(HealthDay News) -- If you suffer from heartburn, there are prescription and over-the-counter medications that can help alleviate your symptoms. But how is your heartburn triggered in the first place?
The National Heartburn Alliance recommends dietary changes to lower your risk. Acidic foods and drinks, like coffee, soda or citrus fruit, can aggravate the stomach. So can fattening and spicy foods, as can garlic, onions, pepper, caffeine and alcoholic or carbonated drinks.
Lifestyle changes, such as losing weight or quitting smoking, can reduce bouts of heartburn. Also, avoid lying down or bending over after meals, and try to avoid eating right before bedtime.
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
Give Heartburn the Heave-Ho
(HealthDay News) -- Millions of Americans are plagued with heartburn, but experts say a few easy lifestyle changes can help reduce or eliminate symptoms.
Here are some tips from the May issue of the Mayo Clinic Health Letter:
· Eat smaller meals. This helps reduce pressure on the lower esophageal sphincter, the ring of muscles that normally keeps digestive acid in your stomach.
· Avoid "trigger" foods. Most people have specific foods that cause heartburn. These may include fatty or fried foods, alcohol, chocolate, peppermint, garlic, onion, tomato-based foods, spicy foods, citrus, caffeine, or nicotine.
· Loosen your belt. Tightness around your waist pressures the lower abdomen and lower esophageal sphincter.
· Don't lie down after eating. Wait at least three hours after you eat before you go to bed or stretch out on the couch.
· Quit smoking. Smoking can increase stomach acid. Swallowing air during smoking may also aggravate acid reflux.
· Stay slim. Being overweight is one of the biggest risk factors for heartburn.
· Elevate during sleep. For example, use bricks or blocks to raise the head of your bed about six inches, in order to get a bit of help from gravity in keeping stomach acid where it belongs. You can also insert a wedge between your mattress and box spring to elevate your body from the waist up. Using an extra pillow to elevate your head isn't sufficient.
· Turn left. Sleeping on your left side may help your stomach empty better.
If heartburn continues to be a problem, discuss it with your doctor. Treatment options include over-the-counter and prescription drugs, as well as surgery to tighten the sphincter muscles.
More information
The American Academy of Family Physicians has more about heartburn.
Here are some tips from the May issue of the Mayo Clinic Health Letter:
· Eat smaller meals. This helps reduce pressure on the lower esophageal sphincter, the ring of muscles that normally keeps digestive acid in your stomach.
· Avoid "trigger" foods. Most people have specific foods that cause heartburn. These may include fatty or fried foods, alcohol, chocolate, peppermint, garlic, onion, tomato-based foods, spicy foods, citrus, caffeine, or nicotine.
· Loosen your belt. Tightness around your waist pressures the lower abdomen and lower esophageal sphincter.
· Don't lie down after eating. Wait at least three hours after you eat before you go to bed or stretch out on the couch.
· Quit smoking. Smoking can increase stomach acid. Swallowing air during smoking may also aggravate acid reflux.
· Stay slim. Being overweight is one of the biggest risk factors for heartburn.
· Elevate during sleep. For example, use bricks or blocks to raise the head of your bed about six inches, in order to get a bit of help from gravity in keeping stomach acid where it belongs. You can also insert a wedge between your mattress and box spring to elevate your body from the waist up. Using an extra pillow to elevate your head isn't sufficient.
· Turn left. Sleeping on your left side may help your stomach empty better.
If heartburn continues to be a problem, discuss it with your doctor. Treatment options include over-the-counter and prescription drugs, as well as surgery to tighten the sphincter muscles.
More information
The American Academy of Family Physicians has more about heartburn.
Rural Elderly Turn to Alternative Remedies
(HealthDay News) -- Alternative medicine is just as popular in rural North Carolina as it is in America's urban centers.
But a new study finds older North Carolina adults are more likely to use home or folk remedies such as vitamins, Epsom salts, or a daily "tonic" of vinegar rather than acupuncture, homeopathy or massage therapy.
Researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine in Winston-Salem surveyed 701 diabetics, aged 65 and older, in two rural North Carolina communities. They found that most of the respondents did not use complementary and alternative therapies to treat diabetes or other chronic diseases.
"They are using complementary and alternative medicine for prevention or for treating symptoms (a headache, a sore throat, a cut), but not for treating a chronic condition," the researchers said. In fact, alternative remedies "are largely a form of self-care" in this older, rural population, the study authors wrote.
It's common for these people to use some complementary and alternative medicine therapies, such as vinegar or honey, as a general "tonic," noted lead researcher Thomas Arcury.
"I've talked to older adults who'll tell you should take two tablespoons of vinegar every day in a glass of warm water because it's good for you. They aren't treating anything in particular," he said in a prepared statement.
More than half (52 percent) of the respondents used food home remedies (honey, lemon and garlic), and 57 percent used other home remedies (tobacco, Epsom salts and salves). Vitamins were used by 45 percent of the respondents, and minerals were used by 17 percent. Only 6 percent used herbs for self-care.
Ethnicity played a major role in the use of alternative therapies. Blacks and Native Americans were 81 percent and 76 percent, respectively, more likely to use food home remedies than whites and more than twice as likely to use other home remedies.
"We want to understand how people make decisions about managing their health. If we understand how people are treating themselves, the information can be useful for physicians," Arcury said.
The study appears in the March issue of the Journal of Gerontology.
More information
The U.S. National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine has more about complementary and alternative medicine.
But a new study finds older North Carolina adults are more likely to use home or folk remedies such as vitamins, Epsom salts, or a daily "tonic" of vinegar rather than acupuncture, homeopathy or massage therapy.
Researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine in Winston-Salem surveyed 701 diabetics, aged 65 and older, in two rural North Carolina communities. They found that most of the respondents did not use complementary and alternative therapies to treat diabetes or other chronic diseases.
"They are using complementary and alternative medicine for prevention or for treating symptoms (a headache, a sore throat, a cut), but not for treating a chronic condition," the researchers said. In fact, alternative remedies "are largely a form of self-care" in this older, rural population, the study authors wrote.
It's common for these people to use some complementary and alternative medicine therapies, such as vinegar or honey, as a general "tonic," noted lead researcher Thomas Arcury.
"I've talked to older adults who'll tell you should take two tablespoons of vinegar every day in a glass of warm water because it's good for you. They aren't treating anything in particular," he said in a prepared statement.
More than half (52 percent) of the respondents used food home remedies (honey, lemon and garlic), and 57 percent used other home remedies (tobacco, Epsom salts and salves). Vitamins were used by 45 percent of the respondents, and minerals were used by 17 percent. Only 6 percent used herbs for self-care.
Ethnicity played a major role in the use of alternative therapies. Blacks and Native Americans were 81 percent and 76 percent, respectively, more likely to use food home remedies than whites and more than twice as likely to use other home remedies.
"We want to understand how people make decisions about managing their health. If we understand how people are treating themselves, the information can be useful for physicians," Arcury said.
The study appears in the March issue of the Journal of Gerontology.
More information
The U.S. National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine has more about complementary and alternative medicine.
A Shopping Cart of Cancer Fighters
(HealthDay News) -- Broccoli sprouts, cabbage, ginkgo biloba and garlic appear to have a role in preventing a variety of cancers, researchers report.
The research, which focuses on chemical interactions between compounds found in foods and the body's cells and DNA, suggests the addition of these foods to the diet can confer health benefits, the researchers said.
The findings were to be presented Monday at the American Association for Cancer Research's meeting, in Baltimore.
In the first study, Akinori Yanaka and colleagues from the University of Tsukuba in Japan found that in 20 people, a diet rich in broccoli sprouts significantly reduced Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection.
H. pylori, a bacterium, is a cause of gastritis -- inflammation of the stomach lining -- and is a major factor in peptic ulcer and stomach cancer, the researchers said.
"Even though we were unable to eradicate H. pylori, to be able suppress it and relieve the accompanying gastritis by means as simple as eating more broccoli sprouts is good news for the many people who are infected," Yanaka said in a prepared statement.
Sulforaphane, a chemical found in broccoli sprouts, appears to be the active cancer-fighting agent. Sulforaphane apparently helps cells defend against oxidants, the highly reactive and toxic molecules that damage DNA and kill cells and potentially lead to cancer, the researchers noted.
Another study with broccoli sprouts found that when an extract from the sprouts was applied to the skin of hairless mice, it counteracted carcinogenic responses to ultraviolet light exposure, a cause of skin cancer.
"Just when we stopped exposing the mice to UV light, we started applying broccoli sprout extract," said Albena T. Dinkova-Kostova, a postgraduate fellow at Johns Hopkins University.
"We found that only 50 percent of mice treated with the extract developed tumors, compared with 100 percent of the mice not treated with the extract," she said.
"The topical application of this extract could be developed to be a potential agent against UV light-induced skin cancer," she added.
Dinkova-Kostova's team is studying whether ingesting broccoli sprouts for the sulforaphane might also work in protecting mice from getting skin cancer. Her hope is to see if either ingested or topical sulforaphane can protect people from skin cancer. "This strategy is probably worthwhile to be developed for protection in humans," she said.
In the third study, researchers suggest that cabbage and sauerkraut may protect women from breast cancer.
Data collected from the U.S. component of the Polish Women's Health Study showed an association between eating cabbage and sauerkraut and a lower risk of breast cancer. The effect seemed to be highest among women who eat high amounts starting in adolescence and continue to do so throughout adulthood. The most protective effect appeared to come from raw or briefly cooked cabbage, the researchers said.
"The observed pattern of risk reduction indicates that the breakdown products of glucosinolates in cabbage may affect both the initiation phase of carcinogenesis -- by decreasing the amount of DNA damage and cell mutation -- and the promotion phase -- by blocking the processes that inhibit programmed cell death and stimulate unregulated cell growth," lead researcher Dorothy Rybaczyk-Pathak, a professor of epidemiology at the University of New Mexico, said in a prepared statement.
In the fourth study, researchers from Brigham and Woman's Hospital in Boston found that ginkgo biloba appears to lower the risk of developing ovarian cancer.
"There are herbal supplements used in the treatment of cancer, although there is not much scientific evidence to support their use," said lead researcher Bin Ye. "Our study looked at ginkgo use in women with and without cancer.
"We found in a population-based study that 4.2 percent of cancer-free women reported taking ginkgo biloba regularly," Ye said. "However, only 1.6 percent of women with ovarian cancer reported taking ginkgo regularly."
In laboratory studies, the researchers found that compounds in ginkgo biloba -- ginkgolide A and B -- were the most active components contributing to this protective effect. "We found that the proliferation rates in certain types of cancer cells was inhibited by 80 percent," Ye said.
"This combination of population and laboratory studies suggests that ginkgo biloba may have value for the prevention of cancer," Ye said.
In the final study, researchers found that garlic may help ward off carcinogens produced by meat cooked at high temperatures. Cooking meats and eggs at high temperatures releases a chemical called PhIP, which may be a carcinogen.
Studies have shown that breast cancer is higher among women who eat large amounts of meat, although fat and caloric intake and hormone exposure may contribute to this increased risk, the researchers reported.
However, diallyl sulfide (DAS), a flavor component of garlic, appears to inhibit the effects of PhIP that can cause DNA damage or transform substances in the body into carcinogens.
"We treated human breast epithelial cells with equal amounts of PhIP and DAS separately, and the two together, for periods ranging from three to 24 hours," Ronald D. Thomas, associate professor of basic sciences at Florida A&M University, said in a statement. "PhIP induced expression of the cancer-causing enzyme at every stage, up to 40-fold, while DAS completely inhibited the PhIP enzyme from becoming carcinogenic," he said.
"The finding demonstrates for the first time that DAS triggers a gene alteration in PhIP that may play a significant role in preventing cancer, notably breast cancer, induced by PhIP in well-done meats," the researchers reported.
All of these findings come on the heels of a sixth study, reported in last week's issue of The Lancet, that found that people with a genetic susceptibility to lung cancer could cut their risk for the disease by eating vegetables from the cabbage family.
"We found protective effects with at least weekly consumption of cruciferous vegetables," said lead researcher Paul Brennan of the International Agency for Research on Cancer in Lyon, France.
One expert said the results of the six studies are interesting. And while it may be some time before they have any practical applications for people that should not stop us from adding more vegetables and fruits to our diet.
"An extensive body of epidemiologic evidence suggests consistently, if not decisively, that generous consumption of fruits and vegetables is associated with reduced cancer risk," said Dr. David L. Katz, an associate professor of public health and director of the Prevention Research Center at Yale University School of Medicine.
Further study should provide "a clearer picture both of what foods reduce cancer risk, and how," Katz said. "Understanding in each of these areas will lead to new insights in the other. A refined ability to use diet in the prevention of cancer will ensue."
"That is an exciting prospect," he added. "But excitement about what may come should not distract from what is already in hand. Even with gaps in our knowledge, the case for increasing fruit and vegetable consumption to promote health and prevent disease -- cancer included -- is compelling and strong."
More information
To learn more about diet and cancer, visit the American Cancer Society.
The research, which focuses on chemical interactions between compounds found in foods and the body's cells and DNA, suggests the addition of these foods to the diet can confer health benefits, the researchers said.
The findings were to be presented Monday at the American Association for Cancer Research's meeting, in Baltimore.
In the first study, Akinori Yanaka and colleagues from the University of Tsukuba in Japan found that in 20 people, a diet rich in broccoli sprouts significantly reduced Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection.
H. pylori, a bacterium, is a cause of gastritis -- inflammation of the stomach lining -- and is a major factor in peptic ulcer and stomach cancer, the researchers said.
"Even though we were unable to eradicate H. pylori, to be able suppress it and relieve the accompanying gastritis by means as simple as eating more broccoli sprouts is good news for the many people who are infected," Yanaka said in a prepared statement.
Sulforaphane, a chemical found in broccoli sprouts, appears to be the active cancer-fighting agent. Sulforaphane apparently helps cells defend against oxidants, the highly reactive and toxic molecules that damage DNA and kill cells and potentially lead to cancer, the researchers noted.
Another study with broccoli sprouts found that when an extract from the sprouts was applied to the skin of hairless mice, it counteracted carcinogenic responses to ultraviolet light exposure, a cause of skin cancer.
"Just when we stopped exposing the mice to UV light, we started applying broccoli sprout extract," said Albena T. Dinkova-Kostova, a postgraduate fellow at Johns Hopkins University.
"We found that only 50 percent of mice treated with the extract developed tumors, compared with 100 percent of the mice not treated with the extract," she said.
"The topical application of this extract could be developed to be a potential agent against UV light-induced skin cancer," she added.
Dinkova-Kostova's team is studying whether ingesting broccoli sprouts for the sulforaphane might also work in protecting mice from getting skin cancer. Her hope is to see if either ingested or topical sulforaphane can protect people from skin cancer. "This strategy is probably worthwhile to be developed for protection in humans," she said.
In the third study, researchers suggest that cabbage and sauerkraut may protect women from breast cancer.
Data collected from the U.S. component of the Polish Women's Health Study showed an association between eating cabbage and sauerkraut and a lower risk of breast cancer. The effect seemed to be highest among women who eat high amounts starting in adolescence and continue to do so throughout adulthood. The most protective effect appeared to come from raw or briefly cooked cabbage, the researchers said.
"The observed pattern of risk reduction indicates that the breakdown products of glucosinolates in cabbage may affect both the initiation phase of carcinogenesis -- by decreasing the amount of DNA damage and cell mutation -- and the promotion phase -- by blocking the processes that inhibit programmed cell death and stimulate unregulated cell growth," lead researcher Dorothy Rybaczyk-Pathak, a professor of epidemiology at the University of New Mexico, said in a prepared statement.
In the fourth study, researchers from Brigham and Woman's Hospital in Boston found that ginkgo biloba appears to lower the risk of developing ovarian cancer.
"There are herbal supplements used in the treatment of cancer, although there is not much scientific evidence to support their use," said lead researcher Bin Ye. "Our study looked at ginkgo use in women with and without cancer.
"We found in a population-based study that 4.2 percent of cancer-free women reported taking ginkgo biloba regularly," Ye said. "However, only 1.6 percent of women with ovarian cancer reported taking ginkgo regularly."
In laboratory studies, the researchers found that compounds in ginkgo biloba -- ginkgolide A and B -- were the most active components contributing to this protective effect. "We found that the proliferation rates in certain types of cancer cells was inhibited by 80 percent," Ye said.
"This combination of population and laboratory studies suggests that ginkgo biloba may have value for the prevention of cancer," Ye said.
In the final study, researchers found that garlic may help ward off carcinogens produced by meat cooked at high temperatures. Cooking meats and eggs at high temperatures releases a chemical called PhIP, which may be a carcinogen.
Studies have shown that breast cancer is higher among women who eat large amounts of meat, although fat and caloric intake and hormone exposure may contribute to this increased risk, the researchers reported.
However, diallyl sulfide (DAS), a flavor component of garlic, appears to inhibit the effects of PhIP that can cause DNA damage or transform substances in the body into carcinogens.
"We treated human breast epithelial cells with equal amounts of PhIP and DAS separately, and the two together, for periods ranging from three to 24 hours," Ronald D. Thomas, associate professor of basic sciences at Florida A&M University, said in a statement. "PhIP induced expression of the cancer-causing enzyme at every stage, up to 40-fold, while DAS completely inhibited the PhIP enzyme from becoming carcinogenic," he said.
"The finding demonstrates for the first time that DAS triggers a gene alteration in PhIP that may play a significant role in preventing cancer, notably breast cancer, induced by PhIP in well-done meats," the researchers reported.
All of these findings come on the heels of a sixth study, reported in last week's issue of The Lancet, that found that people with a genetic susceptibility to lung cancer could cut their risk for the disease by eating vegetables from the cabbage family.
"We found protective effects with at least weekly consumption of cruciferous vegetables," said lead researcher Paul Brennan of the International Agency for Research on Cancer in Lyon, France.
One expert said the results of the six studies are interesting. And while it may be some time before they have any practical applications for people that should not stop us from adding more vegetables and fruits to our diet.
"An extensive body of epidemiologic evidence suggests consistently, if not decisively, that generous consumption of fruits and vegetables is associated with reduced cancer risk," said Dr. David L. Katz, an associate professor of public health and director of the Prevention Research Center at Yale University School of Medicine.
Further study should provide "a clearer picture both of what foods reduce cancer risk, and how," Katz said. "Understanding in each of these areas will lead to new insights in the other. A refined ability to use diet in the prevention of cancer will ensue."
"That is an exciting prospect," he added. "But excitement about what may come should not distract from what is already in hand. Even with gaps in our knowledge, the case for increasing fruit and vegetable consumption to promote health and prevent disease -- cancer included -- is compelling and strong."
More information
To learn more about diet and cancer, visit the American Cancer Society.
Friday, August 11, 2006
Scientists Identify SARS' 'Secret Weapon'
TUESDAY, Aug. 8 (HealthDay News) -- Scientists say they've identified a "secret weapon" that the SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) virus uses to disrupt the immune defenses of infected cells.
Researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston found that the virus uses a protein called nsp1 to breakdown biochemical messages that normally trigger the production of a protein that helps cells defend against the virus.
The finding, which could help in the development of a vaccine against SARS, was published online this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
"The SARS nsp1 protein degrades the messenger RNA instructions sent from DNA to make interferon beta, which is crucial to host immunity," study senior author Shinji Makino, professor of microbiology and immunology, said in a prepared statement.
"This is a very rare phenomenon, and it raises a lot of questions -- among them, whether we can make a mutant form of SARS coronavirus that lacks the ability to degrade messenger RNA, which could ultimately lead to the creation of a live attenuated vaccine for SARS," Makino said.
A SARS outbreak that began in China in 2003 killed about 916 people in Asia, Europe, and North and South America.
More information
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more about SARS.
Last reviewed: 08/08/2006 Last updated: 08/08/2006
Researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston found that the virus uses a protein called nsp1 to breakdown biochemical messages that normally trigger the production of a protein that helps cells defend against the virus.
The finding, which could help in the development of a vaccine against SARS, was published online this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
"The SARS nsp1 protein degrades the messenger RNA instructions sent from DNA to make interferon beta, which is crucial to host immunity," study senior author Shinji Makino, professor of microbiology and immunology, said in a prepared statement.
"This is a very rare phenomenon, and it raises a lot of questions -- among them, whether we can make a mutant form of SARS coronavirus that lacks the ability to degrade messenger RNA, which could ultimately lead to the creation of a live attenuated vaccine for SARS," Makino said.
A SARS outbreak that began in China in 2003 killed about 916 people in Asia, Europe, and North and South America.
More information
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more about SARS.
Last reviewed: 08/08/2006 Last updated: 08/08/2006
Gene Test Predicts Lung Cancer Outcome
WEDNESDAY, Aug. 9 (HealthDay News) -- Marking a new era in cancer care, researchers say a genetic test predicts which patients with early stage lung cancer will need post-operative chemotherapy to survive and which will have a good prognosis with surgery alone.
The test may herald a new approach to disease management, where treatments are tailored to each patient's genetic code.
"This is the tip of the sword. It's the first step and it's definitely personalized medicine at its best," said Dr. Anil Potti, lead author of the study and assistant professor at the Duke Institute for Genome Sciences. "We're looking at a group of genes in a way similar to fingerprinting. Based on that fingerprint, we can identify which patients are going to have a recurrence from lung cancer."
The test could theoretically apply to other cancers as well.
The researchers are now embarking on a larger trial involving 1,200 patients at multiple medical centers to validate the results further. "That hopefully should start accruing patients in January 2007," Potti said.
Dr. Len Horovitz, a pulmonary specialist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, added, "It's a very exciting study and I think the clinical trial next year will bear out what is in this preliminary study."
The findings appear in the Aug. 10 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death for both men and women, killing over 163,000 Americans each year. Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) accounts for about 80 percent of these deaths. Overall, lung cancer has only a 15 percent survival rate.
Chemotherapy is generally reserved for later-stage tumors, while early stage malignancies are treated with surgery and considered cured. Yet even in this group, 30 percent to 35 percent of patients will have a recurrence and most likely die. "Chemo is not standard for stage 1 because it's considered curable by surgery," Horovitz said.
The tough question for doctors has been identifying who is most at risk for this type of relapse.
"Currently, there is no way to identify who's going to have a recurrence," Potti said.
The authors of this study identified gene-expression profiles that predicted who, in a group of 89 patients with early stage NSCLC, had a higher risk of recurrence.
Then they validated the test, called the "Lung Metagene Predictor," in a group of 134 patients. The test scans thousands of genes in individual tumors. It predicted the patients' risk of recurrence with up to 90 percent accuracy, Potti said.
Of course, "There's no point in identifying high-risk patients if you can't do much about [their prognosis]," Potti said. But with the new test, "You're actually in a position to save lives based on individual profiles," he added.
The test, however, will probably not be widely available until results of the larger clinical trial are in, Horovitz said.
In a similar vein, a second study in the same issue of the journal found that five gene-expression models or tests delivered similar predictions regarding disease recurrence or death for patients with breast cancer.
This means that even though different genes were being looked at in the separate tests, they seemed to track a commons set of biological characteristics, said researchers from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
More information
There's more on lung cancer at the U.S. National Cancer Institute.
Last reviewed: 08/09/2006 Last updated: 08/09/2006
The test may herald a new approach to disease management, where treatments are tailored to each patient's genetic code.
"This is the tip of the sword. It's the first step and it's definitely personalized medicine at its best," said Dr. Anil Potti, lead author of the study and assistant professor at the Duke Institute for Genome Sciences. "We're looking at a group of genes in a way similar to fingerprinting. Based on that fingerprint, we can identify which patients are going to have a recurrence from lung cancer."
The test could theoretically apply to other cancers as well.
The researchers are now embarking on a larger trial involving 1,200 patients at multiple medical centers to validate the results further. "That hopefully should start accruing patients in January 2007," Potti said.
Dr. Len Horovitz, a pulmonary specialist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, added, "It's a very exciting study and I think the clinical trial next year will bear out what is in this preliminary study."
The findings appear in the Aug. 10 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death for both men and women, killing over 163,000 Americans each year. Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) accounts for about 80 percent of these deaths. Overall, lung cancer has only a 15 percent survival rate.
Chemotherapy is generally reserved for later-stage tumors, while early stage malignancies are treated with surgery and considered cured. Yet even in this group, 30 percent to 35 percent of patients will have a recurrence and most likely die. "Chemo is not standard for stage 1 because it's considered curable by surgery," Horovitz said.
The tough question for doctors has been identifying who is most at risk for this type of relapse.
"Currently, there is no way to identify who's going to have a recurrence," Potti said.
The authors of this study identified gene-expression profiles that predicted who, in a group of 89 patients with early stage NSCLC, had a higher risk of recurrence.
Then they validated the test, called the "Lung Metagene Predictor," in a group of 134 patients. The test scans thousands of genes in individual tumors. It predicted the patients' risk of recurrence with up to 90 percent accuracy, Potti said.
Of course, "There's no point in identifying high-risk patients if you can't do much about [their prognosis]," Potti said. But with the new test, "You're actually in a position to save lives based on individual profiles," he added.
The test, however, will probably not be widely available until results of the larger clinical trial are in, Horovitz said.
In a similar vein, a second study in the same issue of the journal found that five gene-expression models or tests delivered similar predictions regarding disease recurrence or death for patients with breast cancer.
This means that even though different genes were being looked at in the separate tests, they seemed to track a commons set of biological characteristics, said researchers from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
More information
There's more on lung cancer at the U.S. National Cancer Institute.
Last reviewed: 08/09/2006 Last updated: 08/09/2006
Some Dogs Carry 'Contagious' Cancer
THURSDAY, Aug. 10 (HealthDay News) -- Researchers are describing what seems to be a real-life medical nightmare: A cancer that spreads from animal to animal like an infection.
Luckily for humans, this malignancy occurs only in dogs, and there's no need for people to be worried about it, experts say.
"It's a scientific curiosity," said Robin Weiss, professor of viral oncology at University College London, and a member of the team reporting the discovery in the journal Cell. "There is no evidence of transfers of human cancers from one person to another, except in very special circumstances, so we should not say that a human cancer patient is dangerous to others."
The cancer, called canine transmissible venereal tumor (CTVT), was first isolated from 16 dogs in Italy, India and Kenya. In each case, a study of the tumors' genetic material showed that it differed from that of the dog in question -- suggesting that it had been passed from another dog.
Further study of cancers from 40 other dogs in five continents found that the tumors were almost genetically identical, meaning that they originally came from a single source and had somehow spread across the globe.
Working with geneticists and computer experts in Chicago, the researchers compared the genetic material of tumors to that of specific breeds of dogs. They concluded that the cancer most likely arose more than 250 years ago -- perhaps as long as 1,000 years ago -- in a wolf or Asian dog such as a Husky or Shih Tzu.
CTVT is transmitted primarily through sexual contact, but experts believe it can also be picked up as dogs lick, bite or sniff tumor-affected areas. It is seldom fatal and usually disappears in three to nine months, just long enough for the dog to pass it on.
"One aspect where this is related to human cancer is not in the mode of transmission, but what it tells us about the nature of cancer," Weiss said.
Generally, as cancers become more aggressive, they become less stable genetically, he said. But CTVT has had the same genetic makeup for centuries and is "the oldest tumor cell lineage known to science," which means that it has become genetically stable, Weiss said.
"This questions the theory of instability," he said. "I don't think that instability is inevitable as a tumor gets worse and worse."
The report also raises wildlife conservation issues, added Elaine Ostrander, chief of the cancer genetics branch at the U.S. National Human Genome Research Institute, who wrote an accompanying commentary.
Similar cancers are known to exist in two other species, the Tasmanian devil and the Syrian hamster, Ostrander said. For these types of endangered species, exposure to CTVT might endanger the population's survival, she wrote.
There appears to be no danger to humans from the sort of cancers seen in these animals, Ostrander said. While CTVT may occur in stray dogs, pedigreed dogs are usually not allowed casual sex, and the cancer "can't be transmitted to humans by handling dogs," she said.
"We always wonder when we see something in the animal kingdom if we will see the same thing in humans," Ostrander said. "We don't see any human evidence in this case."
More information
There's more on the genetics of cancer at the U.S. National Cancer Institute.
Last reviewed: 08/10/2006 Last updated: 08/10/2006
Luckily for humans, this malignancy occurs only in dogs, and there's no need for people to be worried about it, experts say.
"It's a scientific curiosity," said Robin Weiss, professor of viral oncology at University College London, and a member of the team reporting the discovery in the journal Cell. "There is no evidence of transfers of human cancers from one person to another, except in very special circumstances, so we should not say that a human cancer patient is dangerous to others."
The cancer, called canine transmissible venereal tumor (CTVT), was first isolated from 16 dogs in Italy, India and Kenya. In each case, a study of the tumors' genetic material showed that it differed from that of the dog in question -- suggesting that it had been passed from another dog.
Further study of cancers from 40 other dogs in five continents found that the tumors were almost genetically identical, meaning that they originally came from a single source and had somehow spread across the globe.
Working with geneticists and computer experts in Chicago, the researchers compared the genetic material of tumors to that of specific breeds of dogs. They concluded that the cancer most likely arose more than 250 years ago -- perhaps as long as 1,000 years ago -- in a wolf or Asian dog such as a Husky or Shih Tzu.
CTVT is transmitted primarily through sexual contact, but experts believe it can also be picked up as dogs lick, bite or sniff tumor-affected areas. It is seldom fatal and usually disappears in three to nine months, just long enough for the dog to pass it on.
"One aspect where this is related to human cancer is not in the mode of transmission, but what it tells us about the nature of cancer," Weiss said.
Generally, as cancers become more aggressive, they become less stable genetically, he said. But CTVT has had the same genetic makeup for centuries and is "the oldest tumor cell lineage known to science," which means that it has become genetically stable, Weiss said.
"This questions the theory of instability," he said. "I don't think that instability is inevitable as a tumor gets worse and worse."
The report also raises wildlife conservation issues, added Elaine Ostrander, chief of the cancer genetics branch at the U.S. National Human Genome Research Institute, who wrote an accompanying commentary.
Similar cancers are known to exist in two other species, the Tasmanian devil and the Syrian hamster, Ostrander said. For these types of endangered species, exposure to CTVT might endanger the population's survival, she wrote.
There appears to be no danger to humans from the sort of cancers seen in these animals, Ostrander said. While CTVT may occur in stray dogs, pedigreed dogs are usually not allowed casual sex, and the cancer "can't be transmitted to humans by handling dogs," she said.
"We always wonder when we see something in the animal kingdom if we will see the same thing in humans," Ostrander said. "We don't see any human evidence in this case."
More information
There's more on the genetics of cancer at the U.S. National Cancer Institute.
Last reviewed: 08/10/2006 Last updated: 08/10/2006
Genetic Findings Shed Light on OCD
THURSDAY, Aug. 3 (HealthDay News) -- A newly identified genetic factor may explain how and why obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) runs in families, two new studies conclude.
Close relatives of people with OCD are up to nine times more likely than other people to develop OCD.
The two studies, published in the current issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry, found an association between OCD and a glutamate transporter gene called SLC1A1. The gene encodes a protein called EAAC1 that regulates the flow of glutamate in and out of brain cells. Variations in the SLC1A1 gene may cause changes in the flow of glutamate, which may put a person at increased risk of developing OCD, the researchers suggested.
One study was conducted by researchers from the University of Michigan, the University of Illinois at Chicago, and the University of Chicago. That study included 71 OCD patients (children and adults) and their parents.
The other study, by University of Toronto researchers, included 157 OCD patients and 319 of their first-degree relatives.
"Taken together, these findings suggest that SLC1A1 is a strong candidate gene for OCD, which if confirmed could lead to improvements in understanding and treating this condition, and screening those with an elevated risk," Dr. Gregory Hanna, senior author on one of the studies and an associate professor of psychiatry at the University of Michigan Medical School, said in a prepared statement.
"It's possible that altered glutamate activity in some brain regions may contribute to the obsessions and compulsions that are the hallmark of OCD," Hanna said.
More information
The American Medical Association has more about OCD.
Last reviewed: 08/03/2006 Last updated: 08/03/2006
Close relatives of people with OCD are up to nine times more likely than other people to develop OCD.
The two studies, published in the current issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry, found an association between OCD and a glutamate transporter gene called SLC1A1. The gene encodes a protein called EAAC1 that regulates the flow of glutamate in and out of brain cells. Variations in the SLC1A1 gene may cause changes in the flow of glutamate, which may put a person at increased risk of developing OCD, the researchers suggested.
One study was conducted by researchers from the University of Michigan, the University of Illinois at Chicago, and the University of Chicago. That study included 71 OCD patients (children and adults) and their parents.
The other study, by University of Toronto researchers, included 157 OCD patients and 319 of their first-degree relatives.
"Taken together, these findings suggest that SLC1A1 is a strong candidate gene for OCD, which if confirmed could lead to improvements in understanding and treating this condition, and screening those with an elevated risk," Dr. Gregory Hanna, senior author on one of the studies and an associate professor of psychiatry at the University of Michigan Medical School, said in a prepared statement.
"It's possible that altered glutamate activity in some brain regions may contribute to the obsessions and compulsions that are the hallmark of OCD," Hanna said.
More information
The American Medical Association has more about OCD.
Last reviewed: 08/03/2006 Last updated: 08/03/2006
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