US Pharm. 2008;33(4)(suppl):36.

Vitamin Supplements Ineffective Against Lung Cancer
For years, consumers were urged to take vitamins to prevent a plethora of health conditions, including lung cancer. However, a study of more than 77,000 vitamin users conducted by researchers at the University of Washington, Seattle, revealed that not only do vitamin supplements not protect against lung cancer, they may actually be a factor in increasing the risk of developing it.

According to Christopher G. Slatore, MD, the study's author, "Supplemental multivitamins, vitamin C, vitamin E, and folate did not show any evidence for the decreased risk of lung cancer." He added, "Increasing the intake of supplemental vitamin E was associated with a slightly increased risk of lung cancer."

Dr. Slatore and colleagues found that when modeled continuously, the increased risk from taking vitamin E was equivalent to a 7% rise for every 100 mg/day. "This risk translates into a 28% increased risk of lung cancer at a dose of 400 mg/day for 10 years." The investigators found that the risk was most notable in current smokers.

Breast Cancer Drug May Play Role in Treating Bipolar Disorder
Researchers at Dokuz Eylul University Medical School in Izmir, Turkey, found that tamoxifen, a drug that is commonly used to treat breast cancer, may help manage symptoms of mania or the "high" phase experienced by patients with bipolar disorder. Their findings were published in the Archives of General Psychiatry.

The researchers found that men and women who took tamoxifen for three weeks experienced a significant reduction in their mania compared to patients who took a placebo. However, the investigators caution that side effects from long-term use of the drug could be a problem. "Tamoxifen is not a drug that is without side effects," said Dr. Ma-Li Wong, professor of psychiatry and vice chair for translational research at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. "Bipolar is not a short-term disorder and in clinical trials for breast cancer, you're talking about treatment of five years. And the dose used in this study is a bit high in comparison to that used in breast cancer."

New Urine Test for Prostate Cancer
An experimental urine test being developed by researchers at the University of Michigan is showing promise in detecting prostate cancer better than other screening methods currently in use. The study, published in Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, uncovered that the new test is far more accurate than the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test that is widely used today to help diagnose prostate cancer.

The new urine test screens for the presence of four different RNA molecules. The test accurately identified 80% of patients in the study who were later found to have prostate cancer and was effective in ruling out the disease in 61% of the study participants.

"Relative to what is out there, this is the best test so far," said the study's lead author, Arul Chinnaiyan, MD, PhD, director of the Michigan Center for Translational Pathology at the University of Michigan. According to Dr. Chinnaiyan, this "first generation multiplex" biomarker test will likely be improved upon as researchers continue to uncover the molecular causes of prostate cancer.

Colorectal Polyps More Likely Among Smokers
A meta-analysis performed at the Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, European Institute of Oncology in Milan, Italy, and published in Gastroenterology , the official journal of the American Gastroenterological Association Institute, showed that smokers have a two-fold increase in the likelihood of developing colorectal polyps.

According to the study, smokers had a 13% increased risk for polyps for every additional 10 pack-years smoked in comparison to those who never smoked. The analysis suggests that approximately 20% to 25% of colorectal polyps may be attributed to smoking and that smoking plays a major role in the transformation of polyps into cancer.

FDA: Anemia Drugs Could Worsen Cervical Cancer
The FDA has strengthened the black box warnings section of darbepoetin alpha (Aranesp) and epoetin alfa (Epogen, Procrit) with language that says aggressive use of the erythropoiesis-stimulating agents could worsen cervical cancer.

The warning now states that the use of the drugs "shortened overall survival and/or time to tumor progression in clinical studies in patients with breast, non-small cell lung, head and neck, lymphoid, and cervical cancers when dosed to target hemoglobin of >12 g/dL." In addition, the label now extends the warning to treatment of all states of those cancers.

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