Gold nanoparticles and tea compound treat prostate cancer with fewer side effects tha

[ScienceRocks]

Gold nanoparticles and tea compound treat prostate cancer with fewer side effects than chemotherapy
July 16, 2012 Currently, large doses of chemotherapy are required when treating certain forms of cancer, resulting in toxic side effects. The chemicals enter the body and work to destroy or shrink the tumor, but also harm vital organs and drastically affect bodily functions. Now, University of Missouri scientists have found a more efficient way of targeting prostate tumors by using gold nanoparticles and a compound found in tea leaves. This new treatment would require doses that are thousands of times smaller than chemotherapy and do not travel through the body inflicting damage to healthy areas. The study is being published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. "In our study, we found that a special compound in tea was attracted to tumor cells in the prostate," said Kattesh Katti, curators' professor of radiology and physics in the School of Medicine and the College of Arts and Science and senior research scientist at the MU Research Reactor. "When we combined the tea compound with radioactive gold nanoparticles, the tea compound helped 'deliver' the nanoparticles to the site of the tumors and the nanoparticles destroyed the tumor cells very efficiently."

Read more at: Gold nanoparticles and tea compound treat prostate cancer with fewer side effects than chemotherapy

 

[ScienceRocks]

Wow, this will be less painful and we can thank it on the hard work of our scientists.

 

[waltky]

Lifetime risk of prostate cancer triples...

Lifetime risk of prostate cancer 'has trebled'
22 January 2013 - Estimates suggest boys will have a one in seven chance of being diagnosed with prostate cancer

Prostate cancer risk has risen to such a degree that one in every seven boys will develop it, projections suggest. Experts say the trebling of lifetime risk - up from one in 20 in 1990 - is partly because doctors are spotting more cases and partly because men are living longer meaning more develop it. Cancer Research UK, which compiled the data and made estimates for boys born in 2015, says although the cancer rates are rising, deaths are going down. They have dropped by 20% in 20 years. In 1990, prostate cancer killed about 29 men in every 100,000. Today it claims about 10,000 lives in the UK each year - just under 24 men in every 100,000.

The challenge

Better medicines and tests now mean prostate cancers can be diagnosed and treated earlier, which improves the survival odds. But experts say there is much more to be done, starting with finding a more accurate way to detect the disease. The current test, called PSA, is less than ideal and can cause men undue anxiety by showing up tumours in the prostate gland that might never go on to cause any health problem. And two out of three men with a raised PSA level do not have prostate cancer.

Prof Malcolm Mason, of Cancer Research UK, said: "We're detecting more cases of prostate cancer than ever before. And we're carrying out an intensive amount of research to find better methods than PSA to distinguish between the minority of cases that are life threatening and do need treatment - the vipers - from the majority of cases that don't - the grass snakes." He said that targeting the tests at men who have a higher risk of developing prostate cancer might be a better approach than screening all men. Scientists are working on new ways to detect prostate cancer, including blood tests, medical scans and urine tests.

Dr Sarah Cant, of Prostate Cancer UK, said: "Although it is heartening that prostate cancer death rates appear to have reduced over recent years, these stats reinforce our concerns that the number of men being diagnosed with the disease is rising at an alarming rate. "With so many more men expected to be living with the disease in the future, it is more urgent than ever that prostate cancer is higher up the nation's health agenda so that men can get the world class treatment and care they deserve. "Due to a significant legacy of underinvestment, men with prostate cancer are still faced with diagnostic tests and treatments which are decades behind where we need to be."

BBC News - Lifetime risk of prostate cancer 'has trebled'

 

[Mad Scientist]

Don't tell this to the Medical Industrial Complex!

 

[waltky]

New research finds a link between early baldness and cancer of the male reproductive gland known as the prostate....

Study Links Early Baldness to Prostate Cancer in African Americans
March 28, 2013 — The study involved African-American men, a group at particularly high risk of prostate cancer.

At first glance, there doesn’t seem to be an obvious connection between prostate cancer and baldness. But University of Pennsylvania researcher Charnita M. Zeigler-Johnson, PhD, says the two may be linked through a testosterone product called dihydrotestosterone, or DHT. The hormonal chemical, Zeigler-Johnson explains, “is a form of testosterone that seems to be associated with male-pattern baldness and also connected to prostate cancer occurrence and prostate cancer progression.” Previous studies have looked at the link between baldness and prostate cancer, but Zeigler-Johnson says this is the first to focus on African-American men, whose prostate cancer death rate is two and a half times that of white American men.

In the study, Zeigler-Johnson and her colleagues asked about 300 prostate cancer patients and some 200 non-patients about their baldness history. They then compared the type of baldness and the age when the men started losing hair with their medical histories. “Among men who have baldness at age 30, they’re more likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer at an early age, meaning before age 60,” Zeigler-Johnson explained in a telephone interview. “And they were more likely to be diagnosed with a higher stage and grade of cancer - so, more advanced cancer.”

Those most at risk for serious prostate cancer were men with frontal baldness, sometimes called receding hairline. But any kind of baldness was associated with an increased risk. Since this study was done in one specific, high-risk group: African-American men - it’s not clear whether the link between baldness and prostate cancer will hold for other groups. That would be a matter for further research. The study by Charnita Zeigler-Johnson and her colleagues is published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.

Source

 

[hortysir]

Gives brand new meaning to "tea-bagging"

 

[waltky]

Too much omega-3 could put men at a higher risk of developing prostate cancer...

Study Links Omega-3 Fatty Acids to Prostate Cancer
July 12, 2013 > Fish oil supplements that are high in omega-3 fatty acids have been quite popular among people who take them to help with issues such as heart health.

Past research has indicated that omega-3 fatty acids, which are found in fish, fish oil and other foods such as wild rice and walnuts, can decrease the likelihood of cardiovascular disease. But now new research released this week indicates that too much omega-3 could put men at a higher risk of developing prostate cancer, especially a deadly form of the disease. The finding confirms similar conclusions made in several earlier studies.

While some experts have expressed skepticism about the study’s findings, men taking the supplement may find themselves weighing the benefits fish oil capsules may provide for their heart health versus the possible harm and increased risk of developing prostate cancer. The study, conducted by researchers at Seattle’s Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, found that high concentrations of three anti-inflammatory and metabolically related fatty acids called eicosapentaenoic acid - EPA, eocosapentaenoic acid - DPA and docosahexaenoic acid – DHA that are found in fatty fish such as salmon as well as in fish-oil supplements, are linked with a 71 percent increased risk of developing high-grade prostate cancer, the kind that experts say are more likely to be fatal.

The Seattle study also revealed that too much of the fatty acids can also lead to a 44 percent increase in the risk of low-grade prostate cancer – which grows slowly - as well as an overall 43 percent increase in risk for all forms of prostate cancers. To reach their findings, the researchers studied a group of about 843 men who had prostate cancer and another group of 1,383 men who didn’t have the cancer. They found that the prostate cancer patients had higher levels of the omega-3 fatty acids in their blood than those in the non-cancer group. The researchers said that the consistency of their findings suggest that these fatty acids are connected with the development of prostate tumors. They also caution those who want to increase their dosage of omega-3 fatty acids to consider any potential risks.

The researchers said they’re unclear so far about why the high levels of omega-3 fatty acids would increase prostate cancer risk. They do point out that omega-3 fatty acids converting into compounds could damage cells and DNA, and their role in immunosuppression. They said that they don’t know whether or not these effects can actually impact cancer risks and that further research into possible mechanisms will be needed. These new findings, published July 11 in the online edition of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, confirm those made in 2011 by the same Seattle researchers.

Study Links Omega-3 Fatty Acids to Prostate Cancer

 

[waltky]

'Exciting' new prostate cancer drug...

'Milestone' prostate cancer drug
29 October 2015 - The first drug that targets precise genetic mutations in prostate cancer has been shown to be effective in a "milestone" trial by UK scientists.

The study, at the Institute of Cancer Research in London, took place on 49 men with untreatable cancer. The drug, olaparib, had low overall success, but slowed tumour growth in 88% of patients with specific DNA mutations. Cancer Research UK said the trial was exciting. The future of cancer medicine is treating cancers by their mutated DNA rather than what part of the body they are in. The breast cancer drug Herceptin is already used only in patients with specific mutations. Olaparib targets mutations that change the way DNA is repaired.

The trial results, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, showed the drug worked in 14 out of 16 men with such mutations. Levels of Prostate Specific Antigen, which is produced by tumours, was more than halved and there were also significant falls in the number of prostate cancer cells detected in the blood and in the size of secondary tumours. Patients responded to the drug for between six months and nearly a year and a half. One of the researchers, Dr Joaquin Mateo, told the BBC News website: "It is very promising. "Those entering the trial had an expected survival of 10 to 12 months and we have many patients on the drug for longer than a year."

Prostate cancer is the fifth most deadly type of cancer in men. However, a larger clinical trial is needed before doctors can say if the drug extends life expectancy. Dr Mateo added: "This is the first drug that targets specific genetically defined populations and we are going to see more and more of these coming in the next few years." The advantage of targeted drugs is they can be given only to those patients who will respond, which both saves money and spares patients unnecessary side effects. Some of the patients in the study were born with mutated DNA repair genes while in others the mutation developed inside the tumour.

'Significant step'

 

[waltky]

Better way to separate nanoparticles from plasma...

New technology for separating nanoparticles from plasma invented
Nov. 24, 2015 - Researchers say the new technique will help scientists track nanoparticles and better understand how they work as they travel through the body.

Nanoparticles hold promise as a medicine delivery vehicle. Researchers looking to treat a variety of health problems, from cancer to blood infections, have experimented with the technology. But separating the drug delivery nanoparticles from the blood is exceedingly difficult. New research out of University of California, San Diego, however, may make the process much easier. Engineers there have developed a way to separate plasma and nanoparticles using an oscillating electric field.

Researchers detailed the new process in a new paper published last month in the journal Small. "This is the first example of isolating a wide range of nanoparticles out of plasma with a minimum amount of manipulation," study author Stuart Ibsen, a postdoctoral fellow in then nanoengineering department, said in a press release. "We've designed a very versatile technique that can be used to recover nanoparticles in a lot of different processes." Plasma, the viscous substance that binds blood cells, has a hard time letting go of nanoparticles once they are introduced to the bloodstream. Current techniques employ sugar solution, dilution and a centrifuge. But most such methods either don't work well or damage the nanoparticles.

An illustration shows the electric chip separating the nanoparticles from the blood and pulling them to its electrodes.​

Researchers say the new technique will help scientists track nanoparticles and better understand how they work as they travel through the body. To improve the technology as a drug therapy delivery mechanism, researchers to study the ways blood proteins bind to the nanparticles and diminish their effectiveness. The new tracking and recovery process will help researchers do just that. "We were interested in a fast and easy way to take these nanoparticles out of plasma so we could find out what's going on at their surfaces and redesign them to work more effectively in blood," said Michael Heller, a nanoengineering professor at UC San Diego.

The technology is powered by a dime-sized electric chip. When the chip's electrodes pulse out an oscillating electric current, the surrounding plasma and nanoparticles begin to reorient themselves. But the nanoparticles' positive and negative charges reorient themselves at a different speed than the plasma, creating a momentary gap during which the particles are pulled toward the chip's electrodes. When tested in the lab, the technology was compatible with a variety of types of nanoparticles employed in medical research labs. "It's amazing that this method works without any modifications to the plasma samples or to the nanoparticles," said Ibsen.

New technology for separating nanoparticles from plasma invented

 

[Moonglow]

chemotherapy was developed from mustard gas...

 

[rdean]

Gold nanoparticles and tea compound treat prostate cancer with fewer side effects than chemotherapy
July 16, 2012 Currently, large doses of chemotherapy are required when treating certain forms of cancer, resulting in toxic side effects. The chemicals enter the body and work to destroy or shrink the tumor, but also harm vital organs and drastically affect bodily functions. Now, University of Missouri scientists have found a more efficient way of targeting prostate tumors by using gold nanoparticles and a compound found in tea leaves. This new treatment would require doses that are thousands of times smaller than chemotherapy and do not travel through the body inflicting damage to healthy areas. The study is being published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. "In our study, we found that a special compound in tea was attracted to tumor cells in the prostate," said Kattesh Katti, curators' professor of radiology and physics in the School of Medicine and the College of Arts and Science and senior research scientist at the MU Research Reactor. "When we combined the tea compound with radioactive gold nanoparticles, the tea compound helped 'deliver' the nanoparticles to the site of the tumors and the nanoparticles destroyed the tumor cells very efficiently."

Read more at: Gold nanoparticles and tea compound treat prostate cancer with fewer side effects than chemotherapy

I don't know. Mike Huckabee says cinnamon cures diabetes.

 

[waltky]

Granny tells possum dat if he keeps doin' dat - he gonna get prostate cancer...

Prostate cancer breakthrough could cut deaths by 40 per cent, double life expectancy, British trial suggests
Tuesday 6th June, 2017 — Scientists are hailing a breakthrough treatment for prostate cancer that promises hope for more than 20,000 men after proving it could slash deaths by almost 40 per cent.

The results from a major British-run trial suggest adding the controversial drug abiraterone to standard hormone therapy will double life expectancy in those with the most advanced form of the disease and “effectively cure” it in many less critical patients. Men whose prostate cancer has spread can currently expect to survive around 3.5 years. However, under the new strategy this is expected to become seven years. It also cuts by 50 per cent the traumatic bone complications that often accompany late-stage prostate cancer. The results, announced at the American Association of Clinical Oncology conference in Chicago, are relevant to roughly half the 40,000 men who have prostate cancer diagnosed in England each year.

Currently health chiefs only prescribe abiraterone to patients where the disease has spread and who are no longer responding to standard treatment. But in the new 2,000-patient trial, believed to be the largest of its kind ever, doctors combined the hormone regime, known as androgen deprivation therapy, alongside abiraterone in the first instance. Androgen deprivation therapy slows prostate cancer by preventing testicles from producing testosterone and other similar hormones that fuel tumour growth, but it cannot prevent other glands such as the prostate from continuing to make them. By contrast, abiraterone is able to stop the production of both testosterone and other androgens throughout the body by targeting the crucial enzyme that converts the hormones.

A surgeon in Lyon, France conducts prostate cancer surgery. A newly published Canadian study suggests that having advanced male-pattern baldness strongly predicts risk of prostate cancer.​

It’s a once-in-a-career feeling

“These are the most powerful results I’ve seen from a prostate cancer trial — it’s a once-in-a-career feeling,” said Nicholas James, chief investigator on the Cancer Research UK-funded trial. “This is one of the biggest reductions in death I’ve seen in any clinical trial for adult cancers.”

Around half the men who have prostate cancer diagnosed are not immediately prescribed any treatment — instead, their slow-growing tumours are regularly monitored as part of a “watch and wait” strategy. But of around 20,000 men in England who do require immediate treatment, 5,000 are diagnosed when the disease cannot be cured. Another 5,000 patients whose cancer mestastises die a year after diagnosis. Prof James, professor of clinical oncology at Birmingham University, said the projection of seven years’ life expectancy with abiraterone was “enormously exciting”.

Prostate cancer breakthrough could cut deaths by 40 per cent, double life expectancy, British trial suggests