December 18, 2008
A diet high in fruit and veg can help reduce the risk of some cancers
Christmas means different things to different people. But it’s probably fair to say that to most, it can be summed up very eloquently in one phrase – ‘my eyes were bigger than my belly’. It’s traditionally a time when we eat more than we would ever usually eat, drink more than we would ever usually drink, and, perhaps no wonder, collapse on the sofa more than we would ever usually collapse.
Thank goodness, then, that Christmas is followed by New Year and the chance to start afresh.
Resolutions are a big part of any New Year and when we make them, we often have our health in mind. But how many of us realise just how much good we’re doing? In this post, we’ll find out how familiar resolutions can help to dramatically reduce our risk of cancer.
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3 Comments | 
Alcohol, Body weight, Cancer Prevention, Diet, Risks & Causes, Smoking | 
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Posted by Ed Yong
December 17, 2008
Bowel tissue, showing tumours developing. Credit: N. Barker
Stem cells are a hot topic in cancer. In recent years we’ve seen the rise of the “cancer stem cell” concept – the idea that many cancers are caused by a small group of immortal stem cells. These produce ‘bulk tumour cells’, which can be killed off by treatments such as chemotherapy, but the stem cells themselves are resistant to treatment.
The cancer stem cell theory provides a neat explanation of why cancers can come back after many years, but the idea is controversial. Some researchers think that all cancers boil down to stem cells, while others maintain that only a proportion of cancers are fuelled by these cells.
There’s certainly good evidence for the involvement of cancer stem cells in leukaemia, and scientists have suggested that stem cells drive many other types of cancer, including breast, skin and prostate.
US scientists writing recently in the journal Nature used new techniques to show that melanoma skin cancer – a disease that had previously been thought to be driven by stem cells – defied the theory, ramping up the controversy.
But this week’s Nature carries a report from Cancer Research UK scientists in Scotland and Cardiff, working with researchers in the Netherlands, showing that stem cells are at the root of bowel cancer.
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11 Comments | 
Bowel, Cancer Research UK-funded research, Cancer Type, Cancer in the news, Podcast, Science, Scientific papers, Stem cells | 
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Posted by Kat Arney
December 12, 2008
As anyone who’s fond (or not so fond) of clothes-shopping will know, the idea that “one size fits all” is a myth. And the same is true of cancer treatment.
Fundamentally, cancer is due to faulty genes – this is usually a combination of genetic variations inherited from our parents, topped with the random mistakes that happen during a lifetime’s wear and tear. But the distinct signature of gene faults in an individual tumour also affects how the disease responds to treatment.
Increasingly, scientists and doctors are working together to make “personalised medicine” a reality, as it becomes clear that all cancers are not the same. The idea is that a patient will get a treatment tailored to the genetic makeup of their cancer, which is more likely to work than a “one size fits all” standard treatment.
For example, in the case of breast cancer, the disease can be broken down into several different sub-types, depending on the genes that are active within a tumour. And each subtype may require a slightly different treatment approach.
Cancer Research UK scientists from Edinburgh have just announced an important step forward in this area, discovering that a genetic test (already used in breast cancer diagnosis) can predict whether an individual patient will benefit from certain chemotherapy drugs or not. And we could see it become standard clinical practice within a couple of years.
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7 Comments | 
Breast, Cancer Research UK-funded research, Cancer Treatment, Cancer in the news, Chemotherapy & Drugs, Podcast, Science | 
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Posted by Kat Arney
December 11, 2008
In the last post, we talked about the new report on vitamin D and cancer from the International Agency for Research into Cancer (IARC). In this one, we’ll summarise what the report has to say on the balance between getting enough vitamin D through sun exposure and reducing the risk of skin cancer by being SunSmart.
First, a quick recap:
- Our skin makes vitamin D when exposed to sunlight, which is the major source of this chemical.
- BUT too much exposure to the sun can cause skin cancer.
- Having enough vitamin D is essential for healthy bones, among other things.
- There is growing evidence that bowel cancer is less common in people who get enough vitamin D, but the jury’s still out for other types of cancer.
So the big question is: do vitamin D’s benefits mean that staying safe in the sun will actually do more harm than good? Should people be actively trying to tan for the sake of their health? The answer, according to the new IARC report, seems to be no.
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5 Comments | Cancer Type, Risks & Causes, Skin cancer, Sun & UV | Permalink
Posted by Ed Yong
December 10, 2008
Read too many headlines and you might think that everything under the sun causes cancer. And, of course, the sun itself can increase your risk of the disease, because the ultraviolet radiation it puts out is the major cause of skin cancer.
But recently, some researchers have suggested that sunlight could also protect us from cancer – you’ve probably seen stories about it in the media. When sunlight shines onto our skin, we produce vitamin D and indeed, sun exposure is our main source of this chemical. We need vitamin D for strong, healthy bones but some studies suggest that it can also reduce the risk of many types of cancer.
Understandably, this is a fairly controversial issue – how do you balance the need for some sun exposure in order to make enough vitamin D with the need to stay safe in the sun and reduce your risk of skin cancer? And is it true that vitamin D can reduce the risk of cancer at all?
This month, the authoritative International Agency for Research into Cancer (IARC) have weighed in on the issue. By gathering a group of expert scientists, they have looked at all the available evidence and published a detailed report on vitamin D and cancer. The massive tome weighs in at 465 pages, but we’ll take a look at the key points in the first of two posts looking at the vitamin D debate.
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19 Comments | Bowel, Breast, Cancer Type, Prostate, Risks & Causes, Skin cancer, Sun & UV | Permalink
Posted by Ed Yong
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