LATEST NEWS AND RESEARCH ON PANCREATIC CANCER
Here are some important items of latest news and research articles that just might help you increase your personal odds of survival with pancreatic cancer, or cancer of the pancreas; you can read more on Pancreatic Cancer, its symptoms, causes and alternative treatments here.
"Developing Pancreatic cancer came as a real shock to me, especially as I was stage 3. But bringing all the research together in one place was really helpful, especially as you focus on 'news you can use today'. Everything about this cancer is urgent. I found some very helpful information on your Website - far more useful than on other sites; thank you Chris." Elaine P, San Diego, USA
CONTENTS
Just click on the title below to read the article.
Go to: An Overview of Pancreatic Cancer - symptoms, causes and alternative treatments
2023 Research
2022 Research
2021 Research
2020 Research
2019 Research
2018 Research
Previous years
2008 Research
2007 Research
2006 Research
2005 Research
2004 Research
2003 Research
Alcohol link to pancreatic cancer shown
A research study published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention has found that drinking two alcoholic drinks every day can increase one’s risk of getting pancreatic cancer.
The study team at Georgetown University, Washington, DC examined the findings of 14 previous studies involving 863,000 men and women, of whom 2,187had the cancer, on the subject of alcohol consumption and pancreatic cancer. The researchers concluded that people who consumed two or more alcoholic drinks per day had 22% increased risk of the disease.
Two or more drinks a day raised women’s risk by 41%, while only elevating men’s risk by 12%. However at three drinks a day, the increased risk for the most common type of pancreatic cancer, an adocarcinoma, jumped to 60 per cent.
The effects seem more pronounced where the person was of normal weight rather than obese. There was no difference by alcohol type.
Inhibiting protein kinase in cancer
Scientists at M.D. Anderson in collaboration with those at Cancer Research Technology Ltd (CRT) have presented new research showing that a potent and selective inhibitor of protein kinase D called CRT0066101, inhibits the growth of pancreatic tumours.
These results show for the first time that an inhibitor of PKD can slow the growth of tumours in pancreatic cancer models. In addition, experiments carried out by CRT have shown that CRT0066101 is also effective at inhibiting the growth of tumours in a lung cancer model. The scientists believe that the drug has the potential to treat other cancers too.
PKD is a relatively newly identified family of serine/threonine kinases comprising PKD1, PKD2 and PKD3. The potential of PKD as a new drug target was discovered by Enrique Rozengurt, Doreen Cantrell and Peter Parker. Now PKD has been identified as playing a central role in the development of a number of cancers. In addition to its role in the growth of tumour cells, PKD has also been shown to play a pivotal role in cell survival and angiogenesis - a process by which tumours form new blood vessels - which is central to tumour growth and spread.
Dr Sushovan Guha who leads the laboratory at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, said: “We are very optimistic about CRT0066101’s pharmacological potential. We believe this is the first orally administered small-molecule inhibitor of PKD with significant biological efficacy in pre-clinical animal models of pancreatic cancer. My conviction is that we will show the drug can also prevent the proliferation of cancer cells by blocking their supply of blood - through neo-angiogenesis. This would mean it offers a double action treatment but this needs to be proved through further work.”
Cancer Prevention – half can be avoided
According to the World Cancer Research Fund, if Governments just promoted healthy foods and exercise just over one third of cancers would be prevented (http://www.wcrf-uk.org).
The research presented showed that exercise and healthy food can prevent 36 per cent of lung cancers, 39 per cent of breast and pancreatic cancers, over 60 per cent of mouth cancers, 25 per cent of kidney cancers and 45 per cent of colorectal cancers. Of course, if you take icon regularly, you could prevent even more. We have told you how avoiding EMF’s, mammograms, dairy, chemical hormones, pesticides, certain chemicals in the home and toiletries and personal care products, taking melatonin, selenium, fish oils and vitamin D can all add to this prevention figure further. Oh and there’s a lot more easy to do things too. In every issue.
Chemotherapy boosts survival rates for Pancreatic Cancer
At least, so says Cancer Research UK in their press release. ‘The use of chemotherapy following surgery reduces the risk of death from operable pancreatic cancer by around 30 per cent’, says research published in the British Journal of Cancer in Jan 2009.
Pancreatic cancer is the tenth most common cancer. Nearly 7,600 people are diagnosed with the disease in the UK each year. But, survival rates remain a major concern – only around two or three per cent of patients survive for more than five years.
The new research, funded by Cancer Research UK, shows that patients who had surgery and chemotherapy with a drug called 5FU alongside folinic acid, had a five year survival rate of 24 per cent. This was compared to 14 per cent for those who only had surgery.
The researchers used the results of three clinical trials undertaken by The European Study Group for Pancreatic Cancer (ESPAC) to compare data of over 450 patients.Professor John Neoptolemos, lead researcher based at the University of Liverpool, said: “Pancreatic cancer continues to be one of the hardest cancers to treat and has very low survival rates”.
Kate Law, director of clinical trials at Cancer Research UK, said: “In the past it has been unclear what the best way to treat pancreatic cancer is. But, these results reinforce previous trial findings and show undoubtedly that chemotherapy after surgery offers the best hope for patients who have operable pancreatic cancer.
(Ed: On this web site you will find several articles about Dr Nicholas Gonzalez, a New York Doctor, who uses 130 or so supplements and dietary aids after metabolic typing of the patient. He has been part of a full clinical trial on patients with Pancreatic cancer monitored by the FDA, where his diet therapy beat a control group of patients taking chemotherapies. Readers should at least view his work on pancreatic and other cancers.)
Some pancreatic cancer may be caused by virus
Researchers at the M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Texas have published (Oct. 1 the Journal of Clinical Oncology) dramatic new findings about Pancreatic cancer risk as a result of a unique study, the first of its kind.
Firstly, they have found that exposure to the hepatitis B virus (HBV) may increase the risk of pancreatic cancer. But secondly, they found that chemotherapy for pancreatic cancer may reactivate dormant HBV and might make matters worse.
Whole foods shown to protect against Pancreatic Cancer
According to UCLA, San Francisco (American Journal of Epidemiology) eating a diet high in whole grains can significantly reduce the risk of Pancreatic Cancer. Lead researcher June Chan said that their research had shown benefits in heart disease, diabetes and now pancreatic cancer. Researchers analysed the diet habits of 2233 people, 532 of whom had developed pancreatic cancer. Fibre intake, whole grains and not smoking were significant preventative factors.
The pancreas is the source of insulin, produced in response to excess blood sugar levels. Both sugar (from any source, including refined grains) and Insulin have been linked to higher cancer rates, as has diabetes. Cancer cells have more insulin receptor sites than normal healthy cells, as cancer cells demand more of their favourite food, glucose.
Pancreatic cancer is a difficult cancer to beat and also pancreatic enzymes are thought to be important in cancer cell regulation.
Cancer and Diabetes: Your questions answered?
Cancer and treatment can take may people to new levels of stress. They can even bring on or worsen symptoms of diabetes, especially pancreatic, adrenal and lung cancers. Even simple steroids can increase risk - a fact few doctors and even fewer patients seem aware of.
Sometimes the diabetes appears a few years after surgery. For an excellent review try www.cancerwise.org the on-line magazine of M D Anderson.
Risks are higher for blacks and Asians, and for smokers and people with a history of high blood sugar.
M D Anderson recommends exercise, controlling blood sugars and the avoidance of sugary, or refined starch foods (Ed: As we have pointed out in the past, some UK hospital dieticians actually recommend these foods for patients on chemotherapy!)
Proteins Make Pancreatic Cancer Aggressive
Cancer Research UK scientists have concluded that two proteins (Cap G and Gelsolin) - found in high concentrations in pancreatic tumours - are responsible for cell movement around the body and contribute to the aggressive, and ’spreading’ nature of pancreatic cancer.
The amount of Cap G found in the nucleus of cancer cells was proportional to the size of the tumour.
Vitamin D cuts pancreatic cancer risk
Science Daily (September 12, 2006) and Dr. Mercola both report on a study which examines data from two large scale research projects. One project reviewed 45,000 men aged 40-75; the other, 75,000 women aged 38-65, in the USA.
The study concluded that people taking 400 IU’s of Vitamin D every day can reduce their risk by 86 per cent. (Ed: Pancreatic cancer is apparently the fourth largest cause of cancer deaths in the USA. There is no known cure, although the work of Gonzalez in New York offers treatment hope over orthodox medicine in FDA monitored clinical trials, using his nutrition and supplements therapy).
Pancreatic Cancer Could Be Linked To Late-Onset Diabetes
New research (Gastroenterology 2005; 129; 504-11) shows that elderly, late-onset diabetes patients, have an increased risk of pancreatic cancer within three years. Suresh Chari (Mayo Clinic) has suggested using late-onset diabetes as a marker to obtain an earlier diagnosis for pancreatic cancer.
New Drug For Pancreatic Cancer
Adding a new chemotherapy drug to standard treatment for advanced pancreatic cancer has shown dramatic improvement in survival, a new study from Cancer Research UK claims.
Pancreatic cancer is one of the most difficult cancers to treat using orthodox therapies and those diagnosed have an overall one year survival rate of only 13 per cent.
Preliminary results of a phase III clinical trial have shown patients receiving a new combination of chemotherapy drugs have a one year survival rate of 26 per cent compared to 19 per cent for those on the trial receiving the standard chemotherapy.
Presenting the data at the 13th European Cancer Conference (ECCO) in Paris, researchers outlined the importance of improving the treatment for advanced pancreatic cancer. In most cases chemotherapy is the only orthodox treatment available and most patients die within a year of diagnosis.
The trial, called GEMCAP, recruited over 500 UK patients with advanced pancreatic cancer. One group had the standard treatment of a chemotherapy drug called gemcitabine. The second group had a combination of gemcitabine and capecitabine.
Professor David Cunningham from the Institute of Cancer Research at the Royal Marsden Hospital London and lead investigator of the trial says: "This trial is starting to show we can offer pancreatic cancer patients precious extra time with a new treatment that can be taken in tablet form. These results are an important milestone in the treatment of pancreatic cancer."
Ed: Myopia rules!!!! Regular readers of icon will know that Dr Gonzalez at his New York Clinic is well into a fully monitored clinical trial using 130 supplements and pancreatic enzymes.
The Clinical Trial is being overseen by the National Institute for Complementary Health. Only one of his forty nine pancreatic cancer patients has so far passed away, yet the trial is in its fifth year. He has used the therapy successfully with a number of different cancers, over the last 20 years.
Dr Gonzalez’ therapy is covered in our book Conventional Cancer Cures - What’s the Alternative?.
Pancreatic Cancer and Lycopene
A team of researchers backed by the Centre for Chronic Disease Prevention at Health Canada designed a study to look at dietary carotenoid intake and its link with pancreatic cancer. Carotenoids are usually found in grapefruit, peppers, carrots, watermelon and tomatoes. All the subjects were non-smokers as this is believed to be one of the main causes.
Over four years 4,700 healthy people and 462 patients used food questionnaires. The overall results were positive - a higher intake of carotenoids does reduce risk, but the biggest difference was found for lycopene: a 31 per cent reduced risk in the heavy intake group over the light eaters. Lycopene is commonly available in tomatoes and especially in cooked tomatoes.
Large Scale Study On BRCA1 And BRCA2
Families with these two genes mutated are high risk for breast, ovarian, pancreatic, prostate and stomach cancers according to a study published in The Annals of Oncology. The data used reviewed 948,000 Swedish families since 1931.
The study also showed that in families with bilateral breast cancer or two breast cancers, at least one of them under the age of 50, showed increased risk of prostate and primary liver cancers.
US vaccine for pancreatic cancer
Although no one seems to know what causes pancreatic cancer, maybe a cure is coming for some sufferers. Symptoms of pancreatic cancer are hard to diagnose until it is well advanced. Smokers are two to three times more likely to develop it, and the disease is very fast acting.
Now doctors at Sloan-Kettering Cancer Centre in New York have managed to keep three out of ten patients alive in a pilot study. Doctors took proteins from the cancer itself after surgery and modified them through "heat shock". These were then re-injected in order to boost the immune system response. Doctors feel it will five years before such a vaccine-programme, which is tailor-made, could be widely available.
Aspirin and pancreatic cancer
Dr Mercola reports that the idea of taking a daily aspirin for heart disease prevention (various studies printed this year in ICOfl have shown its preventative effect in cancers like colon or prostate) is now refuted. He states that, "British traditional experts have now abandoned the recommendation and that studies showing women who took two or more aspirins per week for 20 years had a higher risk of pancreatic cancer."
Although the cause of pancreatic cancer is unknown, Dr Mercola claims that taking aspirin regularly may cause an inflammation of the pancreas, called pancreatitis, which he says sometimes leads to pancreatic cancer.
Insulin resistence/intolerance found to increase cancer risk
A while ago, at CANCERactive we told you all about Insulin Resistance. ‘Do you have trouble losing weight?’ This is a common sign, as are low levels of HDL, high triglycerides, high blood glucose levels and more. And while you are not a true diabetic, the principles seem the same for an estimate of up to 70 per cent of the population, who (frankly) just eat badly. We have also given you a number of research studies showing glucose drives cancer.
Not surprisingly, insulin resistance is a step along the road to diabetes and heart disease. Now it has been shown to be a step along the road to cancer too.
New research published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, concluded that ‘there is a strong link between insulin resistance and the risk of developing postmenopausal breast cancer.’ Researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York have concluded that the elevated insulin levels linked to insulin resistance result in post-menopausal women having a higher risk of breast cancer.
The researchers also found that elevated blood glucose and triglyceride levels raised the risk of breast cancer by 1.7 times. Increased diastolic blood pressure (the second number when you have your blood pressure measured ) raised the risk of breast cancer 2.4 times.
Two factors are important here:
- Although this research was conducted looking at breast cancer, you can bet this is true for many cancers, male and female.
- Yet again it highlights the point we consistently make about the daft sugar-laden diets given to cancer patients in UK Hospitals.
We have complained that the NHS booklet on ‘a diet for chemotherapy’ shows little drawings of cheese burgers, milk shakes and sticky doughnuts on every page. My daughter was given ice cream and Ribena endlessly in her oncology unit.
Of course the good news for everyone – preventers and people with cancer - is that insulin resistance and blood sugar levels are controllable and reverse-able. Just change your diet!!!
I will list here for everyone’s benefit some of the tips from my book ‘The Rainbow Diet – and how it can help you beat cancer’:
- Eat six small meals a day, not one or two big ones
- Eat whole foods and whole grains (never refined, processed or fast foods)
- Avoid alcohol, fizzy soft drinks, sweets, cakes, white bread, white pasta, biscuits, chocolate. Diet drinks are especially bad! As are smoothies and purchased fruit juices; even many so-called health drinks.
- Eat raw most days, on an empty stomach if possible
- Eat your fruit first thing in the morning on an empty stomach
- Eat steamed or grilled – never fried
- Avoid Dairy (lactose is a sugar)
- Take probiotics in several strains
- Ensure you have no yeast excesses in your body (take cinnamon, oregano, Pau D’Arco and wormwood).
- And eat fresh raw garlic.
Remember, research from North Western shows that if you lose excess weight you reduce risk and even improve survival times.
The book contains far more detailed advice.
Being overweight increases cancer risk – fact
Cancer Research UK have just researched 4,000 people and come up with the staggering fact that 97 per cent of people have no idea that being overweight is a significant cancer risk. Of course, had they read our report on the research we conducted 4 years ago they would have known that people haven’t much a clue what does cause cancer anyway. Indeed we went into all the key issues in our 2004 Cancer Prevention Conference, which was poorly attended by the ‘major’ charities.
As we have been telling people for seven years, it all depends which report you read, and how much overweight you are, but to be just 7 kgs overweight knocks over 5 years off your life expectancy, and a whopping 13 years if you smoke as well. .All this is well documented in my book, ‘Everything you need to know to help you beat cancer’ – indeed it has been there since the first edition some 7 years ago.
All this comes in parallel with new Swedish research showing overweight women tend to be diagnosed with higher grade cancers than ladies who have restrained their weight.
One of the real issues is that many overweight people are in denial. We have had ladies write to us with breast cancer and they are 13 kgs over normal weight for their height. One described herself as ‘cuddly’, another as ‘being a bit chunky’.
In our original 2004 prevention research, people stated that giving up smoking was important, as was avoiding excess alcohol, and staying out of the sun. As we pointed out at the time, ‘Burning is bad, sunshine is sensible’. 4 years ago there was too much bad science coming from cancer charities suggesting sunshine was carcinogenic. In fact there is actually a great deal of research that suggests that a daily dose of sun shine promotes vitamin D synthesis in the body, and reduces cancer risk. A few people also knew that exercise was a risk reducer. But, in all, few people knew any information about preventing cancer (unlike Heart disease or AIDS) and blame for this lack of information can only be laid at the doors of the Government and the cancer charities. It was in response to this research finding that CANCERactive decided to adopt the Precautionary Principle (that where there is expert research expressing concern, we will pass on that research information so that the people of Britain can make more informed choices). As a result just compare the volume of Prevention Topics we cover against those listed on the major charities web sites. Pesticides? EMF’s? Melatonin? Toxic Chemicals, from dioxins to oestrogen mimics in plastic bottles and preservatives?
Anyone who is unsure of the factors that may increase cancer risk should go to the prevention part of our web site where they will find more information on more possible causes than on any other UK charity web site. As you will see, we have given some weight to the issue of cancer prevention!
Men more likely to get cancer – the issue is why?
Men are almost 40 per cent more likely than women to die from cancer, reveals a report published by the National Cancer Intelligence Network (NCIN).
And they are 16 per cent more likely to develop the disease in the first place.
After excluding breast cancer and cancers specific to one or other sex from the analysis, the difference is even greater – with men being almost 70 per cent more likely to die from cancer and over 60 per cent more likely to develop the disease.
The researchers then looked at the figures, excluding lung cancer as well, because the disease and its main risk factor, smoking, is known to be more common in men.They expected to see that, across the broad range of remaining cancer types, men and women were just as likely as each other to die from and get the disease. But they found that for all of these cancers combined, men were still 70 per cent more likely than women to die from cancer and 60 per cent more likely to get cancer.
Experts suggest that a possible explanation for the differences seen for some types of cancer could be down to stereotypical male behaviour – like down-playing important early symptoms and having an unhealthy lifestyle.
Even rogue cancer DNA repairs itself
CRUK scientists (Nature) have discovered a sensor which exists even in cancer cells. Some drugs try to damage cancer DNA. This sensor system is actually a family of proteins (alkyltransferase-like proteins or ATL’s) warns the cell and activates the DNA repair systems and so the drugs lose their effect.
Organic foods are better – ignore the UK Food Standards Agency
All over the UK papers comes news of the ‘ruling’ from the FSA that ‘organic food is no more nutritious than other foods’. According to that well known medical journal, the Daily Mail, ‘watchdogs’ have declared this to be true.
Claiming to be the largest and most comprehensive study of its kind, researchers for the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine’ trawled through more than 50,000 studies on the value of foods since 1958.’ The results were published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Dr Alan Dangour (a public health nutritionist, no less) who was the lead researcher stated that, ‘Currently there is no research to support the selection of organically produced foods on the basis of nutritional superiority’.
Spokesperson Gill Fine from the FSA burbled on about, ‘Ensuring people had accurate information’ and ‘no evidence of additional health benefits from eating organic foods’.
What staggers us at CANCERactive is that in order to resolve this very same question the EU has just spent £12 million of tax payers’ money conducting as near as can be, the definitive Clinical Trial, growing fields of organic food in parallel with normal pesticide and fertiliser-grown crops and then employing top scientists to give us the results. The FSA, which is after all a Government funded unit, ought to know this and use the data. And be clear, Gill: The ‘accurate information’ is that there is a considerable difference. And this is just from early assessments. The project will continue for a few more years yet, as that is how long it takes to be sure. Professor Carlo Leifert, one of the CANCERactive patrons, is a lead member of the team.We covered the early conclusions in this very magazine.
The Daily Mail falls into the usual ‘bad science’ trap too, meandering on about 50 years of research and 50,000 studies. But, the researchers didn’t use 50,000 studies, they used, sorry selected, 55 that ‘met their criteria’, whatever they were. So one concludes therefore they left out a mere 49,945 studies from their conclusions. Perhaps one was the definitive EU study?
Then there is Dr Alan ‘no evidence to support nutritional superiority’ Dangour. I quote about 10 - 15 such studies in my book ‘The Rainbow Diet – and how it can help you beat cancer’. Leifert and his team have a hundred more! What planet do these people live on? Al, old chap, there is rather a lot of scientific evidence actually; I cannot believe you think there is none..
But for the last word we will return to Gill ‘no additional health benefit’ Fine. All I can conclude is that she finds pesticides tasty and of absolutely harmless. Of course that view would put her directly at odds with the EU, which recently concluded that there were ‘deep concerns’ and cited health hazards including cancer as a need for more regulation. It is puzzling that Gill ‘ensuring people have accurate information’ Fine does not seem to be telling you all about research studies showing that farmers using pesticides develop more multiple myeloma, and another that this is due to the pesticide making pre-cancerous MGUS proteins in the blood, or (for example) that some third world suppliers to British retailers still use the banned pesticides of DDT and Lindane, each linked to higher rates of Breast Cancer. (If she is unsure, she could always trawl through back issues of Cancer Watch for more ‘accurate information’.)
For the record, there is concern that organic foods grown on depleted soils offer little in additional mineral content over mass-farmed foods. How could they? On basic vitamins there is quite a lot of evidence that organic food is superior, but sometimes not by much. The real advantage seems to come in the area of complex natural compounds (like resveratrol, quercitin, omega 3 or polyphenols) where organic foods score much more highly. For example, the use of fungicide negates the need for grapes to produce fungus fighting resveratrol of their own – several studies have measured this. And even 10 years ago researchers didn’t know too much about these compounds or their health benefits, and so did not research for them. How many such studies were in the ‘selected’ group?
Personally I don’t think everybody should rush off and buy everything organic – we have told you which foods research studies show are more likely to hold their pesticides, and which do not. So in a number of cases there is not a lot to worry about. But red fruits like strawberries and greens like broccoli do need extra caution before using the sprayed versions.
It is all very sad really. I think that the people, and especially the patients who want to beat cancer deserve better than this. But then, that’s why we set up CANCERactive.
Need to prevent thousands of older people dying from cancer, prematurely
As many as 15,000 people over 75 could be dying prematurely from cancer each year in the UK, according to research presented today at the National Cancer Intelligence Network (NCIN) conference.
These premature deaths could be prevented if cancer mortality rates in the UK dropped to match countries in Europe and America which have the lowest rates.
The researchers from the North West Cancer Intelligence Service (NWCIS) in Manchester compared cancer death rates in the UK with Europe and America.
They found that over the past decade the numbers of people dying from cancer in the under 75s has significantly dropped in the UK. But, little progress has been made in the over 75s and the gap in death rates with other countries is getting wider.
Dr Tony Moran, lead researcher from NWCIS, said “It’s worrying that so many older people die from cancer in the UK compared with other countries. But, it’s not clear why this is. Research is urgently needed to understand the reasons for the extra deaths so that steps can be taken to prevent them.
New scientific study reveals flaws, even fraud, in Clinical Trials
Scientific study. Clinical Trial, Gold Standard. Non Sequetor. Well, at least according to Dr Daniele Fanelli at the University of Edinburgh. In a recent study Fanelli lists findings such as
Most clinical results are misleading
- 5 per cent of scientists have admitted falsifying results
- One third of scientists admitted observing such bad practice in others
Fanelli’s report states that the misconduct is more prevalent in clinical, medical, and pharmaceutical research. So much for the ‘gold standard’; but then he goes on to refer to the high profits at stake where a few word changes can make all the difference, even if it’s not fraud but ‘presentation’.
He also comments on studies that criticise vitamins suggesting that all too often, doses used are too low to have an effect, or the where vitamin tested is known not to have an effect on a particular disease whereas another, untested one, is.
All this coincides with a USA FDA report that reports deficiencies and flaws in up to 20 per cent of US drug clinical trials.
Pancreatic Cancer – animal fat a cause
We have recently covered research studies on Pancreatic cancer showing the protective effects of whole foods, and another on resveratrol, while others showed increased risk links to smoking, blood sugar levels, refined carbohydrates and alcohol, Now from the Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics division at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in America comes a 500,000 person study that implicates red meat, dairy and animal fats.