Colon Cancer Patients of Normal Weight Have Better Outcomes
Very obese colon cancer patients had an increased chance of recurrence and death from colon cancer, according to a new study.
James J. Dignam, Ph.D., of the University of Chicago, and colleagues identified 4,288 patients in the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project who had been diagnosed with colon cancer. They assessed the patients' risk of recurrence, second primary cancer, and death in relationship to their body mass index. The patients were followed for a median of 11.2 years.
The authors found that colon cancer patients with a body mass index of 35 kg/m² and higher had a significantly increased risk of cancer recurrence or death from colon cancer. Underweight patients had a higher risk of death from non-colon cancer causes.
Contact: John Easton, john.easton@uchospitals.edu
Combination Treatment Increases Ovarian Cancer Patient Survival
A study finds that newer regimens of chemotherapy have helped improve survival for ovarian cancer patients. A combination of platinum and taxanes can double survival times, particularly when administered into the abdominal cavity.
John P. A. Ioannidis, M.D., of the University of Ioannina School of Medicine in Greece, and colleagues performed a meta-analysis of 60 randomized trials comparing different chemotherapy regimens for the treatment of ovarian cancer. The authors found that chemotherapy using a combination of platinum-based drugs and taxanes was most successful in increasing survival times, even more so when drugs were also given into the abdominal cavity.
Contact: John P.A. Ioannidis, jioannid@cc.uoi.gr
Lobular Involution Decreases Breast Cancer Risk
Breast lobular involution is associated with a decreased risk of breast cancer in women with benign breast disease, according to a new study. Lobular involution, part of normal aging, is the regression of the milk-producing glands or lobules in the breast.
Lynn C. Hartmann, M.D., of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., and colleagues examined the biopsies of 8,736 women in the Mayo Benign Breast Disease Cohort for the extent of lobular involution. The patients were followed for a median of 17 years for diagnoses of breast cancer.
The authors found that the risk of breast cancer decreased with increasing lobular involution.
In an accompanying editorial, Donald Earl Henson, M.D., of the George Washington University Cancer Institute in Washington, D.C., writes, "The challenge will be to unravel the natural history of involution and the normal process of aging in the breast. Eventually, involution could become a useful surrogate endpoint for research in breast cancer prevention. A possible approach to prevention may be to develop strategies that achieve complete involution as early as possible after childbearing is completed."
Contact:
Article: Lynn Hartman, Hartman.lynn@mayo.edu
Editorial: Don Henson, patdeh@gwumc.edu
Endorepellin Targets Tumor Vascular System
New research suggests that a molecule called endorepellin can effectively target the tumor vascular system.
Renato V. Iozzo, M.D., of Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, and colleagues gave recombinant endorepellin to mice with human skin and lung tumors. They found that endorepellin targeted the tumors' vascular system. They suggest the result may help in the development of effective anti-cancer therapies.
Contact: Renato V. Iozzo, 215-503-2208, Iozzo@mail.jci.tju.edu
Also in the November 15 JNCI
Dietary Folate Intake Not Associated with Breast Cancer Risk
http://www.eurekalert.org/emb_releases/2006-11/jotn-fi110906.php
Quality Care Assessment Examines at Surgical Quality for Colorectal Cancer Patients
http://www.eurekalert.org/emb_releases/2006-11/jotn-ca110906.php
Note: The Journal of the National Cancer Institute is published by Oxford University Press and is not affiliated with the National Cancer Institute. Attribution to the Journal of the National Cancer Institute is requested in all news coverage. Visit the Journal online at http://jncicancerspectrum.oxfordjournals.org/.
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JNCI Journal of the National Cancer Institute