Fresh studies have aimed at secluding a tiny molecule that might in effect, be a big combater of a typical kind of lung cancer. Such cancer is found in people that have no history of smoking and heralds a new age for treating the dreaded malignant cells.

The microRNA miR-21 was especially heightened in adenocarcinomas hitting non-smokers; mainly those who have tested positive for mutations pertaining to epidermal growth factor receptor gene. Each year, one tenth of lung cancer sufferers happen to be people who never touched cigarettes.

Researchers from America and Japan who have indulged in this study are strong in conviction that miR-21 protein is not only a sign of the disease akin to PSA levels for prostrate cancer screenings, but also contributor of the disease.

Medical fraternity has long believed that there is a huge difference between those people who have never smoked and those who have been smoking in terms of acquiring lung cancer. Among people who have never smoked, adenocarcinomas happens to be the most common type of lung cancer. It is a type of non-small cell cancer, which can occur in some higher mammals, including humans. Non-small cell carcinoma is by far the most common type of lung cancer in US.

Scientists have tested cancer samples from some 28 patients, all non-smoking ones and suffering from adenocarcinoma. In comparison to those samples that had been taken from smokers, suffering from the same disease, miR-21 was present in a very heightened form in those patients who had never smoked all life.

MiR-21 is also present in heightened amount in those people who have adenocarcinomas pertaining to tobacco intake, but to a lesser extent. Research conducted earlier clearly suggested that miR-21 and microRNAs were signs of bad survival percentage for lung cancer caused by smoking.

Lung carcinoma in all forms is very difficult to be cured. Less than one tenth of people survive for five years after being attacked by the disease. 160000 Americans die of the curse each year. This makes the researchers pretty enthused on finding anything that helps them target a therapy on the cancer cells. Dr. Lichtenfeld, deputy chief medical officer of the American Cancer Society, further suggested the finding shows that there are plenty of reasons to believe that adenocarcinomas for non-smoker exhibiting miR-21 elevation could be treated.

According to a recent report in the Journal of Thoracic Oncology, a blood test has been developed to detect lung cancer years before it is diagnosed. US researchers reported that this test takes blood samples from patients and finds out if they have possibilities to develop non-small-cell cancer in future.

Lung cancer is one of the most common causes of deaths due to cancer. Non-small-cell lung cancer being the most common kind of lung cancer, it has a survival rate of only 5 years on an average, and that too for only 40% of people. According to the researchers of University of Kentucky, profiling of the anti-bodies, when incorporated to comprehensive strategy of screening, can be very powerful in early detection of lung cancer. Attempts have been made to prove the reliability of the test and if it is confirmed, it will become the first blood screening procedure for any type of cancer; after PSA test or prostate specific antigen used to determine the presence of prostate cancer.

Although there are CT scans or computer tomography scans which can find tumors of lung cancer, but these scans have a very high rate of showing false positives. Due to this, many people who are shown positive with CT scans have to undergo the unnecessary painful procedure of biopsy to remove the suspicious lump and later find out that the lump was actually non-cancerous at all.

In most cases, by the time lung cancer is diagnosed or start to show symptoms, it is already too late to treat the disease. According to researchers, a test has been developed which can detect the proteins that the body produces during early formation of tumors in the lungs. The test had been conducted on people who were under treatment for lung cancer. Result showed that it correctly identified 90% of the cases with lung cancer and when conducted on people not suffering from lung cancer, it came up with a very low percentage of false positives.

Blood samples of lung cancer patients taken years before were also tested. The test correctly identified cancer in 4 out of 7 samples taken a year before being diagnosed, and in all samples taken 2, 3 and 4 years earlier. The researchers explained that the lung cancer can be present in a person to as much as 3-4 years before the tumor reaches a size that can be identified by radiographic detection.

Selenium, a trace mineral, forms an essential component of our heart muscle and immune system. It can be found in animal protein, fish, vegetables and Brazilian nuts. It holds fort steadfastly against cancer, thyroid malfunction, infertility and arthritis. A chunk of this is attributable to its anti-oxidant properties. In fact, researchers also suggest that selenium possesses properties that metamorphose cancer genes.

Selenium occurs in the soil in natural form and thus it is easily absorbed by crops and altered into bioavailable variety for human use; barring the East Coast, US boasts of selenium-rich soil. Selenium is most useful to human body in its L-selenomethionine avatar. In contrariety, Selenite is not as easily absorbed by the body.

A 2003 study undertaken in France probed into the size of thyroid gland as compared to the consumption of selenium. Selenium level was found to be inversely proportional to the size of thyroid. A larger thyroid obviously brings home the threat of goiter. The research also concluded that selenium may reduce the risk of both goiter and other thyroid related diseases.

High selenium level in bloodstream, can also palliate the replication of HIV virus and the study came out with a startling revelation that those with low levels selenium were twenty times more likely to pass away with AIDS.

Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) conducted a study that suggested a decrease by 50 percent in number of cancer deaths with the help of selenium supplement. The statistics included cancers of the lungs, prostate and colon.

A double blind, placebo-controlled cancer prevention trial, pertaining to random data was published in 1997. The study was undertaken in the University of Arizona. Over 1300 patients with basal cell cancer were provided with 200 mcg of selenium a day between the years 1983 to 1991. It was found that cancer mortality diminished significantly. Selenium group brought fourth a reduction of 28 deaths as compared to control group. Also incidences of cancer were significantly reduced – 77 in selenium group compare to 117 in the control group. There was not a single case of toxicity reported. This brought the researchers to a conclusion that supplementation of selenium could be an effective aid against various forms of cancer including lung, prostate and colon cancer, with skin cancer being an exception.

According to the researchers at the ASCO (American Society for Clinical Oncology), lung cancer screenings that are used these days may lead to serious health hazards and may have certain hidden risks attached with them.

The NIH (National Institutes of Health) is currently carrying out a large scale study on whether screening patients with CT scans can really save lives. Many doctors have already started using this technique hoping that it will enable them to detect tumors at an early stage and thus help them to cure the tumors. However according to leading author Jennifer Croswell, these scans are not always reliable as many a times the results of such screening are difficult to interpret and understand. Croswell added that there was a 21% probability that these results would cause unnecessary frighten and suspicion among patients.

Croswell continued that doubtful results can often lead to thorough follow-up examinations and checkups, like biopsies and even surgeries in some cases in which the doctors operate patient’s chest in order to examine the lungs.

According to the research conducted among the1600 smokers and ex-smokers who underwent CT scan, 40 individuals developed real cancer, while 8 of them underwent surgery despite having non cancerous conditions.

Croswell is still not convinced with the fact that these screenings actually aided anyone because the study haven’t gone long enough to prove that these screenings actually save lives.

According to Peter Bach who is a pulmonologist working at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Clinic in New York, CT scans also exposes people to various radiations, which can increase the chance of developing cancer. Mr. Bach states that people who undergo CT scans are 100 times more susceptible in getting a false alarm or threat. He added that the ACS (American Cancer Society) does not recommend lung screenings as they are not included in the insurance policies.

Deaths due to the disease known as Malignant Mesothelioma which is a form of cancer mainly caused by over exposure to asbestos are on a rise in the United States. The Centers Disease Control officials examined death records of people in the US, and to their great surprise found that over 18000 deaths occurred in US between 1999-2005 due to malignant mesothelioma. According to the officials, majority of the deaths that occurred due to mesothelioma were among Caucasian people, with Maine being the highest state.

Despite the fact that numerous rigid steps have been taken in order to diminish the use of asbestos, deaths due to asbestos exposure keep on taking place. These deaths mainly occur due to the “Dormant Phase”. It is a phase when the asbestos lies dormant inside the body of the individuals for many years. The period between the first asbestos exposure and the commencement of various asbestos linked diseases can be around 40 years. CDC officials predicted that the number of deaths due to mesothelioma would hit record high by 2010.

The study reported that despite the use of asbestos in the manufacturing of various products has been eliminated; asbestos is being imported and used as part of many construction products. The report added that in order to ensure the deaths due to mesothelioma decrease in the coming years, careful control and planning is required regarding the use of asbestos.

Even though mesothelioma is generally related with men who work in certain places and occupations, like mining and constructions, the number of females who are developing this particular disease has increased by many folds in the past few years. For example in United Kingdom, a number of women who used to wash asbestos covered clothes of their fathers or some other family associate, are now at a risk of dying due to mesothelioma. This difficulty associated with 2nd hand exposures to asbestos is equally serious in US, as many women mostly in the twenties or thirties are now suffering from similar diseases such as mesothelioma.

Thousands of people are facing the risk of a devastating time bomb called asbestos. A recently concluded research shows that thousands of individuals could still breathe under the lethal asbestos fibre. According to the report by the IARC (International Agency for  Research on Cancer), all varieties of asbestos can cause cancer – includes the white asbestos, which is many a times considered to be less hazardous as compared to brown and blue varieties.

Until 1970’s through white asbestos was used in schools, offices, council houses and public properties. Doctors warned that the impact of asbestos cancer as a ticking time-bomb because the cancer symptoms often being detected 40 - 50 years after the patient first contact with asbestos related products.

In the worst scenario, asbestos can cause mesothelioma, a type cancer which damages the lungs and for which no cure has been found till now. This type of cancer is most prevalent in the North East as 1 in every 10 individuals who have died from this type cancer have lived or worked in the North East.

Consultant chest physician Dr.Allcock working in the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Gateshead, says that up to ninety thousand or more people could be fatalities of mesothelioma in United Kingdom by around 2025.

Mr. McFall chief operating officer of the asbestos policies at Thompson Solicitors in Newcastle, England said that: It was essential for those who were working amid asbestos or those who lived and worked in environments where asbestos was there should be made aware of the hazards of this particularly treacherous substance and should be given ample training on the means to work with it safely without any hazards.

Mr. McFall further added that this hazardous material is accountable for more than 2,000 people getting diagnosed with mesothelimia every year in the United Kingdom.