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Posts with tag urine
Posted Feb 22nd 2007 11:00AM by Jacki Donaldson
Filed under: Breast Cancer, Research, Daily news
The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences needs sisters -- 18,000 sisters to be exact -- to join the nation's largest research project aimed at pinpointing the causes of breast cancer.
The
Sister Study ideally will enroll a total of 50,000 women whose sisters had breast cancer. Since the study launch in October 2004, 32,000 women have been recruited. But still more are needed.
The 10-year observational study requires very little time, is available in English and Spanish, and requires women to first answer questions about diet, jobs, hobbies, and breast cancer risk factors. Later, a female health professional collects small samples of blood, urine, nail clippings, and house dust for use in analysis of environment and genetics.
Women in the United States and Puerto Rico between the ages of 35 and 74 may be eligible for the study if their sisters -- living or deceased -- had breast cancer. The study participants must have never been diagnosed with breast cancer themselves.
The Sister Study, in partnership with the
American Cancer Society, NIH's National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities, Sisters Network Inc., the Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the Y-ME National Breast Cancer Organization, and the Intercultural Cancer Council, is confidential and safe. Women are never asked to take medications, visit medical locations, or make any changes to their habits, diet, or daily life. They are simply asked to join this effort so that the mystery of breast cancer can continiue to unfold.
To volunteer or learn more about the Sister Study, visit www.sisterstudy.org or www.estudiodehermanas.org. Or call (877) 474-7837 or (866) 889-4747 for the hearing-impaired.
Posted Nov 29th 2006 4:00PM by Kristina Collins
Filed under: Prostate Cancer, Research
A new urine test can tell the difference between an enlarged prostate or prostate cancer. This test from Gen-Probe is not approved in the United States but is approved in some European countries.
If a man has a noncancerous condition of the prostate a PSA (prostate-specific antigen) tumor marker test can rise. This rise in the PSA test can lead to a biopsy of the prostate. This biopsy is the only way to determine if the PSA test is picking up a cancer or an enlarged prostate that is not cancer.
The urine test is different because it detects genetic material--RNA--from prostate cancer gene 3 or PCA3. PCA3 is only found in the prostate and when the cells become cancerous the cells express more PCA3 RNA than normal cells. It is independent of the PSA test and works differently to detect cancer.
This test is not designed to replace the current PSA tumor marker but it can do something that the PSA cannot. It can be a separate tool used to determine if cancer does exist. Its not a perfect test but it can help out a few situations. If a man has a low PSA but wants some extra reassurance without getting a biopsy this test could be added along with the PSA. Also, it can help men that have a negative biopsy but a rising PSA decide whether they would like a second biopsy.
Urine tests are already used to detect bladder cancers and some kidney cancers so this test could provide the patient and the doctors with more information and better decision making tools.
Posted Aug 30th 2006 10:00AM by Jacki Donaldson
Filed under: Breast Cancer, Prostate Cancer, Research, Environment, Daily news
A chemical found in hard plastics -- such as CD cases, baby bottles, food-storage containers, and even electronics parts -- has been loosely linked to incidences of breast cancer. Popular opinion cautions that if we were not worried about this news yesterday, we should not be worried about it today -- because studies are preliminary and nothing is definitive at this point. But there are definitely two sides to the debate over how harmful these hard plastics may be.
The chemical in question -- a pseudo-estrogen called bisphenol-A (BPA) -- appears to be absorbed by breast tumor cells, according to a new study published in the August 28 issue of
Chemistry & Biology. Previous studies have linked small exposures of BPA to prostate abnormalities in mice that suggest a link between the plastic chemical and human prostate cancer. Some studies even theorize that embryonic and fetal exposure might influence mental retardation and birth defects. And because this pseudo-estrogen is a synthetic material that in human cells can trigger estrogenic effects, breast cancer now comes up as a disease that may result from this questionable chemical.
Critics say that average levels of the chemical found in urine is infinitesimally small -- about one part per billion. Some say the results of this research come from in-vitro studies that one expert says can never fully explain human disease. Yet the real crux of the matter, according to another expert, is that we are surrounded by all sorts of chemicals that are pseudo-estrogenic -- not just BPA -- and it's the cumulative effects that we do need to worry about.
Posted Jun 22nd 2006 10:00PM by Jacki Donaldson
Filed under: Breast Cancer, Prostate Cancer, Pancreatic Cancer, Research, Daily news
Quick autopsies -- or rapid organ donation -- may steer scientists in the direction of better diagnosing and treating the most lethal of cancers. Some 33,700 Americans will be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer this year -- and 32,300 will die. There is no early detection test for this disease and early symptoms are vague and may be mistaken for health concerns like indigestion. By the time the classic symptoms -- jaundice and itching -- surface, the cancer has typically spread and patients have only months to live. Rapid autopsies have been used before -- for Alzheimer's and prostate cancer -- but this a first in the study of pancreatic cancer and it just may lead to the discovery of what makes this cancer so aggressive and so deadly.
Continue reading Quick autopsy after cancer death may save lives
Posted May 31st 2006 2:18PM by Vicki Blankenship
Filed under: Bladder Cancer, Prevention
June 6 marks the nationwide Cancer Awareness Day. Educational programs on screening and prevention garner a great presence for breast, prostate, ovarian, lung, and colon cancers. All of these cancers, except for colon cancer, are falling in death rates due to early detection. But there is another cancer, sometimes called the forgotten cancer, which is rising steadily in statistics of people having and dying with this disease.
As a bladder cancer survivor, founder of Indie Music For Life non-profit, and a new writer for the Life Sciences Cancer blog, I have a personal goal to make more people aware of this particular type of cancer, the symptoms, and prescreening that can be done if you or a loved one have the symptoms below.
Continue reading Bladder cancer: personal story raising awareness of forgotten cancer
Posted May 27th 2006 9:00AM by Vicki Blankenship
Filed under: Bladder Cancer
Studies presented at the American Urilogical Association expand the role of the NMP22 Bladder Chek Test. It improves bladder cancer detection to 99 percent, aiding the earlier detection of cancer and is reported to indicate the likelihood of life threatening bladder malignancy. It is recommended for use in screening high risk populations for bladder cancer to save lives and reduce expense. It is also four times more effective than the conventional laboratory urine test in detecting recurrent bladder cancer.
Continue reading Fighting bladder cancer by finding it early
