Tag Archives: Cancer

Senator McCain diagnosed with aggressive brain cancer

FILE PHOTO: U.S. Senator John McCain attends a news conference at the Benjamin Franklin Library in Mexico City, Mexico December 20, 2016. REUTERS/Henry Romero/File Photo

By Patricia Zengerle

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Senator John McCain, the 2008 Republican presidential nominee known for political independence during more than three decades in the Senate, has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer, his office said on Wednesday.

The 80-year-old lawmaker and former Navy pilot, who was re-elected to a sixth Senate term in November, has been recovering at home in Arizona since undergoing surgery at the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix last Friday to remove a blood clot from above his left eye.

Tissue analysis since that procedure revealed that a brain tumor known as a glioblastoma was associated with the clot, his office said.

McCain’s doctors said he was recovering from surgery “amazingly well” and that his underlying health was excellent. Treatment options include a combination of chemotherapy and radiation.

However, glioblastoma is considered a grade IV tumor, the most malignant of gliomas. Medical experts said it can be very aggressive and spread into other parts of the brain quickly.

“It takes people’s lives almost uniformly … The tumor cells are very resistant to conventional therapy, such as radiation and chemotherapy. It’s a poor prognosis,” said Dr. Richard Ellenbogen, who chairs the Department of Neurological Surgery at the University of Washington.

McCain’s daughter, Meghan McCain, said the family was shocked by the diagnosis but that her father was the “most confident and calm” of them all as he prepared for a new battle against cancer.

McCain has had non-invasive melanomas removed at least three times. He also overcame injuries suffered as a prisoner of war in Vietnam, where he endured beatings and torture by his North Vietnamese captors.

Questions about McCain’s health arose during a recent Senate hearing when the lawmaker, normally a keen interrogator of witnesses, rambled during questioning of former FBI Director James Comey. His doctors told CNN on Wednesday, however, that he had no sign of neurological impairment before or during his surgery.

His fellow members of Congress rushed to offer tributes to McCain and wishes for his quick recovery. Known for an independent political streak, ready wit and strong opinions, McCain is one of the best-known and most popular U.S. lawmakers among his peers and the media.

Senator Lindsey Graham, a long-time friend, said McCain was “resolved and determined” when they spoke by telephone. “This disease has never had a more worthy opponent.”

While known as a fierce advocate for strong U.S. military action overseas, McCain also has a reputation for working with Democrats on issues from clamping down on campaign finance abuses to immigration reform. This week, McCain called for a bipartisan approach to overhauling the U.S. healthcare system.

‘GIVE IT HELL, JOHN’

“Senator John McCain has always been a fighter,” said President Donald Trump. “Get well soon.”

Former Democratic President Barack Obama, who defeated McCain for the White House in 2008, called McCain “an American hero and one of the bravest fighters I’ve ever known. Cancer doesn’t know what it’s up against. Give it hell, John.”

McCain was one of Congress’ most vocal critics of Obama’s foreign policy, but he has also raised questions about Trump, a fellow Republican.

McCain found himself to be a brief side issue in the race for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination when he criticized Trump, who responded by saying McCain was not a war hero because he had been captured by the Vietnamese.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell called McCain, the chairman of the Armed Services Committee, a hero and said he looked forward to having him back in Washington.

McCain, the son and grandson of admirals, was a U.S. Navy pilot. His plane was shot down over Vietnam in 1967 and he spent 5-1/2 years as a prisoner of war.

One of McCain’s proudest moments as a U.S. senator was working to pass legislation banning torture in 2015.

When he was offered release because of his father’s rank, McCain refused to be freed before those who had been held captive longer. He finally returned to the United States in 1973, with other prisoners of war.

McCain’s absence this week has complicated efforts by Trump and his fellow Republicans to repeal Obama’s Affordable Care Act, popularly known as Obamacare. McCain’s absence from Washington makes it difficult for McConnell to gather the 50 votes he needs in a chamber where the party holds only a 52-48-seat margin.

His absence could also complicate progress toward passing the annual National Defense Authorization Act, a $700 billion piece of legislation setting policy for the Department of Defense that must pass every year.

(Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Additional reporting by Steve Holland, Richard Cowan and Yasmeen Abutaleb in Washington, Eric M. Johnson in Seattle and Dan Whitcomb in Los Angeles; Editing by Kieran Murray and Peter Cooney)

Scientists to test whether Zika can kill brain cancer cells

FILE PHOTO - Genetically modified male Aedes aegypti mosquitoes are pictured at Oxitec factory in Piracicaba, Brazil, October 26, 2016. REUTERS/Paulo Whitaker

By Kate Kelland

LONDON (Reuters) – Scientists in Britain plan to harness the Zika virus to try to kill brain tumor cells in experiments that they say could lead to new ways to fight an aggressive type of cancer.

The research will focus on glioblastoma, the most common form of brain cancer, which has a five-year survival rate of barely 5 percent.

Zika causes severe disability in babies by attacking developing stem cells in the brain – but in adults, whose brains are fully formed, it often causes no more than mild flu-like symptoms.

In glioblastoma, the cancer cells are similar to those in the developing brain, suggesting that the virus could be used to target them while sparing normal adult brain tissue.

Experts say existing treatments have to be given at low doses to avoid damaging healthy tissue.

Researchers led by Harry Bulstrode at Cambridge University will use tumor cells in the lab and in mice to assess Zika’s potential.

The mosquito-borne virus has spread to more than 60 countries and territories in a global outbreak that was first identified in Brazil in 2015.

“Zika virus infection in babies and children is a major global health concern, and the focus has been to discover more about the virus to find new possible treatments,” Bulstrode said in a statement.

“We’re taking a different approach, and want to use these new insights to see if the virus can be unleashed against one of the hardest-to-treat cancers …

“We hope to show that the Zika virus can slow down brain tumor growth in tests in the lab,” Bulstrode added. “If we can learn lessons from Zika’s ability to cross the blood-brain barrier and target brain stem cells selectively, we could be holding the key to future treatments.”

(Editing by Louise Ireland and Kevin Liffey)

Dangerous levels of Chromium-6 in water found in all 50 states

Refreshing Drinking water

By Kami Klein

Millions of Americans in all 50 states are drinking water with a dangerous amount of Chromium 6, a known cancer causing chemical that has a huge list of potential health hazards. This is the damaging chemical that was the focus in California 25 years ago in the profound and popular true life movie, Erin Brockovich.  

A new report last month from the nonprofit research group, Environmental Working Group (EWG), analyzed evidence gathered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from samples of more than 60,000 water systems in all 50 states between 2013 and 2015.  These samples show that the tap water of 218 million Americans contain high levels of chromium 6. In fact, this carcinogen turned up in as much as two-thirds of our nation’s water supply! These high levels of chromium 6 were deemed unsafe by public health officials. Oklahoma, Arizona and California had the highest average statewide levels of the chemical found in their drinking supply. 

According to the report by EWG, a two-year study by the National Toxicology Program found that drinking water with chromium-6, or hexavalent chromium, caused cancer in laboratory rats and mice. The California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment concluded that ingestion of even tiny amounts of chromium-6 can cause cancer in people, by using this report along with other animal studies. This conclusion was affirmed by state scientists in New Jersey and North Carolina.

In an article released by the Global Healing Center , Chromium 6 was ranked #16 out of the top 275 most toxic substances found by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.

Health Problems from Chromium-6

Studies of chromium-6 have established that breathing the particles can cause lung cancer. The chemical has also been connected to liver damage, reproductive problems, developmental harm, blood anemia, and cancer according to the EWG. Chromium-6 presents greater risks to infants and children, people who take antacids, and people with poorly functioning livers.

How did chromium-6 get into our water supply?  

According to Live Science, Chromium is an odorless and tasteless metallic element that can be found naturally in rocks, plants, soil and volcanic dust and animals. Chromium-6, however, is a toxic form of the mineral. While this form does occur naturally in the environment, chromium-6 is mostly produced by industrial waste processes. The EPA has reported many instances of chromium-6 being released into the environment from industrial pollution — leakage, poor storage, or inadequate industrial waste disposal practices.

How much chromium-6 is it safe to consume?

According to the EWG article, the California scientists set a public health goal of 0.02 parts per billion in tap water, the level that would pose negligible risk over a lifetime of consumption. This means that the amount posed no more than a one-in-a-million risk of cancer for people who drink it daily for 70 years. (A part per billion is about a drop of water in an Olympic-size swimming pool.) But in 2014, after aggressive lobbying by industry and water utilities, California State regulators adopted a legal limit 500 times the public health goal at 10 ppg. Far lower than any other state, but still not the scientists’ public health goal. It is the only enforceable drinking water standard specifically for hexavalent chromium (chromium 6), not total chromium at either a state or federal level.  

The U.S. Environmental Protection agency has set a maximum contaminant level of 100 parts per billion for total chromium in drinking water. Numerous states have established limits of 50 parts per billion of total chromium in drinking water. For water control standards, they are combining the natural levels of chromium and the toxic form  Chromium 6 into one category.

Comparing the public health goal to levels of contamination found in the EPA tests, EWG estimates that if left untreated, chromium-6 in tap water will cause more than 12,000 excess cases of cancer by the end of the century.

In an article written by CNN, Bill Walker, co-author of the report and managing editor of the Environmental Working Group said, “These figures may be confusing, but the real point is that chromium-6 is one of many chemicals in our environment.” The group receives grant money from the Turner Foundation, which is chaired by CNN founder Ted Turner, who is no longer involved with the news organization or any Turner entity.

“Americans are exposed to dozens if not hundreds of other cancer-causing chemicals every day in their drinking water, their consumer products and their foods,” Walker said. “And what the best science of the last decade tells us is that these chemicals acting in combination with each other can be more dangerous than exposure to a single chemical.”

How can you filter Chromium 6 and other chemicals from your Drinking water?  

There are many water filtering options out there but experts say that to look explicitly for those that will advertise effective filtering of chromium and chromium 6 (hexavalent chromium).

Is my state included in these water samples?  

There is a very informative map from the EWG showing where the water samples were taken and the results of their testing and evaluation. Not every county was tested.   Contact your health department in your area if you are concerned over your chromium 6 levels and want to find out more!

The quality of the water that we are putting into our bodies, the pureness of water that we encourage in children’s bodies can either mean good health, chronic health problems or even cost you your life. The fight against industrial waste in our water supply continues from the state level to our federal government.

Invest in a good filtering water bottle or system for your home!   Your body will thank you!

 

Brain Cancer now deadliest for U.S. Children

A general view of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) headquarters in Atlanta

By David Beasley

ATLANTA (Reuters) – Brain cancer is now the deadliest form of childhood cancer in the United States, surpassing leukemia as treatment advances have allowed doctors to cure many blood-related cancers, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Friday.

In 1999, nearly one in three children who died of cancer had leukemia, while brain cancer caused the deaths of one in four.

By 2014, the numbers had reversed, researchers found comparing death rates from pediatric cancers in these years.

“Forms of leukemia that a generation ago were almost universally fatal are now almost universally curable,” said Sally Curtin, an author of the report, in a telephone interview.

Overall, cancer death rates for children dropped 20 percent from 1999, continuing a trend that started in the mid 1970s, according to the National Center for Health Statistics study.

Among 100,000 youth ages one to 19, cancer killed 2.28 in 2014.

Other common sites of fatal childhood cancers included the bone and articular cartilage, thyroid and other endocrine glands and mesothelial and soft tissue. Combined with brain cancer and leukemia, these accounted for 81.6 percent of all childhood cancer deaths in 2014, the report said.

“The declines were broad, across all the age groups, males and females, for both white and black children,” Curtin said. “That in and of itself is noteworthy because so many health outcomes have disparities.”

She noted that brain cancer deaths held stable as leukemia deaths dropped.

In 2014, 445 children died from pediatric leukemia, down from 645 in 1999, the CDC reported.

Deaths from childhood brain cancer, however, increased slightly from 516 in 1999 to 534 in 2014, the study found.

“For pediatric brain tumors in particular, we have not made significant headway at all,” said Katherine Warren, head of pediatric neuro-oncology at the National Cancer Institute.

She said childhood brain cancer is more difficult to treat, in part because the blood-brain barrier protects the central nervous system from toxins. This makes it more difficult to deliver chemotherapy.

“With leukemia, you are giving the therapy directly into the blood and hence to the bone marrow which is exactly where the cancer is,” she said, calling for more research into childhood brain cancers.

“We have learned over the past decade or so that childhood tumors are significantly different from adult tumors,” she added.

(Reporting by David Beasley; Editing by Letitia Stein and Andrew Hay)

Battling cancer with light

By Ben Gruber

(Reuters) – Researchers have for the first time used a technique called optogenetics to prevent and reverse cancer by manipulating electrical signals in cells.

Lead author on the study Brook Chernet injected frog embryos with two types of genes, an oncogene to predispose them to cancer and another gene to produce light sensitive “ion channels” in tumor-type cells.

Ion channels are passageways into and out of the cell that open in response to certain signals. When the channels are open, the movement of ions into or out of the cell creates an electrical signal.

The researchers were able to activate the channels on tumor-type cells by exposing the embryos to light. By activating the channels and adjusting the electrical signals in the cells, the team was able to both prevent and reverse tumor formation in 30 percent of cases, according to the study.

“You can turn on the light, in this case it’s blue light and you blink this blue light at this tumor, I believe it’s 24 hours, and the tumor goes away,” said researcher Dany Adams, a co-author on the paper.

This latest success builds on years of research from Michael Levin’s lab at Tufts University.

“We call this whole research program cracking the bioelectric code,” said Levin, professor and chair of the Tufts Center for Regenerative and Developmental Biology.

By targeting the electrical patterns in cells, it’s possible to control how fast they divide and what information they share with their neighbors, says Levin.

“The idea is much like the brain when neuroscientists try to figure out the semantics of electrical states in the brain, we try to figure out how patterns are encoded in electrical states in the body,” he added.

The use of optogenetics to control ion channels has been an important research tool for neuroscientists studying the brain and nervous system. This is the first time the technique has been applied to cancer research.

“The electrical communication amongst cells is really important for tumor suppression. The bigger picture is to understand how these voltages are passed among cells and how they control the transfer of chemical signals among cells,” Levin said.

“We need to crack this bioelectrical code. We really need to figure out how computations in tissues and decision making about pattern and cell behavior and so on are encoded in electrical signaling. That is sort of the next ten years,” he added.

The role of optogenetics in cancer treatment for humans is still unclear, but the underlying science of how electricity functions in the body has the potential to unlock new ways of treating all types of disease in years to come.

The study was published in the journal Oncotarget last month.

Former President Carter Diagnosed with Brain Cancer

Former President Jimmy Carter held a press conference at the Carter Center in Atlanta to announce that his doctors found cancer in his brain.

He will immediately begin treatment for the brain cancer.

“I’m perfectly at ease with whatever comes,” Mr. Carter said. “I do have a deep religious faith, which I’m very grateful for. Now I feel this is in the hands of God.”

Carter said that initially they removed a cancerous tumor in the liver that forced removal of about a tenth of the liver.  He said that doctors determined the tumor was melanoma, and that it was likely it began somewhere else within Carter’s body.

Carter joked that he and his wife Rosalynn had been saying for years they would be slowing down their schedule and now seemed as good as time as any to do it.   He said that he would be curtailing his actions both with the Carter Center and around the world.

He expressed his desire to travel to Nepal in November to build homes with Habitat for Humanity.

He also said he will continue to teach his Sunday School class at his home church, Maranatha Baptist Church.

“I am ready for anything and looking forward to a new adventure,” Carter added. “I have had an exciting and venturous and gratifying existence.”

Carolina Panthers Hire Six-Year-Old Coach

He barely reaches the waist of most of the players, but the Carolina Panthers were listening to the orders of their new coach.

Braylon Beam, 6, has been battling cancer since February.  He signed a one-day contract to be the head coach of the team for the annual “Fan Fest” practice August 7th at Bank of America stadium in Charlotte.

Braylon is a big fan of Carolina quarterback Cam Newton.  The first-grader wore a Newton jersey during an appearance on the Ellen TV show where he talked about his #JustKeepDancing movement to raise money for pediatric cancer.

“He’s a real energetic young man who has got a real good sense for being around people. He showed that,” Panthers regular head coach Ron Rivera said. “He’s got a great fight about him and I hope our guys got the message and understand who this young man is.”

Beam held a team meeting, telling the Panthers: “Be brave, be positive, never give up, have a heart, go Cats.”

Beam told ESPN after the event that it was the “best day ever.”

School Choir Surprises Cancer Stricken Teacher

The children’s chorus from P.S. 22 in Staten Island, New York has made sure a teacher stricken with cancer knows she is not alone in her fight.

The 5th grade students sang the Martina McBride song “I’m Gonna Love You Through It” to Adriana Lopez, who recently was diagnosed with breast cancer.

“For a dear friend and teacher at PS22 whose bravery and dedication to her students amidst a difficult fight with breast cancer has inspired us all… We love you, Mrs. Lopez!!” chorus director Gregg Breinberg said on Facebook.

The song is about standing beside a woman who has just received a breast cancer diagnosis.  The choir changed the lyrics to include Lopez’ age and number of children to personalize the performance.

The peformance, shown in a YouTube video, ends with the kids giving Lopez pink roses.

The choir has been around since 2000 and has performed with superstars like Jennifer Hudson and even performed for President Obama at the White House.

Woman Adopts Dying Friend’s Four Daughters

When single mother Elizabeth Diamond died in April less than a year after being diagnosed with stage 5 brain cancer, she left this life with one less worry thanks for her friend Laura Ruffino.

Ruffino, who had been friends with Diamond since they were in grade school, adopted Diamond’s four daughters to make sure they had a loving, stable, caring home after their mother’s death.

“She said if anything ever happens to me I want you to take my girls and I instantly said ok,” said Ruffino.

“I would always want someone to do that for me. Her kids and I were so close anyway, because she was my best friend. I wanted to give her peace,” Ruffino added to ABC. “I can’t even imagine what she had to be going through.”

The family has not been forced to accommodate four new family members alone.  The community of Orchard Park, New York and surrounding towns have stepped up to provide the family with money and supplies they otherwise could not afford.

For example, someone donated a large refrigerator so that they could store enough food for the now family of 8.

“I’m in awe of the love and generosity we’re getting,” Ruffino told the New York Daily News. “I feel like Liz has her hand in all this and as a family we’re just getting stronger.”

Diamond’s family has been supportive of the adoption by the Ruffino family.

“I think it’s remarkably generous for Laura and her husband to do that,” Patricia Kaminski, Diamond’s aunt, told ABC. “I know Elizabeth’s family is very happy with that family. The rest of the family believe it’s an excellent outcome for the children.”

Herpes Virus Based Drug Treats Skin Cancer

A new drug that is based on the herpes virus has been shown to be effective in treatment of aggressive skin cancer.

The tests are in phase 3 trials for cancer virotherapy.  The idea of the therapy is to use one disease to attack a different disease.

The drug, T-VEC, could become more widely available for cancer patients next year.

The drug is a modified form of the herpes simplex virus type-1 with two genes removed that keeps the virus from replicating in healthy cells.  The virus can infect cancer cells where it multiplies and then explodes the cells.  It also creates a molecule that will allow immune systems to attack and destroy tumors.

Over one in four patients in the trial showed response to the treatment including 1 in 10 of those patients having their tumors completely disappear.  Another 16% had partial remission that lowered tumor size by half.

“There is increasing excitement over the use of viral treatments like T-VEC for cancer, because they can launch a two-pronged attack on tumors — both killing cancer cells directly and marshaling the immune system against them,” said Kevin Harrington, U.K. trial leader and professor of biological cancer therapies at the Institute of Cancer Research in London.

“It’s like an unmasking of the cancer,” said Harrington. “The patient’s immune system wakes up and attacks the cancer cells wherever they are in the body.”

The treatment has a major upside in that the side-effects are much less severe than chemotherapy.