Women are more vulnerable to smoking-induced cancers

Scientists who studied 683 lung cancer patients found that women tended to be younger than men when they developed the disease, despite, on average, smoking much less than men.

"Our findings suggest that women may have an increased susceptibility to tobacco carcinogens," said Dr Martin Frueh, from St Gallen Canton Hospital in Switzerland.

The research was presented on Sunday at the first European Multidisciplinary Conference in Thoracic Oncology (EMCTO) in Lugano, Switzerland.

Dr Enriqueta Felip, from Val D'Hebron University Hospital in Barcelona, Spain, who co-chaired the meeting, said there was a growing awareness that smoking was riskier for women.

"In the early 1900s lung cancer was reported to be rare in women, but since the 1960s it has progressively reached epidemic proportions, becoming the leading cause of cancer deaths among women in the United States," she said.

"Lung cancer is not only a man's disease, but women tend to be much more aware of other cancers, such as breast cancer."

But another study found that women were likely to live longer than men after having lung tumours removed.

Irish researchers led by Dr Bassel Al-Alao, from St James's Hospital, Dublin, checked the progress of 640 patients who had surgery for lung cancer over a 10-year period.

They found that survival after surgery was typically 2.1 years for men and 4.7 years for women.

About 90 per cent of lung cancer cases are caused by smoking. The habit is also thought to contribute to a wide range of other cancers, including those of the mouth, gullet, pancreas, stomach, bladder and kidney.

More than 38,000 new cases of lung cancer are diagnosed each year in the UK. The disease is one of the most lethal cancers, claiming 34,500 lives a year.

It is the most common cause of death from cancer for both men and women, and the second most common cancer affecting men after prostate.

In 2007, the latest year for which figures are available, there were an estimated 9.5 million smokers in the UK.

The meeting also heard that cancer vaccines and targeted therapies were beginning to offer new treatment options for patients with early lung cancer.

One group was trying to identify patients suitable for a vaccine that could be effective in 30 per cent of cases.

Studies have shown that the vaccine can help to prevent cancer reoccurrence after surgery. But it only works in patients with a lung cancer-linked protein called MAGE-A3.

"Personalising therapy is the key strategy for longer and better survival in lung cancer," said Professor Paris Kosmidis, from Hygeia Hospital in Athens, Greece, who spoke at the meeting.

Smoking increases a woman’s chance for breast and lung cancer

New study finds that smoking and exposure to secondhand smoke increases a woman’s chance for breast and lung cancer.

Some studies have even linked long-term smoking to a higher risk of developing colorectal cancer.

According to the studies published in Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, children who are exposed to secondhand smoke have a more than doubled likelihood of developing lung cancer as an adult.

Women who were non-smokers but who were exposed to secondhand smoke for a long period of time were 17 to 26 percent more likely to develop breast cancer after menopause than women who were not exposed.

Higher risk for developing breast cancer by getting regular mammograms

A recent medical study suggests young women are at a higher risk for developing breast cancer by getting regular mammograms. Researchers examined how the low doses of radiation women are exposed to in mammography exams affect women with a family history or genetic mutations associated with breast cancer.

Women who are exposed as teens doubled their breast cancer risk, according to findings by epidemiologist and study author Martine Jansen-van der Weide. Research findings suggest that young women are more sensitive to radiation at such a young age and therefore should not be routinely screened. For women at high risk, however, the American Cancer Society recommends an annual mammograms and MRI. This is a very controversial study that will no doubt be challenged by some within the medical community.

At BreastCancer.net it is imperative that we provide our visitors with all of the information available. If you have a family history of breast cancer or have been found to have the abnormal BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes you are at a higher risk for breast cancer than many women. Soon we will have information regarding how you can be tested for these genes. A lot of very good information on BRAC1 and BRAC2 type genealogy can be found at the following link. BRAC1 / BRAc2 Information

Senior Cancer Survivors Become Bold Advocates

Sociologists at Case Western Reserve University found that when passive cancer patients become survivors, they have plenty of bold advice to offer other cancer patients, according to a study in JAGS, the Journal of American Geriatric Society.

Eva Kahana, Robson Professor of Sociology and director of the Elderly Care Research Center at Case Western Reserve, reported the findings from interviews with 100 cancer survivors. These survivors are part of a longitudinal study of 1,107 elderly adults living in a retirement community.

This study calls attention to generally accepting, timid behaviors that elderly patients report about their interactions with the healthcare system while battling cancer. Nevertheless the very same older adults offer advice to other older cancer patients to take a more activist stand and become advocates in their care.

This finding of the study overturns the notion that elderly patients are disinterested and disempowered health consumers, Kahana said.

For nearly 20 years, the longitudinal study's research team gathered information from this Florida retirement community to find out what older people do to age successfully and weather chronic illnesses and the frailties in their later years.

In the study's 17th year, cancer survivors were given an in-depth interview with open- and close-ended questions about their cancer experience. The participants were of an average age of 79, married (62%) and were mostly women (62%). The predominant cancers were breast and prostate.

What surprised the researchers was that survivors became advocates for others, but had not been for themselves. The survivors suggested their peers with cancer get seconds opinions, check the doctor's credentials, keep a positive attitude, join support groups and learn more about treatment options before taking the doctor's advice at face value, Kahana said.

Very few, however, had actually practiced it in the throes of cancer and coped by relying on physicians and family members, according to Kahana.

The study's participants reported in their interviews that during their cancer experience they weren't worried, continued regular routines, had faith in their healthcare providers and followed instructions.

The researchers said the findings suggest "a transition maybe occurring from passive to a more-active or even activist orientation due to the illness experience."

Kahana said that even though the cancer patients didn't practice their own advice, it might "be percolating in their minds."

She thinks that offering the advice and reflecting on the cancer experience can be helpful when these individuals face new chronic illnesses.

The findings were reported in the article "Toward Advocacy in Cancer Care for Older Adults: Survivors Have Cautious Personal Actions But Bold Advice for Others."

The paper's co-authors are Jessica Kelley-Moore, Scott A. Adams, Rachel Hammel, Diana Kulle, Jane A. Brown and Cathie King from the CWRU department of sociology and Boaz Kahana from the department of psychology at Cleveland State University.

Source:
Susan Griffith
Case Western Reserve University

Calif. Gov. Schwarzenegger Criticized Over Cuts To Breast Cancer Screening Program For Low-Income Women

At a hearing this week, California Assembly Budget Committee Chair Noreen Evans (D) criticized Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's (R) decision to make cuts to a program that offers no-cost breast cancer screening and other services to low-income women, Capitol Weekly reports. Evans argued that making cuts to the Every Woman Counts program was beyond the Schwarzenegger administration's authority. State Department of Public Health Director Mark Horton said that the cuts were necessary and that Evans' committee approved them, which Evans denied. After the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force released new guidelines last year stating that most women should begin screening mammograms at age 50, the state DPH changed the eligibility age for the program from 40 to 50. Horton said the agency would save $16 million by suspending new applications to the program and restricting some services, such as mammograms for women in their 40s.

Evans said that DPH and the administration made cuts to the program after the committee denied their initial request to do so. "You planned to restrict eligibility, and the Legislature said no," she said, adding, "We said come back with another plan. And the next thing we heard, the administration had unilaterally restricted eligibility and closed down enrollment."

Horton said that EWC is "not an entitlement program" and that general fund money was not requested to backfill the program because of the state's budget crisis. EWC is funded with federal dollars and money from a state law that distributes tobacco tax funds. Schwarzenegger's administration has said cuts to the program and others funded with the tobacco tax money are necessary because of declining tobacco sales. "We feel that we have managed the [EWC] program appropriately, given the pressures of increased enrollment and decreased resources," Horton said.

Rachel Arrezola, a spokesperson for the governor, said the administration "continue[s] to be open to working with the Legislature on a solution that will cover as many women as possible without negatively impacting" the state's budget (Maclachian, Capitol Weekly, 2/11).

Breast Cancer Rates Decline Most For Affluent White Women

Breast cancer rates are declining, but some groups have seen a more significant decline than others, with race, ethnicity and economic background playing a part.

According to a new national study, the only significant decline in breast cancer rates occurred among white, non-Hispanic women, 50 and older, who live in affluent countries and who have the kind of tumors that an estrogen-rich environment will nourish. Breast cancer rates declined by as much as 10 percent annually in this group.

The study, which appears online and in the April supplement of the American Journal of Public Health, relied on data obtained from 13 U.S. population-based cancer registries for 1992 to 2005, and analyzed trends among 350,000 cases, looking at race/ethnicity and socioeconomic position, as well as age at diagnosis and breast cancer tumor characteristics.

In 2002, the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) study prompted many doctors to stop prescribing hormone therapy when the findings contradicted the previously held assumption that estrogen/progestin replacement therapy would lower a woman's risk of heart disease.

Instead, the findings suggested that hormone therapy actually would increase the risk of heart disease and breast cancer. Although the new study on breast cancer trends did not have access to information on individual women's hormone therapy use, the same group of women who exhibited the most significant decline in breast cancer rates was also the group most likely to have been taking hormones before the Women's Health Initiative.

"The fact that it was not a general decline gives further credence to the idea that it was something very specific commonly affecting this group of women," said lead study author Nancy Krieger, Ph.D. "It looks like the most logical thing was a change in the administration of hormone therapy. The rates didn't decline among white women living in less affluent countries or black women in rich or poor countries."

Krieger is a professor in the department of society, human development and health at the Harvard School of Public Health.

To Susan Brown, director of health education for Susan G. Komen for the Cure, these studies underline an important lesson. "The WHI study reminded us of the importance of having enough evidence. The idea that hormone therapy prevented cardiovascular problems relied on only one rigorous scientific study. If your doctor prescribes a treatment, you might want to ask, what do studies show, what is the evidence? Physicians should be prepared to answer these questions."

With any prescribed treatment, there are risks and benefits, Brown said. "To really make an informed choice, it's important to understand the risks."

The American Journal of Public Health is the monthly journal of the American Public Health Association.

Krieger N, Chen JT, Waterman PD. Decline in US breast cancer rates after the Women's Health Initiative: socioeconomic and racial/ethnic differentials. Am J Public Health 100(3s), 2010.

Source: Health Behavior News Service

Who is at risk?

All women above the age of 20 are at risk of developing breast cancer. There are a number of risk factors that have been identified.





Some of these factors include:

	Age – the risk of developing breast cancer does increase with age. In fact, 70 per cent of breast cancer cases occur in women aged 50 and above.
	Family history – women who have a mother, sister or daughter who developed breast cancer before the age of 50 are at a higher risk. This risk is further heightened if a woman has more than one immediate family member who has breast cancer.
	Previous history – women who have already been treated for cancer in one breast have an increased risk of developing cancer in the other.
	Early menstruation (before the age of 12) or late menopause (after the age of 50).
	Never having a full-term pregnancy or giving birth after the age of 30.
	Not having breast-fed.
	A diet high in fat and low in fibre.
	Obesity in post-menopausal years.
	Excessive alcohol consumption.