Among the highlights in the March 1999 Cancer Watch issue are: Platinum-Based Chemotherapy and Risk of Secondary Leukemia, Coumarin is Effective in the Treatmernt of Lymphedema, Better Quality of Life with Single-Agent Therapy for Metatsatic Breast Cancer, Tobacco-Specific Chemicals in the Urine of Newborns, Human Papillomavirus Linked to Prostate Cancer, X-ray Diffraction of Hair to Screen for Breast Cancer, Liver Cancer, Incidence of Liver Cancer on the Rise, The Role of Isoprenoids in Cancer, A New Clinically Aggressive Form of Thyroid Cancer, Pregnancy-Hormone to Prevent Breast Cancer, Radial Scar in Benign Breast Lesion and Risk of Breast Cancer, Dietary Fat Intake and Risk of Breast Cancer, Thinner Melanomas Have Better Prognosis, b-Carotene Supplements and Increased Risk of Lung Cancer in Smokers, Alternative Treatments of Prostate Cancer and Anti-emetics Can Prevent Irradiation Side Effects.

• Platinum-Based Chemotherapy and Risk of Secondary Leukemia
• Coumarin is Effective in the Treatmernt of Lymphedema
• Better Quality of Life with Single-Agent Therapy for Metatsatic Breast Cancer
• Tobacco-Specific Chemicals in the Urine of Newborns
• Human Papillomavirus Linked to Prostate Cancer
• X-ray Diffraction of Hair to Screen for Breast Cancer

• Liver cancer is not very common in the US, but it is very prevalent in China, Korea, Asia, and Africa. Symptoms of liver cancer is such that it is not suspected until it is in an advanced stage. Because liver plays an important role in removing toxins and unwanted materials from blood, liver cancer causes major metabolic disturbances. Among the risk factors are hepatitis B and C virus infection and chronic cirrhosis. The treatment for advanced liver cancer is not particularly effective. Screening of high-risk individuals can diagnose the disease at a subclinical level before symptoms develop, thus improving prognosis.

• Though primary liver cancer is not that common in the US, it is one of the most common cancer in the world. However, a significant increase in this cancer has been noticed in the last decade. Infection with hepatitis B or/and C virus is a risk factor along with cirrhosis of the liver.

• Lipid metabolism in oncology is not a terribly active research field. Superspecialization in science leads to growing gaps of understanding between disciplines; biochemists and enzymologists in particular have been far advanced in their understanding of lipid polyprenol metabolism – information which has only recently been picked up and integrated by experimental oncologists. Finally, a rather intriguing bridge is being built between some isoprenoids, apoptosis and multidrug resistance. The number of references published on this topic is still very small; this brief note tries to outline the role of dolichol and dolichyl phosphate in cancer.

• A subgroup of familial thyroid cancer which was thought to be of low-risk may be very aggressive and treatment strategy for these patients should be modified accordingly.

• Estradiol and progesterone, the concentration of which reaches a peak level during pregnancy, can be used in combination for a short period of time to protect against breast cancer.

• Radial scars are a specific type of benign breast lesion that can be characterized under a microscope. It appears as an elastic fiber core from which ducts and lobules radiate. Presence of such radial scars is found to increase the risk of subsequent breast cancer.

• A new report on the dietary fat intake and risk of breast cancer is published in the March 10, 1999 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. It finds no evidence that lowering total fat or specific major fatty acid intake decreases the risk of breast cancer.

• Cutaneous melanomas detected by physicians tend to be thinner than those detected by patients themselves or their relatives. Physician-detected lesions are also biopsied within a month or so by most of the patients while a significantly less number of self-detected tumors are biopsied within a month.

• The increased risk of lung cancer in smokers induced by high-dose of b-carotene supplements may be due to suppression of a key receptor and overexpression of an activator protein. The lungs of smokers have high levels of free radicals that break down b-carotene and these breakdown products are responsible for the adverse effect.

• There is no generally accepted, ideal or optimal treatment for localized prostate cancer. The course of this disease remains unpredictable and it is difficult, if not impossible, to determine whether any particular treatment truly prolongs survival. Most clinicians believe that selected patients may benefit from active therapy: urologic surgeons still consider radical prostatectomy as the method of choice; radiologists are refining their methods with sophisticated, computer-controlled imaging and targeting; chemical hormonal ablation has become a respected tool; finally, there are several recent advances which show promise and will be briefly reviewed in the following.

• Unpleasant side effects of high-dose chemotherapy and radiotherapy are nausea and vomiting that not only affect quality of life but can also affect the quality of treatment. Oral anti-emetics used to prevent such side effects in chemotherapy patients are also safe and effective for patients receiving total body irradiation (TBI) as preparation for bone marrow transplantation.

Glossary

• A glossary of unfamiliar words and jargons in Cancer Watch, March 1999.