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A diet high in inorganic phosphates, which are found in a variety of processed foods-including meats, cheeses, beverages, and bakery products-can increase the risk and spread of lung cancer, according to a new study.
Washington, Dec 30 : A diet high in inorganic phosphates, which are found in a variety of processed foods-including meats, cheeses, beverages, and bakery products-can increase the risk and spread of lung cancer, according to a new study.
The study, using a mouse model, indicated that inorganic phosphates might speed growth of lung cancer tumours, and even contribute to the development of those tumours in individuals predisposed to the disease.
Conducted by Myung-Haing Cho, D.V.M., Ph.D., and his colleagues at Seoul National University, the study also suggested that dietary regulation of inorganic phosphates might play an important role in lung cancer treatment.
"Our study indicates that increased intake of inorganic phosphates strongly stimulates lung cancer development in mice, and suggests that dietary regulation of inorganic phosphates may be critical for lung cancer treatment as well as prevention," said Cho.
The study revealed that high levels of inorganic phosphates can stimulate non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) pathways.
"Lung cancer is a disease of uncontrolled cell proliferation in lung tissue, and disruption of signaling pathways in those tissues can confer a normal cell with malignant properties. Deregulation of only a small set of pathways can confer a normal cell with malignant properties, and these pathways are regulated in response to nutrient availability and, consequently, cell proliferation and growth," explained Cho.
He added: "Phosphate is an essential nutrient to living organisms, and can activate some signals. This study demonstrates that high intake of inorganic phosphates may strongly stimulate lung cancer development by altering those (signaling) pathways."
For the study, the researcher analysed lung cancer-model mice for four weeks.
The mice were randomly assigned to receive a diet of either 0.5 or 1.0 percent phosphate, a range roughly equivalent to modern human diets.
After four-weeks, the lung tissue was analysed to determine the effects of the inorganic phosphates on tumours.
"Our results clearly demonstrated that the diet higher in inorganic phosphates caused an increase in the size of the tumours and stimulated growth of the tumours," said Cho.
"The results of this study suggest that dietary regulation of inorganic phosphates has a place in lung cancer treatment, and our eventual goal is to collect sufficient information to accurately assess the risk of these phosphates," he said.
The study has been published in the January issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
ANI

A study on almost 24,000 Japanese women recently published in the British Journal of Cancer has found that lack of sleep can greatly increase the risk of breast cancer, with women who slept 6 hours or less every night having a significantly higher risk.Breast Cancer StatisticsBreast cancer is the most common cancer to hit women worldwide. In Japan, when age-standardized to the world population, the incidence rate was 28.3 per 100,000 in 1991, and rose to 39.5 in 2001.In the United States in 2004, the disease hit more than 185,000 women and over 1,800 men, with almost 41,000 women and 362 men dying from it that year. In that year, after non-melanoma skin cancer, breast cancer was the next highest cancer killer of American women. It was also their fifth highest killer overall.Next up, over to Canada, where, among the women, breast cancer is the most common type of cancer to strike. According to Canadian Cancer Society estimates, about 22,400 women will be diagnosed with the disease this year, with about 5,300 dying from it.With such grim statistics, every little thing which can be done to prevent and combat the disease becomes all the more critical.Details of StudyThe Ohsaki National Health Insurance (NHI) Cohort Study started in 1994 and involved 28,515 women in northeastern Japan. The questionnaire used included information on sleep duration and other lifestyle habits.Participants who had withdrawn from the NHI study before follow-up, had a history of cancer, did not provide information on their sleep duration, and who reported having slept for less than 4 hours or more than 12 hours every night were omitted. This left the data for 23,995 women to be analyzed. An 8-year period, from 1995 to 2003, was used, during which 143 women were hit with breast cancer.Findings of StudyThe women who slept 7 hours each night was used as the reference group. It was then found that women who slept 6 hours or less each night had a 62% higher risk of getting breast cancer. On the other hand, those who slept 9 hours or more every night had a 28% lower risk of getting the disease.It would follow, then, that those who slept 6 hours or less every night had 2.25 times the risk of getting breast cancer when compared to those who slept 9 hours or more each night.The results remained largely consistent even when participants who were diagnosed with breast cancer within 3 years from the start of the study were excluded, or when the data was analyzed by age and menopausal status.Previous StudiesThe findings of this study validates the findings of two previous prospective cohort studies relating breast cancer and sleep duration (Verkasalo et al, 2005, Wu et al, 2008). Those two studies had also shown a significant decrease in breast cancer risk for those who slept the longest.It must be noted, though, that another such study (Pinheiro et al, 2006) did not find any such association. The study team pointed out, however, that that study had looked at residential nurses, who underwent rotating-shift work and had varying sleep timings. The findings of that study thus might not be applicable to the general population.Strengths and Limitations of StudyAccording to the study team, their research had a couple of strong points. Firstly, it used study subjects from the general population, thus allowing for overall generalization of its findings. In addition, it used the Miyagi Prefectural Cancer Registry, which the study team said is “one of the earliest and most accurate population-based cancer registries in Japan”.There were also, however, several limitations. Firstly, self-reported sleep data was used, and assessment was also only carried out once. In addition, and probably very significantly, no information on sleep quality, sleep timing, use of sleep medication, or presence of sleep disorders were available. These factors, of course, are very important as they can directly or indirectly affect cancer risk.Further, the researchers added that they had no information with regard to rotating-shift work or night work, but they felt that would not have affected their findings greatly as more than half of the study subjects were housewives, farmers or retired.The Sleep Duration – Breast Cancer LinkWhy is breast cancer risk linked to sleep duration? The answer could lie in melatonin, which is secreted during night sleep. When a person sleeps fewer hours, less melatonin is secreted, and lower levels of the chemical had previously been associated with increased breast cancer risk.In addition, melatonin may possess an inhibitory effect on gonadal function, which includes synthetizing and secreting sex hormones. It had also been found to have an antiproliferative effect on breast cancer cells.The Bottom LineIf the findings from this study are indeed accurate, then there is an immense difference in breast cancer risk between sleeping 4 to 6 hours every night, and just sleeping 1 to 3 hours more each night. In fact, it is more than likely that the protective effects of sufficient sleep also extend to other forms of cancer. 7 hours of sleep a night may thus be a good number to aim for.Hopefully, in time to come, further research will reveal more information relating sleep and disease risk, with sleep quality and sleep timing being two of the main possibilities.Main SourceSleep duration and the risk of breast cancer: the Ohsaki Cohort Study (http://www.nature.com/bjc/journal/v99/n...)

Back in 1973 the evidence about the dangers of talc prompted the FDA to think about steps to reduce the level of the asbestos-like fibers in cosmetic talc. The dangers are that talc is related to asbestos – a known carcinogen – and that the presence of talc particles is linked to tumors. However, the FDA did not regulate cosmetic talc even after 1993 when the National Toxicology Program reported that cosmetic talc, which had no fibers, was the cause of tumors in animals.Talc is a soft green-gray colored mineral produced from rocks and processed into a powder. Pure talc mineral is a hydrous magnesium silicate. Some trace minerals are removed in processing but very small fibers remain which are similar to those that occur in asbestos.Most talc is formed from altered dolomite or magnesite when there is excess dissolved silica. A number of minerals associated with talc include: tremolite, serpentine, anthophyllite, magnesite, mica and chlorite. Note that there are six minerals are defined as asbestos and two of these are also talc – tremolite and anthophyllite.Commercial talc may contain impurities and contaminates such as asbestos and crystalline silica. In fact asbestos may occur in talc.Talc is used in diverse industries and for a wide variety of purposes. It is commonly used in cosmetics and body powders, including those for babies. It has hydrophobic surface properties helping to keep skin dry.In the paper industry, talc is used as a filler which enhances the quality of the paper for printing and appearance of opacity. It is used in ceramic tiles, and in paints and coatings. Did you know that the dust on some chewing gums contains talc? Talc is also used in in flea and tick powder, deodorants, chalk and crayons, textiles and soap.Now we have another study (published in the Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention journal) that shows that women who use talcum powder around their genital areas are 40% more likely to develop ovarian cancer. The study led by Dr Maggie Gates of Harvard Medical School analyzed 3,000 women. The risk of ovarian cancer for those who used talcum powder once a week was found to be 36%, while those using it every day the risk went up to 41%.In a recent separate incident a group of doctors at the Harvard Medical School found talc particles in the pelvis of a woman diagnosed with ovarian cancer. She had used talcum powder every day for around 30 years.In 1982 in Cancer magazine the conclusions from a study recommend that the lifetime use of talcum powder increases the risk of ovarian cancer by more than three times. Consequently, various cancer organizations warn against the use of talcum powder. For many people this warning is a bit late.Talc also causes poisoning due to accidental exposure. The website preventcancer.com (see link below) state that from the early 1980’s accidental inhalation of talc (baby powder) has caused the death or serious illness of several thousands infants.Talc is used in some medications such as some antiacids and in some antiseptics. So the question is is talc dangerous when used as medications? Actually there are so many questions we need to ask. What guidelines should be available and what regulations exist that protect people? Why do so many children suffer needlessly because of lack of care demonstrated by authorities? Why weren’t women protected against the use of talcum powder 30 years ago?Over and over again when there is a choice about caring for our fellow human beings and about earning profits, selfishness wins. And the authorities lack the care and the compassion required to serve us well.Reference: www.preventcancer.com/consumers/cosmeti...

After decades of attempting to fight AIDS with experimental vaccines and drugs, scientists have recently discovered how several natural substances could be powerful weapons against the disease. For example, in mid-November, UCLA AIDS researchers published research concluding that the herb astragalus contains a substance with the potential to possibly replace the side-effect plagued HAART (highly active antiretroviral therapy) currently used to treat AIDS patients. http://www.naturalnews.com/024799.htmlNow Penn State immunologists say they’ve documented how a micronutrient could help battle AIDS. Their findings, just published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, show how selenium could dramatically put the brakes on the replication of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.Selenium is needed by the body to maintain normal metabolism. It’s also increasingly being studied for its anti-cancer properties. Although other nutrients usually bind to proteins, selenium actually becomes incorporated into proteins, forming what are called selenoproteins. These selenium-containing proteins are believed to slow the spread of infections. However, when HIV infects a person, the virus manages to degrade selenoproteins, probably due to a protein, dubbed Tat, produced by the HIV virus. In particular, Tat seems to target a selenoprotein known as TR1.But there may be a way to get around this degradation of selenoproteins -- supplementation with selenium. "Since HIV targets the selenoproteins, we thought that the logical way to deal with the virus is to increase the expression of such proteins in the body," K. Sandeep Prabhu, assistant professor of immunology and molecular toxicology at Penn State, said in a statement to the press.To test their idea, the scientists isolated blood cells from human volunteers who did not have HIV. Then they infected those cells with the virus and added a form of selenium called sodium selenite to the cell culture.The result? The added selenium inhibited the replication of HIV at least 10-fold, in comparison to cell cultures with no added selenium. The scientists also selectively reduced the production pf the selenoprotein TRI. When there was less selenium-containing protein,HIV replication soared 3.5 times. Bottom line: The research confirms that an increase in selenium in cells zaps replication of HIV while a reduction in the amount of selenium-containing TR1 protein gives the virus a boost."We have found that increasing the expression of proteins that contain selenium negatively affects the replication of HIV. Once we fully understand the function of these selenium proteins, it will give us a handle to come up with more effective drugs," said Dr. Prabhu in the prepared statement for the media.Two more new studies offer additional evidence that selenium may impact the immune system. German scientists from St. Josefs-Hospital in Wiesbaden recently published a study in the Swedish medical journal Acta Oncologica that suggests the micronutrient could help prevent prostate cancer and prostate enlargement. The researchers found that whole blood selenium levels were significantly lower in all men tested who had prostate cancer or benign prostate hypertrophy (which can cause difficulty with urination) and concluded, “our findings may support the recommendation of selenium supplementation” to help prostate health. What’s more, a study just published in the journal Molecular Nutrition and Food Research suggests enzymes that contain selenium have anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory effects that could make them important in preventing prostate and colorectal cancers.Too much selenium in can cause a condition called selenosis, resulting in loss of hair, nail problems, nausea, irritability, fatigue, and mild nerve damage. However, selenium toxicity is extremely rare. A lack of selenium may, in fact, be far more common and potentially more dangerous to health. According to the National Institutes of Health, people age 14 and older should take in about 44 micrograms of selenium a day. Good sources of the micronutrient include Brazil nuts, eggs, brown rice, whole wheat bread and pasta, walnuts and oatmeal.

The director of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institutes and the Cancer Centers at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center has issued a warning to all 3,000 faculty and staff under his supervision, warning them to limit cellular phone use in order to avoid adverse health effects."Recently I have become aware of the growing body of literature linking long-term cell phone use to possible adverse health effects including cancer," the memo from Dr. Ronald Herberman reads. "Although the evidence is still controversial, I am convinced that there are sufficient data to warrant issuing an advisory to share some precautionary advice on cell phone use."Herberman advises keeping mobile phone conversations as short as possible and using headsets, text messages or speaker phone settings to keep the phone away from the head. He also warns that children should only you cellular phones in emergencies, because their still-developing organs "are the most likely to be sensitive to any possible effects of exposure."The doctor noted that similar warnings have been issued by the governments of several European countries, and that Toronto's public health agency has called on children to avoid using the phones.Herberman is believed to be the first director of a U.S. cancer center to issue such a warning.Among the studies referenced by the memo is a still-ongoing study of cell phone users in 13 European countries. Preliminary data suggest that long-term users are significantly more likely to develop brain tumors, especially on the side of the head with the phone is most often held. Similar results have been found in other long-term studies."From a public health perspective, it makes sense to limit risks," said Dr. Dan Wartenberg of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey.Along with Herberman and roughly 20 other international experts, Wartenberg has signed a letter calling for precautions on cell phone use, and for manufacturers to make phones "with the lowest possible risk" and to "encourage consumers to use their devices in a way that is most compatible with preserving their health."Sources for this story include: www.post-gazette.com.