Study reveals why cancer cells like sugar

Study reveals why cancer cells like sugar

Published: April 17, 2008 at 11:53 AM

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DURHAM, N.C., April 17 (UPI) — U.S. medical researchers say they’ve discovered why cancer cells like sugar so much — a finding than might lead to better cancer treatments.

Duke University School of Medicine Assistant Professor Jeffrey Rathmell and graduate student Jonathan Coloff found that tumor cells use glucose as a way to avoid programmed cell death.

The cancer cells make use of a protein called Akt that promotes glucose metabolism. That, in turn, regulates a family of proteins critical for cell survival, the researchers said.

In normal cells, growth factors regulate metabolism and cell survival, they said. Removing those factors leads to loss of glucose uptake and metabolism, causing cell death. But they found cancer cells maintain glucose metabolism by utilizing Akt to maintain glucose usage, thereby resisting cell death even when deprived of growth factors.

The findings were presented Tuesday in San Diego during the annual meeting of the American Association of Cancer Research.

Boobs bouncing blogs bouncing boobs for a cause

Boobs bouncing blogs bouncing boobs for a cause

Posted May 18th 2006 1:00PM by Dalene Entenmann
Filed under: Breast Cancer, Prevention, Cancer events, Celebrity fundraisers

When Kathleen was diagnosed with breast cancer, her sister Priscilla wanted to help in all the ways a loving sister could think to do — and she came up with the idea to launch Bouncing for Breast Cancer — better known as Bouncing for Boobs — as a way to help support her sister Kathleen with her household bills while she undergoing treatment for breast cancer.

In an effort to raise $10,000 dollars, Priscilla pledged to bounce one million times in 100 days on a trampoline. According to Priscilla, what started as a personal campaign to help one sister is gaining momentum, and the plans are now to take bouncing for boobs to a worldwide level of campaigning in support of other women and single mothers who are struggling with breast cancer.

Priscilla blogs Bouncing for Boobs and maintains the Bouncing for Breast Cancer website. In addition, she is an innovative Image and Performance Mastery coach. All of which is reflected in her blogging. I highly-recommend this blog for all women struggling with and living to survive breast cancer. There are some thoughtful posts related to honoring the self and the healing journey. And it’s fun to read as Priscilla bounces her boobs at different locations around the world.

Coaches take on fierce opponent: cancer

Coaches take on fierce opponent: cancer

Posted May 29th 2006 9:19PM by Jacki Donaldson
Filed under: Prevention, Cancer events, Celebrity fundraisers, All Cancers, Research

I am not a huge sports fan. But just about everyone in my family is. So I have absorbed quite a bit of knowledge about sports — and primarily college basketball — because all sorts of facts and stats and stories float around at family gatherings. I don’t pay much attention but I guess it soaks in anyway — because there have been times when I have rattled off information that shocks even the most fanatical of family members.

But something about basketball has actually peaked my interest and has caused me to look and listen a bit more closely. It’s called Coaches vs. Cancer®. Coaches vs. Cancer teams up the American Cancer Society and the National Association of Basketball Coaches in the fight against cancer. Basketball coaches from all over participate in a variety of events and activities and fundraisers — and they hope to emerge victorious over a disease that is claiming too many lives. Many hours and much effort go into the game plan for beating cancer.  There is the Basket Ball — a black tie affair that features a night of dancing, dinner, celebrity appearances and an auction — and golf tournaments and tip-off breakfasts and even regular season games where funds are raised to benefit the cause. The program has raised more than $25 million since it first started in 1993 and the match-up is still going strong. Now this is something I can cheer about.

Celebrities donate laughter for new humor therapy CD

Celebrities donate laughter for new humor therapy CD

Posted May 31st 2006 8:00PM by Dalene Entenmann
Filed under: Alternative Therapies, Prevention, Celebrity fundraisers, All Cancers, Fundraisers, Stress Reduction

Hey U.G.L.Y. Unique. Gifted. Lovable. You., an organization that develops self-esteem building tools for teens, asked celebrities to donate their laughter for a fundraising CD of contagious laughter called Laugh It Off. According to the president of Hey U.G.L.Y. Betty Hoeffner, “We know the healing powers of laughter and how it can improve health and relieve stress.” Past research has shown, from a biological standpoint, that laughter and humor do have healing power.

Why a CD of celebrity laughter? “When we saw other charities asking celebrities to donate things like purses, shoes and even bras, we thought celebrities donating their laughter would be a perfect fit,” explains Hoeffner. Produced and directed by award-winning filmmaker Rick Erwin, the 60-minute CD and includes the laughter of: Jimmy Neutron voice talent, Debi Derryberry; Emmy-award winning actor/comedian Ben Hollis; JBTV host, Jerry Bryant; and commercial voice talent, Richard Schoen; Saturday Night Live’s Tim Kazurinsky; Frank Sinatra’s opening act comedian, Tom Dreesen; nationally syndicated radio host, Mancow Muller; and Late Show with David Letterman regular, Bob Sarlatte. One woman wrote Hey U.G.L.Y. that her brother, who has cancer, listens to the CD three times a day and loves it.

Can laughter cure cancer? Not by itself — but there are numerous studies that show laughter initiates a powerful biological process of feel-good healing chemicals that support and strengthen the immune system. We have done several posts here, here, here, here, here and here about the healing power of humor and the laughter associated with it.

MLB Dodgers autographed home plate auction

MLB Dodgers autographed home plate auction

Posted Jun 16th 2006 11:00AM by Dalene Entenmann
Filed under: Breast Cancer, Prevention, Celebrity fundraisers

If you are a Major League Baseball fan — better yet — if you are a Los Angeles Dodgers fan, and looking to add to your collection of sports memorabilia — all in the name of breast cancer charity — there are only two days left to bid on the Los Angeles Dodgers Team 2006 Mother’s Day Commemorative Home Plate at the Going to Bat Against Breast Cancer auction.

Signatures include: Danys Baez, Jo Beimel, Jonathan Broxton, Eric Gagne, Derek Lowe, Franquelis Osoria, Odalis Perez, Takashi Saito, Aaron Sele, Jae Seo, Brett Tomko, Sandy Alomar, Russell Martin, Willy Aybar, Nomar Garciaparra, Cesar Izturis, Ramon Martinez, Bill Mueller, Oscar Robles, Olmedo Saenz, Jose Cruz, J.D. Drew, Andre Ethier, Kenny Lofton, Dave Jauss, Mariano Duncan, Eddie Murray, Rick Honeycutt, Dan Warthen and Manny Mota.

All proceeds benefit the Susan G. Komen Foundation. Hurry, the auction is almost over. Go here to bid.

Nicole Kidman designs fashion tee for breast cancer care

Nicole Kidman designs fashion tee for breast cancer care

Posted Jul 10th 2006 8:00AM by Dalene Entenmann
Filed under: Breast Cancer, Celebrity fundraisers, Events, Products

This summer, Dorothy Perkins is introducing a limited edition and exclusive line of fashion tees artistically designed by celebrities Nicole Kidman, Sharon Osbourne, Sienna Miller, Charlotte Church and Denise Van Outen to benefit Breast Cancer Care. The specialty tees, retailing at £15, go on sale Monday July 10th at the Dorothy Perkins website and in their 600 UK stores. £5 of each tee sale will go to Breast Cancer Care. Last year, Dorothy Perkins raised  over £1.3 million, through the pink wristband campaign in support of the breast cancer charity.

Nicole Kidman was only a girl when her mother battled breast cancer. Kidman chose her design because it represents the power and importance of support, comfort and care. Both family members and friends of Sharon Osborne have been diagnosed with breast cancer, and she chose her design using the symbol of a cross and heart to represent Hope, Peace and Love. Sienna Miller chose a quote that inspires. Denise Van Outen lost her grandmother to breast cancer last year and chose the rollerskate as her design because it reminds her of her childhood visits with her grandmother.

There are 50,000 tees for sale. I doubt they will last long. If you are interested, visit Breast Cancer Care Dorothy Perkins Little Tees for more information.

oy Compound May Halt Spread Of Prostate Cancer

oy Compound May Halt Spread Of Prostate Cancer

ScienceDaily (Mar. 17, 2008) — A compound found in soybeans almost completely prevented the spread of human prostate cancer in mice, according to a study published in the March 15 issue of Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

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See also:

Health & Medicine

• Prostate Cancer
• Men’s Health
• Brain Tumor
• Lung Cancer
• Colon Cancer
• Urology

Reference

• Isoflavone
• Metastasis
• Tumor suppressor gene
• Embryonic stem cell

Researchers say that the amount of the chemical, an antioxidant known as genistein, used in the experiments was no higher than what a human would eat in a soybean-rich diet.

Investigators from Northwestern University found that genistein decreased metastasis of prostate cancer to the lungs by 96 percent compared with mice that did not eat the compound in their chow – making the study the first to demonstrate genistein can stop prostate cancer metastasis in a living organism.

“These impressive results give us hope that genistein might show some effect in preventing the spread of prostate cancer in patients,” said the study’s senior investigator, Raymond C. Bergan, MD, director of experimental therapeutics for the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University.

“Diet can affect cancer and it doesn’t do it by magic,” Bergan said. “Certain chemicals have beneficial effects and now we have all the preclinical studies we need to suggest genistein might be a very promising chemopreventive drug.”

Bergan and his team have previously demonstrated in prostate cancer cell cultures that genistein inhibits detachment of cancer cells from a primary prostate tumor and represses cell invasion. It does this by blocking activation of p38 MAP kinases, molecules which regulate pathways that activate proteins that loosen cancer cells from their tight hold within a tumor, pushing them to migrate. “In culture, you can actually see that when genistein is introduced, cells flatten themselves in order to spread out and stick strongly to nearby cells,” he said.

In this study, investigators fed genistein to several groups of mice before implanting them with an aggressive form of prostate cancer .The amount of genistein in the blood of the animals was comparable to human blood concentrations after consumption of soy foods, Bergan said.

The researchers found that while genistein didn’t reduce the size of tumors that developed within the prostate, it stopped lung metastasis almost completely. They repeated the experiment and found the same result.

They then examined tissue in the animals, measuring the size of tumor cells’ nuclei to determine if the cells had flattened out in order to spread. “Within a tumor, it is hard to tell where the borders of cells stop, so one way to measure adherence is to look at the size of the nuclei in cells and see if they are wider due to cell spread,” Bergan said. “And that is what we found, demonstrating that the drug is having a primary effect on metastasis.”

He said that the study also found that mice fed genistein expressed higher levels of genes that are involved in cancer cell migration which, Bergan says, at first might not make sense in light of the study’s conclusion that genistein almost completely blocked metastasis.

“What we think is happening here is that the cells we put in the mice normally like to move. When genistein restricted their ability to do so, they tried to compensate by producing more protein involved in migration. But genistein prevented those proteins from being activated,” he said. “This is really a lesson for researchers who depend on biomarker studies to test whether a treatment is working. They need to be aware that those biomarkers might be telling only half of the story.”

Bergan cautioned that much is unknown about use of genistein in preventing cancer spread. For example, it may be that the effects of the compound in people who have eaten soy all their lives is stronger than benefit seen in patients who have only started to use genistein.

“The problem we have faced is that epidemiology studies that found men who eat soy are at reduced risk of prostate cancer death are all associative. They don’t prove anything,” he said. “The only way we will find out how promising genistein is will be from conducting clinical trials.”

Human observational studies have found that while the spread of prostate cancer is reduced in men who eat soy-rich foods, findings have been mixed as to whether prostate cancer incidence is markedly different. Results of some laboratory studies of genistein have also been mixed, but most have shown favorable results, Bergan said, demonstrating that genistein can inhibit a variety of cell molecules including tyrosine kinases, which activate proteins by attaching them to phosphate chemicals.

A Veterans Administration Merit Award supported the study.

Adapted from materials provided by American Association for Cancer Research.

Aspirin might stop spread of cancer

Aspirin might stop spread of cancer

Reuters

Published: 3/17/2008 12:06 AM

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Blood-thinning drugs such as aspirin may help fight cancer by denying shelter to wandering tumor cells, U.S. researchers reported.

Experiments in mice showed that combining aspirin with an experimental anti-clotting drug slowed the growth and spread of breast and melanoma tumors.

Blood cells called platelets shelter and feed tumor cells in the bloodstream, making it easier for cancer to spread, or metastasize, the team at Washington University in St. Louis said.

Writing in the Journal of Cellular Biochemistry, they said inactivating platelets may help slow or prevent this spread.

The study could help support other findings that show people who take aspirin or similar drugs that affect a gene and protein called COX-2, including aspirin, ibuprofen and the COX-2 inhibitor Celebrex, have a lower risk of some cancers.

There is also some suggestion that taking aspirin or ibuprofen along with chemotherapy may make the chemo more effective.

Surf for a Cure: surfer legends Luau & Longboard Invitational

Surf for a Cure: surfer legends Luau & Longboard Invitational

Posted Aug 21st 2006 9:00AM by Dalene Entenmann
Filed under: Celebrity fundraisers, Research

At La Jolla Shores, north of San Diego, in California, 2006 marked the 13th annual Moores UC San Diego Cancer Center Luau & Longboard Invitational. While 27 five-member teams competed for trophies, over 1,000 people attended and $300,000 dollars raised for the cancer center.

Each team was led by renowned surfers including Endless Summer Robert August, Mike Doyle, Rusty Preisendorfer, Skip Frye, Michael Hynson and Debbie Beacham. In the 13 years that the Luau & Longboard Invitational event has been held, $1.8 million has been raised for the Moores UC San Diego Cancer Center.

In addition to the surfing competitions, the attendees were treated to a luau of live music, Polynesian dancing, and an auction for a surfboard designed by tattoo artists from TLC channel television series Miami Ink. During the raffle, a 9-foot, 2-inch balsa longboard formed by Keith Melville was bought by Padres owner and philanthropist John Moores for $50,000 dollars. Last year the Lance Armstrong LIVESTRONG surfboard autographed by Armstrong went for $27,500 dollars. The theme of this year’s event was called Surf for the Cure.

Nine years ago, in 1998, the Luau and Longboard Invitational was dedicated to the memory of Rell Sunn, who passed away from breast cancer. Each year, during the event, the Rell Sunn-Queen of Makaha Award is given to honor the person or organization that best displays the qualities of compassion, unselfishness, aloha spirit and dedication in the fight against cancer.

Broccoli and Other Vegetables Linked with Decreased Risk of Aggressive Prostate Cancer

Broccoli and Other Vegetables Linked with Decreased Risk of Aggressive Prostate Cancer

ScienceDaily (Jul. 25, 2007) — Eating more cruciferous vegetables like broccoli and cauliflower is associated with a reduced risk of aggressive prostate cancer.

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See also:

Health & Medicine

• Prostate Cancer
• Men’s Health
• Urology

Plants & Animals

• Food
• Mice
• Botany

Reference

• Metastasis
• Health benefits of tea
• Urology
• Broccoli

Several studies have demonstrated an association between eating vegetables and a reduced risk of prostate cancer, but study results have not been consistent and many have not investigated the association among patients with aggressive prostate cancer.

Victoria Kirsh, Ph.D., of Cancer Care Ontario in Toronto and colleagues evaluated the possible association in 1,338 prostate cancer patients diagnosed in the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial. Each of the men completed a 137-item food-frequency questionnaire.

They found that eating fruits and vegetables was not associated with decreased prostate cancer risk in general. But greater consumption of dark green and cruciferous vegetables, especially broccoli and cauliflower, was associated with a decreased risk of aggressive prostate cancer.

“Aggressive prostate cancer is biologically virulent and associated with poor prognosis. Therefore, if the association that we observed is ultimately found to be causal, a possible means to reduce the burden of this disease may be primary prevention through increased consumption of broccoli, cauliflower, and possibly spinach,” the authors write.

This research was published recently in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

Adapted from materials provided by Journal of the National Cancer Institute, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.