Lots of sweet food and drink increases risk of pancreatic cancer
The high consumption of sweetened food and drink increases the risk of developing pancreatic cancer, according to a new study from Karolinska Institutet.
A heavy intake of fizzy drinks, creamed fruit and sugar in coffee are three common ways of increasing the risk.
Pancreatic cancer is a very serious form of cancer that is possibly caused when the pancreas produces heightened levels of insulin as a consequence of upset glucose metabolism. A well-known way of increasing insulin production is to eat a lot of sugar. Scientists have now, for the first time, shown that the consumption of sweetened food and drink affects a person’s chances of developing pancreatic cancer.
Diets and heart health - no difference between low carb and low fat
A new study has shown that when it comes to diet programs and heart health, there is little to choose between low carbohydrate diets such as the popular Atkins plan and typical low-fat diets.
The researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health say neither is more likely to either cause heart disease, or prevent it.
Chinese bird flu expert will head the WHO
Dr. Margaret Chan, a Chinese expert on bird flu, is to be the next head of the World Health Organization (WHO).
It is expected that the World Health Assembly will approve the appointment of Dr. Chan as the director-general of WHO, making her the first Chinese person to head a major UN agency.
Dr. Chan will replace South Korea’s Lee Jong-wook who died suddenly last May three years into his five-year term.
Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus tricks cells to become tumors
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have discovered how the Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) subverts a normal cell process in order to promote tumor growth.
The finding, published in the most recent issue of PLoS Pathogens, offers new potential strategies for treating Kaposi’s sarcoma and other cancers associated with viruses.
Cost-effectiveness of lipid screening in Hodgkin’s disease survivors
Hodgkin’s lymphoma survivors who have lipid screening every five years to detect high cholesterol will live a half year longer than patients who don’t have the screening and the intervention is cost-effective, according to a study presented November 8, 2006, at the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology’s 48th Annual Meeting in Philadelphia.
“Although physicians are aware that Hodgkin’s lymphoma survivors are at increased risk of heart disease, it hasn’t been well-established how to best monitor these patients,” said Aileen Chen, M.D., M.P.P, lead author of the study and a radiation oncologist at the Dana-Farber Cancer Center in Boston. “Our study shows that lipid screening in Hodgkin’s survivors is cost effective and provides physicians with a guideline on how frequently they should be screening for high cholesterol, an important risk factor for heart disease.”
