Surviving-Cancers.com

Ripe Mango

In 2001, a study at the University of Florida indicated that Mangoes contain several cancer fighting components including carotinoids and phenolic compounds called polyphenols, both powerful antioxidants.

A more recent study funded by the National Mango Board and done at Texas A&M University’s AgriLife Research department determined that one class of these phenolic compounds, known as gallotannins, is particularly effective in killing breast cancer and colon cancer cells under laboratory conditions.

In the earlier study, mangoes were pureed and separated into a carotinoid portion and a portion heavy in phenolics.  While both portions inhibited cancer formation, the phenolic portion was shown to be more effective.  Some of the compounds were suspected of being unique to Mangoes and the results suggested that further studies were warranted.

This brings up the later study.  The husband and wife team of Dr. Susanne and Dr. Steve Talcott at Agrilife Research found that gallotannins were effective in slowing the growth of lung, prostate, and leukemia cancer cells, but were even more effective against breast and colon cancer.  The compounds actually caused the breast and colon cancer cells to stop multiplying and die in a form of cell suicide called apoptosis.

The gallotannins also prevented damaged cells, those showing precancerous signs, from developing further.  When the compounds were administered to normal, healthy cells, no harm was done.

Although the research was funded by the National Mango Board, there appears to be no reason to question the findings.

Of course, not all experiments performed in the laboratory pan out when used on human subjects.  But the results give hope that another, more natural alternative to widely prescribed cancer drugs may soon be offered to cancer victims.  Clinical trials may begin soon to determine the efficacy on human subjects.

In the meantime, eat more mangoes and drink tea, which is also high in gallotannins.

Breast cancer self-examination

A year ago I reported on findings which indicated that bisphosphonate drugs might be a contributor to esophageal cancer. Now I have to report new research which indicates that bisphosphonate drugs such as Fosamax may be effective in reducing the risk of breast cancer.

Two different studies have come up with similar results, one resulting from the Woman’s Health Initiative (WHI) and another from a controlled case study in Israel. Both showed a sharply lowered cancer incidence in women who had been prescribed bisphosphonates to prevent bone loss.

The WHI study was led by Dr, Rowan Chlebowski, chief oncologist from the Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at the Harbor-UCLA Medical Center.

Of the 2816 women having taken bisphosphonates at the beginning of the WHI study, only 64 women developed breast cancer. This was a 32 percent reduction in incidence compared to those women who were not taking the drug.

It should be noted that women taking the drugs were slightly more likely to develop DCIS, or ductal carcinoma in situ, than those who did not. DCIS is a very early form of breast cancer confined to the milk ducts where it is formed and is nearly 100 percent curable when found.

The other study, led by Dr. Gad Rennert, chairman of community medicine and epidemiology at the Clalit National Cancer Control Center in Haifa Israel looked at 4575 women who took bisphosphonates for at least a year. The results indicated a 34 percent reduced rate of breast cancer diagnosis. Even after controlling for other risk factors, the reduction remained at 29 percent.

Where tumors did occur in the women who took the drugs, the tumors were more estrogen-receptor positive and differentiated. These factors are associated with better response to treatment and better prognoses.

Breast cancer ribbon

The study found that protection from the drug was most pronounced after taking it for a year. Less than a year offered little or no protective benefit and after more than a year, the benefit did not increase.

Over 30 million patients are prescribed bisphosphonates for the reduction of osteoporosis.

So there you have it. If you take bisphosphonates you may increase the risk of developing esophageal cancer, and your risk of developing breast cancer may increase if you don’t.

A tall person

Several studies have shown a relationship between a person’s height and the risk of developing various forms of cancer.

A study from Seoul National University in Korea following 788,789 people between the ages of 40 and 64 determined that for every 5 centimeters in additional height, men’s cancer risk increased by 5% and women’s cancer risk increased by 7%.

The study was adjusted for relevant factors such as age and socioeconomic status. A positive association was found for colon, breast, thyroid, ovarian, and prostate cancer.

A review study of literature done at John Hopkins University , which also found links between height and cancer, found the most consistent associations were for breast cancer. While the links found were relatively weak, they were still conclusive.

Several of the studies have suggested that increased levels of an insulin-like growth factor known as IGF-1 may be involved. Cancer and natural growth have factors in common – namely, division and increases in cells. More IGF-1 causes more growth, often leading to greater height.

IGF-1 protects new cells from being attacked by the body, a necessary function when growing. But raised levels of IGF-1 may also diminish the ability of the body to rid itself of abnormal cells such as cancer.

Caloric intake during early years may also be related to the height versus cancer risk. A study done in Norway comparing historic periods where food was less abundant, suggested that reduced nutrition leading to reduced adult height could be linked to fewer cases of breast cancer.

With regard to prostate cancer, it has been found that the more aggressive the cancer, the better the correlation to height. This was noted in an article in Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention

We tall people sometimes seem to be at an advantage, but where cancer is involved, it might be better to be short.

Researchers from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center at the University of Washington Public Health Sciences Program have shown that women with histories of migraines are less likely to develop breast cancer.

The relationship between migraines and breast cancer had previously only been looked at in a single relatively small study that was unable to assess the effect of migraine triggers, such as alcohol consumption and hormone therapy, which are also well-established breast cancer risk factors.

The more recent study compared data from 4568 women with breast cancer and 4678 healthy women using in-person interviews.  Women with histories of migraines were found to have a 26% lower risk of breast cancer, taking other factors into account such as migraine triggers, menopause, and prescription drugs.

Estrogen may be a key factor as low levels of the hormone seem to increase the severity and frequency of migraines and higher levels are known to raise breast cancer risk.

The results of the study were published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a publication of the American Association for Cancer Research.

A group of researchers, led by W. Elaine Hardman, PhD – Associate Professor of Biochemistry at Marshall University School of Medicine, has concluded that eating walnuts may reduce the development of breast cancer tumors.

Laboratory mice were programmed to develop tumors within six months. Divided into two groups, one group was given an ounce of walnuts (about a handful) twice daily, the other group none.

The mice eating walnuts developed tumors three weeks later than those without. This would equal a 9 month delay of incidence in humans. Additionally, the tumors in those mice fed walnuts grew 50% more slowly than those not fed the nuts. The tumors were also smaller and fewer in number.

Molecular analysis showed the omega-3 fatty acids found in walnuts to have an effect. Perhaps more importantly, phytosterols in the nuts bind to estrogen receptors. These receptors are known to fuel tumors. Binding them prevent this. Lastly, walnuts are high in antioxidants which may have additional cancer fighting effects.

The results were presented at the 100th annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR).

Beyond the breast cancer study, additional research is being done for the effect of walnuts on prostate cancer.

Choline, a nutrient found in eggs, can help prevent breast cancer.  Consumed by pregnant women, indications are it can lower the risk of breast cancer in an unborn daughter.

Researchers from the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, in a study of 3000 adult women found that the risk of developing breast cancer was 24 percent lower among the women who had the highest intake of choline, 455 milligrams per day average, as opposed to those with the lowest intake, 196 milligrams per day average.

The Institute of Medicine states daily intake of choline for men and breast-feeding women should be 550 milligrams.  For women it should be 450 milligrams per day and for pregnant women, 450 milligrams.

Most of the choline consumed by women in the study came from coffee, eggs, and skim milk.

While choline is required for the normal functioning of cells in all individuals, evidence points to it being even more important for women of child bearing age.

Biologists at Boston University, in a study involving pregnant female rats, found increased choline intake by the mothers led to very slow growing tumors in their daughter’s chemically induced breast cancer.  Those mothers who had reduced choline produced daughters whose tumors grew much more aggressively.

The rats with slow growing tumors had genetic patterns that would indicate a positive prognosis in humans.

Results of both studies were published in The Journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology.

Findings of an 11 year study suggest that a sedentary lifestyle can be a risk factor for breast cancer.

Vigorous activities including running, competitive tennis, bicycling, and even fast dancing can reduce a woman’s chances of developing breast cancer by about 30%.

Dr. Michael Leitzmann, while at the National Cancer Institute, led the study of over 30,000 post menopausal women, looking at the mechanisms by which energy imbalance affects cancer risk.

Questionnaires were used to keep track of the women’s activities and all women were healthy at the start of the study.

Dr. Leitzmann, now at Germany’s University Hospital in Regensburg, suggested that, as other studies have shown, vigorous exercise reduces estrogen levels and protects the body’s immune system.

According to the results of the study, light exercise, such as light housework, walking and hiking offered no protection against the disease.  The exercise had to be vigorous.

The reduced risk of cancer was 13% for women who exercised, without regard to body weight.  When considering only women who were lean or average weight, they were 30% less likely to develop the disease.

Wei-Zen Wei, Ph.D., a professor in the Department of Immunology and Microbiology at Wayne State University has been searching to find a non-toxic breast cancer vaccine.  She may have succeeded.

The new vaccine would bolster a patients immune system to the point where their own body can kill the cancer cells, even in tumors resistant to current therapies.

According to Wei the vaccine could eliminate the need for other therapies.

Aggressive HER2 positive tumors, which were the focus of the study, constitute about 25% of all breast cancer occurrences.

HER2 receptors are found in low numbers on normal breast cells.  Their function is to regulate normal cell growth.  HER2 positive breast cells have many more receptors than usual, promoting growth of the tumors.

The vaccine was tested on mice, but is expected to be effective on humans.  It is the second such vaccine developed by Wei.  The first is currently in clinical trials on humans.  The vaccines may be useful in prevention as well as treatment of HR2 breast cancer and other types of solid tumors.

Heterocyclic amines (HAs), formed when meat and fish are cooked at high temperatures, have been linked to mammary gland cancer in rats, and some studies indicate increased breast cancer risk by consumption of well-done meat.

The evidence linking HAs to breast cancer is sparse, especially from prospective studies. Moreover, high-fat diets rich in omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) have produced higher frequencies of HA-induced mammary gland tumors in rats compared to those fed low-fat diets.

The aim of a study led by Dr. Emily Sonestedt of The Department of Clinical Studies at Lund University, Malmo was to evaluate prospectively if intake of HAs is associated with breast cancer incidence, and if the association is independent of omega-6 PUFA intakes.

Among women 50 years or older, from the population-based prospective, 430 women were diagnosed with incident invasive breast cancer during a follow-up of 10.4 years. Information on dietary habits was collected by a modified diet history method.

Other facors taken into account, a 95% confidence interval was developed comparing breast cancer with energy-adjusted intakes of HAs and omega-6 PUFA.  Various levels of intakes of HAs were not associated with breast cancer incidence.

However, in individuals with low HA intakes, a significant increased risk was observed among those with high intakes of omega-6 PUFAs.

In conclusion, intakes of HAs are not associated with breast cancer incidence in this Swedish study, but dietary patterns very high in omega-6 PUFA may promote breast cancer development.