Esophageal cancer trends are tough to swallow
What type of cancer has plummeted in African-Americans, increased in whites, and, in only two generations, become the fastest-rising cancer in the United States? Few would guess it is cancer of the esophagus –– the foot-long, muscular tube that channels food from the mouth to the stomach. The disease is relatively rare, but it is often deadly, and its incidence is rising at the rate of 1 percent a year. People who are obese or have gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) – irritation of the lower esophagus by acid stomach contents flowing backwards – have an increased risk of developing the cancer. “It has not been a glamorous disease getting a lot of research dollars, because traditionally it affects people with less socioeconomic power and has had a grim outlook,” says Peter Enzinger, MD, clinical director of the Gastrointestinal Oncology Center at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. He adds that research has led to a better understanding of the disease and to more effective medical and surgical treatments.
Breast cancer isn’t sexist
Although breast cancer largely affects women, it isn’t just a woman’s disease. An estimated 1,900 men in the United States will be diagnosed with the disease this year, and another 440 men will die from it. “The biggest misconception surrounding men and breast cancer is that men don’t have breast tissue,” says Jennifer Ligibel, MD, a breast cancer expert at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Common symptoms of male breast cancer include changes in the nipple and a lump in the breast. Ligibel says that men often are not forthcoming about such symptoms. “If men suspect a problem, they often are reluctant, embarrassed to get help.” This embarrassment can lead to delay in diagnosis, which is one reason why breast cancer in men is often found at a much more advanced stage than women.
Can a baby save a life?
The birth of a baby is often a joyful moment, and for some people it may even be a life-saving event. A growing number of hospitals in the United States are collecting newborns’ umbilical cord blood and adding it to public cord blood banks. Cord blood is rich in blood-forming stem cells, and cord-blood stem cell transplants have long been used for treating children with leukemia and other blood disorders. Now they are being used in adults. Umbilical cord blood from hospital-based blood banks is currently used in about five to ten percent of transplants when a patient lacks a well-matched adult donor. Cord blood stem cell transplants have drawbacks, including being slow to regenerate a recipient’s blood supply, but researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute are investigating ways to make the stems cells heartier and grow more rapidly. “Over the years, researchers have tried a variety of techniques for expanding the number of stem cells in cord blood,” says Joseph Antin, MD, chief of the Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women’s Cancer Center transplant program. Now, researchers are testing whether a new drug can spur new stem cells to bring up blood-cell counts. “Only 20 percent of collected cords contain enough stem cells under current practices,” Antin remarks. “This technique may make previously unusable or marginal cords usable”
RSS