liver cancer
The best ways to use tumor markers in diagnosing cancer hasn't been determined. And the use of some tumor marker tests is controversial. Examples of tumor markers include prostate-specific antigen (PSA) for prostate cancer, cancer antigen 125 (CA 125) for ovarian cancer, calcitonin for medullary thyroid cancer, alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) for liver cancer and human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) for germ cell tumors, such as testicular cancer and ovarian cancer.
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Once-Condemned Drug May Control Blood Cancer
A drug once denounced for causing birth defects seems to be a promising tool in the fight against a form of blood cancer, In a late-stage study involving 270 patients, researchers looked at whether the controversial drug, thalidomide, would create a better treatment combination for multiple myeloma...
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Colon cancer
Colon, or colorectal, cancer is cancer that starts in the large intestine (colon) or the rectum (end of the colon). Other types of cancer can affect the colon, such as lymphoma, carcinoid tumors, melanoma, and sarcomas. These are rare. In this article, use of the term "colon...
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Lung cancer
Lung cancer is cancer that starts in the lungs. The lungs are located in the chest. They help you breathe. When you breathe, air goes through your nose, down your windpipe (trachea), and into the lungs, where it spreads through tubes called bronchi. Most lung cancer begins in...
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Cancer
Cancer, also called malignancy or neoplasm, develops when cells in a specific part of the body begin to grow out of control. Unlike normal cells, cancer cells do not stop reproducing after they have doubled 50-60 times. Normal body cells grow, divide, and die in an orderly,...
She beat breast cancer only to see the disease return in a different form. But Madam Wong Mei Moy was to beat it again, by changing her blood with the help of her sister Madam Wong Mei Moy now shares a special bond with her sister – her very own blood has changed its nature from AB to A.
This happened after her sister’s marrow was successfully grafted onto hers, as part of the treatment for her blood cancer.
Her doctor, Dr Teo Cheng Peng, explains: “Her sister’s blood is group A while Mei Moy’s was group AB. This is called a blood group mismatch transplant.
“This kind of transplant is not common and is harder to perform. So, when we saw her blood group changing to A, we knew the donor cells (Group A) had taken over (we call this “engraftment”) the patient’s marrow. This is the target, donor taking over the patient’s marrow.
“Needless to say, we are happy with the outcome. We almost lost her a few times and it was a very long process with so many moments of disappointments, frustrations and false dawns. Thank goodness, that she, her husband and sisters were patient enough and kept faith.”
It has indeed been a long journey.
In October 2002, Madam Wong discovered she had breast cancer. She was treated and she was free of it for two years, when she developed the blood cancer.
“It was a very difficult time, but my husband Harry, encouraged me. No need to be afraid,” she said.
This blood cancer is called Acute Myeloid Leukaemia and required a Stem Cell Transplant (SCT).
Dr Teo explained: “SCT treatment is routine for most patients with blood cancer. It usually offers the best chance of a cure.”
Madam Wong, 57, needed to ask her sisters for help – she comes from a large family of eight siblings. Except for one elder brother, the rest were sisters. She had a twin sister but the test showed that cells from another sister would give a better chance of cure, as the cells would “attack” the cancer.
Three of her sisters, aged 57, 61 and 66, came to Singapore to be tested. One was found to be a good candidate. Dr Teo said: “The test between Madam Wong and her sister is called the HLA typing. This test determines if patient and donor match.
It is just a blood test. The twin sister will always match. But between the sister and the twin, the sister is a better choice because of a better “graft vs leukaemia” effect.”
Madam Wong required a few infusions of stem cells from the sister because the leukaemia was rather resistant and kept coming back (relapse) despite the initial infusions of stem cells. It is only with this persistent infusion of donor stem cells that we were able to overcome the leukaemia.”
Madam Wong said: “I am so grateful to my sister and her family who let her come to Singapore. We could see a gradual improvement in the cancer marker. Every time there was even a small increase, we would cheer and hug each other. And fax the results to Indonesia.”
For many months, it was a gruelling routine of daily check-ups and rest. Madam Wong had no visitors, as she tried to rest as much as she could.
“Sometimes it was very difficult to sleep and I needed a light sedative. In those days when I did not have treatments, I did light housework,” she said.
Her husband added: “And we prayed a lot.” The couple are Christians with a son and a daughter who are in Australia.
Throughout the treatment, Madam Wong stayed positive. Her husband said: “She can withstand the tough side effects. She always says: “I can fight this.” I sit beside her, and try to comfort her the best I can.”
Madam Wong said: “Leukeamia is not something simple. It is a journey of many steps. And I was already at an advanced stage when the doctors caught it. I am glad that my sister was with me all the way, and the doctor was patient.”
And the day she got the all clear, she whooped and hugged the nurses, and rang her sister immediately. “I told her I am cured, and it was thanks to her blood,” said Madam Wong.
MD Anderson physician honored for impact on blood, marrow transplantation
Newswise — HOUSTON - The American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation has honored leader, innovator and educator Richard Champlin, M.D., with its Lifetime Achievement Award during the group's annual meeting Feb. 17-21.
The award recognizes Champlin, head of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center Department of Stem Cell Transplantation and Cellular Biology, for his career-long work developing and improving blood stem cell transplantation as cancer therapy.
"Dr. Champlin is a productive and highly accomplished investigator who is an international leader in blood and marrow transplantation," said A. John Barrett, M.D., ASBMT president. "His work has set clinical standards for the field in the United States and beyond. He's an inspirational mentor to trainees and faculty who will carry his teachings forward."
Blood stem cell transplants, or bone marrow transplants, restore blood production and the immune system after cancer patients receive intensive chemotherapy. Transplants are most commonly used against blood cancers such as leukemia and lymphoma. Produced in the bone marrow, blood stem cells differentiate into platelets, red blood cells and the immune system's white blood cells. Patients receive either their own banked cells or ones from a matched donor.
"Dick Champlin is a pioneer of stem cell transplantation and one of the best translational researchers in the field," said Waun Ki Hong, M.D., head of MD Anderson's Division of Cancer Medicine. "He's a highly effective leader of MD Anderson's transplant and cellular therapy program. The lifetime achievement award is richly deserved recognition for his outstanding leadership and contributions in the field."
Since Champlin arrived in 1990 to lead MD Anderson's program, it has grown to become the world's largest and most productive, performing 800 transplants a year.
"I am greatly honored to receive this prestigious award," Champlin said. "There has been enormous progress in the field of blood and marrow transplantation. It is very satisfying to have played a part in the clinical research that has so greatly advanced the standards of care."
Safer transplants become standard of care
A pioneer in the use of donor stem cell transplants for blood cancers, Champlin was one of the first to recognize that the new blood from the donor actually attacks remaining leukemia or lymphoma cells in the recipient.
By studying this graft-vs.-cancer effect, Champlin found that the extremely high doses of chemotherapy given to kill a patient's disease before transplant were unnecessary.
"We used to give almost life-threatening doses of chemotherapy to treat disease," Champlin said. "Now we can use lower doses and then rely on the donor's stem cells to kill remaining cancer and cure disease."
Donor transplants now are offered to patients previously ineligible because of the high-dose chemotherapy's toxicity, Barrett noted.
"Dr. Champlin's strategy resulted in a paradigm shift in clinical transplant medicine by dramatically reducing the mortality rates of young and older donor transplant recipients. This approach has become the standard of care for these transplant recipients worldwide," he said. Barrett is section chief of Stem Cell Transplantation at the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute's Hematology Branch.
Older patients are most likely to have leukemia or lymphoma. "Now we can go to age 75," Champlin said. "It used to be restricted to young adults and children, now almost everyone can tolerate a transplant. If we find a good donor match for them, they may be cured."
Champlin wins praise as an enthusiastic teacher and mentor. He has trained hundreds of young transplant investigators from around the world, many of whom now lead other prominent transplant programs.
Champlin was the founding president of the ASBMT and served as chair of the Center for International Bone Marrow Transplant Research. He is a prolific author of more than 700 scientific and clinical papers.
He also served as vice president of the Foundation for the Accreditation of Hematopoietic Therapy (FACT) for more than a decade. In that role, he was instrumental in developing standards, as well as an accreditation program, that have been widely adopted by the national and international transplant communities. Champlin served as the President of the Council for Donor Collections and Transplant Centers for the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP).
He is a member of the Advisory Committee for Cord Blood and Stem Cell Transplantation for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
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It is estimated that 1,200 children aged between 0-15 years get cancer in Ghana every year.
According to the President of the Robert Mitchell Memorial Cancer Foundation, Mrs Emma Mitchell, the situation was aggravated by the ignorance of some parents to take their children to the nearest hospital when symptoms of the illness were detected.
What was even alarming, she said, was the fact that the survival rate in the county was 20 per cent, compared to-70-80 per cent in developed countries.
According to her, health experts had maintained that childhood cancers could be cured, provided prompt and essential treatment was accessible.
Mrs Mitchell, a former minister of state and now a member of the Council of State, therefore, advised parents to immediately report to health specialists for early detection and cure when they detected signs such as prolonged fever, loss of weight and appetite, fatigue, easy bruising or bleeding in their children.
In an interview with the Daily Graphic after a float had been organised by the foundation along selected streets of Accra to create awareness of childhood cancer, Mrs Mitchell explained that lack of knowledge and inadequate medical facilities were some of the contributory factors responsible for the alarming rate of the disease in the country.
Cancer is a class of diseases characterised by out-of-control cell growth. There are over 100 different types of cancer and each is classified by the type of cell that is initially affected.
Cancer harms the body when damaged cells divide incontrollably to form lumps or masses of tissue called tumours (except in the case of leukaemia in which cancer prohibits normal blood function by abnormal cell division in the blood stream).
Tumours can grow and interfere with the digestive, nervous and circulatory systems and they can release hormones that alter body function.
Tumours that stay in one spot and demonstrate limited growth are generally considered to be benign.
Dr Juliana Mitchell of the Child Health Department at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital advised against the use of pesticides at close range to children because pesticides were associated with acute myeloid leukaemia.
Dr Mitchell, a daughter of Mrs Mitchell, said pollution to the environment, continuous infection of malaria, hepatitis and other diseases such a HIV/AIDS could precipitate cancer diseases. New research including more than 500,000 adults shows that levels in the blood of bilirubin in the normal range but relatively higher were linked to a reduced risk of lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and all-cause death, according to a study to be published Wednesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Bilirubin is a compound produced by the breakdown of hemoglobin from red blood cells.
It is in excreted urine, and high levels may indicate certain diseases. It is responsible for the yellow color of bruises and the yellow discoloration in jaundice. Bilirubin may also have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects, which help protect cells, the researchers said.
Bilirubin is created by the activity of biliverdin reductase on biliverdin, a green tetrapyrrolic bile pigment which is also a product of heme catabolism. Bilirubin, when oxidized, reverts to become biliverdin once again. This cycle, in addition to the demonstration of the potent antioxidant activity of bilirubin, has led to the hypothesis that bilirubin’s main physiologic role is as a cellular antioxidant.
Previous studies suing animals have shown that raised bilirubin levels in the blood appears to protect the lungs against environmental damage, which may be due to the potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of bilirubin, she added.
Laura J. Horsfall, M.Sc., of University College London, and colleagues examined the association between serum bilirubin levels and the incidence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), lung cancer and all-cause death in a large population-based group of patients from the United Kingdom .
Although the research did not establish causality for any of the relationships, there is some experimental evidence that bilirubin has benefits for respiratory health because of its cytoprotective properties, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antiproliferative effects, according to the researchers. Evidence in support of the health-promoting properties of vitamin D continues to mount as new research shows a direct link between blood levels of the super-nutrient and the risk of developing colon cancer. The National Cancer Institute provides statistics showing that colon cancer is the second most deadly form of the disease, taking the lives of more than 50,000 each year in the US. The International Journal of Cancer has published a meta-analysis from nine comprehensive studies showing dramatic reductions in colon cancer risk with higher blood concentrations of the sunshine vitamin.
The pooled data from the studies reviewed showed that for every 10 nanograms per milliliter increase in vitamin D blood level saturation, there was a corresponding decrease in colon cancer incidence of 15%. Breast cancer risk was lowered by 11% with the same increase in vitamin D. Researchers made note that they were testing the biologically active form of vitamin D known as cholecalciferol (vitamin D3) and not the less active precursor (vitamin D2 or ergocalciferol). Vitamin D was tested using the more accurate 25(OH)D blood test.
The role of vitamin D in cancer prevention has been theorized since the early 1940`s when scientists discovered that cancer rates were much lower in countries closest to the equator. At the time they believed that sunshine played an important role in `cancer immunity`. Over time the link between vitamin D production in the skin and sun exposure has become increasingly apparent and extensive research demonstrates how this crucial nutrient can protect DNA integrity and prevent cancer-causing mutations.
Research studies over the past decade have provided conclusive evidence that vitamin D blood levels in the 50 to 80 ng/ml range are associated with a significantly reduced cancer risk from all lines of the disease. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition published the results of a study showing that vitamin D (1100 IU per day) combined with calcium (1400 to 1500 mg per day) `substantially reduces all-cancer risk in postmenopausal women`.
