Reducing Cancer Risk

Reduce Your Breast Cancer Risk With Exercise

For sedentary postmenopausal women, exercise may reduce the risk for breast cancer. A new study in the Journal of Clinical Oncology has found that moderate to vigorous exercise for a year reduced levels of estradiol (a sex hormone that at increased levels can lead to an increased risk for breast cancer). Critics caution that the modest reductions achieved by exercise can’t come close to those achieved through the use of aromatase inhibitors (drugs used for cancer treatment that lower the estrogen level slowing the growth of cancers). While this may be true, for women who are unwilling, or unable to take the drugs, exercise can be one lifestyle change they can make to help them reduce their risk for breast cancer.

Click here to read the full Medpage Today story: http://www.medpagetoday.com/HematologyOncology/BreastCancer/tb/18490 

Study Links Soda to Pancreatic Cancer

Results of a study published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention showed that drinking two or more soft drinks a week had an 87% increased risk of pancreatic cancer compared to those consuming no soft drinks. This study was begun in 1993 and evaluated 60,524 men and women in Singapore for up to 14 years, and looked at their diet and whether they got cancer. Researchers found that those who drank two or more sodas a week, the average number was five, had the 87% increased risk. They think the sugar in the soft drinks is increasing the insulin level in the body, which could contribute to pancreatic cancer cell growth. That increase in insulin is what may be leading to the development of the cancer. While scientists find these results “intriguing,” it’s important to note that these findings were based on a relatively small number of cases and do not prove cause and effect.

Click here to read the full WebMD article: http://www.webmd.com/cancer/pancreatic-cancer/news/20100208/pancreatic-cancer-linked-sodas

Hormone Replacement Therapy May Lead to a Higher Risk for Lung Cancer

A study of peri- and postmenopausal women has found that combined hormone replacement therapy (HRT) (regimens containing estrogen plus a progestin) was associated with as much as a 50% increase in the risk of lung cancer. The study also found that the longer the women were on the therapy, the higher their risk for lung cancer—the highest risk was for those who used estrogen plus progestin for 10 years or more. The use of estrogen without progestin was not associated with an increased risk. Researchers are unclear why this is, but suggest that these results may be helpful for informing women of their risk of developing lung cancer as well as pinpointing the pathways involved in hormone metabolism and lung cancer.

Click here to read the full Medpage Today article: http://www.medpagetoday.com/OBGYN/HRT/18507

Breast Health

Aspirin May Help Breast Cancer Survivors Live Longer

According to a study in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, aspirin appears to substantially reduce breast cancer survivors’ risk of metastasis and death. An aspirin taken at least two days a week reduced breast cancer death risk by 64% to 71%. The risk for distant metastasis (whether the cancer has spread to other parts of body) was also reduced by 43% to 60%. Aspirin and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) nonselectively block Cox-2 overexpression, which has been linked to metastasis of breast cancer, and also lower serum estradiol. (Cyclooxygenase-2, or Cox-2, is an enzyme in the body that becomes more abundant at sites of inflammation and is produced in excess in breast cancer.) The anti-inflammatory effect of aspirin might also hold benefits against cancer; however, these benefits have not been found with acetaminophen (Tylenol). Researchers find these results promising and with further study believe that physicians may be able to recommend aspirin to their breast cancer patients to reduce the risk of cancer spread and mortality.

Click here to read the full Medpage Today story: http://www.medpagetoday.com/HematologyOncology/BreastCancer/tb/18489 

Diabetes

Diabetes Drug May Be Harmful to Your Heart

According to reports obtained by the New York Times, if every diabetic now taking Avandia (a drug to treat Type 2 diabetes) took a similar pill called Actos instead, about 500 heart attacks and 300 cases of heart failure would be averted every month. GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), the makers of Avandia say scientific evidence doesn’t establish that it increases the risk of heart attacks. However, an analysis of dozens of studies of Avandia showed in 2006 that Avandia increased the risks of serious heart problems by nearly a third. After this study, negotiations with FDA officials about how and whether to alert the public continued while GSK went on to market and advertise Avandia aggressively. In 2007, a committee of independent experts found that Avandia might increase the risk of heart attack but recommended that it remain on the market, and an FDA oversight board voted 8 to 7 to accept that advice. A Senate investigation has recently criticized GSK for failing to warn patients years earlier that Avandia was potentially deadly. GSK has now been ordered to undertake a new trial comparing how many heart attacks, strokes and heart-related deaths occur among patients given either Avandia, Actos or a placebo, but two doctors from the FDA’s office of surveillance and epidemiology, argue the study is “unethical and exploitative” because patients given Avandia face far greater risks than those given Actos with no promise of any additional benefit.

Click here to read the full New York Times article: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/20/health/policy/20avandia.html?pagewanted=1&tntemail1=y&emc=tnt