Obesity raises ovarian cancer risk

by unknown | 1:03 PM in |

A new epidemiological study has found that among women who have never used menopausal hormone therapy, obese women are at an increased risk of developing ovarian cancer compared with women of normal weight. Published in the February 15, 2009 issue of CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, the research indicates that obesity may contribute to the development of ovarian cancer through a hormonal mechanism.

Ovarian cancer is the most fatal of gynecologic malignancies, and has a 5-year survival rate of only 37 percent. While studies have linked excess body weight to higher risks of certain cancers, little is known about the relationship between body mass index and Ovarian cancer risk.

To investigate this issue, Dr. Michael F. Leitzmann of the National Cancer Institute and colleagues studied 94,525 U.S. women aged 50 to 71 years over a period of seven years. The researchers documented 303 ovarian cancer cases during this time and noted that among women who had never taken hormones after menopause, obesity was associated with an almost 80 percent higher risk of ovarian cancer. In contrast, no link between body weight and Ovarian cancer was evident for women who had ever used menopausal hormone therapy.



According to Dr. Leitzmann, these findings support the hypothesis that obesity may enhance Ovarian cancer risk in part through its hormonal effects. Excess body mass in postmenopausal women leads to an increased production of estrogen, which in turn may stimulate the growth of ovarian cells and play a role in the development of Ovarian cancer.

Among women with no family history of Ovarian cancer, obesity and increased Ovarian cancer risk were also linked in this study. However, women that did have a positive family history of Ovarian cancer showed no association between body mass and Ovarian cancer risk.

These latest findings provide important additional information related to women's risks of developing Ovarian cancer. "The observed relations between obesity and Ovarian cancer risk have relevance for public health programs aimed at reducing obesity in the population," the authors wrote.

Article: 'Body mass index and risk of ovarian cancer.' Michael F. Leitzmann, Corinna Koebnick, Kim N. Danforth, Louise A. Brinton, Steven C. Moore, Albert R. Hollenbeck, Arthur Schatzkin, and James V. Lacey, Jr. CANCER; Published Online: January 05, 2009 (DOI: 10.1002/cncr.24086); Print Issue Date: February 15, 2009.

http://www.cancer.org

Prostate cancer experts urged the U.S. Congress

by unknown | 12:48 PM in |

source: in.reuters.com
By Will Dunham

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Prostate cancer experts urged the U.S. Congress and the incoming Obama administration on Wednesday to make a major research commitment to find better detection methods, including what they call a "man-o-gram."

Their idea involves a sophisticated ultrasound, magnetic resonance imaging or other method to find dangerous prostate tumors, akin to the common mammogram scans used to find breast tumors.

Dr. Faina Shtern, who heads the Boston-based nonprofit AdMeTech Foundation coordinating the advocacy effort, said $500 million in research funding is needed over five years.

Many men now have a blood test measuring levels of a protein produced by the prostate gland called prostate-specific antigen, or PSA.


Elevated PSA levels may indicate prostate cancer, but benign conditions can also raise levels. Men with elevated PSA often must have an invasive biopsy to test prostate tissue for cancer.

Only about 25 percent to 30 percent of men who have the biopsy actually turn out to have prostate cancer. And experts believe that many cancers detected after PSA screening are so minor they would never present a threat if left untreated.

There is a controversy among cancer researchers about whether PSA screening actually saves lives, with many arguing that it leads to unnecessary surgical and radiation treatment for minor cancers, causing negative side effects.

And because there is no reliable imaging technique to guide the selection of tissue for the biopsies, doctors take random plugs of prostate blindly and may miss tumors.

"Right now what is done essentially is barbaric," Shtern said in a telephone interview.

"We need to be able to find the cancers that are there that are going to be significant -- and only target those," Dr. Thomas Wheeler of Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, one of the experts, said in a telephone interview.

More than two dozen experts from institutions including Johns Hopkins University, Harvard Medical School, the University of Chicago, the University of Miami and Stanford University, joined the effort.

They signed letters to Congress and the U.S. National Institutes of Health, which funds medical research, saying more accurate imaging technology would lead to better guidance for diagnosis, biopsy and minimally invasive treatment.

Shtern said there needs to be a better initial screening test than the PSA test, perhaps a new blood or urine test focused on another biological indicator of prostate cancer.

In the United States, 29,000 men die of prostate cancer each year, making it the No. 2 cause of cancer death in men, behind lung cancer. It is the second most-commonly diagnosed cancer in men worldwide and kills about 254,000 a year.

(Editing by Maggie Fox and Doina Chiacu)

Some Mouthwashes contain a higher alcohol content than drinks bought in pubs and bars.

by unknown | 12:34 PM in |

source: news.sky.com
Deena Campbell, Sky News Online

Using some mouthwash brands can increase the risk of getting mouth cancer, a new study claims.

Rinsing with mouthwash containing alcohol makes it easier for cancer-causing substances like nicotine to penetrate the lining of the mouth, says the report's author, Professor Michael McCullough.

More than 3,000 people were examined for the research, giving 'sufficient evidence' that using mouthwash is linked to the development of oral cancer.

The study, published in the Dental Journal of Australia, said some mouthwashes contain a higher alcohol content than drinks bought in pubs and bars.

It is suggested that dentists should only prescribe mouthwashes containing high levels of alcohol for short-term use.


Oral cancer is a big killer in the UK.

In 2006, it caused 1,700 deaths and almost 5,000 people are diagnosed with the disease each year.

Yinka Ebo, from Cancer Research UK, said: "Alcohol definitely causes mouth cancer.

"The idea that alcoholic mouthwashes could increase the risk of mouth cancer makes sense - but more research is needed."

But Prof Damien Walmsley, from the British Dental Association, cautions that the evidence linking alcoholic mouthwash and oral cancer "is not conclusive".

Anyone with concerns about using mouthwash is advised to contact their dentist.

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