Tag Archives: cancer

Quit-smoking treatments safe, effective, review says

Popular smoking cessation treatments - such as nicotine replacements and antidepressants - improve people's chances of kicking the habit without much risk, according to a review of past research. “It seems very clear that medications can help. They're not the magic bullet but you do improve your chances of quitting - generally - if you try them. And as far as we can tell, they're safe to use,” said Kate Cahill, who led the study. Several reviews have looked at the effectiveness of smoking cessation treatments, but the researchers wanted to put those results into a single large review to help people who want to use medical treatments to stop smoking, Cahill, a senior researcher for the Cochrane Tobacco Addiction Group at the University of Oxford, UK, said. About one fifth of the U.S. and UK populations are current smokers, according to the researchers. Previous studies have found between 70 percent and 75 percent want to quit, but only about 3 percent accomplish that every year. For the new study, the researchers pulled data from 12 reviews published by the Cochrane Collaboration, an international research organization that evaluates medical evidence. Those analyses, which were conducted between 2008 and 2012, included data from 267 studies of more than 101,000 smokers. The studies typically compared smokers trying to quit without the help of a smoking cessation treatment to smokers using nicotine replacement therapies, such as nicotine gum and patches, or prescription drugs. The medications include varenicline (marketed by Pfizer as Chantix or Champix) and bupropion (marketed by GlaxoSmithKline as Zyban or Wellbutrin, but available as a generic). The researchers found that the nicotine replacement therapies and the antidepressant bupropion led about eighteen people to successfully give up smoking for every 10 people who quit without treatments. Varenicline performed even better and led to about 28 people quitting for every 10 who did so without medication. What's more, Cahill and her colleagues found that lesser-known smoking cessation treatments were also effective. Those include the antidepressant nortriptyline and cytisine, a plant-derived supplement available in Eastern Europe. All of the treatments also appeared to be reasonably safe, according to the researchers who published their results on Thursday in The Cochrane Library. Previous reports have found that about 1 in every 1,000 people taking bupropion has a seizure, but the researchers found a lower rate of 1 in 1,500. Also, despite conflicting reports over the safety of varenicline, the researchers didn't find evidence that the drug increased the risk of neuropsychiatric or heart problems. Judith Prochaska, who researches tobacco treatment but was not involved in the new study, said not all smokers will use smoking cessation tools but it's important for them to know they're available. Nicotine replacement therapy is available over the counter in the U.S. and varenicline and bupropion are available with a prescription for about $4 per day - less than a pack of cigarettes, said Prochaska, associate professor of medicine at the Stanford Prevention Research Center in California. “They have been shown to pretty much double the likelihood that somebody will quit,” she added. Cahill cautioned, however, that smoking cessation tools won't work for everyone, but “they certainly help some people.”source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/05/31/quit-smoking-treatments-safe-effective-review-says/

Immunotherapy now used to treat cancers beyond melanoma

Diagnosed with advanced lung cancer over a year ago, Gabe Tartaglia was loath to undergo the kind of harsh chemotherapy that had devastated his sister before her death three years earlier from pancreatic cancer. He decided to enter a clinical trial for a new drug designed to trigger the immune system to fight cancer. The results were better than anyone expected. “Everything has shrunk,” said the 62-year-old contractor from Wolcott, Connecticut, who still goes for treatment every two weeks and has regular scans to keep tabs on his progress. “Some of the tumors you can't even see.” Just a few years ago, nobody believed it was possible to harness the immune system to respond to cancer, but drugs like nivolumab, the experimental Bristol-Myers drug Tartaglia receives, are showing promise, even in some patients who have never tried any other treatments. The drugs will be a main focus of this year's American Society of Clinical Oncology five-day meeting in Chicago beginning on May 31. Much of the attention will be trained on agents that disable a protein called programmed death 1, or PD-1, that enables tumors to evade the immune system. In addition to nivolumab, experimental drugs in the class include Merck's lambrolizumab and Roche's MPDL3280A, which work by blocking a partner protein known as PD-L1 (the L is for ligand). PD-L1 in turn works within cancer cells to shut down the immune response. Analysts and investors will be parsing the ASCO data for clues to the market potential for the drugs, which are expected to generate billions of dollars in annual sales. Nivolumab alone is forecast to have sales of $1.2 billion in 2017, according to Wall Street analysts tracked by Thomson Reuters Pharma. 'I GET TO COME HOME AND EAT' Part of the excitement comes from a Phase 1 study last year of nivolumab, which showed lasting response rates among 20 percent to 30 percent of a group of patients with multiple cancers, including lung cancer, a leading cause of cancer death that so far has shown limited response to immune system therapies. The trials are still in the early stages. Researchers are working to understand why most patients do not respond and are exploring combining immunotherapies with other treatments. Aside from the nuisance of frequent blood draws, Tartaglia has had few complaints. “The best part is, I get to come home and eat. I'm all set. Other people are throwing up,” he said of patients at Yale Cancer Center in New Haven who are still getting conventional chemotherapy. Normally, experimental cancer drugs are only used in patients who fail other treatments, said Dr Scott Gettinger, Tartaglia's doctor and an associate professor of medical oncology at the center. “Now we are starting to use immunotherapy drugs as first-line treatments … I know what first-line chemotherapy can do for lung cancer, and it's not great.” Patients with non-small-cell lung cancer, the most common form of lung cancer, who are treated with the current standard of care - chemo and Roche's Avastin - have a median survival of about a year, Gettinger said, noting that some of his patients have been on nivolumab for more than three years. “We haven't really realized the potential of this therapy,” he said. “As we learn how to use this drug, we are going to see higher response rates.” Another of Gettinger's patients, 68-year-old Bruce Leonard, tried chemotherapy, but his lung cancer returned after two years, prompting a decision to enter the nivolumab study. “I felt at the time that by just doing chemo again, at best I would see the same result,” the retired commodity buyer said. “About two months after I started (the trial), there was a 30 percent improvement … and it has gotten progressively better, to the point that with my last scan they found absolutely nothing.” Many patients do not respond to the treatments, but for those who do, the responses have been extraordinary; some patients have lived for years. Yervoy, Bristol-Myers' breakthrough melanoma treatment, only benefits about 10 to 15 percent of patients. Newer agents, such as nivolumab, have shown response rates ranging from 20 percent to 40 percent. A small study released earlier this month looking at a combination of the two drugs showed 53 percent of patients had their tumors shrink by at least half after 12 weeks. In 18 percent of patients on the dual therapy, tumors were no longer detectable. Bristol-Myers has three late-stage clinical trials of nivolumab in melanoma, two late-stage trials in lung cancer and one in kidney cancer. Last November, interim results from an early-phase trial of Merck's lambrolizumab in patients with advanced melanoma showed that it shrank tumors in 51 percent of patients after 12 weeks, compared with a typical response rate of about 5 percent for similar patients given conventional treatment. Merck plans to present an update of this study on June 2 at the ASCO meeting. The company also is studying its anti-PD-1 drug in so-called triple-negative breast cancer, a hard-to-treat form of the disease, as well as head and neck cancer, bladder cancer and lung cancer. Last month, lambrolizumab won designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as a breakthrough therapy, which could speed its approval. “It's clear now that these medicines do have activity across a broader spectrum of tumors, and they seem to be remarkably potent in very challenging clinical oncology settings,” said Dr Gary Gilliland, a senior vice president who heads the oncology franchise at Merck Research Labs. In April, Roche reported results of a small safety study of its anti-PD-L1 drug MPDL3280A that showed anti-tumor activity against a variety of cancers including lung, kidney, colon and gastric cancers. Roche plans to start a Phase III study in lung-cancer patients. The findings are driving enthusiasm for immunotherapies. “It tells us these are poised to be the most important agents in oncology,” said Dr Antoni Ribas of the University of California Los Angeles' Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center. Citigroup research analyst Andrew Baum expects immunotherapies to form the backbone of treatments for up to 60 percent of cancers over the next decade, up from less than 3 percent today, transforming the treatment of cancer from a desperate struggle with death into a chronic disease, in which treatments keep patients alive for years. Baum estimates that would generate annual sales of $35 billion. “The current explosion in all ongoing approaches ... to utilize the immune system to seek and destroy cancer cells marks a watershed, analogous to the impact of HIV drugs transforming life expectancy in (patients infected with) HIV,” Baum said in a recent note to investors. YEARS, NOT MONTHS Doctors have been trying for decades to get the immune system to fight cancer with limited, sporadic success. But the disease has developed wily defenses that camouflage tumor cells. “The tide really turned in 2010 with the first presentation of pivotal data about ipilimumab,” said Dr Jedd Wolchok of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center of the drug now sold as Yervoy. In 2011 ipilimumab became the first immunotherapy drug to help extend the lives of patients with advanced melanoma. “We're very pleased that Yervoy prolongs survival in one out of five individuals, but there is still room for growth,” said Michael Giordano, senior vice president of global development for oncology and immunology at Bristol-Myers. “Our goal here is to have very long-term durable responses. We're not just trying to increase the patient's disease-free survival for a few months,” said Nils Lonberg, senior vice president of discovery biologics at Bristol-Myers. Lonberg envisions a day when immunotherapy will be as important a tool for oncologists as surgery, radiation and chemotherapy. Wolchok says the promise for immunotherapies is treatment responses that last. “The immune system is a dynamic organ. It remembers things,” he said.source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/05/31/immunotherapy-is-not-just-for-melanoma-anymore/

New weapon in fight against cervical cancer

The E7 protein is produced early in the lifecycle of the human papillomavirus (HPV) and blocks the body’s natural defences against the uncontrolled division of cells that can lead to cancer. Researchers at the University of Leeds’ School of Molecular and Cellular Biology have synthesised a molecule, called an RNA aptamer, that latches onto the carcinogenic protein and targets it for destruction, significantly reducing its presence in cells in the laboratory derived from cervical cancers…

Prancercise: New eccentric fitness routine mimics dancing like a horse

Move over Richard Simmons.  Johanna Rohrback has arrived, and she has a unique workout routine that is taking the Internet by storm. Known as Prancercise, Rohrback’s workout is described as “a springy, rhythmic way of moving forward, similar to a horse's gait and is ideally induced by elation.” Various YouTube videos showcase Rohrback “prancing” at different speeds – including the Prancercise walk, trot and gallop.   According to her instruction, all you need are a couple of ankle weights and some music to get started.  For the more intense Prancercise box, individuals can strap the ankle weights to their wrists and punch into the air while they prance. Rohrback originally introduced her unconventional routine back in 1989, but the endeavor failed to take off.  Looking to revive Prancercise, Rohrback published a book about the routine in Dec. 2012 titled Prancercise: The Art of Physical and Spiritual Excellence, along with the series of YouTube videos currently circulating the web. The book is described as “a recipe for fitness, health, and self-fulfillment!”source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/05/30/prancercise-new-eccentric-fitness-routine-mimics-dancing-like-horse/

High blood pressure linked to declining brain function

High blood pressure, particularly in the arteries that supply blood to the head and neck, may be linked with declining cognitive abilities, according to a new study from Australia. Researchers found that people with high blood pressure in the central arteries including the aorta, the largest artery in the human body, and the carotid arteries in the neck performed worse on tests of visual processing, and had slower thinking and poorer recognition abilities. Typically, blood pressure measurements are taken from the brachial artery in the arm, but looking at the health of the central arteries may be a more sensitive way to assess cognitive abilities, said study researcher Matthew Pase, of the Center for Human Psychopharmacology at Swinburne University in Melbourne. The central arteries directly control bloodflow to the brain. “If we can estimate the blood pressure in central arteries, we might be able to better predict cognitive function and cognitive decline,” Pase said. [10 Odd Facts About the Brain] Pase presented the findings here on May 24 at the annual meeting of the Association for Psychological Science. How it all works A beating heart pumps blood in spurts, but the central arteries are flexible, expanding and contracting to maintain steady bloodflow to the brain. As people age, the central arteries stiffen, and with less elasticity, the brain receives more high-pressure blood, which may damage cognition, Pase said. [7 Ways the Mind and Body Change With Age] In the study, Pase and his colleagues looked at whether associations between blood pressure and cognition were stronger for measurements taken in the arm, or the central arteries. The researchers examined 493 Australians between ages 20 and 82. The participants were mostly Caucasians, and all were nonsmokers with no history of stroke or dementia, Pase said. Study participants performed tasks to measure various types of cognition, such as visual processing, working memory, recognition abilities and processing speed. The researchers also took blood pressure measurements from the arm and central arteries. Blood pressure and cognition The researchers found that high brachial blood pressure was linked to worse performance on the visual processing test, but high central blood pressure correlated to worse performance across several tests, including visual processing, recognition and processing speed. “This suggests central blood pressure is a more sensitive predictor of cognitive aging,” Pase said. To expand upon these findings, Pase said he wants to look at whether reducing central blood pressure which can be done by quitting smoking, doing regular exercise or limiting salt intake might protect people against mental deterioration. The researchers will detail their results in an upcoming issue of the journal Psychological Science. Copyright 2013 LiveScience, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/05/30/high-blood-pressure-linked-to-declining-brain-function/

Saudi Arabia reports 3 more deaths from new SARS-like virus

Saudi Arabia has reported that three more people have died from a new respiratory virus related to SARS, bringing the total number of deaths globally to 30. The Ministry of Health said Thursday the three deceased, ranging in age from 24 to 60, had chronic diseases, including kidney failure. It says they were hospitalized a month ago. The Ministry also announced a new case of the respiratory virus called MERS, bringing to 38 the number of those infected in the kingdom. It identified the afflicted person only as a 61-year-old from the Al-Ahsa region where the outbreak in a health care facility started in April. The World Health Organization said the new germ, a respiratory infection, was first seen in the Middle East and sickened more than 49 people worldwide.source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/05/30/saudi-arabia-reports-3-more-deaths-from-new-sars-like-virus/

Stretching, meditation eases PTSD in nurses, study shows

Nurses deal with traumatic experiences on a daily basis – a factor which puts them at higher risk for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), an anxiety disorder diagnosed in over 7 million U.S. adults every year. Now, researchers have discovered a simple solution to help nurses, and others with PTSD, cope with their disease: just one hour of stretching and meditation every week. In a study published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, lead study author Sang H. Kim, of the National Institutes of Health, studied a group of 22 nurses experiencing PTSD symptoms. He chose to focus his research on nurses, in part, because his mother was a nurse. “(My mother) always used to tell me nurses need to not only take care of others – they need to take care of themselves, too,” Kim said. At the beginning of the study, Kim assessed the nurses’ PTSD symptoms using the PCL-C: PTSD checklist – civilian version, a questionnaire commonly used to diagnose PTSD. He also took blood samples from each nurse in order to analyze their levels of the stress hormone cortisol.   When people experience PTSD, their cortisol levels dip below normal – the opposite of what usually happens when people get stressed. Kim wanted to see if a meditation and stretching regimen would be able to help normalize cortisol levels. “My question was if we can reverse this, can we reverse PTSD symptoms?” Kim said. Half of the group of nurses participated in a 60-minute mind-body class once a week. The class was taught by Kim, who holds a doctorate in exercise science, and has 40 years of experience as a martial artist. During each session, the women performed meditation, stretching, balancing and deep-breathing exercising. “(It was) similar to yoga or tai chi or chi gong types of movement, but I simplified it in a way that they could do it anywhere, anytime and in any amount of time,” Kim said. “Nurses are always in demand so they sometimes only have one minute or 30 seconds.” After eight weeks of participating in the once-weekly class, the nurses experienced a 41 percent decrease in PTSD symptoms and a 67 percent increase in cortisol levels in the blood. Kim said that researchers only expected to see up to a 20 percent decrease in PTSD symptoms and were surprised – and impressed – by their results. “What we found is simple, but profound – only eight weeks of meditation relieved PTSD symptoms and normalized stress hormone levels,” Kim said.   The nurses who participated in the mind-body classes also experienced a reduction in PTSD symptoms such as flashbacks or emotional detachment – and they were able to  resume hobbies and improve their overall quality of life, according to Kim. “About four weeks in, many told me… ‘I sleep better these days and get less angry in my work and I now know if something comes up I can breathe, go to the bathroom, close the door and do this movement for one minute and come out and feel better,’” Kim said. The other half of the women in Kim’s study did not participate in the mind-body class. Comparatively, they experienced only a 4 percent decrease in PTSD symptoms and a 17 percent improvement in blood-cortisol levels during the same period of time. “The conclusion here is that mind-body practices like yoga or tai chi or chi gong - people think these things are hokey but…they are working,” Kim said. “(They are a) very effective and low-cost (way) for reducing stress even in people who suffer chronically high levels of stress, like PTSD patients.”source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/05/30/stretching-meditation-eases-ptsd-in-nurses-study-shows/

Florida man donates 100 gallons of blood

A South Florida man has reached a rare milestone. He's donated 100 gallons of blood. The Palm Beach Post reports 84-year-old Harold Mendenhall started giving blood on July 7, 1977. Last month, he logged his 100th gallon. Mendenhall started donating blood when his wife, Frankie, was diagnosed with breast cancer. When she died seven years later, Mendenhall says he was lost. He stopped by the blood bank on his way home from work. Soon he was donating six gallons a year. He's especially coveted because he donates blood platelets. Mendenhall says giving blood helped him cope with the loss of his wife and, later, two sons. There are other benefits to blood donation -- the blood bank offers coupons for free meals at area restaurants.source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/05/30/florida-man-donates-100-gallons-blood/

Dealing with the side effects of cancer treatment

Are the side effects of cancer treatment worse than the cancer itself? My immediate response to that question is ‘Yes.’  But for me, the reality is that I have stage 4 cancer, so I have no choice but to suck it up.  As awful as this chemo is, I have to try, try, try to focus on the fact that it is working.  I just hate the way it makes me feel. When I was admitted into this phase one clinical trial , I was elated – even more so when I was told this drug had no side effects. “This is fantastic!” I thought.  It seemed almost too good to be true.  And of course, it was. I am exhausted.  My white count, red count and platelet levels are dangerously low.  The neuropathy in my feet is getting worse, and I now have jaw necrosis – which basically involves having your gums disappear, leaving jaw bone exposed. Talk about pain! Alright, enough complaining. No one wants to read bad news, so I apologize. I am just so tired of all of it.  But, I need to focus on the fact that this drug seems to be working, and the cancer in my liver has decreased a smidgeon, which is positively awesome. I want to share with you an example of how one small group of students put thought and effort in motion to make a difference.  I received a letter this week from the principal of St. Simon the Apostle School in Indianapolis, with a check enclosed for $1,177.  Last October, the students added pink accessories – pink socks, pink nail polish, etc. – to their uniforms in an effort to raise money for breast cancer awareness and to honor relatives who have fought this disease.  They made this donation to my foundation in honor of their math teacher who is retiring after 17 years.  Wow!  I am so honored that they would think of The Noreen Fraser Foundation and trust us to spend their money wisely.  And we will! Thank you to all the young kids and teenagers who move beyond self-indulgence to think of others and show compassion to those who are struggling.Noreen Fraser is living with Stage IV metastatic breast cancer. She is the Founder and CEO of the Noreen Fraser Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to funding groundbreaking women's cancer research.& To stay in touch with Noreen, please 'LIKE' The Noreen Fraser Foundation on Facebook and follow her on Twitter. & Noreen can be contacted via email at noreen@noreenfraserfoundation.org.source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/05/30/dealing-with-side-effects-cancer-treatment/