Melatonin and Cancer

 I first learned of Melatonin as a possible cancer-fighting agent from this discussion on the ABTA’s Inspire website: http://www.inspire.com/groups/american-brain-tumor-association/discussion/melatonin-18/?ref=as&asat=127394871 (You have to register to access it – no cost)

Several victims said they initially started using it to help them sleep. Others said that they are using it in tandem with Temodar because they believe it helps fight GBM.

I then zipped over to www.WebMd.com and found their page on Melatonin - http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/tc/melatonin-overview  In plain English that even I understood, WebMD first explained that Melatonin is primarily used to help folks get a good night sleep. Then, interestingly, the page explained that:

“It may be that melatonin, when taken as a supplement, can stop or slow the spread of cancer, make the immune system stronger, or slow down the aging process. But these areas need more research.”

Interesting, very interesting.

To corroborate this, I scooted over to the American Cancer Society site which said that: “Study results regarding the effect of melatonin supplements on survival and quality of life in people with cancer have been mixed, and further research in this area is needed.”

Ok, what does “mixed” mean? What does “more study is needed mean?” If you think I know, guess again. “More study is needed” often means some poor researcher wants to get funded and be able to buy groceries next year. It could also mean maybe, just maybe, there’s something there.

If you’ve had success, failure or mixed results with Melatonin, shoot me an email.

John

Here’s a link from the American Cancer Society site:  http://www.cancer.org/treatment/treatmentsandsideeffects/complementaryandalternativemedicine/pharmacologicalandbiologicaltreatment/melatonin

Image credit: <a href='http://www.123rf.com/photo_23076602_hand-with-pen-drawing-the-chemical-formula-of-melatonin.html'>zerbor / 123RF Stock Photo</a>

Asparagus & Cancer: ACS Cancer Survivor Network Discussion Board

There’s an interesting series of postings on the American Cancer Society’s “Survivor Network” discussion board.  You can follow it here: http://csn.cancer.org/node/189054   

Image credit: <a href='http://www.123rf.com/photo_8402928_sheaf-of-asparagus-on-a-white-background.html'>volff / 123RF Stock Photo</a>

American Cancer Society Study seeks key to staying cancer-free

Here’s a novel idea let’s study why people stay healthy, instead of why people get sick. That seems to be the idea behind the third wave/generation of a series of American Cancer Society studies.

The lead researcher, Alpa Patel describes the study in this youtube.com video.

An article in the Chicago Tribune, by reporter Rachel Levy, adds context to the video and notes that “…researchers hope (the study) will help them solve one of medicine's most perplexing puzzles: why some people never get cancer.”

Is this some 20 to 30 person interviews from which researchers draw wide-ranging conclusions?

Nope.

Levy reports that “The American Cancer Society has already enrolled 200,000 people and hopes to find 100,000 more people nationwide; enrollment in Chicago's western suburbs began Thursday and runs until April 26.”

This isn’t a one-time survey as she further comments that “To take part in the study, a person must be 30 to 65 and never have had cancer. Participants fill out comprehensive surveys about their health and habits and give blood samples and waist measurements. Researchers will track participants' progress over the years, sending short follow-up surveys every two years or so that can be filled out at home in about 15 to 20 minutes.”

Here’s a link to the article: http://www.chicagotribune.com/health/ct-met-cancer-study-chicago-20130416,0,4566929.story

The Curcumin Controversy

Want to see cancer doctors, patients, caregivers and other assorted stakeholders get all hot and bothered?  Ask them about the curcumin and cancer.

According to the American Cancer Society’s website, “Turmeric is a common food flavoring and coloring in Asian cooking. Animal and laboratory studies have found that curcumin, an antioxidant that is an active ingredient in turmeric, demonstrated some anticancer effects. However, clinical research is needed to determine curcumin's role in cancer prevention and treatment in humans. Several types of cancer cells are inhibited by curcumin in the laboratory, and curcumin slows the spread of some cancers in some animal studies.”

As you can image, there are now studies galore with results and opinions vigorously pro and con. The pro side is convinced that this works. The con side needs more evidence and thinks that the “pro” side is not demanding the rigorous studies needed before clutching to a possible solution.

The Inspire online conversation is a great example of this discussion - http://www.inspire.com/RachelIdon/journal/curcumin-against-cancer/?reply_sort=asc&page=2#replies - and has been, in turns, thoughtful, concerned, upbeat and pessimistic. If nothing else, it’s passionate. I see 100 replies to Rachelldon’s original www.1uponcancer.com posting entitled “Curcumin has cancer fighting properties” - http://www.1uponcancer.com/2012/12/22/curcumin-has-cancer-fighting-properties/

The lead sentence in the article reports that “Curcumin, in the Indian spice, turmeric, is proving to help  suppress or prevent cancers; specifically cancer of the breast, prostate, esophagus, mouth, intestines, stomach, and skin as well as leukemia.“

The article goes on to say that the “UCLA Johnson Comprehensive Cancer Center found promising news with head and neck cancer. Curcumin suppressed the disease in human cells and mice when applied as a paste. In a follow-up 2010 study, head and neck cancer patients took 1,000-mg tablets for a short time period. The result was reduction in pro-inflammatory cytokines (proteins) that feed cancer. And inhibition of the cell-signaling pathway driving tumor growth.”

So what do I think of all of this? I guess I want to believe that curcumin helps, that curcumin helps fight cancer. At the same time, I often reflect back on Barbara Strauch’s comments from her insightful book entitled The Secret Life of the Grown-Up Brain in which she noted that, “For years, scientists believed diet had little impact on our brains because they thought most nutrients didn’t cross the blood-brain barrier.” The blood-brain-barrier is real. Cells linking blood vessels in the brain are packed close together to keep out certain large molecules and maintain a chemical balance.

So for now I remain confused, hopeful and thinking that Indian food for lunch, with lots of turmeric, would taste just fine.

Image credit: <a href='http://www.123rf.com/photo_12707543_turmeric-powder-spice-pile-with-garlic-and-spoon.html'>foryouinf / 123RF Stock Photo</a>

Dental X-rays: Possible Cause of Meningioma

If you’ve had a meningioma brain tumor, like me, and are wondering why it ever happened to you, maybe we just learned a potential cause: dental X-rays.

According to a study from the Yale School of Medicine, published Tuesday in the American Cancer Society journal Cancer, “people with meningioma were more than twice as likely as people without the brain tumor to have had a bitewing X-ray sometime in their life. For a bitewing X-ray, the patient holds the film in place by biting down on a tab.”

I don’t know about you, but I’ve had a ton of bitewing X-rays in my life.

And, yes, this lends a whole new meaning to the phrase, “bite me.”

The article in The Washington Post went on to report that “Lead author Elizabeth Claus, professor at the Yale School of Public Health and a neurosurgeon at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, noted that risk factors for meningioma, the most commonly diagnosed form of brain tumor, remain poorly understood, in part because meningioma was only added to brain tumor registries in the United States in 2004.”

An ABC report notes that the level of radiation is less than a tenth of the level that is used today. http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/dental-rays-brain-tumor-link-16111995

Here’s a link to The Washington Post article - http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-checkup/post/study-links-dental-x-rays-to-brain-tumor-risk/2012/04/09/gIQALz8k6S_blog.html

Here’s a link to the study in the journal Cancer: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/cncr.26625/full