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.

After a successful research on cancer treatment, a group of doctors and scientists from Vancouver is set to receive international recognition. Their breakthrough discovery paves a positive procedure for the medical community to diagnose and treat cancer.

More than 40 scientists and doctors composed the research team from BC Cancer Agency and Vancouver Coastal Health Institute. The team who collaborated discovered that granulose cell tumours are brought about by genes sharing a single mutation. The said genetic mutation commonly causes ovarian cancer, which is recorded to be rare and untreatable.

The researcher compared the successful breakthrough as similar to finding a needle in a haystack considering the complexities of cancer cells, which are composed of almost three billion genetic codes.

However, result from the breakthrough published in the New England Journal of Medicine promises more application to ovarian cancer cases. As the research team utilizes state-of-the-art technology that led to the discovery of the ovarian cancer’s DNA having a single mutation, this can also be applied to identify other cancer’s genetic sequences.

According to Dr. David Huntsman, a genetic pathologist at the BC Cancer Agency, Vancouver General Hospital and the University of B.C, the team can now decode cancer sequences completely. He said that this achievement was something almost impossible two years ago.

With the discovery, doctors are now able to diagnose individual “recipe” for their cancer patients. Huntsman posits to the idea since the opportunity for the medical community to identify genetic sequences of certain cancers effectively established the route to personalized treatment for individual patient. He further stated that people should recognize that cancer patients have different reactions not only to their diseases but also their response and adaptation to treatments.

About 1 in 6 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during lifetime. For those men who are diagnosed with prostate cancer at a very early stage, they might not require to undergo any kind of treatment. However, aggressive therapy becomes an absolute must for those who are diagnosed late or by that time their cancer has begun to spread beyond the prostrate.

According to a recent research program, men that have been diagnosed with locally advanced prostate cancer can live for a considerable long period of time if they undertake recurrent sessions of hormone suppression therapy. In this case, the drug hormones are known to block the male hormones, testosterone, which is known to aid the cancer in spreading over several regions.

The research program which was carried out in the France subcontinent studied the case history of as many as 970 patients who were exposed to hormone-suppression therapy along with radiation for a span stretching from six months to three years. Result from the study had shown that men who were assigned to the therapy for a shorter span were more likely to die within a five year span.

However, many experts also hold the view that hormone suppression drugs comes with a lot of side-effects, which include reduced sex drive, insomnia, and hot flashes. Moreover, patients having small tumor in their prostate region may not need to undergo extensive sessions of hormone suppression. Last but not the least; men must consult with their doctors about the potential benefits and risks involved in hormone-suppression therapy before opt for an individualized treatment that will benefit them the most.

Note : Prostate Cancer Key Statistics

1) Prostate Cancer is the second most common cancer in American men.

2) About 1 in 6 men will be will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during his lifetime.

3) It is estimated that around one hundred and ninety thousand prostate cancer cases will be diagnosed in US alone in 2009.

4) Only 1 in 35 men diagnosed with prostate cancer will die of the disease. Currently there are more than 2 million men in US diagnosed with prostate cancer and are still alive.

Researchers reveal that a blood test that is able to characterize prostate tumor by its unique genetic pattern may help to determine whether a man has prostate cancer. Managing Director of the Dana-Faber Cancer Institute in Boston, Robert Ross explains that, recent studies have successfully generated a genetic tool that out perform the basic PSA testing in determine prostate cancer.

In basic testing, PSA levels count the protein known as prostate-specific antigen generated by the cells in the prostate. If the PSA level is high, it may be a sign of cancer.

The new test which monitors the activity of 6 genes responsible for prostate cancer was introduced at the yearly conference of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

According to Ross, men with high PSA lever will have to go through biopsy. Even then, about 60% of these tests show negative result. Every year more than 1 million men undergo the anxiety and pain due to biopsies. The new genetic test can aid the patients to avoid any such discomforting feelings because of biopsies.

The scientists’ experiment started with 392 pair of genes associated with cancer by using a device known as gene chip. They collected blood samples of 76 males diagnosed with prostate cancer and 76 healthy males. They then extracted 6 genes which dominated prostate cancer. This method was repeated again for evaluation on blood samples of 128 males diagnosed with prostate cancer and 84 males without any disease.

Result from the experiment shows that the 6-gene test correctly identified 86% of men with prostate cancer while PSA only manage to identify 70%. When the PSA test along with gene test was used together for diagnosis, the result was perfectly satisfactory. Scientist are now working on further study to see if the new gene test can correctly predicts biopsy results in a 1,000 male.

Prostrate cancer is a threat to a lot of men. The majority of prostate cancer is “pussycat” prostate cancer. This type of prostate cancer is mild and would not cause major problems throughout the patient’s life. Another type of prostate cancer referred to as “tigers” cancer. This type of prostate cancer is more aggressive and can even lead to death.

One of the major problem faces by many doctors is working out the type of prostate cancer a patient suffers. According to a recent research by British Journal of Cancer Research, small bubbles of fat that passes through the urine can actually determine if a prostate cancer is something mild or fatal, thus help in determining which type of treatment should be implemented.

Men suffering from pussycat cancers often undergo unnecessary test, medication and treatment which result in certain side effects such as loss of sex drive and impotence. This site effects can be prevented if there is a reliable test to determine whether a tumor is aggressive.

Up until today, medics have used varying levels of protein, including PSA or what is referred to as prostate specific antigen to know more about the cancer. But this technique turns out to be problematic.

According to the researchers, a fatty capsule referred to as exosomes, coming from the tumor, may contain a lot of information about the make up and the genetic of prostate cancer. Various genes can be turned off and on in serious and dormant cases of prostate cancer.

Dr. Jonas Nilsson, an author at the University Medical Centre in Amsterdam said that the medicine world hopes that this would be a new approach in knowing more about prostate cancer. Meanwhile, Dr Lesley Walker, director of cancer information at Cancer Research UK commented that such technique could help to find new biomarkers that can tell if a tumor would lead to aggressive prostate or not.

It is still a long run to diagnose and treat aggressive prostate cancer at a much earlier stage. One of the most common symptoms of this type of cancer is difficulty in urination, thus it is important to have your condition checked by doctor regularly if you have such symptom.

Folic acid was treated as wonder vitamins when scientists discovered its benefits in preventing cancers. But recent studies have shown that high intake of folic acid might favor cancers in some people. Experts say that folic acid intake needs a careful watch as some people react to high intake of folic acid.

Connie Motter, co-chair of the National Council on Folic Acid says that it is difficult to determine the correct amount of folic acid require by a person as low consumption of folic acid is not recommended and too much folic acid is probably not good.

Folic acid is an artificial version of folate, a vitamin B9 that exist in green leafy vegetables, legumes and orange juice. It assists in generating and mange new cells in the body. The increasing birth abnormalities in United States, as spina bifida and anencephaly had stimulated to inculcate folic acid, in cereals grains and flours supplied in 1998. Since then, birth abnormalities rate has declined by 20% to 50%.

Folic acid should be taken as everyday supplement to the women who are at pregnancy stages especially during the first few weeks. Since more than 50% of pregnancies are unplanned, doctors suggest getting 800 micrograms of folic acid per day for women of childbearing age. Other benefits of folate include, fight against anemic conditions, congenital heart defects,  premature birth and help to maintain nails, skin and hair healthy.

Researchers are of the opinion that higher doses of folic acid to a certain extent replace the action of vitamin B12 thereby preventing dementia developing in old people. Cancer is another scenario. The vitamins aid in the speedy growth of cancer cells in the colon and sustain the prevention of modifying into cancer. Studies relate cancers such as colorectal and precancerous polyps decrease by 40 percent to 60 percent if folic acid is taken excessively.

But folic acid also increases the risk of cancer because it aids the growth of cancerous cells. Research on animals revealed that if cells take turn to become cancer cells, than intake the vitamins will instead make the situation worse.

Researchers have found evidences of colorectal cancer in north America and said the rates have increased in number during the time of inclusion of folic acid in cereal grains. A study published recently had shown clear relation in the increase of colorectal cancer in Chile after the inclusion of folic acid with effect from year 2000. Joel B. Mason, Professor of nutrition science and policy at Tufts University in Boston, commented that it was not easy to relate to their understanding of the studies.

Folic acid is also worked alongside in clinical trials. The biggest trial involved around 500 people with precancerous colon polyps with a recommended dose of 1 milligram of folic acid (more than twice the suggested 400 micrograms dose). After few years, these people under trial reported the polyps developing more than 3 polyps, almost double the normal count.

Another recent report published in March stated that man who consumed folic acid supplements had almost thrice the chances of developing into prostate cancer after a decade.

The Institute of Medicine’s has set 1 milligram as the maximum intake of folic acid by the synthetic and natural sources together. Marian Neuhouser, a nutritional epidemiologist at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, concludes to say that this is the only piece of information that one can take home by not exceeding 1000 micrograms.

Based on a recent study, diet low in fat and high in vegetables and fruits might be good in treating and preventing prostate cancer. In the research, scientists intended to determine whether alterations in diet may reduce the risk of prostate cancer.

Robert W.-L. Ma and his partner K Chapman from University of New South Wales (UNSW) worked on the ground of fact related to dietary solutions to avoid prostate cancer and in taking care of the prostate cancer patients.

Prostate cancer patients’ diet, as per the scientists’ recommendations, should rule out inclusion of high energy products, meat and dairy products. Instead, they should focus on low fat diet which is high in fruits and vegetables in addition to calcium consumption. The scientists recommended cauliflower, tomatoes, broccoli, green tea in addition to vitamin E and selenium in order to prevent prostate cancer. They also pointed out that there are proven connections between highly processed meats, milk products and fats in relation to prostate cancer.

The scientists who contribute their result of study to the Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics said that the study shown an alteration in diet can possibly avoid the risk of prostate cancer though it is not fully established.  The recommended dietary therapy for prostate cancer patients in order to get them direct involve in the treatment process.

University of Arkansas at Little Rock and the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences have come close to bringing up a cancer treatment that is not so invasive or exorbitant, yet far more effective.

Conventional cancer treatment forms like radiation, surgery and chemotherapy may find a substitute if we go by the conviction of the scientists at Little Rock. They are using carbon nanotubes for diagnosing and killing off malignant cells.

Lead researchers Dr. Alex Biris, chief scientist with UALR’s Nanotechnology Center, and Dr. Vladimir Zharov, director of the laser and nanomedicine labs of the Winthrop Rockefeller Cancer Institute at UAMS declared the research which is published in the Journal of Biomedical Optics, at UALR. The technique developed by the scientists direct nanoparticles to the cancerous cells in which the particles attach to the damage cell thereby unveiling the identity of cancerous cells to therapists. A laser is utilized for destruction of the nanoparticles later.

Biris, Zharov and Dr. Ekaterina Glanzha of UAMS researched on injecting merely a single cancer cell comprising of carbon nanotubes into the tail vein of a test rat. Raman spectrometer technology is then used by the scientist to monitor and detect the moving nanoparticles in real time. With this technology the scientists is able to follow the circulation of the nanotubes through the rat’s blood vessels, lymphatic system, up to its ear.

According to Dr. Daniel Casciano, the project advisor, the new technology can branch out into something extraordinary. Casciano who is also the former director of the Food & Drug Administration’s National Center for Toxicological Research at Jefferson suggested that the line of treatment could ably substitute the conventional modes of treating cancer. He added that the discovery could end up in finding out about solid tumors, metastic cancer cells, personalized cancer therapies and a lot more.

The vanguard application of nanotube method would probably be for breast and prostate carcinoma. This is perhaps attributable to greater knowledge of these forms of cancer. It also remains to be seen whether the nanoparticles are moderately toxic or nearly non-toxic. Their successful transition from the tentative stage to the application stage is also sought with keen anticipation.

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.

According to scientists, providing increased amounts of Vitamin D to individuals could help in reducing breast cancer by about 1/4 and reduce the occurrence of bowel cancer by about 1/3. These statements are based on the results of about 2750 previous researches which involved vitamin D. Result from the study indicate that intake of vitamin supplements on daily basis, could play a vital role in preventing cancer.

Vitamin D commonly known as ‘bottled sunshine’ – is produced by the reaction between sun ray on the individual’s skin. Thus people living in countries which have long winter conditions such as the United Kingdom often found to be deficient in the amount of vitamin D present in their bodies due to lack of adequate sunshine during the months of October to March.

A joint task force from United States and Canada is currently examining and exploring whether the prescribed levels of vitamin intake by individual’s which is currently at 200-600 IUs per day could be increased. The same amount of vitamin level is suggested in the United Kingdom as well; however the official policy in UK states that sunlight and having a healthy diet containing eggs and oily fish are adequate in helping achieve the daily vitamin level in most individuals. Yet, some medical experts and doctors feel that the level of vitamin D intake should be 5-10 times more than current suggested amount.

Professor Garland along and his colleagues suggest in the Annals of Epidemiology that increasing the current daily level of vitamin intake to about 2000 IUs (which is the present maximum level that is recommended in countries such as Canada) would help in preventing around 200,000 cases involving breast cancer and about 250,000 instances regarding bowel cancer a year all over the world.

Professor Garland added that while he used to travel from California towards the east coast as a young doctor he found that bowel cancer was more common in the northern and eastern parts as compared to the southern and the western parts. Professor Garland and his brother assumed that weather and climate of a region plays a role in the development of these types of cancers.  However after about 25 years, their idea has been proven to be correct and people have started paying more attention towards the condition.

Vitamin D over the years has attracted increased levels of attention due to the fact that it helps in preventing various forms of cancer and other conditions such as heart disease and diabetes. This research has put increased levels of pressure to investigate the link