News - Penn State Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Colorectal Cancer month/Lynch Syndrome excerpt

"Lynch syndrome, previously referred to as hereditary non-polyposis colorectal cancer or HNPCC, represents the most common hereditary cause of colorectal cancer.
Approximately 1 in 400 to 1 in 500 individuals in the general population are estimated to have Lynch syndrome.

Knowledge, as they say, in this condition, is power. Not only should individuals with Lynch syndrome start their colonoscopies earlier (at 20-25 years of age) and have them more frequently (every 1-2 years), they should also be screened for stomach and small intestine cancer, urinary tract cancers involving the kidneys and ureters, and the hepatobiliary tract, including the gallbladder, bile duct, pancreas and liver.

Further, women with Lynch syndrome should be aware of the increased risk for both endometrial and ovarian cancer and offered the option of prophylactic surgery following childbearing."

Timing of administration of bevacizumab (Avastin) chemotherapy affects wound healing after chest wall port placement - Cancer

Definition: dehiscence - Separation of wound edges.

Abstract
BACKGROUND:

The authors investigated how the timing of administration of bevacizumab, a targeted vascular endothelial growth factor-inhibiting chemotherapeutic agent, affected the risk of wound healing in patients undergoing chest wall port placement.

CONCLUSIONS:

The risk of a wound dehiscence requiring chest wall port explant in patients treated with bevacizumab was inversely proportional to the interval between bevacizumab administration and port placement, with significantly higher risk seen when the interval is less than 14 days.

full free access: Bisphosphonate Use and the Risk of Subtrochanteric or Femoral Shaft Fractures in Older Women, February 23, 2011 JAMA

Conclusion Among older women, treatment with a bisphosphonate for more than 5 years was associated with an increased risk of subtrochanteric or femoral shaft fractures; however, the absolute risk of these fractures is low.

free full access: Delayed Neoplastic and Renal Complications in Women Receiving Long-term Chemotherapy for Recurrent Ovarian Cancer — J. Natl. Cancer Inst.

No Gene-Environment Interactions Found in Million Women Study of Breast Cancer 2010 - CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians - Wiley Online Library

".....Regarding the question of gene-environment interactions, lead author Ruth Travis, MD, PhD, adds that “Results from this study suggest that common genetic and environmental factors (reproductive and lifestyle factors) act independently on breast cancer risk, so regardless of common inherited genetic variation, a woman can still reduce her risk by modifying her lifestyle, for example by maintaining a healthy body weight and limiting alcohol intake.”

The absence of interactions means that priorities for risk-reducing strategies are similar for most women (for example, being based on known risks associated with lifestyle and reproductive factors) regardless of the common genetic risk factors for the disease, she says. Dr. Travis is an epidemiologist, research fellow, and senior scientist in the cancer epidemiology unit at Oxford University....."

Histologic artifacts in abdominal, vaginal, laparoscopic, and robotic hysterectomy specimens: a blinded, retrospective review

"....Such artifacts impair the pathologists' interpretation of cell type requiring an increased use of IHC (immunohistochemistry), and displaced epithelial fragments present within vessels or artifactual clefts may result in the misinterpretation of prognostic and staging parameters. Furthermore, there is a significantly higher rate of positive peritoneal cytology in cases that are subjected to uterine manipulation, suggesting dissemination of malignant cells into the abdominal cavity. The clinical significance of this finding needs to be determined."

abstract: Body size and the risk of ovarian cancer by hormone therapy use in the California Teachers Study cohort

Increased cancer risks for relatives of very early-onset breast cancer cases with and without BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations - abstract

CONCLUSION: First-degree relatives of women with very early-onset breast cancer are at increased risk of cancers not explained by BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations.

Preventive Surgeries Linked To Lower Risk Of Breast And Ovarian Cancer - BRCA mutations/international study

news article:



free full text/paper:
http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/304/9/967

"Women who have in herited mutations inthe BRCA1 or BRCA2(BRCA1/2) genes have substantially elevated risks of breast cancer and ovarian cancer, with a lifetime risk of breast cancer of 56% to 84%.^1-3 The estimated ovarian cancer risks range from 36% to 63% for BRCA1 mutation carriers and 10% to 27% for BRCA2 mutation carriers.^3-6 Women who are mutation carriers have cancer risk–management options that include risk-reducing salpingo-oophorectomy, risk-reducing mastectomy, annual cancer screening, and chemoprevention. Due to the lack of effective screening for ovarian cancer, salpingo-oophorectomy is strongly recommended once childbearing is complete."

Hyperthyroidism / (Graves Disease) Increases Ovarian Cancer Risk - Thyroid Disease

Epidemiology: (abstract) Postmenopausal hormone use and incident ovarian cancer: Associations differ by regimen

Young Women Diagnosed With BRCA Genes -- What Should They Do?

media article: New Findings Further Clarify Breast Cancer Risk With Hormone Therapy

“This is evidence that the story is complicated,” said Tanmai Saxena, an M.D./Ph.D. student at the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California. “The benefits of hormone therapy for relief of postmenopausal symptoms among women are clear, but the risks are more complicated than we had previously thought.”

Medscape article: Simple Cysts and Ovarian Cancer Risk

How to Avoid a Heart Attack: Putting It All Together -Journal of the American Osteopathic Association

Note: this is not specific to treatment-related cardiovascular concerns

Conclusion
The central question posed in the letter to the editor by Juhl et al2 is whether supplements of vitamins E and C and the B vitamins have demonstrated an evidence-based reduction in patients' cardiovascular risk. Unfortunately, the authors' criticism of the perceived deficiencies of a previously published study1 does not constitute evidence to support their position; it serves only to point out those perceived flaws.

Multiple meta-analyses and reviews of published medical literature have convincingly established that there are few, if any, objective, evidence-based, well-designed trials to support the use of supplements of vitamins E or C or those in the B family to reduce risk of cardiovascular events. Furthermore, I am unaware of any study that advocates the use of these supplements to help patients or to rejuvenate our ailing medical delivery system.

If Dr Juhl and his coauthors2 seek to establish the medical value of these supplements, I would recommend that they design, participate in, and publish a study to establish their yet unproven hypothesis. Until such a goal is accomplished, my opinion (shared by researchers at the Mayo Clinic,3 the Cleveland Clinic,5 the AHRQ,12 and the American Heart Association19) is that published evidence clearly does not support the use of vitamins E, C, B6, B9, or B12 to improve patients' cardiovascular health.

How well can a screening test predict disease risk? « Genomes Unzipped

Abstract: The role of body mass index, physical activity, and diet in colorectal cancer recurrence and survival: a review of the literature.

"In conclusion, only a paucity of data is available about the effect of dietary and other lifestyle factors on colorectal cancer recurrence and survival. Thus far, no clear conclusions can be drawn. Future studies are warranted, particularly on postdiagnosis BMI and diet."

Understanding risk : Cancer Research UK

Understanding risk

Every week it seems that there’s a news story about something that increases or cuts the risk of cancer.
Often, these reports are full of numbers - 11 per cent lower risk, 65 per cent increased risk, double the risk - but what do they actually mean?
To make things clearer, there’s a detailed explanation of risk on our Healthy Living pages.
Read our other top tips:

• Look at the numbers
• Look for controls
• Is the research published? If so, where?
• Who funded it?
• Still early days
• Weird, wacky and wonderful

Women's Health Matters Network: News - Early menopause may be linked to increased future heart disease risks

"Early menopause was defined as either natural or surgical menopause."

"Although the observational study found a significant relationship between early menopause and heart disease, it does not prove that early menopause is an underlying cause of heart disease. However, the relationship suggests that modifiable lifestyle factors that affect heart disease risk, such as diet and exercise, may be particularly important to women who enter menopause early. The research was presented at the Endocrine Society annual meeting in San Diego on June 21, 2010"

Personal history of breast cancer as a significant risk factor for endometrial serous carcinoma in women aged 55 years old or younger

Note: suggestive of Lynch Syndrome (unresolved connection between breast cancer/Lynch Syndrome??)