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Image via WikipediaScientists at the University of Leicester, funded by Hope Against Cancer, a Leciestershire based charity are pioneering the use of a common curry cooking ingredient to target cancer cells.

Dr Karen Brown, a Reader at the University, is the principal investigator of this new research, which is also being led by Dr Lynne Howells, of the Chemoprevention and Biomarkers Group at the University.

The aim is use tissue from the colorectal tumours to effectively target chemo-resistant cells using curcumin, an extract of the commonly used root turmeric.

They will test their hypothesis using tissue from tumours extracted from patients undergoing surgery. Previous laboratory research has shown that curcumin, has not only improved the effectiveness of chemotherapy but has also reduced the number of chemo-resistant cells which has implications in preventing the disease returning.

ABOUT COLORECTAL CANCER

• Accounts for over 600,000 deaths a year
  
• The third leading cause of cancer deaths in the western world
  
• The risk of developing colorectal cancer increases with age
  
• Studies show that a diet high in red meat and low in fresh fruit, vegetables, poultry and fish increases the risk of colorectal cancer

ABOUT TURMERIC:

• Part of the ginger family
  
• Native to south Asia
  
• Orange/yellow powder is a spice for curries
  
• Curcumin has an earthy, peppery flavour
  
• It has been used for medicinal purposes for centuries
  
• Its potential use in Alzheimer's, arthritis and other disorders is also being investigated around the world

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Radioactive discs in the eyes

Image via WikipediaJ. William Harbour, MD at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis is implanting radioactive discs in the eye as a treatment option for a rare type of cancer called retinoblastoma.

Retinoblastoma, as the name suggests, is characterized by tumors in the eye's retina. It is rare, affecting about one child in 20,000. In the United States, about 200 children each year are diagnosed with it. Approximately 40 percent of them develop tumors in both eyes, so in cases where the tumors prove resistant to chemotherapy, very young children and their parents are faced with a choice between a life without eyes and a high risk of death.

"The treatment plaque looks like a bottle cap made of gold," Harbour says. "Radiation seeds are placed on one side of the plaque, shining the radiation in one direction like a flashlight focused on the tumor. That prevents the radiation from affecting other parts of the body."

"The radiation causes damage within the cancer cells that prevents them from proliferating and spreading," he says. "By the time we take off the plaque, the cancer cells are either dead or mortally wounded, even though we do not immediately see a difference in the appearance of the tumor. After the plaque therapy, as the cancer cells try to proliferate and divide, those cells die, which we then notice in follow-up exams as the tumor shrinks over time."

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Darker Skinned Individuals Also At Risk For Skin Cancer

Image via Wikipedia

According to a study published in the Archives of Dermatology, darker skinned individuals are also at risk for skin cancer, particularly in geographic areas with intense sun exposure.

After analyzing data from the Florida Cancer Data System, looking at patterns of race- and sex-specific invasive melanoma trends between 1992 and 2004 and comparing them with national trends in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program, researchers found that melanoma rates increased in both registries among all groups, including blacks and Hispanics, particularly in Florida.

To date, however, most public-education programs about melanoma have primarily been directed to whites, so there may be less awareness of risk and the need for medical attention for suspicious lesions among darker skinned groups.

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