Scientists have used a version of the anthrax toxin to kill tumours in mice. The toxin was so effective that after just one treatment, tumours were reduced in size by up to 92%. The technique has been developed by researchers from the US National Institutes of Health. It works by targeting a protein called urokinase which is produced in high levels by cancerous cells. The researchers genetically altered the structure of the anthrax toxin so it only invaded cells that produced high levels of urokinase. Different tumour types The toxin effectively killed several types of tumour cells, without causing any apparent damage to normal tissue. Tumour cells began dying just 12 hours after the first treatment. Two treatment cycles were enough to completely obliterate 88% of a type of tumour called a fibrosarcoma. It also knocked out 17% of a second type of tumour called a melanoma.
However, the toxin did not damage skin cells or hair follicles surrounding the tumour – suggesting that the toxin is highly selective, and may not lead to the severe side effects sometimes associated with alternative treatments. The researchers stress that further research is needed to determine if the engineered anthrax toxin will have similar effects in humans. Lead researcher Dr Steve Leppla told BBC News Online: “The fact that our cytotoxin can successfully kill several different solid tumours suggests it may be even better on leukemias, where the toxin has an easier time reaching every tumour cell. “We are testing that now.” Dr Elaine Vickers, of Cancer Research UK, described the research as very interesting, but warned that it was still at an early stage.
She said more work was needed to discover whether the technique worked in humans, and to confirm that it did not damage healthy cells. “Molecules that are over-produced by cancer cells are very interesting as targets for developing new cancer treatments, hopefully with fewer of the side-effects associated with more conventional therapies. “However, it is essential that the molecule targeted by the treatment is exclusively over-produced by cancer cells to avoid damage to healthy tissue. “This is particularly important if a potent toxin, such as the anthrax toxin being investigated in this research, is being used to kill the cancer cells.” The research is published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
In 1998, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), cancer research branch of the World Health Organization (WHO), published a seven-country study that found a 16-17% increase in lung cancer risk associated with secondhand smoke. This finding is consistent with the rest of the scientific literature. Before the study was published, on March 8, 1998, the London Sunday Telegraph reported, incorrectly, that WHO was withholding the study because not only did it fail to show secondhand smoke caused lung cancer, but suggested that Secondhand smoke could even reduce lung cancer risk.
Smoking, one of the world’s major killers, draws in its victims by offering a subtle but compelling high, scientists say. On Thursday, the U.S.-based cigarette manufacturer Liggett Group made the astonishing move of admitting that smoking damages health and is addictive. Tobacco companies have denied this for years. But doctors and anti-smoking campaigners can cite volumes of evidence that details just how smoking not only damages the body, but tricks it into begging for more. “The evidence that it is powerfully addictive is absolutely overwhelming,” said Dr Martin Jarvis, an addiction expert for the Imperial Cancer Research Fund, a British charity. Of more than 61,000 people surveyed by the U.S. Centres for Disease Control, 79.6 percent of daily cigarette smokers said they could not cut down. Only 66 percent of daily cocaine users said they could not. “It’s a kind of stimulant drug, a bit like amphetamine. One of the thoughts about why cigarettes are so addictive is the route of administration,” Jarvis said. “When you inhale it in smoke you are getting the drug hitting the brain within seven to 10 seconds, which is actually faster than if you injected it. It is also cleared from the body very rapidly so you have to keep getting yourself a hit to keep levels up.”
1. Tomatoes -These tasty spheres are bursting with the powerful antioxidant vitamin C and lycopene. Vitamin C bolsters the immune system and fends off cancer-causing free radicals, and lycopene is instrumental in cutting the risk of stomach, mouth, bladder, cervical, colon and prostate cancer. 2. Cruciferous Vegetables- Broccoli, red cabbage, cauliflower, kale, red beets and brussels sprouts all belong to this veggie family. All are amply fortified with cancer-fighting phytochemicals, including sulforaphane, beta-carotene and indolcarbinol. 3. Spinach-Popeye knew his nutrition. This dark, leafy vegetable is chock-full of antioxidants such as glutathione, vitamin C, beta-carotene, folic acid and carotenoids. Bright orange carrots are also an excellent source of beta-carotene and carotenoids — chemicals known to curb various cancers. 4. Beans- Beans, beans, they’re good for … beating digestive and breast cancer! Soybeans are stocked with protease inhibitors that don’t let cancer cells invade the body, and also contain isoflavones instrumental in protecting against breast cancer. Fava beans fight carcinogens, reducing the risk of cancer in the digestive tract.
Professor Veronica James has been involved in the research of breast cancer for decades. Despite her research having been published in many scientific journals and known throughout the scientific community, she remains admirably modest. She has an incredible lack of ostentation for someone who has developed a breast cancer detection technique that offers a more effective, accessible and pain free alternative to mammography. Her house in the Sydney suburb of Kenthurst is a domestic laboratory of scientific practicalities. An intriguing glass cylinder filled with water sits on the mantelpiece – a thermometer that determines the temperature through the changing viscosity of the water; there are clocks that line the walls of the house, each based on a different scientific principle. In the kitchen the peeled and sliced apples we eat with our pork was sliced and peeled with a vintage contraption collected from overseas.