1/6/2005 Reuben Lotan Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Vol. 97, No. 1, 3-4, January 5, 2005 Retinol (the prototypic vitamin A) and its metabolites called retinoids play important physiologic roles in embryonal development, vision, maintenance of epithelial differentiation, immune functions, and reproduction (1). Many of these functions are mediated by retinol metabolites such as all-trans-retinoic acid (ATRA) (2). ATRA modulates gene expression by means of nuclear receptors that are members of the steroid hormone gene superfamily. These receptors, retinoic acid receptors (RARs) and retinoid X receptors (RXRs), appear in at least three subtypes, designated alpha, beta, and delta. The receptors function as ligand-activated heterodimeric DNA-binding transcription enhancing factors and regulate the transcription of various genes, which play important roles during development and in adult tissues. Abberant expression and function of specific retinoid receptors, primarily RAR, have been associated with cancer development and progression (3,4). However, recent studies have highlighted additional mechanisms for abrogation of retinoid signaling in carcinogenesis. These involve abnormalities located upstream of retinoic acid and its nuclear receptors. These defects interfere with retinol storage and its metabolism to retinoic acid and result in a localized retinoid deficiency. Interestingly, we have suggested that decreased levels of RAR may be, at least in part, caused by local vitamin A deficiency (5). Dietary retinol is stored in the liver in specialized cells and delivered to various target tissues via a retinol-binding protein (6). However, retinol is also stored in various extra-hepatic tissues including breast epithelial cells. Retinyl esters are the [...]

1/6/2005 Lexington, KY staff Lexington NBC Affiliate (lex18.com) If you made a New Year's resolution to stop smoking or lose weight this year, you're not alone. Those are two of the most popular resolutions, and may have benefits that never occurred to you. Both of them can help cut your risk of cancer, but they're not the only ones. Here are the top five cancer-curbing resolutions for 2005. If you vow to quit smoking this year, you'll be doing your body a huge favor. It's the number one way to cut your risk for cancer, and we're not just talking about lung cancer. "Bladder cancer, cervical cancer, colon cancer, throat cancer, mouth cancer -- they're all associated with cigarette smoking," said Electra Paskett, Ph.D., of Ohio State University's James Cancer Hospital. Exercise is another way to cut your cancer risk. Vigorous exercise can reduce your risk of colorectal cancer by up to 50 percent, and breast cancer by as much as 30 percent. It's a resolution with profound personal meaning for Jessica Bayles. "After my mother passed away of cancer, from then on I knew. From this point on I have to get serious about it. I have to make sure I exercise, have to make sure I eat right," said Bayles. Which brings us to number three in our top five -- eating right, including four to six helping of fruits and vegetables a day. "If we all did that, we could expect there to be a 20 to [...]

1/5/2005 Jacksonville, FL Kerry Sullivan - editor First Coast News Whether you are wearing one because it looks cool, or because you have been touched by someone with cancer, wristbands, like the yellow "Livestrong" bracelet by Lance Armstrong are becoming more popular than ever on the first coast. From the Avenues Mall to the soccer fields at Jacksonville University, everyone is wearing them. For Freshman Courtney Eppleman, her "Livestrong" wristband is in honor of her grandfather who died of throat cancer last year. "If I can save one life by wearing it, then I feel good," says Eppleman. Eppleman is one of dozens of ladies on the team who wears her wristband proudly. Their coach, Chris Kouns, got them started with a kickout cancer match when he took the head coaching job last year. They haven't taken them off since. "My father is a cancer survivor so it meant a lot to me to do this. They had a kickout cancer match up north where I came from, but not down here," Kouns says. While the yellow "Livestrong" wristbands seem to be the most popular, another color is getting all the attention on the first coast. "I don't take mine off," Patty Gruelle says. Gruelle is a breast cancer survivor two times around. The "Livestrong" wristband was the inspiration behind her latest project, pink "Carpe Diem" breast cancer wristbands. Gruelle teamed up with the Donna Hicken foundation to seize the day and support the disease. She says it's so important [...]

1/4/2005 Vienna, VA press release PR Newswire CEL-SCI CORPORATION (Amex: CVM) has submitted a Phase III clinical trial protocol to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") for the use of its investigational immunotherapy drug Multikine(R) in the treatment of advanced primary squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity. Additional information in support of and to provide the rationale for the Phase III trial (final reports of clinical trials conducted with Multikine to date and manufacturing and testing information) was included with this submission. The protocol was designed in consultation with a group of recognized experts in the field of head & neck cancer therapy to develop the conclusive evidence of the safety and efficacy of Multikine in the treatment of advanced primary squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity that would be required to license the product. The Company plans to meet with the FDA to discuss the proposed Phase III clinical trial over the next several months and obtain the agency's approval to initiate the study. Geert Kersten, Chief Executive Officer of CEL-SCI said, "We believe that Multikine has the ability to improve the success rate of first line therapy in head & neck cancer and this protocol is designed to prove our belief." Head and neck cancer is an aggressive cancer that affects about 500,000 people per annum worldwide. Multikine is an immunotherapeutic agent consisting of a mixture of naturally occurring cytokines including interleukins, interferons, chemokines and colony-stimulating factors. Multikine has completed several Phase II clinical trials [...]

1/4/2005 Sheldon Sax Oral Cancer Foundation The Cancer Institute of New Jersey and the New Jersey Dental School are undertaking a clinical trial of green tea and its relationship to oral precancers. If you live in New Jersey and would like to participate in the clinical trial, you should contact your dentist about eligibility or telephone 1-866-654-9898. Here is the text of the original announcement: Help us find out by joining a study being conducted at The Cancer Institute of New Jersey, the state’s only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center dedicated to cancer research, prevention, treatment and education in cooperation with the New Jersey Dental School. Mouth Cancer is the most common cancer in the head and neck region of the body and is often fatal. Mild or moderate dysplasia, which may appear as white or grey patches, is a potentially pre-cancerous condition in the mouth. A clinical trial is underway to see the effects of green tea on these white or grey patches. If you have been diagnosed with mild or moderate dysplasia or have white or grey patches in your mouth, talk to your dentist or contact The Cancer Institute of New Jersey to determine your eligibility for this study. If eligible, you will be asked to consume lozenges 8 times a day for 12 weeks and your participation will last for 24 weeks. If interested in participating, please call 1-866-654-9898. Original Source: The Cancer Institute of New Jersey

1/1/2005 Press & Dakotan, Yankton Daily Quitting tobacco is one of the most popular New Year's resolutions, but the key to success is to create a quit plan that includes planning for tough situations, dealing with withdrawal, and getting support from others. Chewers and dippers can now create their own effective quit plans at the ChewFree.com Web site. Sponsored by the National Center Institute, ChewFree.com is a free, self-help quitting program offered as part of a research study by Oregon Research Institute. "Many people mistakenly believe that they can quit with will power alone," says Dr. Herb Severson of Oregon Research Institute, the project director. "Our research has shown, however, that chewers and dippers can by most successful if they take the time to make a plan. ChewFree.com provides those interested in quitting with the tools they need." More than 6 million Americans use smokeless tobacco products regularly, contributing to as many as 9,000 U.S. cancer deaths each year. The ChewFree.com quitting program addresses the special difficulties faced by chew and snuff users, who have fewer quitting resources than do smokers. All participants will have access to a web site containing information and quitting resources that have already helped thousands of chewers to quit. Participants are asked to complete research questionnaires on-line to help evaluate the program. For more information or to enroll in the quitting program, log on to www.chewfree.com. Facts About Smokeless Tobacco -- South Dakota Smokeless tobacco use is widespread, especially among young men. More than five [...]

12/30/2004 Ken Carlson The Modesto Bee (modbee.com) Health agency out to get Oakdale Rodeo to sever ties with maker of snuff A campaign backed by the Stanislaus County Health Services Agency is trying to buck a tobacco company's sponsorship of the Oakdale Rodeo. And since the Oakdale Saddle Club, which puts on the rodeo every April, so far has refused to cut ties with the U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Co., the Health Services Agency plans another tack: a billboard due to go up next week along Highway 108 between Riverbank and Oak-dale. The message: "Don't let spit tobacco stain our rodeo." "Spit tobacco" is smokeless tobacco, such as Copenhagen and Skoal, two of U.S. Smokeless Tobacco's products. The company is the leading producer of brand-name smokeless tobacco, also called chew and snuff. The Buck Tobacco Sponsorship campaign is targeting rodeos in Stanislaus, Monterey, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and San Diego counties. Campaign officials said rodeos are family events where cancer-causing products, such as tobacco, should not be promoted. Michael Wagner, an Oakdale Saddle Club board member who oversees sponsorships, said he has talked with Buck Tobacco campaign officials for several months. As of now, the club has no intention of ending its relationship with U.S. Smokeless Tobacco, he said. But, he added, the club will ensure that the smokeless tobacco sampling tent at 2005's rodeo will be nowhere near concessions that attract youngsters. "We want to work with them, as best we can, so we can retain the benefits of [...]

12/29/2004 Panayiotis A Kyzas1, Dimitrios Stefanou1 and Niki J Agnantis1 Modern Pathology (2005) 18, 153-160, advance online publication, 23 July 2004 Recent observations suggest an implication of the cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) in tumor lymphangiogenesis through an upregulation of vascular endothelial growth factor-C expression. It is unknown whether this mechanism also acts in squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck region. We performed a retrospective study of 70 patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma in order to investigate whether COX-2 immunohistochemical expression correlates with vascular endothelial growth factor-C expression. We also examined the association of the expression of these molecules with clinicopathologic parameters (especially lymph node status) and outcome for these patients. We performed immunostaining on formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue sections by the routine streptavidin-biotin peroxidase labeled procedure. Increased cyclooxygenase-2 expression was observed in 30 of the 68 tumor samples (44%), while high vascular endothelial growth factor-C expression occurred in 26 of the 68 tumor samples (38%). High expression of the two proteins was correlated with the presence of lymph node metastasis at the time of diagnosis, and the observed association was even stronger when there was overexpression for both the antibodies (P<0.001). High expression of vascular endothelial growth factor-C, but not of COX-2 was correlated with increased mortality in patients with oral-larynx squamous cell carcinoma. When multivariate Cox regression model was applied, the presence of lymph node metastasis at the time of diagnosis, combined with overexpression of both the antibodies, was the only independent prognostic factor for mortality of [...]

12/29/2004 no attribution The Tennessean (Tennessean.com) Hugh Hankins talks into a small electronic microphone held to the hole in his throat. If you've made a New Year's resolution to quit smoking, you might want to listen to what he has to say about what cigarettes did for him. ''In 1978, I had 28 grand mal brain seizures,'' Hankins told me, his voice sounding like those anonymous hidden sources you see on the television news. To speak, he presses the button on his microphone. His mouth moves, but the only sound that comes out is from the hole. ''I was in a coma for a week. In 1984, I developed throat cancer. I had 28 radiation treatments. Back then, they shot you in both sides of your throat — just burned you up. About six months after, they did a total laryngectomy. They cut you straight across the throat. I have no voice at all. I have no smell at all.'' Hankins' tale is hard to listen to, both because he is difficult at times to understand and because it's full of so many painful experiences. He has had a collapsed esophagus, a brain tumor, prostate cancer and is now on total disability. Now and then, he has to have the hole in his throat enlarged when it starts closing up. His doctors believe the majority of his health problems were caused from his long history of smoking. Still, he said, ''I'm not complaining.'' He's happy just to be alive. See [...]

12/27/2004 Kelli Miller Stacy msn.health (content.health.msn.com) Researchers say they have discovered a new clue as to how alcohol may speed up cancer progression. Since the early 1900s, alcohol consumption has been linked to cancer, particularly of the esophagus, stomach, liver, and even the breast. Doctor's know that the more alcohol you drink, the higher your risk, but the exact role alcohol plays in cancer progression has remained a mystery. Now scientists say they've unraveled the clues behind this alcohol-cancer connection. A preliminary study, published in the Jan. 15, 2005 issue of the journal CANCER, shows, for the first time, that alcohol fuels the production of a growth factor that helps create new blood vessels inside a tumor, a process called angiogenesis. Production of these new blood vessels helps feed tumor cells. Jian-Wei Gu, MD, and colleagues from the University of Mississippi Medical Center, injected chick embryos, which contained cancer cells, with either salt water or alcohol for nine days. The alcohol content injected into the embryos was equivalent to what the researchers say is chronic alcohol administration. Based on their previous studies they say that light to moderate amounts of alcohol can induce new blood vessel growth. Embryos exposed to the alcohol had more than eight times the amount of cancer cells in their blood vessels than the saline-exposed embryos. The researchers also noted significant increases in tumor size and tumor blood vessel density, and higher levels of the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) -- a protein involved in the [...]