Cuba Developed Lung Cancer Vaccine

Cimavax EGF, a therapeutic lung cancer vaccine was unvciled last week during a press conference in Cuba. Cuban scientists say that Cimavax EGF is the first in the world and extends the lives of victims suffering lung cancer by up to five months.

Cimavax EGF is the first registered vaccine in the world designed to battle lung cancer, said Gisela Gonzales of the Havana Molecular Immunological Center. Research on this vaccine, Gonzalez said, began in 1992, with the first clinical test in 1995.

The vaccine is based on two proteins that triggers an immune response from the victims body and has no side effect, Gonzalez said. The vaccine is available in Cuba, and will be commercialized in Latin America, starting in Peru, Gonzalez added.

Breast Cancer Detection

The worst disease many women can imagine is breast cancer. Research shows one of approximately every nine women is at risk of breast cancer at some time in their lives. The good news is that early detection and treatment can reduce mortality, regardless of a woman’s age.

A mammogram is an x-ray procedure that visualize the internal structure of your breasts. It can detect lumps or calcifications ( tiny specks of calcium that often appear with cancer) that may be too small for you or your doctor to feel. Mammography usually consists of 2 x-rays of each breast, one taken from the top and one from the side. The procedure requires compression of your breasts against the x-ray film to produce a high quality image, and maybe a bit uncomfortable.

Another detection technique is doing your own breast self-exam (BSE). Mercedes Bremeisen , M.D, an oncologist from the Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles, recommends the following technique: Lie on your back with a pillow under your right shoulder , right hand behind your head. With your left hand, firmly press the finger pads of your three little fingers in a grid pattern over the entire breast and up toward the armpit. Make note of what you feel its normal, for example, to detect a hollowness underneath your nipple or a ridge of dense tissue at the bottom curse of your breast.

Laetrile (B17) In Cancer Treatment

Can laetrile marketed as B17 cure cancer?
The substance is derived from the apricot pit and is promoted as an unproven anticancer drug.

A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine on the effectiveness of laetrile in cancer treatment showed no benefits in the cure of cancer. What it did show was laetrile’s toxicity and patients who elect to use it run the risk of cyanide poisoning.

The Food and Drug Administration banned foods containing amygdalin, laetrile’s main substance and chemical found in peach, apricot, apple, plum, and bitter almond pits. If taken in large amounts, amygdalin can cause poisoning and death, the study said.

Are Hormone Pills Carcinogenics?

Based from the studies published over the last few years, the United Nations cancer agency, had reclassified hormonal menopause therapy from “ possibly carcinogenic to “ carcinogenic.”

The analysis for a panel of 21 scientist, concluded that estrogen and progestin menopause therapy also slightly increases the risk of endometrial cancer when progestin is taken less than 10 days a month. They also concluded that a common type of contraceptive pill, taken by about ten percent of women of reproductive age, increase the risk of more types of cancer.

Diabetes May Raise Risk Of Liver Cancer, Study

A study warns that diabetes may triple the risk of liver cancer. The study from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, examined 2,161 liver cancer patients over a five-year period. Findings showed 43 percent had diabetes for three years before their diagnosis. By contrast, only 19 percent of 6,183 random individuals in a control group had diabetes during a three year period. Researchers concluded, after factoring in other possible contributing diseases for the cancer patients, that diabetics were three times more likely to develop liver cancer than those without diabetes. Patients in the population based study were identified using US Medicare data.

Study: Low - Fat Diet Won't Stop Cancer Or Heart Disease

A large study on women has found that a low-fat diet had no effect on the potential of getting cancer or heart disease. The study, reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association ( Feb.8,2006 issue)involved women aged 50-79 and monitored for eight years. Results showed that those assigned to follow a low-fat diet had the same rates of breast cancer,colon cancer,heart attack and stroke as those who ate whatever they pleased.

The study findings has failed to confirm a populars idea that a low-fat diet can prevent thue major diseases in women. There was no solid evidence that eating a low-fat diet could make a significant difference in the risks of cancer and heart disease for women as well as men. Researchers have found that women and men respond in the same way to dictory fat.

However, Medical specialists stressed that study did not mean people should abandon low-fat diets."What we are saying is that a modest reduction of fat and a substitution with fruits and vegetables did not do anything for heart disease and stroke or breast cancer or colorectal cancer," said Dr.Nanette Wenger,a cardiologist and professor and medicine at Emory University Medical School."It doesn't say that this diet is not beneficial,"she added.

Cancer Prevention: Lessons From Taiwan's Early Detection Program

Taiwan is one of the leading centers for cancer treatment in Asia. Although many Taiwanese are still dying of cancer, many are also surviving because of their screening measures and early detection program, leading to the prompt treatment of many cancer patients.Health authorities from other countries can pick some lessons from Taiwan's cancer intervention and prevention strategies:

a. Taiwan's hepatitis B vaccination program started in july 1984, and has resulted in a significant decrease in childhood liver cancer.

b. Ordinance was enacted on the control of Tobacco Hazards in 1997. A decrease in the prevalence of cigarette smoking has been observed. The gov't. has been intensifying it's anti-smoking campaign using all possible media and forums.

c. Free mass screening of uterine, cervical and colorectal cancer has been implemented as part of Taiwan's national health insurance program since 1995. They also screen families with strong histories for liver, throat and breast cancer.

d. Taiwanece are now thoroughly studying their diet, which has been implicated in certain types of cancer such as those of the stomack, colon and rectum.