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To Test or Not to Test? The Role of Attitudes, Knowledge, and Religious Involvement Among U.S. Adults on Intent-to-Obtain Adult Genetic Testing. Health Educ Behav. 2011 Apr 11; Authors: Botoseneanu A, Alexander JA, Banaszak-Holl J Genetic testing can advance cancer prevention if current screening behaviors improve. Increased prevalence of high-risk genotypes within specific religious groups, use of religious venues for recruiting to genetic screening, and ethical-religious considerations argue for exploring the role of religiosity in forming genetic testing decisions. This study uses the theory of reasoned action and structural equation modeling to test the effects of religious involvement, attitudes, knowledge, and previous experience on intent-to-obtain genetic testing within a representative sample of 1,824 U.S. adults. A majority of respondents indicate willingness to test, especially for curable disorders. Attitudes, knowledge, and previous experience have significant direct effects, and religious involvement has an indirect effect, through its negative effect on attitudes, on intent-to-test. High religious involvement is associated with more negative attitudes toward genetic testing. The findings underscore the need to refine genetic testing outreach efforts to account for multiple influences on consumer intent-to-test. PMID: 21482703 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]  

Botanical and nutritional compounds have been used for the treatment of cancer throughout history. These compounds also may be useful in the prevention of cancer. Population studies suggest that a reduced risk of cancer is associated with high consumption of vegetables and fruits. Thus, the cancer chemopreventive potential of naturally occurring phytochemicals is of great interest. There are numerous reports of cancer chemopreventive activity of dietary botanicals, including cruciferous vegetables such as cabbage and broccoli, Allium vegetables such as garlic and onion, green tea, Citrus fruits, soybeans, tomatoes, berries, and ginger, as well as medicinal plants. Several lead compounds, such as genistein (from soybeans), lycopene (from tomatoes), brassinin (from cruciferous vegetables), sulforaphane (from asparagus), indole-3-carbinol (from broccoli), and resveratrol (from grapes and peanuts) are in preclinical or clinical trials for cancer chemoprevention. Phytochemicals have great potential in cancer prevention because of their safety, low cost, and oral bioavailability. In this review, we discuss potential natural cancer preventive compounds and their mechanisms of action.

Source: Gullet et al. Semin Oncol. 2010 Jun;37(3):258-81.

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Celgene Cellular Therapeutics (CCT), a branch of Celgene Corporation (NASDAQ: CELG), announced recently the development of a clinical application of stem cells derived from human placenta (HPDSCs) for use in hematopoietic reconstitution therapies. This important hallmark in the road to achieve therapeutic use of human plancenta stem cells occurred at the LSU Health Sciences Center Children’s Hospital (LSU) on March 28, 2008. The transplant was scheduled to treat a pediatric patient with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL). This is a cancer of the bone marrow and blood. When the patient’s sibling was born in December 2007, human placental stem cells, along with cord blood, were collected and cryo-preserved and both products were used in the transplant.

CCT employs proprietary technologies for collecting, processing, and storing human plancenta-derived stem cells. This versatile kind of stem cells have a strong potential for developing therapeutic applications in, for example, leukemia and other hematological malignancies, solid tumor cancers, and autoimmune diseases. The company is also conducting research on other types of stem cells derived from the placenta that are obtained via additional proprietary methodologies.

The transplant, which is part of a multicenter clinical trial being conducted at LSU, together with other institutions, is using stem cells from placenta for patients with certain disorders including cancers and non-malignancies. The primary goal of theis study is to assess the safety of transplantation of umbilical cord blood boosted with placental stem cells from the same donor, There is also a secondary objective, which is assessing potential restoration of normal hematopoiesis and immune function with this combination of cells. The plan of the trial includes careful monitoring post-transplant for up to 24 months to monitor safety outcomes, engraftment, and survival.

“The patient is doing extremely well and, in fact, was discharged from the hospital one-to-two weeks earlier compared to traditional cord blood transplants,” said Lolie C. Yu, M.D., Professor of Pediatrics, Division Chief of the Pediatric Heme-Onc Program, Director of the BMT Program at LSUHSC/Children’s Hospital. “Neutrophil engraftment occurred earlier than anticipated in this proof-of-principle study further raising our hopes regarding the benefits of this treatment.”

Numerous professionals agree that there is considerable anticipation around the potential of placental stem cells. Another study by researchers from UCLA published earlier this year declared that blood-forming stem cells originate in the placenta in laboratory animals.

“We are excited to advance our study of the placenta as a source of stem cells that have the ability to effectively treat patients worldwide,” said Robert Hariri, M.D., Ph.D., CEO of Celgene Cellular Therapeutics. “We are pleased with this first positive step in our effort to bring this cutting-edge therapy to the clinic to treat sufferers with a variety of devastating diseases.”

“For the first time, we are transplanting human placenta-derived stem cells to treat patients with a variety of cancers and non-malignant diseases,” said Mitchell Cairo, M.D., who leads the clinical trial at Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital and Columbia University Medical Center, and is Chief of the Pediatric Blood and Marrow Transplantation Division at Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital of NewYork-Presbyterian and Professor of Pediatrics, Medicine and Pathology at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. “Our hope is that HPDSCs, in conjunction with cord blood stem cells, will expedite engraftment and improve treatment for patients.”

Regular exercise and consumption of caffeine protect the body from the destructive effects of ultraviolet (UVA) and therefore may be associated with the prevention of skin cancer, according to a new study by Rutgers  University (New Jersey), whose results are published in the “Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.”

According to this research, caffeine and exercise collaborate in the destruction of precancerous cells whose DNA has been damaged by UVA, causing self-destruction. “If apoptosis takes place in cells damaged by the sun, it will slow down the progression of cancer through them,” explained one of the authors of the study, Dr. Allan Conney.

The investigation was conducted with hairless mice that were exposed to ultraviolet radiation lamps that generated that damage DNA from the cells of their skin. In turn, four groups were established, one that drank water caffeine, another who exercised running on a wheel, a third group did both, while a fourth and final group did not carry out any of these behaviors. Rodents caffeine drinkers showed about a 95% increase in apoptosis induced by UVA, which exercised showed an increase of 120%, while those who made both approached an increase of 400%.

Hairy cell leukemia is a disease in which the blood cells and bone cells marrow turn abnormal or cancerous. “hairy cell leukemia” because when examined under the microscope the cells visible as have tiny “hairy” projections.

It is a rare cancer. There are +/- 600 new cases diagnosed every year in the United States. Hairy cell leukemia commonly affects older people, with the average age at diagnosis being 50 years. The disease is four times more common in men.

When this disease develops, the white blood cells become abnormal and accumulate in the spleen, causing it to become enlarged. The cells may also collect in the bone marrow and stop it from producing blood cells. As a result there may not be enough normal white blood cells in the blood to fight infections.

The cause of hairy cell leukemia is not known. It is a slowly progressing disease and the patients may not show any symptoms for many years. As the disease advances, the patients may have an enlarged spleen, because of the accumulation of the abnormal cells in the spleen. The liver may at times become enlarged. The blood tests may show abnormal counts of all the different types of cells. This happens because the cancerous cells invade the bone marrow as well and prevent it from producing normal blood cells. Because of the low white cell count in the blood, the patient may have frequent infections. Fever accompanies the infections. There may also be other symptoms such as unexplained weight loss, fatigue, and night sweats. The low red cell count may cause anemia, and the low platelet count may cause the person to bruise easily.

Diagnosis, if a patient complains of fatigue and has recurrent infections, and if the spleen is enlarged, the doctor may order several blood tests. In these tests, the total numbers of each of the different types of blood cells (CBC) are reported. If the blood tests are abnormal, the doctor may order a “bone marrow biopsy”. During this procedure, a needle is inserted into the bone and a small amount of marrow is withdrawn for microscopic examination. This test will help the physician in identifying the type of leukemia and planning the treatment.

Some people with hairy cell leukemia have very few or no symptoms at all and may not need any treatment. If the spleen is enlarged, it may be removed in a surgical procedure known as splenectomy. This usually causes a remission of the disease.

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