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winter 2006
Eye on Research — Winter 2006
by Sandra L. Cross, Zero Breast Cancer Board Member
The following updates and discussions of selected studies published
in peer-reviewed scientific journals, media reviews and other
sources are not intended to be a statement of final scientific
truth. It generally takes several peer-reviewed studies reaching
the same conclusion before a theory is accepted as scientific truth.
The discussions below are updates and reports on selected studies
of interest to breast cancer advocates.
Linus Pauling was Right After All
Despite Linus Pauling’s claims, numerous studies have shown that
oral doses of vitamin C had little effect on breast cancer because
when taken orally, the vitamin is quickly cleared from the body.
However, a new study has shown that vitamin C can be a powerful
cancer fighter when taken intravenously. After injection, levels
of vitamin C in the blood were measured at about 70 times the concentration
of oral doses. Mark Levine of the National Institute of Diabetes
and Digestive and Kidney Diseases in Bethesda, Maryland applied
vitamin C at levels that mimicked intravenous doses to both healthy
and cancerous mice and human cells in the laboratory. After only
one hour vitamin C had killed 50% of cancer cells in 5 out of 10
cancer cell cultures, but had no effect on healthy cells. They found
that a chemical reaction on the surface of the cancer cells turned
the vitamin C into hydrogen peroxide, which killed the cancer cells.
Maybe cancer researchers will reconsider a new delivery method and
dosage for non-toxic vitamin C therapy.
Results were published in the September 20th Proceedings of the
National Academy of Sciences. Science News, Vol. 168, No. 16, Oct.
15, 2005, p. 253.
A Hormone is a Hormone is a Hormone
There is a growing use of alternative therapies to fight symptoms
of menopause, but there are not many studies of the effects of
the so-called “natural,” or phytoestrogens, on breast
cancer risk. One such study on the use of a popular Chinese herb,
dong quai (Angelica sinesis), found that the form of the herb
used (water-extracted) stimulated the growth of a line of estrogen-positive
breast cancer cells commonly used in research and also stimulated
growth in a line of estrogen-negative breast cancer cells. The
researchers, exhibiting proper scientific restraint, urged caution
in the use of dong quai, a caution which should perhaps be extended
to other natural estrogens such as black cohosh, and red clover.
Use of dong quai (Angelica sinesis) to treat pre-or post- menopausal
symptoms in women with breast cancer: is it appropriate? Journal
of the American Menopause Society 12(6):734-740, November/December
2005. Lau, Clara B. S PhD: Ho, Tony C. Y PhD: Chan, Terry W. LBPharm:
Kim, Stephen C. FMPhil.
A Blood Test for Metastasis!
Finally, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine
have shown that a protein secreted by breast cancer cells can be
easily detectable in the blood serum of patients with metastatic
breast cancer by an inexpensive, reasonable, reliable clinical test.
The protein is called mammoglobin, which is produced by a gene that
is more active in breast cancer cells. Patients without metastatic
breast cancer have a steady, low baseline level of mammoglobin,
whereas patients with metastatic disease show much higher levels.
The study was conducted on a small sample of approximately 56 women
and found that about 80 percent of all breast cancers tested strongly
for mammoglobin. (This is about the same rate of accuracy as a mammogram.)
Identification of mammoglobin as a novel serum marker for breast
cancer. Clinical Cancer Research, 2005:11(18): 6528-6535.
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