Smokers, this is exactly what leads to lung cancer
Smoking can kill, but no one has really quite understood how and why cigarettes cause healthy lung cells to become cancerous. Now researchers say they have the answer: hydrogen peroxide (or a similar oxidant) in the smoke is the culprit.
These findings by researchers at the University of California at Davis could spur the tobacco industry into developing "safer" cigarettes by eliminating such substances, even as they give medical researchers a new avenue to develop lung cancer treatments.
The findings of the study are being published in the forthcoming issue of the journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB).
"With the five-year survival rate for people with lung cancer at a dismally low 15.5 percent, we hope this study will provide better insight into the identification of new therapeutic targets," said Tzipora Goldkorn, co-author of the report.
During the decade beginning 2010, a new study says smoking will cause about 9, 30,000 adult deaths in India annually. Of the dead, about 70 percent will be between 30 and 69 years.
In the article, Goldkorn and his colleagues describe how they exposed different sets of human lung airway cells to cigarette smoke and hydrogen peroxide in the lab.
After exposure, these cells were then incubated for one to two days. Then they, along with unexposed airway cells, were assessed for signs of cancer development.
The cells exposed to cigarettes smoke and the cells exposed to hydrogen peroxide showed the same molecular signatures of cancer development, while the unexposed cells did not.
"Guns kill, bombs kill and cigarettes kill," said Gerald Weissmann, editor of FASEB.
"These experiments not only pin-point new molecular targets for cancer treatment, but also identify culprits in cigarette smoke that eventually will do the smoker in."
Source: Washington, Indo-Asian News Service
Vitamin E linked to lung cancer
A second popular vitamin supplement has been found to heighten the likelihood of developing lung cancer, it has been disclosed.
Findings from a study of more than 77,000 people showed that taking moderate to high doses of vitamin E led to a "slight but significant" increase in risk.
Previous research had already linked beta-carotene supplements with a higher risk of lung cancer in smokers. The vitamin E trend was most prominent among smokers, but not confined to them.
The researchers also found no evidence that multivitamins or vitamin C reduced the risk of lung cancer.
A team led by Dr Christopher Slatore, from the University of Washington in Seattle, in the United States, monitored 77,126 men and women between the ages of 50 and 76 for four years, recording how many of them developed lung cancer.
Of the original participants enrolled into the Vitamins and Lifestyle (Vital) study, 521 were diagnosed with the disease - the expected rate for a low-risk group of patients.
The scientists found unsurprising links between lung cancer risk and smoking, family history, and age. But in addition to these, they uncovered the unexpected association with vitamin E.
The increased risk was equivalent to 7% rise for every extra 100 milligrams of vitamin E taken per day over 10 years. This translated into a 28% increased risk of lung cancer for someone regularly taking a high 400 milligram dose of the vitamin.
"In contrast to the often assumed benefits or at least lack of harm, supplemental vitamin E was associated with a small increased risk of lung cancer," said Dr Slatore.
The findings appear in the March issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, published by the American Thoracic Society
(Source : BBC news)
First European Lung Cancer Conference in Geneva, Switzerland
The European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) is organising the first European Lung Cancer Conference from 23 to 26 April in Geneva, Switzerland.
Lung cancer is globally recognised as a big killer and it is undoubtedly a leading cause of cancer deaths in Europe and in the world. Researchers provide evidence of advancements which lead to continuous improvements in possible treatments of lung cancer and offer contributions to change the political and social environment for more pro-active prevention initiatives. The meeting will highlight the following topics:
- the future of imaging;
- IASLC staging report of lung cancer;
- advances in surgical techniques for in-situ carcinoma;
- controversies on new radiotherapy techniques associated to surgery;
- novel curative treatments for early disease;
- targeted therapies and selection of patients on genomic analyses;
- toxicity management;
- identification of new diseases: is adenocarcinoma a cancer or not;
- tobacco policy.
The ESMO is a European non-profit professional organisation for medical oncology, with a focus on promoting multidisciplinary cancer treatment around the world.
For further information, please visit:
http://www.esmo.org/activities/jntconf/jntlung/
[Date: 2008-02-28]
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