Eating fruits, veggies cuts cancer risk - The Clarion-Ledger

"When scientists study human populations and their eating habits, they can draw some conclusions about different dietary habits and the link with certain diseases.
For example, populations that eat more fruits and vegetables with less fat suffer from fewer heart attacks and strokes. Sometimes it is tough to prove exactly how these foods work to prevent disease although we know they can.
At the 2007 annual meeting of the American Association of Cancer Research, researchers presented promising evidence that diet and lifestyle can help prevent cancer.
One of the studies presented dealt with prevention of cancers of the head and neck. Head and neck cancer is the sixth leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide, resulting in more than 350,000 deaths each year. This study was conducted by the National Cancer Institute with a half-million AARP members, men and women over the age of 50. Those who ate six servings of fruits and vegetables for each 1,000 calories consumed had 29 percent lower risk than the study participants who ate only 1 1/2 servings per 1,000 calories. Those members who ate just one additional serving of fruit and vegetables per day had a 6 percent reduction in cancer risk. The more servings they ate, the greater the reduction in risk."

Pancreatic Cancer Vaccine Halts Progression Of Disease In Some Patients

"A dendritic cell-based therapeutic vaccine for pancreatic cancer developed by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine has successfully stalled the disease from progressing in a handful of patients three years post-vaccination. The results, part of a press briefing on cancer vaccines held at the annual meeting of the American Association of Cancer Research in LA, provide promising evidence that the vaccine can trigger a patient’s own immune system to rally against pancreatic cancer and offer new insights into how the vaccine could be made even more effective. The study is abstract number 4896 in the meeting proceedings. "

http://www.playfuls.com/news_006683_Pancreatic_Cancer_Vaccine_Halts_Progression_Of_Disease_In_Some_Patients.html

Flavonols lower pancreatic-cancer risk

A study of California and Hawaii residents found that a diet high in fruits and vegetables might help reduce pancreatic-cancer risk.Flavonols are found in plants, but the highest concentrations are found in onions, apples, berries, kale and broccoli.People who ate the largest amounts of flavonols had a 23-percent reduced risk of developing pancreatic cancer compared with those who ate the least, according to research team leader Dr. Laurence Kolonel of the Cancer Research Center of Hawaii.

http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/53056.html

Diet and lifestyle: In the cancer fight, eating well is the best revenge

"Flavonols and pancreatic cancer risk: The Multiethnic Cohort Study: Abstract 856
A study of food consumption in 183,518 residents of California and Hawaii has found that a diet high in flavonols might help reduce pancreatic cancer risk, especially in smokers. These compounds are generally ubiquitous in plant-based foods, but are found in highest concentrations in onions, apples, berries, kale and broccoli.
People who ate the largest amounts of flavonols had a 23 percent reduced risk of developing pancreatic cancer compared to those who ate the least, according to a research team led by Laurence Kolonel, M.D., Ph.D., at the Cancer Research Center of Hawaii.
Smokers gained the most benefit. Those who ate the most flavonols reduced their risk of developing pancreatic cancer by 59 percent, compared to those who ate the least, says the study’s lead author, Ute Nöthlings, DrPH, who conducted the study as a postdoctoral fellow in Hawaii and is now a researcher at the German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbruecke.
‘The effect was largest in smokers, presumably because they are at increased pancreatic cancer risk already,' said Nöthlings. Smoking is the only established risk factor for pancreatic cancer, and 'short of stopping tobacco use, it has been difficult to consistently show lifestyle factors that might help protect against this deadly cancer,' she says.
As part of a larger research project known as The Multiethnic Cohort Study, Kolonel and Nöthlings followed the participants for an average of eight years after they filled out a comprehensive food questionnaire. "

Another Pancreatic Cancer Setback

Another Pancreatic-Cancer Setback - WSJ.com: "Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. and ImClone Systems Inc. said their cancer drug, Erbitux, failed to significantly prolong the lives of people with pancreatic cancer in a new study, marking yet another setback in the drug industry's efforts to find a better treatment for this deadly disease.
Erbitux is currently approved by regulators to treat colorectal cancer and head and neck cancer. Bristol-Myers and ImClone have been studying whether it is effective in other cancers."

ACS :: What Is Cancer of the Pancreas?

"The pancreas is a gland found behind the stomach. It is shaped a little bit like a fish. It is about 6 inches long and less than 2 inches wide. It extends across the abdomen.
The pancreas is really 2 separate glands inside the same organ. The exocrine gland makes pancreatic juice that has enzymes to break down fats and proteins in foods so the body can use them. Most of the cells in the pancreas are part of the exocrine system. A smaller number of cells in the pancreas are endocrine cells. These cells are arranged in clusters called islets (or islets of Langerhans). They make hormones (such as insulin) that help balance the amount of sugar in the blood. "

Richmond.com: 'High-Tech Health ' for Pancreatic Cancer

"Lung cancer is the leading cause of death due to cancer for both men and women, accounting for 32 percent of male cancer deaths and 25 percent of female cancer deaths in the United States. Only about one-tenth of lung cancer victims survive more than five years after diagnosis.

Colo-rectal cancer is the second most common cause of cancer death in the United States. Breast and prostate cancer are next on the list, followed by pancreatic, stomach, esophageal, ovarian, uterine, cervical, lymphomas, leukemia, liver, brain, kidney, bladder, skin and mouth cancer. Any tissue type is capable of undergoing unregulated cell growth, which is the definition of cancer."

NCCS: National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship

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Breakthrough in Pancreatic Cancer

"You don’t generally hear much about pancreatic cancer, probably because it isn’t as common as breast, lung or prostate cancers, but perhaps also because there hasn’t been an improvement in the survival rate, the lowest of all major cancers, in nearly two decades. That might be about to change, thanks to the intense focus on stem cell research in recent years. In a report in the Feb. 1 (2006) issue of Cancer Research, investigators described finding strong evidence that pancreatic cancer is controlled by a small group of cells with stem cell-like properties (the ability to self-renew and differentiate). The cells were identified by the presence of three specific antibody markers on the cell surface."

Stem cells may have role in cancer relapses | Asbury Park Press Online

"In recent years, doctors have found stem cells in the liver, brain and other organs. Scientists believe these cells serve as reserve troops that help repair injuries, dividing into whatever type of tissue is needed, Jones says.
Cancer stem cells apparently pervert this process. Instead of creating new tissue to heal a wound, they create and replenish malignant tumors, Jones says.
Simeone sorted human pancreatic cancer cells according to protein markers that appear on their surface. In her research on pancreatic tumors, Simeone focused on cells with three particular proteins because those markers were found on cancer stem cells in earlier studies of cancer in different organs. Researchers injected the cells into mice, then waited to see which ones generated tumors.
As suspected, cancer cells with all three protein markers were the most aggressive. Mice developed tumors after being injected with as few as 100 of them. That's not many cells, Simeone says, considering that there are 'billions and billions' of cells in a human body."

ScienceDaily: New Direction For Pancreas Cell Regeneration

"Replacing faulty or missing cells with new insulin-making cells has been the object of diabetes research for the last decade. Past studies in tissue culture have suggested that one type of pancreas cell could be coaxed to transform into insulin-producing islet cells."

"Now, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have demonstrated that these pancreatic acinar cells do not become insulin-producing cells in an animal model. However, they did show that injured pancreatic cells readily regenerate back into healthy acinar cells, which has implications for treating cancer and inflammation of the pancreas. This study appears in the April issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation. The research also holds promise for new techniques for pancreas cell manipulation.
The pancreas is made up of two compartments with different functions: the islet compartment of insulin-producing beta cells and the much larger exocrine compartment composed of duct cells and acinar cells that make and deliver enzymes to the intestine for digestion. Diabetes is caused by the failure of the beta cells to make insulin, whereas pancreatic cancer usually originates from the exocrine compartment. Under certain conditions in tissue culture, acinar cells can synthesize insulin as well as amylase, a digestion enzyme."

Swiss reject Roche's Tarceva for pancreatic cancer | Health | Reuters

Swiss health authorities have rejected drugmaker Roche Holding AG's (ROG.VX: Quote, Profile, Research) Tarceva for use in pancreatic cancer, the company said on Thursday.

"We've actually applied for the approval and they said no," said Roche spokeswoman Martina Rupp. "It's definitely not good news for patients in Switzerland."

Rupp said Switzerland's regulatory agency, Swissmedic, had questioned the safety and efficacy of Tarceva and the approval process had not got as far as the pricing of the drug.

It is the second time Switzerland has turned down approval of Tarceva in pancreatic cancer.

Roche has already refiled its application, based on prior approvals of the drug in the European Union and United States, and is waiting on a response from Swissmedic, Rupp said.

Pancreatic Cancer: UVA Resource

"What is pancreatic cancer?
Pancreatic cancer is the fourth most common cause of cancer death in men and women in the US. According to the American Cancer Society, it is estimated that there will be 33,730 new cases of pancreatic cancer in 2006, and 32,300 deaths are expected. Pancreatic cancer occurs when malignant cells grow out of control.
What is a risk factor?
A risk factor is anything that may increase a person's chance of developing a disease. It may be an activity, such as smoking, diet, family history, or many other things. Different diseases, including cancers, have different risk factors.
Although these factors can increase a person's risk, they do not necessarily cause the disease. Some people with one or more risk factors never develop the disease, while others develop disease and have no known risk factors.
But, knowing your risk factors to any disease can"

The Sol Goldman Pancreatic Cancer Research Center

Pancreatitis - Wikipedia definition

Causes
The most common causes of acute pancreatitis are gallstones and excessive consumption of alcohol (together accounting for more than 80% of cases). Less common causes include hypertriglyceridemia (but not hypercholesterolemia) and only when triglyceride values exceed 1500 mg/dl (16 mmol/L), hypercalcemia, viral infection (e.g. mumps), trauma (to the abdomen or elsewhere in the body) including post-ERCP (i.e. Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangio-Pancreatography), vasculitis (i.e. inflammation of the small blood vessels within the pancreas), and autoimmune pancreatitis. Pregnancy can also cause pancreatitis, but in some cases the development of pancreatitis is probably just a reflection of the hypertriglyceridemia which often occurs in pregnant women. Pancreas divisum, a common congenital malformation of the pancreas may underlie some cases of recurrent pancreatitis.
Many medications have been reported to cause pancreatitis. Some of the more common ones include the AIDS drugs DDI and pentamidine, diuretics such as furosemide and hydrochlorothiazide, the chemotherapeutic agents L-asparaginase and azathioprine, and estrogen. Just as is the case with pregnancy associated pancreatitis, estrogen may lead to the disorder because of its effect to raise blood triglyceride levels.