed the cancer stem cells and prevented new tumors from growing.

“Sulforaphane has been studied previously for its effects on cancer, but this study shows that its benefit is in inhibiting the breast cancer stem cells. This new insight suggests the potential of sulforaphane or broccoli extract to prevent or treat cancer by targeting the critical cancer stem cells,” says study author Duxin Sun, Ph.D., associate professor of pharmaceutical sciences at the U-M College of Pharmacy and a researcher with the U-M Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Results of the study appear in the May 1 issue of Clinical Cancer Research.

Current chemotherapies do not work against cancer stem cells, which is why cancer recurs and spreads. Researchers believe that eliminating the cancer stem cells is key to controlling cancer.

In the current study, researchers took mice with breast cancer and injected varying concentrations of sulforaphane from the broccoli extract. Researchers then used several established methods to assess the number of cancer stem cells in the tumors. These measures showed a marked decrease in the cancer stem cell population after treatment with sulforaphane, with little effect on the normal cells. Further, cancer cells from mice treated with sulforaphane were unable to generate new tumors. The researchers then tested sulforaphane on human breast cancer cell cultures in the lab, finding similar decreases in the cancer stem cells.

“This research suggests a potential new treatment that could be combined with other compounds to target breast cancer stem cells. Developing treatments that effectively target the cancer stem cell population is essential for improving outcomes,” says study author Max S. Wicha, M.D., Distinguished Professor of Oncology and director of the U-M Comprehensive Cancer Center.

The concentrations of sulforaphane used in the study were higher than what can be achieved by eating broccoli or broccoli sprouts. Prior research suggests the concentrations needed to impact cancer can be absorbed by the body from the broccoli extract, but side effects are not known. While the extract is available in capsule form as a supplement, concentrations are unregulated and will vary.

This work has not been tested in patients, and patients are not encouraged to add sulforaphane supplements to their diet at this time.

Researchers are currently developing a method to extract and preserve sulforaphane and will be developing a clinical trial to test sulforaphane as a prevention and treatment for breast cancer. No clinical trial is currently available.

Sourced and published by Henry Sapiecha6th May 2010

What exactly is mouth and throat cancer?
Cancer is a disease of the body’s cells. Our bodies regularly produce new cells to repair after injury, for growth and to replace old worn-out cells. This process is controlled by the DNA of the cells. Research suggests that chemicals in tobacco damage the DNA of cells, interfering with the cells’ instructions for repair and growth.1 These damaged cells may multiply and develop into a malignant (cancerous) or benign (non-cancerous) tumour.
Any part of the mouth, nose and throat can be affected by cancer. It may start in the cells that form the lining of the mouth, nose, throat or voice box or in the thyroid or salivary glands.2 If a cancer that develops in the mouth, nose or throat is left untreated, it can spread to surrounding tissue and other parts of the body.2 Mouth and throat cancers generally spread to other parts of the body slowly. Advanced cancers of the mouth and throat can cause chronic pain, loss of function and disfigurement.
Can smoking really lead to mouth and throat cancer?
Yes. The mouth and throat are used for breathing, talking, eating, chewing and swallowing. People who smoke expose their mouth to the 4,000 chemicals found in tobacco smoke.3
Smoking is a major cause of cancer affecting the mouth (oral cavity) and the throat (pharynx). Cancers of the mouth include tumours of the cheek, gum, tongue, lip, and the roof, floor and lining of the mouth. Cancers of the throat include tumours in the area behind the nose and mouth that connects to the oesophagus eg. the base (back third) of the tongue, tonsil, soft palate, the walls of the throat.4
52% of mouth and throat cancers in males and 42% of these cancers in females are attributed to tobacco use.5 The risk of developing mouth cancer increases with the length of time a person has smoked and the amount they smoke.6
Facts
• In Australia, 2,052 Australians died from mouth and throat cancer in 20039.
• In NSW, 517 people were diagnosed with mouth and throat cancer, and 235 died from the disease in 2003.7
• Someone who has ever smoked is up to nine times as likely as a non-smoker to develop one of these cancers.
• Smokers of one pack a day are 16 times more likely than non-smokers to develop cancer of the larynx.10
• Stopping smoking halves the risk of mouth and throat cancers within five years and the risk continues to decline over time.11
• After ten years, the risk of mouth and throat cancer is similar to someone who has never smoked.
Smoking is not the only thing that causes mouth and throat cancer, is it?
No, heavy alcohol use is also a major risk factor for mouth and throat cancer7 and when combined, tobacco and alcohol account for most cases of mouth and throat cancer.8
Cancer of the lip may also be caused by over-exposure to ultraviolet radiation from the sun and cancers of the nose have been linked to inhaling chemicals such as hardwood dusts.2
How is mouth and throat cancer treated and can it be cured?
Treatment of mouth and throat cancer may involve surgery to remove the cancer, radiotherapy, chemotherapy or a combination of all three treatments. Cancers in the mouth are generally treated with surgery, and may involved radiotherapy with or without chemotherapy after the operation. Cancers of the throat and voice box may be treated by surgery or radiotherapy with or without chemotherapy.2
The aim of the surgery is to remove the cancer and in some cases where the cancer is detected early, only a small area may need to be removed.2
After diagnoses with mouth or throat cancer, 53% of men and 61% of women in NSW are still alive after five years.12 Early detection significantly increases the chances of survival.
Sources
1. US Department US Department of Health and Human Services. The Health Consequences of Smoking: A Report of the surgeon General. Atlanta, GA: US Department of Health and Human Services. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health, 2004.
2. The Cancer Council Victoria. Cancers of the Mouth, Nose and Throat. April, 2003.
3. IARC Working Group on the Evaluation of Carcinogenic Risks to Humans. Tobacco smoke and involuntary smoking. Lyon, France: International Agency for Research on Cancer; 2004.
4. Background brief Smoking and the mouth. Quit Victoria. 2006
5. Cancer in 2001. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. 2004
6. American Council on Science and Health. Cigarettes: What the warning label doesn’t tell you. Second edition. New York, American Council on Science and Health, 2003.
7. Cancer in NSW: Incidence and Mortality 2003. Cancer Institute NSW. 2003
8. American Cancer Society. Oral Cavity & Oropharyngeal Cancer Detailed Guide, URL: http://www.cancer.org/docroot/CRI/content/CRI_2_4_7x_CRC_Oral_Cavity_and_Oropharyngeal_Cancer_PDF.asp Accessed October 2005.
9. AIHW Mortality Database
10. Homan & Armstrong et al. The quantification of drug caused morbidity and mortality in Australia 1988. Canberra: AGPS. 1990.
11. The Health Consequences of Smoking: A Report of the U.S Surgeon General. Atlanta, Georgia. U.S Department of Health and Human Services, Centres of Disease Control and Prevention, National Centre for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health, 2004. http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/sgr/sgr_2004/index.htm
12. Johnson N. Tobacco use and oral cancer: a global perspective. J Dent Educ 2001;65(4)
Thinking of quitting?
The Quitline 13 QUIT (13 7848) is a confidential telephone based service designed to help smokers quit smoking and is funded by the Cancer Institute NSW. Quitline advisors are specialists who have been trained in health, education, psychology and smoking cessation. They know the health effects of smoking, understand the quitting process and are aware of the difficulties many smokers face in quitting. They are friendly, helpful, non-judgmental and able to assist you at whatever stage you are at in the quitting process.
Call Quitline today on
13 QUIT (13 7848).
What are the symptoms?
There are a number of symptoms that may indicate cancer of the mouth or throat however these can also be caused by other less serious problems. If any of the following symptoms persist, they could indicate possible cancer of the mouth and throat:2
• a sore in the mouth that does not heal
• swelling or a lump in the mouth or neck
• persistent blocked nose, earache, cough or sore throat
• white patch on tongue, gum or lining of mouth (leukoplakia)
• red patch on tongue, gum or lining of mouth (erythroplakia)
• blood stained mucus or sputum
• changes in voice such as hoarseness
• pain in mouth or throat
• difficulty moving tounge, jaw, chewing or swallowing
• swollen lymph nodes in the neck

Sourced and published by Henry Sapiecha 27th April 2010

CBS show 60 Minutes profiled John Kanzius–retired broadcast executive, dying leukemia patient, and self-taught inventor. Kanzius has invented a new approach to cancer therapy. In his Florida garage, he has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars of his own money, to improve his focused RF thermal therapy for cancer.

In collaboration with surgical oncologist Steven Curley at MD Anderson Medical Center in Texas, Kanzius has worked against time–his own slow losing battle with leukemia–to develop a safe and effective therapy that could start saving lives.Kanzius suspected that nano-particles of metal might work particularly well for receiving the heat from the RF energy, and heating tumours. So oncologist Curley contacted nanotechnolgist Richard Smalley–Nobel Prize winning discoverer of the buckyball–to request a vial of Smalley’s nanoparticles to test Kanzius’ theory in mice. Although Smalley was highly skeptical of Kanzius’ intuition–he said the idea “wouldn’t work”–Curley and Kanzius proceeded to test Smalley’s nanoparticles in the mice. The RF + nanoparticle approach worked brilliantly.

So we have yet another example where experts are proven wrong by amateur scientists and inventors!

Richard Smalley initially thought that the radiowave to heat up metal nanoparticle technique to cook cancer tumors would not work. Richard’s scientific intuition was that this would completely fail. He was converted into being a believer when proven wrong with successful experimentation. __NextBigFuture

And sadly, Richard Smalley himself died of lymphoma not long after changing his mind about Kanzius RF cancer tx.

Kanzius himself expects no personal benefit to ever come to him from his hard work and years of toil on RF thermal cancer therapy. But he hopes to live long enough to see the first patient successfully treated by his device.

But if this one does work, it most likely won’t be developed in time to help the man who invented it. John Kanzius may have the option of a bone marrow transplant that could buy him more time, but after six years of chemo it would be another grueling ordeal.

“Did you ever say, ‘I’m not going to do this anymore. I’m not going to put myself through it,’?” Stahl asked.

“Yes. I said that-only about a year and a half ago,” Kanzius replied. “I changed my mind because I think with all the research that’s going on with the institutions, that maybe, I’d like to be around for the first patient to get treated and just have a smile.”

“Oh my God,” Stahl said.

“And then I don’t care anymore,” Kanzius replied. __60Minutes

CBS News web story on Kanzius

Sourced and published by Henry Sapiecha 19th Jan 2010

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Chinacancerhospital.com is dedicated to helping you to
understand your options in your fight against cancer.
We hope the information provided on this website is enough for you to
make a decision to contact us to explore the best treatment plan for yourself or loved ones.

Our strength lies in bringing together three factors: vast experience, top expertise, and the latest medical technologies all in one location.

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Sourced and published by Henry Sapiecha 7th Sept 2009