plus 3, Extracts of bitter melon 'can block breast cancer' - BBC Health |
- Extracts of bitter melon 'can block breast cancer' - BBC Health
- Can Bras Cause Breast Cancer? - Associated Content
- Hiqa reports on breast cancer care - Irish Times
- A New Approach to Detecting Chemicals Linked to Breast Cancer - Huffingtonpost.com
| Extracts of bitter melon 'can block breast cancer' - BBC Health Posted: 25 Feb 2010 08:31 AM PST Message from fivefilters.org: If you can, please donate to the full-text RSS service so we can continue developing it. Extracts of a fruit grown on tropical vines appears to have breast cancer blocking powers, say researchers. Scientists found key ingredients of the green and knobbly bitter melon fruit interfered with chemical pathways involved in cancer growth. It turned off signals telling the breast cancer cells to divide and switched on signals encouraging them to commit suicide. Experts told Cancer Research journal more trials were needed. Although promising as an anti-cancer agent, trials in animals and then humans are still needed, study co-author Dr Rajesh Agarwal from the University of Colorado, US, said. And there is no proof that eating lots of bitter melon would offer any cancer protection, he said. Bitter melon, sometimes called bitter gourd or wild cucumber, is grown in Asia, Africa and South America. Its extract has been used for many years in folk medicines as a remedy for diabetes and infections. The latest findings suggest it may have a role in cancer prevention. The researchers hope, ultimately, the extract could be used as a dietary supplement for breast cancer patients to stop disease recurrence. Dr Agarwal said: "Breast cancer is a major killer among women around the world, and in that perspective, results from this study are quite significant. "This study may provide us with one more agent as an extract that could be used against breast cancer if additional studies hold true." Jessica Harris of Cancer Research UK said: "Many plant chemicals can kill cancer cells in the lab but very few end up as useful cancer drugs. "It will take a lot more work and trials in people before we know if this extract could benefit cancer patients or about any unwanted side effects. "Many cancer treatments have been developed from plant chemicals, but only after years of thorough research." "The most up-to-date, reliable evidence shows that drinking less alcohol, being physically active and keeping a healthy weight can reduce the risk of breast cancer." Print Sponsor Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
| Can Bras Cause Breast Cancer? - Associated Content Posted: 25 Feb 2010 04:49 AM PST Message from fivefilters.org: If you can, please donate to the full-text RSS service so we can continue developing it. Can Going Braless Save Your Life?Wearing an ill fitting bra is believed to cause a number of health issues. These range from sore shoulders to a tired and aching back. The wrong size bra has also been associated with irritable bowl syndrome, damage to breast tissue, constipation, breathing issues, circulation problems and skin problems. While several of these can be very serious they are not generally considered life threatening. A recent study now indicates that wearing a bra, even a proper fitting bra can increase a woman's risk of developing breast cancer. It should be noted immediately that this study is disputed by several breast cancer organizations and bra manufacturers.The study, conducted by scientist Soma Grismaijer and Sidney Ross Singer surveyed some 4,700 women. The result of the survey indicated that the odds of developing breasts cancer increased dramatically the longer the women in the study group wore bras. Of the women surveyed who had developed breast cancer is was found they had reported wearing a bra for a minimum of 12 hours per day. Inside the body is a network of vessels it is believed are intended to flush toxins out of the body. When a woman wears a bra the lymphatic system below the armpits is constricted, blocking these vessels. Over time these toxins are believed to build up and create a situation which is conducive to the development of breast cancer. In a separate study by researcher in Japan it was found that a tight fitting bra suppresses the nocturnal elevation of the hormone melatonin. This situation is believed by some doctors to raise the risk of breast cancer. A third study concluded that breast pain and other health complications wear reduced when women stopped wearing a bra. While the study found no direct link between a tight fitting bra and an increase risk of breast cancer it did report some very interesting findings. It was reported that in cultures in which women spent more time bra-less there was a lower rate of breast cancer. This lower rate could not be directly attributed to not wearing a bra. Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
| Hiqa reports on breast cancer care - Irish Times Posted: 25 Feb 2010 06:37 AM PST Message from fivefilters.org: If you can, please donate to the full-text RSS service so we can continue developing it. Breast disease services at Ireland's eight designated cancer centres are broadly meeting the national standards for care, according to the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa). Hiqa today published its report into the quality and safety of symptomatic breast disease services in Ireland, and eight local hospital reports from the designated centres. It said all centres now had in place "the fundamental requirements" for safe, quality care such as triple assessment procedures, multidisciplinary teams, and appropriate equipment. However, Hiqa's report noted some centres fell below the required performance in relation to offering appointments for 95 per cent of patients "triaged as urgent" within two weeks during the course of 2009. The centres, Hiqa said, acknowledged they were not meeting the acceptable standards and remedial measures, such as additional clinics, were taken to bring performance to the required limits by the end of the year. Breast cancer is the second most common cancer in Ireland, accounting for 30 per cent of all cancers in women in Ireland with around 2,500 new breast cancer cases diagnosed each year. The director of health-care quality and safety with Hiqa, Jon Billings, said "significant progress has been made in the physical establishment of the eight designated centres". "The centres have been found to be meeting the key requirements of the national quality assurance standards for symptomatic breast disease services. "This represents a major shift in the capability and capacity of the health system to deliver safer and better care for people with symptomatic breast disease, as compared to the position in the autumn of 2007," he said. The Irish Cancer Society today welcomed the publication of the report into the eight centres. Spokeswoman Kathleen O'Meara said: "The continuous oversight of designated centres by Hiqa has and should continue to ensure that hospitals maintain compliance with all the standards in place for access to and treatment of breast cancer. "However, we hope that the Government will build on the example they have set for breast cancer and work towards centralised diagnosis and treatment of prostate, lung, bowel and skin cancer as soon as possible," she said. For more visit: Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
| A New Approach to Detecting Chemicals Linked to Breast Cancer - Huffingtonpost.com Posted: 23 Feb 2010 03:57 PM PST Message from fivefilters.org: If you can, please donate to the full-text RSS service so we can continue developing it. Odds are that you know someone who has been diagnosed with breast cancer. One in eight U.S. women will develop this terrifying disease in their lifetime. Breast cancer is the most common invasive cancer and a leading cause of death in American women. Though the odds of survival have dramatically improved over the past several decades, prevention of breast cancer has not been a focus of many research efforts. That is, in part, because the causes of breast cancer are not very well understood. Inherited genes account for less than a quarter of breast cancer cases. And though a number of risk factors, such as delaying childbirth until later in life, have been identified, there is good evidence to suggest that exposure to chemical pollutants, is also a significant part of this disease. In laboratory animals, over 200 chemicals have been linked to the development of mammary (breast) cancer but few are regulated based on this outcome. For example, we know that Bisphenol A (BPA) predisposes laboratory rodents to developing breast cancer, turns on genes associated with aggressive breast cancer in human tissue, and interferes with chemotherapies used in breast cancer treatment. Of the tens of thousands of other chemicals in commerce, most have never been tested in a way that would allow for the detection of their links to breast cancer. The Natural Resources Defense Council has been participating in The Breast Cancer and Chemicals Policy project over the past year to improve the way that chemicals are tested for their links to breast cancer. Chemicals linked to breast cancer should be better regulated and testing to find the most likely culprits is where we have to begin. The project also has identified a way to prioritize testing of the tens of thousands of chemicals for testing. Today we are presenting the findings of this project at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). California's Breast Cancer Research Program, the largest state funded breast cancer research effort in the nation, recognized the potential significant impact of environmental chemicals on the development of breast cancer and has launched a Special Research Initiative to promote further research in this area. The first project launched under this initiative was the Breast Cancer and Chemicals Policy research project which was awarded to the UC-Berkeley Center for Occupational and Environmental Health. NRDC was also a partner in this project and I serve as co-director along with my colleague, Gina Solomon, who has been a core contributor throughout the project. The project was funded, in part, to develop a report for the State of California during their development and implementation of the Green Chemistry Initiative, a statewide policy initiative to reduce the impacts of toxic chemicals on public health and the environment. The project had 3 major goals:
Over the past year, our panel of over 20 experts has studied the biology of breast cancer development – including known risk factors and other biological events that precede development of a tumor. We have also identified available laboratory tests that could be used to identify environmental chemicals that trigger these events. For example, chemicals which mimic the female sex hormone estrogen. And finally we have developed criteria for prioritizing the selection of chemicals for toxicity testing. By identifying environmental chemical hazards, the approach developed by the Panel could contribute significantly to breast cancer prevention and could also promote the use of safer alternatives. Our report is still in draft form and is expected to be finalized by April 2010. Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
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