A first-of-its kind prostate cancer treatment that uses the body's own immune system has received federal approval, offering a gentler alternative to chemotherapy and radiation.
Studies by the Dendreon Corp., of Seattle, found that its Provenge vaccine added four months to the lives of men with advanced prostate treatment. That's a month longer than the chemo drug Taxotere, and doctors hope it will provide even more benefit if given earlier in the course of the disease.
It works like this: From each patient, doctors collect special blood cells that allow the immune system to recognize cancer as a threat. The cells then are mixed with a protein found on most prostate cancer cells and another substance to rev up the immune system. The resulting "vaccine" is then given to the patient through three infusions over a two-week period.
"The big news here is that this is the first immunotherapy to win approval, and I suspect within five to ten years immunotherapies will be a big part of cancer therapy in general," said Dr. Phil Kantoff, an oncologist at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute who helped run the Provenge research.
Side effects are relatively mild, including chills, fatigue, fever and headache. The one limiting factor will be the cost: nearly $100,000 per patient.
"There are going to be a lot of patients that want it and there will be limited resources as they are getting this up and running," said Dr. Deborah Bradle of Duke University.
Don't eat raw crawfish
Don't try to show friends what a cast-iron stomach you have by eating raw crawfish. You could wind up with a potentially fatal illness.
That's what at least six people recently discovered when they came down with lung-fluke infections after ingesting raw crawfish from Missouri rivers, according to the state's Department of Health and Human Services.
Usually seen in Asia, the lung fluke (paragonimiasis) is a food-borne infection caused by eating raw or undercooked freshwater crabs or crayfish. The parasitic trematode eventually breaks through the digestive tract to infest the rest of the body, including lungs, brain and nervous system. Symptoms can mimic tuberculosis -- fever, cough and spitting up blood.
People who develop such symptoms after eating raw crabs or crayfish are urged to seek immediate medical care. All six Missouri patients improved after they were hospitalized and give medicine to treat parasitic infections.
New cancer treatment study
A new study of women diagnosed with ductal carcinoma in situ may have uncovered important clues that will lead to personalized treatment.
DCIS is a common form of cancer in which malignant cells develop within the milk ducts of the breast. Currently, a woman who is diagnosed chooses either a lumpectomy with radiation treatment or has a mastectomy.
But a study of nearly 1,200 women at 63 San Francisco area hospitals uncovered three "biomarkers" that may help doctors determine how aggressively they should treat each patient. Of women with all three markers, 20 percent developed an invasive cancer within eight years. Of those with none of the markers, only 4 percent developed invasive cancer.
If the findings are confirmed, such differences may help women choose a more appropriate treatment, experts said.
"At this point in time we're probably overtreating people and undertreating people," said Dr. Karla Kerlikowske, a professor of medicine, epidemiology and biostatistics at the University of California San Francisco. "If we can define a woman's risk a little better, then we can personalize what they want to do."
Sun protection in vehicles
If you're in a car or truck for extended periods, you might want to add skin cancer to the list of traffic hazards you face.
A new study finds that skin cancer is found predominantly on the left side of the face -- and especially in men.
"Drivers need to be aware of the amount of sun exposure they receive behind the wheel," said Dr. Scott Fosko, the chair of dermatology at St. Louis University and co-author of the study, which appears in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology. "The cumulative effect of being exposed to the sun builds up over many years."
And, he says, professional drivers aren't the only ones that need to monitor exposure to the sun. Carpooling moms and daily commuters should be concerned as well.
His recommendations: Regularly apply sunscreen that blocks both UVA and UVB rays. Tinting glass and using UV filters on windows also can help. Wear protective clothing whenever possible.
The American Cancer Society estimates that most of the more than 1 million cases of non-melanoma skin cancer diagnosed annually in the United States are sun-related. Melanoma caused most of the 12,000 skin cancer deaths last year.
Noninvasive depression treatment
Psychiatrists at the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine in Springfield have become the first in downstate Illinois to use a new noninvasive treatment for depression.
Approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2008, transcranial magnetic stimulation -- or TMS -- may help adults who have not had successful treatment results from anti-depressant medications.
TMS therapy uses magnetic pulses to stimulate targeted regions in the brain during the 45-minute outpatient procedure. The pulses induce a painless electric current, which, in turn, causes neurons to release mood-boosting natural substances such as serotonin and dopamine.
Patients are awake and alert during the treatment, which is usually administered daily for four to six weeks. National studies found it produced statistically significant improvement in such symptoms as sadness, loss of interest, insomnia, fatigue and low self-worth.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in area
Helping make cancer cures a slam-dunk will be Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's goal when he hosts "illumination10," the annual gala benefiting The Siteman Cancer Center in St. Louis.
This year's program on May 15 at the Chase Park Plaza will support the Barnes-Jewish Hospital's Foundation's Cancer Frontier Fund, a 10-year, $50-million initiative to boost research at Siteman.
Abdul-Jabbar, the National Basketball Association's all-time scoring leader and six-time MVP, has had a stake in the work long before he was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia last year.
"My grandfather died from colorectal cancer, my uncle died from colorectal cancer and my father almost died from colorectal cancer," he told CNN last November. "I think it's possible for someone in my position to help save lives."
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