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.
To comment on this article,
contact rdavidson@jobson.com.
Published April 18, 2008