Study: Healthy diet may avert nutritional problems in head, neck cancer patients

Source: news.illinois.edu Author: Sharita Forrest At least 90% of head and neck cancer patients develop symptoms that affect their ability or desire to eat, because of either the tumor itself or the surgery or radiation used to treat it. These problems, called nutrition impact symptoms, have wide-ranging negative effects on patients’ physical and mental health and quality of life. However, patients who eat foods high in antioxidants and other micronutrients prior to diagnosis may reduce their risks of developing chronic nutrition impact symptoms up to one year after being diagnosed with head or neck cancer, according to a recent study led by researchers at the University of Illinois. The scientists analyzed the dietary patterns of 336 adults with newly diagnosed head and neck cancers and these patients’ problems with eating, swallowing and inflammation of the digestive tract. This painful inflammatory condition, called mucositis, is a common side effect of radiation treatment and chemotherapy. The mitigating effects of a healthy diet were particularly significant in people who had never smoked and in patients who were underweight or normal weight at diagnosis, who often experience the greatest eating and digestive problems during treatment, said Sylvia L. Crowder, the paper’s first author. Crowder is a research fellow in the Cancer Scholars for Translational and Applied Research program, a collaborative initiative of the U. of I. and Carle Foundation Hospital in Urbana, Illinois. “While previous work has established that the presence of nutrition impact symptoms is associated with decreased food intake and weight loss, [...]

2019-12-17T09:16:56-07:00December, 2019|Oral Cancer News|

How green tea can kill cancer cells: compound destroys disease while leaving healthy cells unscathed

Source: www.dailymail.co.uk Author: Lizzie Parry A compound in green tea has been found to kill mouth cancer cells while leaving healthy cells undamaged. While it was known the drink could help fight the disease, scientists say they have now worked out why. The breakthrough involved identifying the process by which the substance attacks cancer cells. This, it is hoped, will lead to new treatments for oral cancer, as well as other forms of the disease. A compound found in green tea has been found to kill off oral cancer cells, while leaving healthy cells undamaged. Scientists at Penn State have now identified how the process targets the disease Scientists at Penn State University, in the US, explored the specific mechanism by which the green tea compound is able to target the diseased cells. Earlier studies have shown that epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), a compound found in green tea, killed mouth cancer cells without harming normal cells. But researchers did not understand the reasons behind the substance's ability to kill the cancer cells. Scientists now believe EGCG may trigger a process in the mitochondria - the powerhouse of a cell that produces energy - that leads to cell death. Professor Joshua Lambert, a specialist in food science and co-director of Penn State's Center for Plant and Mushroom Foods for Health, said: 'EGCG is doing something to damage the mitochondria. 'That mitochondrial damage sets up a cycle causing more damage and it spirals out, until the cell undergoes programmed cell death. 'It looks [...]

2015-02-04T08:23:54-07:00February, 2015|Oral Cancer News|

Antioxidants May Cause More Harm Than Good in Cancer Patients

Source: medscape.comAuthor: Zosia Chustecka  While alternative health gurus often encourage increasing antioxidants in the diet and the taking of antioxidant nutritional supplements such as beta-carotene, vitamins A, C, and E, and selenium, new research findings suggest that antioxidants could do more harm than good, especially in cancer patients. The idea is discussed in a perspective article on the promise and perils of antioxidants for cancer patients in the July 10 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. Coauthor David Tuveson, MD, PhD, professor and deputy director of the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Cancer Center in New York, explained in an interview with Medscape Medical News that the idea that antioxidants could be useful in cancer goes back to Linus Pauling, and is based on observations that oxidation within cells is needed for cell growth. "As cancer cells growth rapidly, a cancer cell would have more oxidation within it than a normal cell," he added, and the hope was that antioxidants would interfere with these cellular oxidative processes and would suppress the growth. "Although some early preclinical studies supported this concept," the authors write, there have now been several clinical trials that have shown no effect of antioxidants on reducing the incidence of cancer, and there have even been suggestions of harm in persons who are at risk for cancer. Dr. Tuveson noted a clinical trial from Scandinavia in the early 1990s, which found that high doses of antioxidants, particularly beta-carotene, were associated with more lung cancer rather than less as had been hoped for. There was [...]

2014-07-14T15:04:19-07:00July, 2014|Oral Cancer News|

Berry Nutrition

Source: www.foodproductdesign.com Author: Marie Spano, M.S., R.D., Contributing Editor Nutritionally speaking, good things come in sweet—and tart—little packages. Research is discovering berries pack a nutritional punch due to their vitamin, fiber and antioxidant content. Botanically speaking, berries are indehiscent fruits (they don’t need to be opened to release their seeds) that ripen through the ovary wall. However, any small, edible fruit with multiple seeds is typically considered a berry. In addition to lending flavor and brilliant colors to a wide variety of dishes, all berries are packed with an array of antioxidants, nutrients and potential health benefits. Berries that are especially antioxidant-rich include fresh crowberries, bilberries, black currants, wild strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, goji berries, sea buckthorn, blueberries and cranberries. However, the antioxidant content of berries varies based on the geographical growing condition. And, while fresh berries are an excellent source of antioxidants, total phenol content drops during processing. In fact, processed berry jams and syrup contain approximately half the antioxidant capacity of fresh berries, and juices show the greatest loss of anthocyanins and tannins due to the removal of seeds and skin (Nutrition Journal, 2010; 9:3; Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, Jan 13, 2012). Botanical berries Shiny, scarlet-colored cranberries are rich in vitamin C, loaded with antioxidants, including flavonoids, and score higher in their ORAC score than many other fruits ("Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (ORAC) of Selected Foods—2007", USDA ARS). Cranberries are perhaps best known for the role their juice plays in the prevention of urinary tract infections (UTI) [...]

2012-02-19T10:53:06-07:00February, 2012|Oral Cancer News|

Meat ups cancer risk while fruit/vegetables reduce it

Source: www.foodconsumer.org Author: staff In 1976, the Senate Select Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs, led by Senator George McGovern found that meat-based diets are responsible for more than half of total cases of cancer. In 1980, the U.S. National Cancer Institute directed the National Research Council to collect and study the literature on nutrition and cancer. It found that eating meat causes 40 percent of cancers in males and 60 percent of total cancers in women. International research institutions confirmed that the more the meat intake, the higher the risk for the cancer, particularly in the digestive system. Harvard University public health experts found 70 percent of human cancers are associated with meat consumption. U.S. National Institutes of Health studied fifty thousand vegetarians and found they had much lower risk for cancer than meat eaters. At the University of Colorado Denver Health Sciences Center, Tim Bayer, Professor of Preventive Medicine, said fruits and vegetables are preventative against all gastrointestinal cancers and cancers induced by smoking. He also said it has been fully scientifically confirmed that eating fruits and vegetables prevents oral cancer , throat, esophagus, lung, stomach, colon and bladder cancer. Chairman of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences Research Group and University of California biologist Dr. Clifford Grobstein said: "By controlling the food we eat, the diet can prevent sensitive cancers, such as esophagus, breast, stomach, colorectal and prostate cancer." Why does a vegetarian diet prevents cancer? 1. Fruits and vegetables contain anti-cancer ingredients In 1978, the University [...]

2011-12-11T08:35:35-07:00December, 2011|Oral Cancer News|

Effects of antioxidant supplements on cancer prevention: meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

Source: Ann. Onc., July 21, 2009 Author: S-K Myung et al. Background: This meta-analysis aimed to investigate the effect of antioxidant supplements on the primary and secondary prevention of cancer as reported by randomized controlled trials. Methods: We searched Medline (PubMed), Excerpta Medica database, and the Cochrane Review in October 2007. Results: Among 3327 articles searched, 31 articles on 22 randomized controlled trials, which included 161 045 total subjects, 88 610 in antioxidant supplement groups and 72 435 in placebo or no-intervention groups, were included in the final analyses. In a fixed-effects meta-analysis of all 22 trials, antioxidant supplements were found to have no preventive effect on cancer [relative risk (RR) 0.99; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.96-1.03). Similar findings were observed in 12 studies on primary prevention trials (RR 1.00; 95% CI 0.97-1.04) and in nine studies on secondary prevention trials (RR 0.97; 95% CI 0.83-1.13). Further, subgroup analyses revealed no preventive effect on cancer according to type of antioxidant, type of cancer, or the methodological quality of the studies. On the other hand, the use of antioxidant supplements significantly increased the risk of bladder cancer (RR 1.52; 95% CI 1.06-2.17) in a subgroup meta-analysis of four trials. Conclusions: The meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials indicated that there is no clinical evidence to support an overall primary and secondary preventive effect of antioxidant supplements on cancer. The effects of antioxidant supplements on human health, particularly in relation to cancer, should not be overemphasized because the use of those might be [...]

Go to Top