Multiple sclerosis may lead to lower cancer risk

Mon Mar 30, 2009 4:11pm EDT

LONDON (Reuters) - People with multiple sclerosis may have a lower risk of cancer, possibly because of lifestyle changes they make after they are diagnosed with the neurological condition, researchers said on Monday.

An analysis of the medical records of more than 20,000 people with multiple sclerosis showed that patients had a 10 percent lower risk of cancer over 35 years than people without MS.

“We speculate that the lower risk for cancer among people with MS could be a result of lifestyle changes or treatment following diagnosis,” Shahram Bahmanyar of Sweden’s Karolinksa Institute, who led the study, said in a statement.

For complete article: http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE52T6TD20090330

WASHINGTON - Prostate cancer has been left behind in the race for personalized medicine, but that may be changing:  Doctors are starting to attempt gene-guided treatment for men with advanced disease.It is an approach already offered in treating breast cancer and certain other cancers. The new prostate work is a small initial step at catching up, it targets the men in most dire need - those whose prostate cancer has spread to other parts of the body, and hormone treatments to slow its progression has quit working.These are the men who ultimately wind up dying of prostate cancer, some 28,000 a year in the United States. Phillip Febbo of Duke University is trying to better direct therapy by looking directly at a tumor’s genetic signature. The research is very preliminary, but if a gene-guided method ultimately should work, it could ease what is called the shotgun approach to advanced prostate cancer. Starting next month (April 2009), Duke will recruit men for a study that will help determine their treatment.    By Lauran Neergaard Associated Press    Go to:  Hunting tailored care for advanced prostate cancer

ScienceDaily (Jan. 23, 2009) — A new study appearing in The Prostate has found that certain measles virus vaccine strain derivatives, including a strain known as MV-CEA, may prove to be an effective treatment for patients with advanced prostate cancer. The findings show that this type of treatment, called virotherapy, can effectively infect, replicate in and kill prostate cancer cells. Prostate cancer is a leading cause death among males in the western world. It is currently the second most common cause of cancer-related deaths among American men with 186,320 new cases and 28,660 deaths expected to be recorded in 2008. A sizeable proportion of these patients ultimately relapse, with a 5-year failure rate for treatment ranging from 14 to 34 percent. No curative therapy is currently available for locally advanced or metastatic prostate cancer.

The median survival time of MV-CEA-treated mice in the study almost doubled compared to the controls, and complete tumor regression was observed in one-fifth of treated animals.

“Based on our preclinical results as well as the safety of measles derivatives in clinical trials against other tumor types, these viral strains could represent excellent candidates for clinical testing against advanced prostate cancer, including androgen resistant tumors,” says Evanthia Galanis, M.D., of the Mayo Clinic, senior author of the study. The study was supported by the Mayo Clinic Specialized Program of Research Excellence (SPORE) in prostate cancer.

These oncolytic strains of measles virus, represent a novel class of therapeutic agents against cancer that demonstrates no cross-resistance with existing treatment approaches, and can therefore be combined with conventional treatment methods.

Because primary tumor sites are easily accessible in prostate cancer, locally recurrent disease represents a promising target for virotherapy approaches. The virotherapy agent can easily be applied directly to the prostate tumor via ultrasound-guided needle injections and close monitoring of therapy can be achieved by non-invasive techniques including ultrasound and MRI.

The measles vaccine strains also have an excellent safety record with millions of vaccine doses having been safely administered in over 40 years of use. Repeated measurements of the marker CEA (carcinoembryonic antigen, produced when the virus replicates) following MV-CEA treatment can be performed via a simple blood test, and can potentially allow for optimization of dosing as well as the tailoring of individualized treatment. To date, no significant toxicity from MV-CEA treatment of patients with other tumor types has been observed.

Prior studies have demonstrated the therapeutic potency of MV-Edm derivatives against a variety of preclinical animal models including ovarian cancer, glioblastoma multiforme, breast cancer, multiple myeloma, lymphoma and hepatocellular carcinoma.

The promising results prompted the rapid translation of engineered MV-Edm strains in three clinical trials that are currently active. In the ovarian cancer trial, the furthest advanced; evidence of biologic activity has been noted in refractory ovarian cancer patients.

The results set the foundation for additional studies in preparation for using engineered measles strains in a clinical trial for the treatment of patients with advanced prostate cancer.

Journal reference:

1. Msaouel et al. Engineered measles virus as a novel oncolytic therapy against prostate cancer. The Prostate, 2009; 69 (1): 82 DOI: 10.1002/pros.20857

Adapted from materials provided by Wiley-Blackwell.

Researchers at the Mayo Clinic have found that certain strains of the measles virus, including one known as MV-CEA, may be an effective treatment for advanced prostate cancer. The type of treatment, known as virotherapy, can infect and kill prostate cancer cells.Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer-related cause of death in American men, accounting for almost 29,000 fatalities each year. Up to 34 percent of the 186,000 men diagnosed each year will eventually suffer a relapse, and there are no curative therapies available for locally advanced or metastatic prostate cancer.Mice treated with the MV-CEA lived twice as long as the controls and one-fifth of the treated animals had complete tumor regression.Since primary tumor sites in prostate cancer are easily accessible, the virotherapy agent can be applied directly to the prostate tumor using ultrasound. The CEA marker (carcinoembryonic antigen, produced when the virus multiples) can be monitored by a simple blood test, allowing accurate monitoring and individualized treatment.“Based on our preclinical results as well as the safety of measles derivatives in clinical trials against other tumor types, these viral strains could represent excellent candidates for clinical testing against advanced prostate cancer, including androgen resistant tumors,” says Evanthia Galanis, M.D., of the Mayo Clinic. 

PS: I own no stock in Dynamic Health Laboratories and receive nothing from them for this recomendation.

I have a friend in CA that had a prostatectomy about 5 years ago. His PSA started increasing last year. His doctor at UCLA recommended he start drinking 8 ozs of Pomegranate juice every day. I also read a study that recently came out that seemed to indicate that Pomegranate juice has a very positive effect on the prostate.

I started dringing 8 ozs daily last week. I purchased a juice concentrate that mixes 1 part concentrate to 5 parts water. It has a great taste! I either mix with water or add 40 ml of concentrate to a fruit/kefir smoothie. Is is great tasting and hopefully will help lower my PSA or keep it from increasing.

It is amazing how you can go through all this and release it all to God and then little by little take it back! I am grateful for the opportunity to reevaluate everything and put it all back in the hands of God!

Well, today we met with my urologist for the first time in over two years. He looked at my records and said, “You received proton treatment, good. Looks like we are going to have a proton center here soon.” After some further discussion and evaluation, he prescribed an antibiotic for two weeks. I return on the 27th for bloodwork and to see what the next step is. It could be an infection or any of “a hundred and one things” as the doctor said.

I am encouraged after a long weekend of deep thought and I am grateful for a God that I can put my full trust in!