Below are a number of articles referring to cancer prevention through lifestyle, diet and nutrition that have appeared in CANCERactives icon magazine. Just click on the title to read the piece.
Oral cancer: increase ’alarming’ amongst forty-somethings
Rates of oral cancers, such as cancers of the mouth, tongue and lip, have increased by around a quarter in the past decade amongst people in their 40s, according to figures from Cancer Research UK,
CRUK conclude that ’oral cancer is largely a preventable disease with tobacco and alcohol use being the main risk factors. Cancers caused by smoking often take up to 30 years to develop, so tobacco is less likely to be the main reason behind the increase in oral cancer in people in their 40s compared with older people. And since smoking rates have gone down and alcohol consumption has gone up, experts believe the increase in oral cancer rates could mainly be down to drinking. Other risk factors include a diet low in fruit and vegetables, and a sexually transmitted infection called the human papillomavirus (HPV)’.
Ed: I personally find it curious that CRUK omit mention of recent important research from the University of Melbourne that showed daily use of alcohol-based mouth washes increased risk of oral cancer. In case they missed it here it is again:
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Mouthwash oral cancer dangers especially for drinkers and smokers
In a major study conducted by researchers from the Australias University of Melbourne and University of Queensland School of Dentistry, the use of mouthwashes containing alcohol as an ingredient was found to significantly increase the risk of cancers of the mouth, head and neck.
"We see people with oral cancer who have no other risk factors than the use of a mouthwash containing alcohol, so what weve done is review all the evidence," said lead researcher Michael McCullough, chair of the Australian Dental Associations therapeutics committee. They followed mouthwash use amongst 3,210 people and compared it with rates of mouth, head and neck cancers.
The researchers found that those who used an alcohol-containing mouthwash at least once per day had a significantly increased risk of cancer, independent of other risk factors such as smoking or drinking alcohol.
However, where people also drank alcohol regularly, there was a 500 per cent increase over drinkers who did not use mouthwash. For smokers who used mouthwash there was a 900 per cent increase over smokers who didn’t use one of these mouthwashes.
"Since this article, further evidence has come out," McCullough added. "We believe there should be warnings. If it was a facial cream that had the effect of reducing acne but had a four to fivefold increased risk of skin cancer, no one would be recommending it."
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Fish oils beat the breast cancer drug for effectiveness
The omega-3 essential fatty acid known as docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is more effective at reducing the size of breast cancer tumors than the chemotherapy drug cisplatin, and can also reduce that drugs harmful side effects, reports a new study published in the journal Cell Division.
After research studies on mice lead researcher A.M. El-Mowafy of Egypts Mansoura University said, "Our results suggest a new, fruitful drug regimen in the management of solid tumours based on combining cisplatin and possibly other chemotherapeutics with DHA. DHA elicited prominent chemo-preventative effects on its own, and appreciably augmented those of cisplatin as well. Furthermore, this study is the first to reveal that DHA can obliterate lethal cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity [kidney damage and renal tissue injury."
In animals who received 125 milligrams per kilogram of DHA, tumour growth was 38 percent less than in animals who received a placebo. Animals receiving cisplatin had 55 percent less tumour growth, while those treated with 250 milligrams per kilogram of DHA had 79 percent less. The combination of DHA and cisplatin not only reduced tumour growth by 81 percent compared with a placebo, it also returned white blood cell counts to normal levels. The 250 milligram per kilogram dose of DHA was nearly as effective at restoring a normal white blood cell count as the DHA-cisplatin combination. (Natural News)
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Green Tea and Cancer 5 cups a day please
From the Tohoku School of Medicine comes a 9-year study which followed the consumption of green tea by 42,000 people. Looking at blood cancers and cancer in lymph nodes in particular, the researchers found there was a 40 per cent reduction for the former, and 50 per cent for the latter, in those people consuming 5 cups per day (American Journal of Epidemiology).
In a second study on influenza, comparing green tea supplement with a placebo, researchers found that the group taking supplement had one third less cold and flu attacks. And twice as many people taking the placebo sought medical advice. (Journal of the American College of Nutrition)
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Vitamin A can reduce damaging effects of oestrogen
Known to drive many cancers from breast, to colon, to prostate and even some brain tumours, oestrogen causes its damage by binding to cellular receptor sites. Now scientists at the University of Chicago have shown that a metabolite of vitamin A (retinoic acid) can compete with and block this damaging action. Whereas oestrogen causes random and raid cell growth to occur, the retinoic acid was found to normalise proceedings. Professor Kevin White, director of the Institute for Genomics and System Biology at the University of Chicago and his team have even mapped the effects against areas of the genome affecting breast cancer, (published in Cell). In a follow up study the scientists discovered the more strongly a tumour responded to retinoic acid, the greater the chances of long-term survival and a lack of relapse.
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Coenzyme Q10 linked to significant anti-cancer activity
Japanese researchers at the National Cancer Center Research Institute in Tokyo used a highly carcinogenic chemical, azoxymethane, to induce colon cancer in rats. In a controlled study lasting one month half the rats were given CoQ10, the other half nothing. One month later the supplemented group had only half the number of cancers.
The US National Cancer Institute has concluded that CoQ10 can help the body resist infections, including cancer. Furthermore it concludes that CoQ10 may well cause cancer cell death, and prevent cancer cells from growing.
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Resveratrol is definitely a beneficial natural compound in the fight against cancer but please don’t overclaim
As readers know, we have been providing research on the benefits of the natural compound resveratrol for about 5 years. There are a number of quality research studies, usually led by Harvard, and they show resveratrol to be of benefit in a number of diseases from cancer to dementia.
Sadly a number of US sites have now moved in to overclaim mode even telling people that red wine is a cure for cancer . It is not. For the record, Resveratrol is a naturally occurring phytoalexin produced by some red and black fruits to ward off fungal infection. Phytoalexins in general have been shown to be chemical substances produced by plants as a defence against infection. There is but a little resveratrol in red wine these days as it is sprayed to reduce fungus, and therefore the grapes simply don’t produce much as there is little to respond to. Clearly organic fruits are likely to produce more. For the time being you can consume large quantities of organic red and black fruits or take a natural supplement. Click here for the complete low down.
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Vegetarians have less cancers
In the last issue of icon we told you that meat caused inflammation in the body, and inflammation was a known precursor to cancer. Now comes a repeat of a study from several years ago. Last time an Oxford study concluded that overall vegetarians had 40 per cent less cancers; this time it was just 12 per cent but the figure varied enormously by cancer type (British Journal of Cancer). This study followed more than 61,000 people for over 12 years, during which 3,350 of the participants were diagnosed with cancer. The study looked at 20 different types of cancers
The risk of being diagnosed with cancers of the stomach, bladder and blood was lower in vegetarians than in meat eaters, but the most striking difference was in cancers of the blood including leukaemia, multiple myeloma and non-Hodgkin lymphoma. The risk of these diseases was 45 per cent lower in vegetarians than in meat eaters. Professor Tim Key of Cancer Research UK Epidemiology Unit at Oxford University, was lead author.
Importantly this study ruled out other influencing factors. The differences in risks between vegetarians and meat eaters were independent of other lifestyle behaviours including smoking, alcohol intake and obesity which also affect the chance of developing cancer.
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