In The News
Treatment: Genes that help chemo work
Australian, 13 April 2007, p6
A set of genes that can make cancer cells 1000 times more sensitive to chemotherapy has been identified, raising hopes of a new way of treating tumours.
The US research suggests that it will be possible to target cancerous tissue with drugs much more efficiently than is now possible, so that healthy cells are not harmed, and patients are spared the debilitating impact of treatments.
A team led by Michael White, of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Centre in Dallas, used a new technique to screen more than 20,000 genes in human lung-cancer cells, to pick up those that appear to be involved in sensitivity to a frontline chemotherapy drug, paclitaxel or Taxol.
They identified 87 genes that made tumours more susceptible to the drug when their activity was blocked or reduced. When some of these genes were silenced, the cancer cells were killed or weakened by doses of paclitaxel 1000 times lower than normally required.
The findings, which are published in the journal Nature, suggest that it should be possible to use genes to target cancer cells with paclitaxel more precisely, reducing the amount given to patients.
Tobacco control: Butt Out with a Change of Diet
West Australian, 7 April 2007, p48
The answer to being able to give up smoking may lie in a person's diet, according to new research. The study of 209 smokers by Duke University in the US found that milk, water, fruit and vegetables worsened the taste of cigarettes while consuming alcohol, coffee and meat enhanced the taste.
The authors say the findings could lead to a quit-smoking diet or the development of a gum or lozenge that makes cigarettes less palatable. "With a few modifications to their diet - consuming items that make cigarettes taste bad, such as a cold glass of milk and avoiding items that make cigarettes taste good, like a pint of beer - smokers can make quitting a bit easier," lead author Joseph McClernon said.
Cancer Council WA tobacco program director Denise Sullivan described the research, published in the journal Nicotine and Tobacco Research, as "novel". Diet would only work if smokers participated willingly and wanted to quit.
Nutrition: New Clues for the Perfect Diet
Sunday Telegraph, 24 September 2006, p26
A healthy diet may mean different food for different people, depending of their genes, age, gender and lifestyle, experts say. New research in the emerging science of nutrigenomics - nutrition combined with genes - has raised the prospect of specific diets tailored to particular people, based on their risk of developing certain diseases.
While nutritionists still stress the advantages of fresh fruit and vegetables for everyone, they are beginning to change their traditional one-size-fits-all approach.
Sian Astley, from Britain's Institute of Food Research, said personalised diets may also be more effective in the fight against obesity - giving people greater motivation to follow them.
Aloysa Hourigan, senior nutritionist with Nutrition Australia, agreed that people of different ages and lifestyles had different needs.
Nutrition: Soy and fish protect from cancer
Nov 14, 2006 WASHINGTON (Reuters)
People who ate soy regularly as children have a lower risk of breast cancer, researchers reported on Tuesday. And men who eat fish several times a week have a lower risk of colon cancer, a second team of researchers told a meeting in Boston of the American Association for Cancer Research. The studies add to a growing body of evidence about the role of diet in cancer. Cancer experts now believe that up to two-thirds of all cancers come from lifestyle factors such as smoking, diet and lack of exercise.
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