Socioeconomic patient characteristics predict delay in cancer diagnosis: a Danish cohort study

http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6963/8/49

*Screening for Cervical cancer through PAP smear is now for women after the age of 21 years old and should be every 3 years for women between 21 and 30 years of age.

*Screening for Cervical cancer through PAP smear is now for women after the age of 21 years old
and should be every 3 years for women between 21 and 30 years of age.
*Like other screening, the rates have been decreasing.  Also cost and over-treatment had been of concern and led to revision of the guidelines.  No comments were made about HPV immunization.
*FDA warning about new batches of counterfeit Bevacizumab put out under the label ALTUZAM 400mg/16
BATCH #B6022B01 expiring sometime this year!
* Mycobacterium Tuberculosis can hide from host immune defense in the Bone Marrow!
*successful Hearing restoration performed in Mice bearing USH1C gene mutation!
(JAMA)

BETTER IMAGING FOR BREAST CANCER: TOMOSYNTHESIS

*Tomosynthesis gives "200 one-millimeter-thick images for an average sized breast, compared to 4 images in a regular 2-D digital mammogram" leading to 41 to 61% increase of cancer detection compared to standard 2-D digital mammography.   It also reduces the return for additional imaging, according to a report by Donna Plecha, MD, Director of the Dept. of Radiology at UH, Case Western School of Medicine.

*Thomas Bachelot et al. submitted results of a phase II study related to use of Capecitabine and Lepatinib as first line therapy for patients with Brain metastasis from HER-2 positive Breast cancer.  45 patients enrolled, Median follow-up 21 months.  65.9% of patients had a partial response noted.

*Another Disparity:  Although white Americans have twice as high an incidence of Bladder cancers, at similar grade and stage of disease, Black Americans do have a higher mortality!".  There is a 5 fold relative risk for those who smoked  20cigarettes/day for over 40 years, compared, of course, to non smokers.

*Marginal Zone Lymphoma.includes:
-MALT
-Nodal type
-Primary splenic type which can have villious cells that can be confused with Hairy cell morphologically on peripheral blood.

has CD20+, CD5-, CD10-, CD23-
In extranodal cases, 60% have Trisomy 3 and t(11;18) which produce fusion API2and MLT, and will mark resistance to Antibiotics
API2 is an inhibitor of Apoptosis
MALT1 (procaspase) bind to Bcl-10 leading to activation of NF-bK which ultimately impair Apoptosis
Associated to Sjogren disease in some cases, in the stomach, associated with H.Pylori
Rituxan as a single agent, local RT,

Looking into the role of Ciprofloxacin in cancer cell apoptosis

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second most commonly diagnosed cancer and the second leading cause of cancer mortality in the United States among cancers that affect both men and women.
Screening lowers colorectal cancer (CRC) incidence and mortality. CRC is preventable through the removal of premalignant polyps and is curable if diagnosed early. Increased CRC screening and reduced CRC incidence and mortality are among the Healthy People 2020 objectives.
What if CRC could be prevented, at least to a certain degree?

Here an interesting finding that will need further research and require validation in the endeavor to prevent cancer, CRC being a priority target:
Pulm Pharmacol Ther. 2010 Oct;23(5):373-5. Epub 2010 Mar 6.
"Ciprofloxacin can significantly affect eukaryotic cells including human cancer cells. Its bactericidal action relay on inhibition of topoisomerase II, enzyme responsible for alterations in 3D structure of DNA during replication, transcription and chromatin condensation. Thanks to that, ciprofloxacin can induce cell cycle arrest and apoptosis of cancer cells."

The stakes are high. Lives can be saved. The cost to society for premature death from CRC are too high - we need to become even more proactive than with screening alone.
The medical and societal costs of CRC are substantial. Estimated direct medical costs for CRC care in 2010 were $14 billion, with projected costs of up to $20 billion by 2020 (13). In 2006, estimated lost productivity costs for persons who died from CRC were $15.3 billion (14). This equals $288,468 of lost productivity per CRC death in 2006 (14). Screening costs per person vary by test. The lifetime (age 50--80 years) average per person cost of screening ranges from $71 per person for guaiac-based FOBT to $1,397 per person for colonoscopy (15).

Letter to President Obama

Letter to President Barack Obama (D): Contact Your Federal Officials

President Barack Obama (D-US) 1st term · More Letters to   President Obama · Search All   Letters See Vice President See First Lady Letters To Leaders All messages are published with permission of the sender. The general topic of this message is Women's Issues: Subject: Contact Your Federal Officials To: President Barack Obama Sen. John Cornyn Rep. Silvestre Reyes Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison May 21, 2012  Coalition for the Reversal of Breast Cancer Mortality in African American Women: Dear Mr President, Dear Senators, Dear Representatives, the Coalition I represent would like to call your attention upon the following issue: Of the estimated 6,040 annual deaths in the African American community because of Breast Cancer, up to 3,000 could be prevented. My own mother died of breast cancer and I promised her that I will do something on her behalf before I pass on. I would be glad to forward the full set of statistical and scientific data that supports our findings. With the CRBCM we are now calling for a formal acknowledgement of this issue and a promise that a 10-year priority program should seek the reversal of this mortality of innocent African American women. Let us invest in saving lives at home. 3,000 African American women will die this year alone and effective action is urgently needed. The reasons why African American Women are still today missing out on appropriate and timely screening for breast cancer and early intervention have been researched, analyzed and published. No tangible measures, however, have been suggested to bridge the gap between existing resources, the wealth of scientific and socio-economic knowledge and the effective communication with the African American women who keep missing out on this specific type of time sensitive health care. In the evolving history of breast cancer mortality, interventions by leaders have proven to be effective. Mammograms, the cessation of hormone replacement therapy, the discovery of the BRCA Mutation, all have proven effective in reducing mortality, and led to an adjustment of treatment guidelines. The next main action with the largest impact is to invest in interventions to curb the breast cancer mortality in African American women who take the brunt by their heavy share of reversible mortality. The present Coalition proposes an action plan to reach out to these women who live outside the traditional healthcare and social safety nets in our nation, so that they can finally benefit from the free breast cancer prevention programs that have been made available since 2000. The Coalition will also push for improved and specific breast cancer screening for this segment of the population and initiate further research into the specificity of the histology of breast cancer in African American women as it had been accomplished for the 1% of women of Ashkenazi Jewish descendence with the BRCA mutation and consequently modified guidelines. With advances in radiologic detection methods and genetics (the human genome is decoded) it is time to see the decrease of breast cancer mortality in African American women as a reachable and objective goal within 10 years. I am calling to your human side and compassion to pay closer attention to this priority problem. El Paso , TX

Many exciting Research and Prevention projects: CPRIT Abstracts 2012

http://abstracts.cprit2012.org/