Health Outcomes in a Foreign Land A Role for Epigenomic and Environment...

Join the webinar! Current Concepts of Cancer Burden among African Immigrants in the United States

Join the webinar! Current Concepts of Cancer Burden among African Immigrants in the United States

CANCER IS A MULTISTAGE PROCESS

Cancer formation begins when DNA in a cell or population of cells is harmed after exposure to carcinogens. These cancer-producing toxins can come from the person’s environment or be a product of regular bodily processes. For example, long-term exposure to viral or bacterial infection may cause chronic inflammation that hurts cells and DNA. Ultraviolet and gamma radiation can also injure DNA. Or a person’s normal oxidative metabolism can generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) carcinogens, which in turn can attack DNA.

 

Many exogenous (from outside the body) carcinogens need to be activated by metabolic enzymes, but detoxification enzymes such as the glutathione S-transferases also exist to deactivate carcinogens or their intermediate metabolites. People who have inherited genetic variations known as polymorphisms in these types of enzymes may have altered rates of enzyme activation or detoxification, thus increasing or decreasing the carcinogenic potential of environmental exposures. In other words, they will have advantages or disadvantages when it comes to how their bodies deal with carcinogens. Carcinogens can also induce cancer by affecting epigenetic changes, such as DNA methylation, which alter a gene’s activity without changing the underlying DNA sequence. Once the cancer process has begun, either the cell’s defense mechanism detects the abnormality and targets the cell for destruction or the accumulation of further genetic defects helps the flawed cell escape these defenses. The defects may also give these mutated cells a growth advantage, so that they multiply and spread from the site of origin to other sites in the body. In essence, cancer develops from the build-up of DNA damage and changes over several years and from many causes. This explains why aging is a major risk factor associated with most cancers. Less than 0.1 percent of the total number of cancer cases occurs in people younger than 15, whereas nearly 80 percent of cancer cases are found in people age 60 or older.

 

Several factors inside the body and in the environment play a role in the development of cancer. Environmental exposure to a variety of natural and manufactured substances makes up at least two-thirds of all cancer cases. These include lifestyle choices such as smoking tobacco, overindulging in alcohol, poor diet, lack of exercise, excessive sunlight exposure, risky sexual behavior, and increased exposure to some viruses. Other causes may include exposure to certain drugs, hormones, radiation, viruses, bacteria, and environmental chemicals present in the air, water, or workplace. Most chemicals are not carcinogenic, but a wide variety of chemicals can promote the disease. And so cancer is a multifaceted genetic disease that often requires multiple genetic lesions to breach the body’s safeguards. Even people who have inherited flaws in critical protective genes usually do not develop cancer for many years. Yet in many if not most humans the massive accumulation of mutations during a lifetime ensures that some form of malignant disease will eventually develop.

To screen or not to screen…………….

There is scientific proof to show that a commitment to a healthy lifestyle may prevent cancer. A few key examples include eating nutritious food, exercising regularly, and avoiding tobacco smoke. However, some individuals may be prone to developing cancer because of an inherited genetic mutations or exposures to toxic environmental factors such as radiation or other unidentified risk factors, particularly if the exposure happens in childhood or infancy. So even if a person takes precautions and makes lifestyle changes to avoid cancer, he or she may already be predisposed to develop the disease later in life. Therefore it is important to undergo screening such that any premalignant disease can be detected early when there is good chance for a cure.

Yet screening is among medicine’s most controversial topics. A major challenge is that it can be difficult to determine if a particular cancer will advance rapidly, progress more slowly, or possibly, not develop at all. In many cases, people who have an indolent cancer or a benign disease will die from other causes before they die from cancer, so detection and treatment are unnecessary and offer no benefit whatsoever. Worse, the treatment could itself cause unnecessary stress, harm, even disfigurement. Slow cancers, by their dawdling nature, frequently have a longer pre-symptomatic period, increasing the likelihood of discovery and improving the chances of treatment. These cancers may be well worth catching. With particularly aggressive cancers, the disease can move so quickly that early detection and treatment cannot help. Another factor influencing outcomes is that the attitude people have about cancer may help decide whether they live or die (and how quickly) from the disease. The goal, then and also a major scientific challenge, in cancer screening is to determine who would benefit the most from early detection. The good news is that scientists are getting closer to identifying specific gene expression signatures that may help predict if cancers will be aggressive or not.

The screening tests now available can indicate susceptibility to various cancers including, breast, colon, lung, prostate, cervical, endometrial, ovarian, pancreatic, and melanoma cancers and can often be performed in clinics or laboratories. While there remains questions about the risk-to-benefit ratio cancer screening, once resolved, the benefits of cancer screening should be clear—as well as the possibility of eradicating cancer.

Read more in Cancer Causes and Controversies- Understanding risk reduction and prevention....

Broccoli News - Prostate Cancer Foundation (PCF)

Broccoli News - Prostate Cancer Foundation (PCF)

Stomach cancer!!!!

Stomach cancer, is the second-most-deadly cancer worldwide. The incidence of this cancer, however, varies with location. The highest-risk countries are in Asia, especially Japan, Korea, and China.  As stomach cancer usually shows few early signs, most people are not diagnosed with this disease until it has advanced. Symptoms typically include loss of appetite, indigestion, stomach pain or discomfort, a bloated feeling after meals, nausea, and heartburn.

The main risk factors linked to stomach cancer risk include tobacco use, a poor diet, excessive alcohol consumption, and chronic infection (chronic gastritis or stomach inflammation) from Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) bacteria. There is also evidence that some people may have a genetic vulnerability to this disease; studies of twins show higher than expected concordance rates of stomach cancer among identical twins.

Preventative measure- Healthy diet rich in fruits and vegetables, avoidance of smoking and excessive alcohol consumption, avoidance of contact with H. pylori (e.g., good sanitation) and knowlege of family history.

"Excerpts from Cancer Causes and Controversies- Understanding risk reduction and prevention"

In memory of Tracie.

My tribute to Tracie- Died of stomach cancer

Dear Tracie,

You were always a kind and a selfless person, always willing to help.  Its was a pleasure to know and work with you. I know how brave you were during your illness and even though your death saddens us all greatly, I know that you are in a beautiful place, where there is no more pain and suffering. I hear it is a place where the sun always shines on an unclouded sky, a beautiful city, a heavenly city of love.  Rest in peace!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Memento mori!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ovarian and Endometrial Cancers

Ovarian cancer strikes fewer than half as many women as endometrial cancer, yet ovarian cancer has double the mortality rate.  The symptoms for this cancer tend to be vague at first. As the disease progresses, women may experience discomfort or pressure in their pelvic area, back, abdomen or legs. They may feel fatigued, bloated, nauseated, constipated, and have diarrhea or indigestion. Some women experience breathlessness, vaginal bleeding·even after menopause·and feel they have to urinate frequently.

Endometrial cancer (also known as uterine cancer) develops in the tissue lining the uterus. This disease is a few steps ahead of ovarian cancer in terms of how frequently it is diagnosed, but it tends to be much less deadly. Women with early-stage endometrial cancer may experience unexplained vaginal spotting or bleeding between menstrual periods or after menopause (when they should not experience any bleeding). They may have pain or difficulty during urination, discomfort during sex, or pain in the pelvic region. Individuals with any of these symptoms should see a doctor for proper

gynecological examinations.

Risk factors associated with ovarian and endometrial cancers includes:

Age over 55 years. Diet high in total fat content (in particular animal fat). Because fat stimulates the body's production of estrogen hormone which in turn increases ovulation  thereby increasing cancer risk. Genetic predisposition in familes with mutation in the DNA repair genes known as BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes. Ionizing radiation, obesity and diabetes are associated with increase risk to ovarian and endometiral cancer.

Healthy diet rich in fruits and vegetables and moderate level of excercise (avoidance of sedentary lifestyle) are all associated with reduced risk of this type of cancer.

For detailed information read "Cancer Causes and Controversies- Understanding risk reduction and prevention"

Happy new year!!!!!!

Have a peaceful relaxed 2012.

CALORIE RESTRICTION DIET AND CANCER

Folks, we eat too much and we eat the wrong kind of stuff!!!

Eating slightly less than what one would naturally consume is an old technique for extending life. Scholarly papers often credit Lucretius (ca. 50 b.c.) with being the first to have suggested that rampant eating leads to premature aging and degenerative diseases. The old Roman poet was on the right track. Scientific evidence shows that restricting calories (called calorie restriction), or under-nutrition without malnutrition, significantly decreases the risk for age-related diseases and may even delay death. Researchers found that yeast, worms, flies, mice, and rats that were put on calorie-restricted diets had considerably longer lives than their control counterparts.

When correctly designed, a calorie-restricted diet features essential nutrients and vitamins but carefully controlled total energy consumption. Calorie decreases of about 20 to 30 percent (compared to free-feeding tendencies) can still be seen as a normal, healthy level of food consumption. While the people who benefit the most from calorie restriction may be those who have followed this approach throughout their lives (as opposed to beginning as an adult), adopting this eating approach in adulthood may still prevent obesity and a host of diseases, suppress cancer, and extend lifespan.

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Your immune system and cancer risk

A healthy immune system is essential for a healthy life- and to avoid cancer. Deficient immune systems put people at increased risk for certain types of cancer as well as other diseases. In fact, scientific studies estimate that up to 15 percent of cancer incidence around the world is related to microbial infection. This suggests a firm link between weak immune systems, chronic infection, and cancer. Common examples of this connection between chronic infection and cancer are the human papillomavirus, associated with cervical cancer, and the hepatitis B and C viruses, which are linked with liver cancer.

Therefore the body needs a healthy immune system to fight deadly illnesses such as cancer. Studies show that when cancerous cells evade the immune system, usually they do so by taking over the immune system's defensive inflammatory response mechanism for fighting infection. In a bit of biological irony, cancer uses the
human body's defenses to promote disease development. While not all the mechanisms are understood, studies suggest that a complex combination of factors influence the immune system's efficacy at fighting cancer
and other diseases. These factors include diet, exercise, brain stimulation, and emotions that may affect the immune system via the brain.

Read more in Cancer Causes and Controversies- understanding risk reduction and prevention.  Available through Amazon.com.

CCC- Understanding risk reduction and prevention

Book is available through Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble.

New release at Amazon.com- Cancer Causes & Controversies 7/31/2011

Like no other work, this much-needed volume gathers the latest research and understanding about the causes of cancer and methods of preventing the disease—and makes it all clear and accessible to the general reader.
Cancer Causes and Controversies: Understanding Risk Reduction and Prevention describes common risks factors associated with particular types of cancer, including genetic predisposition, radiation and chemical carcinogens, diet, hormonal factors, infection, and smoking. The book then looks at the scientific evidence supporting the positive role of healthy nutrition, exercise, and diet in lowering cancer risk, as well as the dangers posed by a dysfunctional immune system compromised by chronic infection, unhealthy lifestyles, stress and poor psychological health. Finally, the book provides an unbiased assessment of a number of controversies surrounding cancer causes and prevention, including screening and genetic testing, vitamin supplementations, genetically modified foods, chemical food additives, and cellular phones and deodorants as potential cancer causing agents.

Cancer Causes controversies- Introduction

Contents

Introduction

Part I: Risk Factors for Commonly Diagnosed Cancer Diseases 1

1. Bladder Cancer 3

2. Brain Cancer 9

3. Breast Cancer 19

4. Cervical Cancer 25

5. Colorectal Cancer 31

6. Esophageal Cancer 37

7. Gastric Cancer 45

8. Head and Neck Cancer 49

9. Leukemia and Lymphoma 55

10. Liver Cancer 65

11. Lung Cancer 73

12. Ovarian and Endometrial Cancers 83

13. Pancreatic Cancer 89

14. Prostate Cancer 95

15. Skin Cancer 101

16. Occupation-Associated Cancer 109

Part II: Behaviors and Controversies 113

17. Nutrition and Cancer 115

18. Body Weight and Cancer 127

19. Immune System and Cancer Risk 141

20. Controversies Concerning Cancer Screenings Benefits and Disadvantages

21. Controversies Surrounding Dietary Supplements and Foods for Cancer Prevention

22. Controversies Regarding Commonly Perceived Risk Factors and Cancer

23. Conclusion

Resources

Introduction

Cancer’s mysteries and miseries have been with us for thousands of years. One of the earliest known references to this collection of diseases appears in ancient Egyptian papyri1·medical texts dating from about 1600 b.c. The ancient texts authors describe swellings and ulcerations that fail to heal, much like cancers we know today.

Little was learned about the nature of cancer during the following 1,500 years. But diagnostic procedures had by the year 1775 advanced enough to enable the English physician Dr. Percival Pott, of St. Bartholomew’s Hospital in London, to correlate the development of a specific cancer with prolonged exposure to a workplace toxin. At that time in England, it was common to employ small boys to sweep and clean the insides of chimneys- a treacherous occupation in itself.

In later years, the men who held this job as children experienced a high incidence of scrotal cancer. The doctor discovered that most of his patients with scrotal cancer had worked as chimney sweeps as children and had experienced prolonged exposure to the irritating effects of the soot. This was the first recognized and recorded instance of an occupational cancer due to environmental influences.

But it wasn’t until the early 20th century that science began to make great strides in understanding the causes of cancer.2 This includes the first epidemiological study that linked sunlight to skin cancer in 1907.2 In 1916 researchers learned that removing the ovaries from a strain of female mice with a high incidence of spontaneous breast cancer decreased the rodents’ risk of breast tumors. Later work showed that transplanting ovaries into male mice induced mammary tumors, supporting the theory that hormones in the ovaries could promote breast tumors.

In 1928 scientists identified cervical cancer cells in smears of exfoliated vaginal cells. This discovery led to the development of the Pap smear in 1960, now widely accepted as an effective method of preventing and screening for cervical cancer. Since then, other screening methods for the early detection of various cancers have become routine, such as colonoscopy for colorectal cancer and mammography for breast cancer. U.S. researcher Dr. Charles B. Huggins made a significant discovery in 1941 when he demonstrated that prostate cancer is hormone dependent. His research showed that physically castrating dogs that had metastatic prostate cancer reduced their disease burden, while injecting male hormones into dogs increased prostate cancer metastasis. Perhaps the single most important discovery was the identification of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) in 1944 as hereditary material. This opened up a whole new realm of science, leading researchers to determine that most carcinogens, agents that cause cancer, do so by damaging DNA or creating DNA mutations.

Since the 1970s, the United States and other parts of the world have taken an aggressive stance against cancer in medical laboratories. This has led to the development of therapeutic treatments such as the antiestrogen drug tamoxifen in 1977. Still used today to treat some types of breast cancer, more than 500,000 people have survived the disease because of this drug. However, the wider use of tamoxifen has been hampered by side effects. In another example, researchers linked prostate cancer with levels of prostate specific antigen (PSA), leading to the creation of the first routine protein biomarker test used in cancer screening and prevention in 1980. Nowadays, several tests screen for the early detection of cancer ·a key to successfully treating the disease.

Scientists soon learned that certain bacterial or viral infections could cause cancer. Researchers identified the bacterium Helicobacter pylori as a causative agent for stomach ulcer in 1982; it is now known that chronic inflammation caused by this bacterium is a major risk factor for stomach cancer. The human papillomavirus was found to be the causative agent of cervical cancer in 1983. Scientists followed up in 2004 by designing vaccines against the most common tumor-producing (oncogenic) human papillomavirus types, HPV16 and HPV18. It’s thought the vaccine could prevent up to 70 percent of cervical cancer cases worldwide. The completion of the Human Genome Project in 2000 means a great deal to cancer research. As every nucleotide of the human genome has been sequenced and mapped, the way is clear for scientists to learn how cancer cells are different from normal cells. This undoubtedly will lead to understanding individual variations at the DNA level, and it may help explain differences in disease susceptibility. Ultimately, more powerful and specific pharmaceutical drugs could be designed///////////////////////////////

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Preface- Cancer Causes and Controversies (understanding preventable risk factors

Cancer—its name alone can produce dread and hopelessness in those who receive its diagnosis. Yet what we call cancer is really a collection of more than 100 different diseases—each with its own specific origin and prognosis. Although a century of intense biomedical research has yielded tremendous breakthroughs, including the discovery of chemopreventive drugs (anticancer) to treat cancer patients, these diseases remain largely incurable.

The scientific community has learned it is contending with a complex and formidable foe. We now know that cancer at the cellular level is a genetic disease, while external and internal conditions that damage DNA can also promote cancer. Another significant factor that influences susceptibility to cancer is a person’s genetic inheritance. In some families, a genetic predisposition puts family members at a high risk for particular cancers.

Lifestyle choices can have a tremendous influence on individual cancer risk—in beneficial or detrimental ways. Smokers boost their chances for lung cancer, while those who excessively drink alcohol raise their risk for esophageal cancer. Diet plays a major role in a person’s cancer risk. For example, it’s thought that diet is in part responsible for the very low rates of prostate cancer among Asian men in their native countries, because second- and third-generation Asian Americans who have adopted the Western diet have a higher incidence of prostate cancer, close or equal to that of Caucasians.

And body fat matters. People who are overweight amplify their risks for colorectal and pancreatic cancers, while those who maintain a healthy, constant body weight and exercise regularly reduce their cancer risks. But in spite of what is known about cancer risk factors, cancer susceptibility can vary greatly on an individual level. For example, some people smoke all their lives and do not develop lung cancer—while some nonsmokers do.

An explanation may be found in the small variations in an individual’s DNA sequence known as single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). SNPs can affect metabolism positively, such as by enhancing the removal of DNA-damaging toxins in the body, or negatively, by weakening the ability to accomplish such a task. These genetic variants can also influence a person’s response to medical treatment. Immune system and stress level, as well as spiritual wellness, can also affect a person’s susceptibility to cancer.

The good news is that cancer incidence and mortality rates have declined in recent years, mainly due to improved preventive measures. Refrigeration is credited for the drop in stomach cancer, while increasing public awareness about the dangers of smoking is thought to have decreased cases of lung cancer. Declines in colorectal, cervical, prostate, and breast cancer mortality reflect the effect of improved screening, leading to early detection and diagnosis. Thus information about cancer prevention has turned out to be one of the more effective tools to fight this disease and lighten society’s cancer burden.

Healthier lifestyle choices such as exercising, eating well, and not smoking or drinking alcohol excessively, as well as avoiding occupational exposure to toxins and infection, are some of the keys to success. This book’s goal is twofold: to inform the reader about the various risk factors associated with cancer and how to avoid more than 90 percent of the causes of cancer.

This book is divided into 2 parts: Part I describes the risk factors associated with 16 commonly known cancers- including breast, ovarian, cervical, head & neck, brain, leukemia, liver, lung, prostate, esophageal and skin cancer. Part II describes behaviors and controversies surrounding cancer; topics discussed include nutrition, body weight, and the immune system and their association with cancer. The book also talks about controversies surrounding cancer screening and benefits, diet and dietary supplements and controversies regarding commonly perceived risk factors.

       Excerpt from my book Cancer Causes & Controversies (understanding preventable risk factors)

Cancer Causes and Controversies

My book entitled Cancer Causes and Controversies (understanding preventable risk factors) is coming out July 31, 2011.
Be on the look out!!!!!

Prevent cancer- simply enjoy life

Everything God created is good- Can we really modify our environment, food, adopt unhealthy lifestyle, and habitually stress the body without any consequences including cancer? Slow down, enjoy nature, breath more easily, laugh more and love even more.

Why the increase in cancer incidence

Welcome folks to my blog site as I introduce my desire as a cancer biologist to explain the current knowledge about some of the factors that is driving the increase risk to cancer and how we can use this knowledge to help us avoid some of the preventable risk factors. Visit this site and let's discuss the preventable risk factors.........................................