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Over 50 lung cancer cases in Limerick annually  

DISTURBING statistics reveal that 50 lung cancer cases develop in Limerick each year.

According to the Irish Cancer Society's results of a recent survey, conducted to determine the impact of smoking on sporting ability particularly in the 15-24 age group, there is an average of 59 new cases of lung cancer in Limerick annually.

The survey also reveals that smoking has considerable short-term effects on sporting performance and fitness levels. . .

The survey found that 49 per cent of smokers in the 15-24 age group said smoking had a high impact on their sporting ability while another 30 per cent rated it significant.

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• Genetic Lung Cancer Risk Not Enough to Make People Quit Smoking 

If you knew you were genetically susceptible to smoking-related cancers, would you kick the habit?

Duke University Medical Center researchers got mixed answers when they did a study that asked that question of older, inner-city black smokers.

Those who were told their genetics put them at increased cancer risk when they smoked were no more likely to quit smoking than smokers who didn't have that genetic susceptibility, says the study, which is published in the July issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention journal. . .

The people in this study smoked an average of 15 cigarettes a day, and 59 percent of them said they tried to quit smoking within the last year. Sixty-eight percent of the study participants believed they would eventually get lung cancer if they didn't stop smoking.

Many of the people in the study already suffered adverse health effects caused by smoking.

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Preventing Lung Cancer in Smokers 

For the first time, researchers say they've found a drug that can actually reduce the risk of lung cancer in both former and current smokers.

Stephen Lam, MD, of the British Columbia Cancer Agency, and colleagues found that a drug originally used to treat dry mouth -- known as anethole dithiolethione or ADT (sold under the names Sialor or Sulfarlem) -- may effectively prevent lung cancer in some people at risk.

Their study followed 101 current and former smokers who had an irregular growth in their lungs and were at high risk for developing lung cancer. After six months, those who'd taken ADT three times a day had about half the number of growths become cancerous, and developed fewer new growths, than did those who took a placebo.

The findings appear in the July 3 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

The study authors suggest that the drug works like an antioxidant -- seeking out cancer-causing free radicals and destroying them.

The best way to reduce lung cancer risk is to never start smoking, or to quit if you've already picked up the habit. But even in those who've quit, the increased risk of lung cancer never completely disappears. That's why researchers say it's important to find some sort of drug therapy to reduce the risk of lung cancer in former smokers.

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• Health Recommendations From Study on Aspirin and Lung Cancer Are Premature 

An epidemiological study published earlier this week in the British Journal of Cancer by NYU School of Medicine researchers shows an association between regular use of aspirin and reduced risk of a common type of lung cancer in women. But the NYU researchers emphasized today that until large clinical trials establish aspirin's beneficial effect, women shouldn't start taking the painkiller to prevent cancer.

"The results of our study suggest that aspirin may have even wider benefits than previously thought, " says Arslan Akhmedkhanov, M.D., Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at NYU School of Medicine, one of the study's authors. "However, we consider our results preliminary. Larger studies are needed to confirm our study's results before any recommendations about aspirin use for the prevention of lung cancer can be made, " he says. . .

Women should not begin taking aspirin to prevent lung cancer, cautions Dr. Akhmedkhanov. Aspirin can cause gastrointestinal bleeding and raise the risk of other bleeding disorders, especially in those with a family history of bleeding disorders. The exact dose of aspirin that should be taken also needs to be determined. Any woman who decides to take aspirin routinely should first consult her primary care physician, he advises.

"Aspirin definitely has side effects, " says Dr. Akhmedkhanov. "By far, the best way to avoid lung cancer is to not smoke, " he says.

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Better Quality Of Life Seen For Lung Cancer Survivors 

New research at UCLA's Jonsson Cancer Center provides the first comprehensive examination of quality-of-life issues faced by long-term lung cancer survivors.

The findings, published in the July 1 issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology, could help healthcare providers develop more effective rehabilitation programs for long-term lung cancer survivors. The findings also will better prepare patients and their families to cope with the non-medical challenges of daily life.

Rehabilitation for lung cancer patients traditionally has focused on remedying or managing physical problems. But the UCLA study strongly suggests that emotional quality of life factors also must be addressed.

Lead author Linda Sarna, a nurse-researcher at UCLA's Jonsson Cancer Center and a professor at the UCLA School of Nursing, said two findings surprised the research team: More than 50 percent of long-term lung cancer survivors -- patients in remission for five or more years -- said they have good quality of life despite decreased lung function caused by lung cancer surgery and a history of smoking. And in survivors who reported relatively poor quality of life, depression affected the quality of their lives more significantly than any physical challenges.

"We expected that the lung cancer survivors' emotional quality of life would be lower than long-term survivors of other cancers because they often face more life-long physical challenges, including significant breathing difficulties when they've had all or part of a lung removed. They also face problems due to many years of smoking, so we thought the physical challenges would very negatively affect their moods and sense of optimism," Sarna said.

"Survivors also deal with a variety of medical conditions aside from the cancer. Some of these conditions most likely are due to a history of tobacco use, and some are merely part of the aging process," she added.

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• Aspirin May Cut Risk of Lung Cancer Risk 

Aspirin, the century-old drug that relieves headaches and helps to prevent heart attacks and strokes, may also cut the risk of developing lung cancer, scientists said Tuesday.

Smoking is the cause of most cases of lung cancer but researchers at New York University School of Medicine have discovered that taking aspirin regularly may have a protective effect against the disease, which is a top cancer killer.

"Not smoking is by far the best way to avoid lung cancer, but our study suggests that regular aspirin use could also confer some degree of protection against the disease, " said the school's Dr. Arslan Akhmedkhanov.

The scientists questioned 14, 000 women in New York about their long-term use of aspirin and compared the medical histories of 81 women who developed lung cancer and more than 800 who didn't.

Smoking was the biggest factor in the development of the disease but the scientists found women who took aspirin regularly had less than half the normal risk of suffering from non-small lung cancer -- the most common form of the disease.

"We need larger-scale research to confirm the results of this study, but it's certainly consistent with other evidence for the health benefits of the drug, " said Akhmedkhanov, whose research is published in the British Journal of Cancer.

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Not smoking is by far the best way to avoid lung cancer, but our study suggests that regular aspirin use could also confer some degree of protection against the disease.
Dr. Arslan Akhmedkhanov of the New York University School of Medicine.

Aspirin "reduces lung cancer risk"  

Regular use of aspirin more than halves the risk of lung cancer in women who smoke, according to research in New York. But other cancer experts warn the study group is small, and say smokers should give up - not take aspirin to reduce their lung cancer risk.

The 12-year study of 889 smoking and non-smoking women - 81 of whom developed lung cancer - found that those who took aspirin three times a week for six months or more were a third less likely to have developed lung cancer.

The drug was particularly effective in preventing non-small cell lung cancer - the most common type, which is associated with tobacco smoking. The women who smoked and took aspirin regularly had a 61 per cent lower chance of developing this form of lung cancer than women who smoked and did not take aspirin. Taking aspirin also slightly reduced the risk of small cell lung cancer - caused by radiation exposure during radiotherapy, for example.

"We believe aspirin has an anti-inflammatory effect on the component present in tobacco smoke that causes inflammation and lung cancer," says Paolo Toniolo, at New York University School of Medicine, who carried out the study. He says it is not clear what that component is.

"But the results are quite extraordinary and suggest that aspirin should be prescribed as a cancer prevention method for former smokers who retain chronic inflammation of the lungs for decades after stopping smoking," he told New Scientist.

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Don't let your doctor keep you from getting a body scan  

But when deciding whether to have a body scan, remember this: The medical establishment has a vested interest in keeping patients out of scanning centers. . . "The doctor wants to have that control," says Eric Schnipper, a 33-year-old radiologist planning to open a Manhattan scanning center in September. "It's really snobbish and elitist to think patients can't make up their own minds about that." . .

LUNG SCAN ($350-$450): The test, called a spiral CT scan, is heavily advertised to the nation's 80 million smokers and former smokers worried about lung cancer. . .

A Mayo Clinic study found abnormalities on more than 50% of the scans, but only 1% were cancer. The reason for the high incidence of red flags: The Rochester, Minn., clinic is in the Midwest, where a common fungal infection leaves harmless nodules on the lung.

Despite the negatives, the scans are the best modern medicine has to offer to smokers and former smokers worried about lung cancer.

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KEATING: Just Give Me the Ceclor, Doc 

Morton Fisk called the office because of a deep, deep cough. He was in a hurry, he explained to the triage nurse over the phone. Could he come at lunchtime? That way he could squeeze the doctor's appointment in between his own clients. Besides, it would be a quick visit, he explained. He knew precisely what he needed - an antibiotic named Ceclor. He had had this once before, about two years ago, and he recalled that Ceclor worked like magic. Maybe the doctor could call in a prescription? . .

. I knew he had been a smoker, having picked up the Camel habit in Vietnam, and was still smoking during the workweek, hiding it from his wife. But I knew little else about him.

To diagnose the cause of this kind of cough requires many questions and a careful examination, none of which Mr. Fisk felt he had the time for. . .

"Well, the damn tumor looks like it is about to block the superior vena cava. It's classic."

"Tumor," I mumbled, and felt numb.

Then I called to Paulette.

"I'm going to need Mr. Fisk's chart and his telephone number."

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• A detecting device fuels lung cancer debate 

They think: `People cause it themselves, so why should we pay money for them?' The very first question is always: `Did you smoke?'''

Parles's effort to raise funds to combat lung cancer is about to get an enormous boost. This summer, the National Institutes of Health will begin a landmark $200 million lung cancer research trial. About 50,000 Americans will be recruited to determine whether a special computerized scan can provide early detection.

As many as 15 percent of women and 5 percent of men who contract lung cancer had never smoked, according to government estimates. The reasons remain uncertain, but some cases may be associated with other carcinogens. Genetic factors may also come into play.

The NIH initiative itself has generated ire and controversy.

Some scientists argue that the scans, whose reliability has not been proven, will generate a large number of false positives, alarming patients and wasting resources. Others assert that far from rushing into things, the NIH may be unnecessarily delaying widespread use of the screening to conduct its study.

Patients, doctors, and researchers have stakes in the trial. Across the biotechnology industry, companies are beginning to increase lung cancer research, partly in anticipation of a boom in early detection.

Some companies have developed pills called ''molecule inhibitors'' that may reduce the impact of lung cancer. And there is hope that detecting lung cancer early will allow surgical removal of a cancerous lesion with 1-inch incisions for endoscopic surgery, rather than the current procedure, which involves cutting a 1-foot-long gap in the chest and removing all or part of a lung.

For now, there is no government-certified way to screen patients for lung cancer. And by the time symptoms appear, the cancer is usually untreatable.

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For breast cancer, we wear a pink ribbon, but for lung cancer the ribbon is clear because it is the invisible disease.
Michelle Slattery Tuohey, who works with the Cancer Care organization to try to ease the stigma of lung cancer. A Boston Globe article examines the lung-cancer screening debate. Kranish, M.

Participants sought for cancer studies at Roswell Park 

Smoking Boosts Risk of Cancer-Linked DNA Defects 

Smokers are more likely than non- or ex-smokers to have a particular type of DNA damage in their cells that has been linked to the development of lung cancer, according to researchers.

The defect in question is known as chromosomal fragility, in which certain regions of a chromosome--which contains the body's genetic material, in the form of DNA--easily break or form gaps.

Previous studies have found that people with lung tumors have breaks in a particular region on their chromosomes, and that certain abnormalities in chromosome structures are known to be early steps in the development of lung cancer.

Consequently, Dr. Constance K. Stein of the State University of New York in Syracuse and her colleagues investigated whether the cancer-causing breaks were induced by a larger number of fragile sites in people with lung cancer.

Indeed, they found that smokers had much more fragility in a site on the chromosome, called FRA3B, located in a region where structural abnormalities are commonly found in patients with lung cancer. . .

Findings from this current study, reported in the recent issue of Genes, Chromosomes & Cancer, suggest that exposure to tobacco could increase the number of fragile sites in chromosomes, which in turn increases the chance that cancer-causing chromosome breaks will occur.

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E equals MC-wha? Americans don't know much about science, and that's cause for concern  

"Here's something shocking. According to a study by the National Science Foundation, 70 percent of Americans do not understand science. . . "

Americans did better on some other questions. Ninety-four percent knew cigarette smoking causes lung cancer, for example [This graph only]

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WOLOSHIN/SCHWARTZ/WELCH: Tobacco money: up in smoke? 

On Aug 21, 2000, Rudolf Giuliani, the Mayor of New York City, announced a major health initiative--the New York Early Lung Cancer Action Program (NY-ELCAP)--to "help develop the best means for early detection and successful treatment of lung cancer".2 Under this initiative, financed mainly by New York's Tobacco Settlement fund, 10 000 present or past heavy smokers from New York will undergo a computed tomography (CT) scan of the chest to try and detect lung cancer at its earliest and most treatable stage. NY-ELCAP would seem to be a great step forward in the war against lung cancer and a model for public and private medical research collaboration, but, unfortunately, it is neither. Here, we describe the history of the NY-ELCAP, and argue that New York City has not made good use of public assets in funding the study. NY-ELCAP will not only be unable to determine whether screening for lung cancer with spiral CT will save lives, but could actually make it even harder to learn the answer. . .

The benefits of early detection and the value of screening are intuitively appealing ideas. It would be hard to find a more worthy target for screening efforts than lung cancer. Nonetheless, we must resist the temptation to move too fast, or our efforts could go up in smoke.

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Lung Cancer Screening Study Criticized 

A big study currently under way in New York to examine the merits of CT scanning for the early detection of lung cancer will not effectively determine if the test helps save lives and it may even cause harm to participants, according to Dartmouth researchers.

The major problem with the study, they point out, is that it does not compare people who are given the test, known as a spiral computed tomography (CT) scan, with those who are not given the test.

"This kind of noncomparative study can't answer the question of whether this screening does more harm than good, " said Dr. Steven Woloshin, a researcher at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in White River Junction, Vermont and at Dartmouth Medical School in Hanover, New Hampshire.

If patients screened with a CT scan are given further diagnostic tests and treated for a suspicious abnormality that never develops into aggressive lung cancer, then the harm is the unnecessary medical treatment and associated mental anguish, he told Reuters Health.

Woloshin and colleagues took issue with the study, known as the New York Early Lung Cancer Action Program (NY-ELCAP), in an editorial published in the June 15th issue of The Lancet.

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