The Surgeon

A high consumption of lignans is associated with better survival in postmenopausal women with breast cancer. Although the dietary intake of lignans did not have any effect on breast cancer survival in premenopausal women, postmenopausal women with a high intake of plant lignans were approximately 70% less likely to die from their breast cancer, according to study data presented here at the American Association for Cancer Research 2008 Annual Meeting.
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Starving the body of food for a couple of days could help in the fight against cancer, according to new research.

Scientists have discovered that a 48-hour fast seems to protect the body’s healthy cells against the toxic effects of chemotherapy drugs.

The breakthrough could provide a solution to a problem that has confounded cancer experts for years – how to target chemotherapy so it destroys cancer cells but leaves healthy ones intact.
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A novel peptide vaccine was able to reduce the mortality rate in women with HER2/neu overexpressing breast cancer by about half, researchers report here at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) 2008 Annual Meeting.

“The numbers in this study are small but the concept is good,” commented William N. Hait, MD, PhD, president of the AACR and senior vice president of Worldwide Hematology and Oncology Research and Development at Johnson & Johnson. “It’s a good first step and we are cautiously optimistic.”
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If lung cancer and heart disease aren’t bad enough, cigarette smokers are also at higher risk for developing, among other things, pancreatic cancer. Now, researchers at the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson in Philadelphia have preliminary evidence indicating one possible reason why. Data being presented April 13, 2008 during the Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research shows that they have found that nicotine in cigarettes increases the production of a protein that is known to promote cancer cell survival, invasion and spread.
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Sonoenteroclysis, a new sonographic method in evaluating and diagnosing small bowel disorders is an effective alternative to the usual method of barium enteroclysis, according to a recent study conducted by researchers at the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research in Chandigarh, India. Sonoenteroclysis is a new way of doing transabdominal ultrasound. Patients are given fluid through the nasojejunal tube in order to alleviate gas in the bowel.
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A breast cancer patient’s age alone should not determine whether or not she receives standard breast-conservation treatments, including a lumpectomy and radiation therapy; however, if additional health problems (comorbidities) are present, treatments should be individualized based on age and the type of comorbidities, according to a study in the April 1 edition of the International Journal for Radiation Oncology Biology Physics, the official journal of the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology.
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Doctors in India successfully operate on a two-year-old girl born with four arms, four legs and extra internal organs. A team of around 30 medics removed what amounted to Lakshmi Tatma’s headless identical twin sister who was joined at the pelvis and who did not develop and separate properly in the womb.

Dr. Robert Poston is a pioneer in the use of robotics for minimally invasive cardiac surgery. He recently joined Boston Medical Center (BMC) as chief of cardiac surgery. With his arrival, BMC has become one of only one of 9 hospitals across the country, and the only hospital in Boston, to offer robot-assisted minimally invasive coronary artery bypass, the most advanced treatment available for coronary artery disease (the most common form of heart disease – 16 million Americans have – and the leading cause of death – 1 million/year – in the U.S.)
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Increased consumption of teas rich in catechins is associated with reduced risk of stomach, colon and other gastrointestinal cancers. However, the effects of digestion on the anticancer activity of tea catechins have largely been ignored. A study by nutrition researchers at The Ohio State University and Purdue University found that the digestive process could both alter the structure of the tea catechins and their anticancer activity.
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Nearly 25 million U.S. women between the ages of 14 and 59 are infected with HPV, and the annual cost of screening and treating cervical abnormalities is about $4 billion, according to a statement from the Society of Gynecologic Oncologists.

For many unvaccinated women HPV infections clear up naturally without causing any cervical problems, as do many pre-malignant lesions. In other cases, HPV prompts cell changes that can gradually put women at greater risk of cervical cancer.
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