Diacor news and opinion

Researchers have discovered that women who are at risk for breast cancer could also be at a higher risk for heart disease. Researchers have found that the genes BRCA1 and BRCA2, which mutated forms are found in women with breast and cervical cancer, also regulate heart functions. They discovered in mice that had the mutated gene also were at three to five times the risk of heart failure than in mice that did not have the mutated gene. Researchers believe that the mutated BRCA1 and BRCA2 prevent DNA repair after a heart attack, which is essential to recovery. To view the full article, please click here.

In a study led by the University of California, San Francisco, researchers found that men who ate higher amounts of well done red meat had an increased risk for aggressive prostate cancer. The study was conducted between 2001 and 2004, with 470 men with aggressive prostate cancer, and 512 men who were controls that did not have prostate cancer. The men were asked to fill out questionnaires about the amount of meat they had consumed in the past 12 months, as well as the "doneness level". Researchers found that higher consumption of ground beef or processed meats increased the risk for aggressive prostate cancer, as well as that grilled or barbecued meat held an increased risk as well. Researchers also found that men who ate high levels of well done ground beef had twice the risk of developing aggressive prostate cancer as those who ate none. To view the full article, please click here.

Researchers have discovered a gene which prevents a common form of skin cancer known as squamos cell cancer of the skin. They have discovered that when this gene is not present in the cells, it stops the signal telling the cell to stop growing. Without the stop signal, the cells keep growing and eventually forms a cancer. Identifying this gene can lead to therapies which could prevent skin cancer from growing. To read the abstract and purchase the full article, please click here.

Researchers at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have discovered that cancer cells feed on recycled cell waste. Cancer cells use a process known as "autophagy", which turns spent cell material into reusable energy. Researchers have previously known that cancer cells use large amounts of energy, but what they didn't know was how they acquired it, that is until this discovery. Using this knowledge, treatments can be developed which shrink tumor growth and limit it from spreading to other parts of the body. To read the abstract and purchase the full article, please click here.

A recent study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology assessed whether or not all ages of women are benefiting from breast cancer treatment. The report classified women into four age groups: 20-49, 50-64, 65-74, and 75 and older. The results showed that the death rates were stable for women 20-49, but increased for women 65 and older. The results also showed that African American women are not seeing improvement in outcomes, evidenced by a death rate 38% higher than Caucasians. To view the abstract and purchase the full article, please click here.

Researchers have conducted a study which results have shown that people who receive solid organ transplants have double the risk of the general population for various forms of cancer. Researchers used data from the U.S. Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients and from various state and regional cancer registries to determine the cancer risk. Some cancers that there was an increased risk for included cancers linked to infection and those not. To view the abstract and purchase the full article, please click here.

Researchers from UCLA have discovered that the growth of prostate cancer cells slowed down in men that ate a low-fat diet supplemented with fish oils, compared with men who ate a Western diet which was high in fat. Men who ate the low-fat diet for four to six weeks before their prostate removal had a significantly lower growth rate of their prostate cancer cells. Researchers also found that men who ate the low-fat diet were able to alter their cell membranes in both healthy and cancerous cells. However, further tests were needed. To view the abstract and purchase the full article, please click here.

In a recent study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, men have later onset of breast cancer and more advanced stages of the disease than their female counterparts. Survival rates of men when their breast cancer is caught at the same stage as women are actually higher, but researchers believe that it is due to a lack of awareness of male breast cancer that men's cancer is being caught in later stages. To view the abstract and purchase the article, please click here.

The largest study ever on whether cell phones cause tumors to the central nervous system has found that cell phones do not cause tumors. The Danish study involved an 18 year period involving 358,403 people, self reportedly the largest study on the topic. The researchers determined that within a 10 year period of cell phone use, that cell phones do not cause brain tumors; however, longer periods than 10 years still need to be examined. To see the abstract and full article, please click here.

According to a University of Rochester analysis, men age 75 and older are diagnosed with late stage and more aggressive forms of cancer more often than younger men, leading to more deaths. This study is relevant in light of the findings of a government panel which determined that healthy men 50 and older should not be routinely tested for prostate cancer because the test does not save lives and can lead to over-treatment. To view the abstract and gain access to the article, please click here.