A Blessing in Disguise: Fighting Cancer With Herpes

Rebekah Hwang/Guardian

UCSD researchers have discovered how to use an STD to treat skin cancer.

A team of scientists led by Dr. Gregory Daniels, assistant clinical professor of oncology at the Moores Cancer Center, has engineered the herpes virus to kill melanoma, or skin cancer, tumors.

When a foreign substance, such as a virus, is introduced to the body, the immune system detects the change and begins to fight the entire area, killing the cancer present as well. The cancerous cells are not usually detected because they are integrated with the body’s cells.

According to Daniels, surgeons have been using viruses to stimulate immune response to cancerous tumors since the 1880s.

“You can inject anything into cancer and kill it,” he said. “People inject weird stuff, and as long as it has toxicity, it works.”

However, this treatment has been dangerous because some of the viruses made matters worse by spreading through the body, or causing cancer themselves. Now, the herpes virus can be engineered so that it is elicits the immune response while still being harmless for non-cancerous cells.

Daniels’ team of researchers used recombinant DNA technology to delete the genes in the herpes virus that cause the disease and the genes that program the virus to spread, making it harmless to noncancerous cells while simultaneously eliciting an immune response.

“We engineered the virus to delete harmful genes until we had a less robust version of herpes,” Daniels said.

The herpes virus was then injected with the protein GM-CSF, which initiates the inflammatory immune system.

“This causes a one-two response,” Daniels said. “The presence of the virus itself causes the immune system to be heightened, and by engineering it to carry the protein, we ensure that GM-CSF also creates a response.”

Daniels conducted a clinical study in which 50 patients with melanoma were injected with the virus twice weekly.

“We saw over 80-percent success [rates] in the tumors,” Daniels said. “They just went away.”

In addition, Daniels said the virus elicited such a strong immune response throughout the entire body, that 20 percent of the patients saw melanoma tumors disappear from parts of their bodies not directly injected.

This type of gene therapy can be used for other cancers as well.

“The therapy can also be used for head and neck cancers too, or any cancer that starts from the skin,” Daniels said.

The next step is for the Food and Drug Administration to review Daniels’ study and decide whether this is a safe treatment for skin cancers.

Readers can contact Angela Chen at shchen@ucsd.edu.

References : http://www.ucsdguardian.org/news/science-and-technology/a-blessing-in-disguise-fighting-cancer-with-herpes/

Melanoma Skin Cancer – If You Thought Moles Were the Only Symptom, Then You Had Better Read This

Malignant Melanoma can be cured in 95% of cases if detected early (this is what I have been told). That last part is the real kicker. EARLY!

I am here to tell you that moles are not the only source of this deadly skin cancer. I am not a doctor, that will spill out all kinds of facts and figures and percentages, but a grieving sister.

I lost my brother this past April to Melanoma Skin Cancer, and I cannot stress enough how important it is to keep a check on your own body. After all we are responsible for our own health. My brother was only 48 years old, but was a redhead with fair skin, he knew about the signs and symptoms and risks of melanoma, and how to watch for changing moles.

But what happened to him, was a little different. He noticed a small thin cut on his thigh while in the shower. He couldn’t remember cutting himself, but he said it was almost like a thin paper cut. The next day, it started to form an ugly scab. He thought nothing of it, until the scab got a bit more 3D looking, and dark, then it came off and started all over again.

He ignored this as a cut that was having trouble healing.. he just kept spraying it with antiseptic spray, after all, it didn’t even hurt and had no redness. He left it for a very long time, until finally he got fed up with his jeans irritating it and went to the doctor to get antibiotics for what he thought was an infected cut.

The doctor sent him immediately for a biopsy, and that is when he found out about melanoma and how cuts that don’t heal are another sign, he always thought it was just moles. His came back stage 4, and after further tests, the melanoma had already spread to other internal organs. Melanoma cancer does not respond to typical cancer treatments such as chemotherapy, and there was not much that could be done at this stage.

If he had of gone within that first month, he may have had a chance.. but we will never know now. He burned a lot as a kid, and like the rest of us from that era, we burned and baked to get that “glow”. It is important to use sunscreen, and check your skin regularly for changes.. In the end, your skin health is up to you and no one else. and it is not just moles… ANY changes in your skin are worth investigating further.

Learn about other peoples experiences with Melanoma click here and arm yourself with information.

References : http://www.alanahu.org/melanoma-skin-cancer-if-you-thought-moles-were-the-only-symptom-then-you-had-better-read-this/

insect bite? spider bite? skin cancer? help.

Paige

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02/11/10

Paige

Topics:bump , toe , spider bite , cancer , confused , help

Very recently i have gotten a bump on my middle toe. Before it looked a bit redder, but I think it has gotten bigger. It slightly itches, but not all that often, hurts when pressed upon, and is slightly shiny.

Before, i thought it was a blister from my shoes, and when i tried to release the liquid like i do in blisters on my heels so they don't pop, it didn't work.

Then i believed it was a spider bite. But now i've begun to get worried by it (though i haven't had it long) but i have been tanning in a tanning bed lately.

I'd like to have someones opinion on what this could be, before i tell my parents that i don't think its a spider bite (which they suggested it could be) because they usually don't take much worry over something like that, and im a little freaked out. thank you so much

References : http://www.healthcentral.com/skin-care/c/question/324966/103542/

Rays sponsoring skin cancer screenings

ST. PETERSBURG -- The Rays and Moffitt Cancer Center will kick off the third annual Spring Swing-Moffitt's Sun Safety Tour on March 5.

Spring Swing-Moffitt's Sun Safety Tour offers free skin cancer screenings at specified Spring Training venues in Florida in March and April. Screeners will be looking for early signs of skin cancer while promoting sun safety, skin cancer awareness and education.

During the previous two seasons, Spring Swing screened nearly 1,400 people, identifying 783 suspected cancerous lesions or suspected precancerous lesions. Year after year, screeners found a 10 percent increase in suspected skin cancers.

Following is the schedule. Those interested in taking part don't have to worry about missing any game action, as the screenings will begin approximately two hours before game time.

March 5: Steinbrenner Field (Tampa, Fla.), Rays vs. Yankees, game at 1:05 p.m. ET
March 8: Charlotte Sports Park (Charlotte County, Fla.), Pirates vs. Rays, 1:05 p.m.
March 13: Tradition Field (Port St. Lucie, Fla.), Tigers vs. Mets, 1:10 p.m.
March 21: Hammond Stadium (Fort Myers, Fla.), Rays vs. Twins, 1:05 p.m.
March http://tampabay.rays.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20100211&content_id=8059980&vkey=news_tb&fext=.jsp&c_id=tb28: Space Coast Stadium (Viera, Fla.), Braves vs. Nationals, 1:05 p.m.
April 2: Tropicana Field (St. Petersburg), Mets vs. Rays, 6:10 p.m.

For more information, visit www.insidemoffitt.com/SpringSwing.

References : http://tampabay.rays.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20100211&content_id=8059980&vkey=news_tb&fext=.jsp&c_id=tb

An Article on Cancer

What is cancer?

Cancer is the general term used for diseases in which normal cells separate without any control thus involving other tissues. Cancer cells can also spread to various parts of the body through the blood and lymph system.



Wild cell growth turns into cancer when it is exposed to carcinogens (Cancer- causing substance) genetic defects, or viruses. A tumour is formed when cancer cells multiply large masses of tissue. In some cases tumours limit themselves to one spot in the body; some can be removed by surgery. These kinds of tumours may cause little harm and is termed benign. Hostile tumours are called malignant. The study of cancer is called oncology.



Causes of Cancer

People get lung cancer most of the time from smoking tobacco which is said to have carcinogenic substance mainly known as tobacco smoke. Some carcinogens include certain chemicals, the Sun’s ultraviolet light, and radiation. Cancer can be formed by several viruses by altering the DNA of a host cell and converting the cell’s normal genes into cancer – causing genes, or oncogenes. Genetic factors – such as chromosomal abnormalities or the inheritance of faulty genes from a parent of fore parent. This could most likely cause these persons who inherit these genes can end up having cancer. People that are Down syndrome, a chromosomal abnormality are susceptible to leukaemia.



How is cancer formed?

When a normal cell transforms into a cancer cell the genetic material (deoxyribonucleic acid or DNA) of a cell is changed, or mutated. Tumours don’t form over night they formed over decades or a certain amount of years, because of this it is very susceptible to formed into a cancer cell as time goes along. Most cancer occurs after the age of fifty, yet some are detected earlier in life, it varies.



Different types of cancer

It has been accessed that there are over more than 200 different types of cancers. They are named after the tissue or the organ they begin to form. The term Leukemia refers to cancer of white blood cells (can be also called leukocytes). Melanomas are cancers that begin in melanocytes (skin pigmentation.



Names of Cancers



Lung Cancer

Bladder Cancer

Colon and Rectal Cancer

Breast Cancer

Endometrial Cancer

Kidney (Renal Cell) Cancer

Non- Hodgkin Lymphoma Pancreatic Cancer

Skin Cancer

Non-melanoma thyroid Cancer

Prostrate Cancer

Leukemia

Bladder Cancer

Bone Cancer

Bile Duct Cancer

Brain Tumour

Appendix Cancer

Adrenocortical Carcinoma

Cervical cancer

Childhood cancer

Eye Cancer

Gall bladder Cancer

Kidney Cancer

Lip and oral Cancer

Liver Cancer

Mouth Cancer

Rectal Cancer

Salivary Cancer

Urethral Cancer

Vaginal Cancer

Vulvar Cancer









Treatments for cancer

Oncologists have been using Chemotherapy, or drug therapy to help cancer patience around the world. When cancer spreads to different parts of the body chemotherapy is used to help treat the cancer, before it gets worst. The immune system is weak when cancer spreads through the body. Therefore a treatment name immune enhancing drugs or antibodies are also used to help build back up the immune system and to destroy abnormal cells. There has been an anticancer drug that kills cancer cells while leaving the good ones alive. This drug was introduced in the spring of 2001. The drug, Gleevec has proven to work very strongly against chronic myelogenous leukaemia, leukaemia is one of the four main types of blood cancer.



How can u prevent cancer?

Cancer can be prevented by doing the following:

¬For all smokers the only way that you can avoid yourself from getting lung cancer is to stop smoking.

¬Try not to be in the sun for lengthy periods, too much exposure to the sun can cause cancer

¬Lessen your high- fat diets

¬Avoid alcohol as much as possible

¬Unsafe sex

¬Other Carcinogens could prevent more than 80% of all cancer cases.

¬Do yearly testing; this would detect it in the early stage if you are tested positive, early treatment can be taken.



The following are various tests than can be taken to see if you have cancer.



Skin Cancer: Skin examination this is done by the naked eye of the doctor. If any area may look suspicious then biopsy is done and under the microscope cancer cells are examined



Prostate Cancer:

· Digital Rectal Examination: Prostrate is examined by a doctor using his/her finger from the lower part from the rectum. When you reach fifty years it must be done at least once a year. If there was any sign before that you may have prostrate then do a test once every year even though you may be under forty

Breast Cancer:

· Breast Self Examination: when you reach twenty years of age, this examination must be taken once every month.

· Clinical Breast Examination: the breasts and regions under the arms should be examined also, between the ages of 20 and 40 years. Once every three years this examination should be carried out, and once every year after the age of forty.

· Mammogram: Imaging of the breasts with X rays. It must be done once every year after 40 years of age.

An illustration of how a mammogram is done

Lung Cancer:

Chest X-ray: It is imaging of organs and bones in chest with X-ray. Especially if you are a smoker you should do chest x –rays at least twice a year.

Colorectal Cancer:

· Fecal Occult Blood Test: Blood in stool which can be seen only under microscope is examined. It must be done once every year after 50 years of age.

Why cancer has and is becoming more prevalent



References : http://gfa-ng.com/cancer/an-article-on-cancer.htm

Moffitt to continue skin cancer screenings during spring training

BO.com

Published: February 11, 2010

The 3rd Annual Spring Swing-Moffitt's Sun Safety Tour kicks off March 5 and will run throughout 2010 Spring Training.

Spring Swing-Moffitt's Sun Safety Tour is a partnership with Moffitt Cancer Center and the Tampa Bay Rays offering free skin cancer screenings at specified baseball Spring Training venues in March and April. Screeners will be looking for early signs of skin cancer while promoting sun safety, skin cancer awareness and education.

During the previous two Spring Training seasons, Spring Swing screened nearly 1,400 people, identifying 783 suspected cancerous lesions or suspected pre-cancerous lesions. Year-over-year, the program found a 10 percent increase in suspected skin cancers.

Screenings will begin approximately two hours before game time.

Friday, March 5, Tampa, Steinbrenner Field, Rays vs. Yankees at 1:05 p.m.
Monday, March 8, Charlotte County, Charlotte Sports Park, Pirates vs. Rays at 1:05 p.m.
Saturday, March 13, Port St. Lucie, Tradition Field, Tigers vs. Mets at 1:10 p.m.
Sunday, March 21, Fort Myers, Hammond Stadium, Rays vs. Twins at 1:05p.m.
Sunday, March 28, Viera, Space Coast Stadium, Braves vs. Nationals at 1:05 p.m.
Friday, April 2, St. Petersburg, Tropicana Field, Mets vs. Rays at 6:10 p.m.

For more information, visit http://www.insidemoffitt.com/SpringSwing.

References : http://www2.tbo.com/content/2010/feb/11/moffitt-continue-skin-cancer-screenings-during-spr/

Wine has many benefits to your heart and skin

The chemicals in wine just sound important. "Polyphenols, a lot of a chemicals called polycyanidin, which is also thought to be a very potent antioxidant, and resveratrol," said Dr. Maximilian Buja of the University of Texas-Houston Medical School. That's why you've heard that wine is good for your heart and blood vessels. "That can have all kinds of beneficial effects on the heart, keeping blood pressure under control, perfusion of the brain," said Dr. Buja. But here's something you haven't heard. "Drinking a moderate amount of red wine may very well help with both aging and prevention of skin cancer," said Dr. John Wolf, Baylor dermatologist. How? Well it's those same chemicals again. "Resveratrol protects the skin from ultraviolet light and ultraviolet light as you know is the most common cause of both aging the skin and skin cancer," said Dr. Wolf. Resveratrol in wine may help protect the brain, too, by prolonging the life of brain cells because it starts a process. "That can do all kinds of beneficial things including prolonging life in certain lab animals," said Dr. Michael Friedlander, Baylor neuroscientist. Now it's not like you can drink two glasses of wine and live longer - just yet. "You literally would have to ingest hundreds of glasses of red wine to get enough of that chemical to get the effect seen in the lab," said Dr. Friedlander. But think of the possibilities. As far as the chemicals in wine, one that's hard to believe is that scientists say even the alcohol is beneficial. And wine can raise your HDL, or good cholesterol, as much as running a marathon. "You could get your HDL up to almost the same level by moderate alcohol consumption. And you can tell from looking at me, I've chosen the latter," said Dr. Buja. Dr. Wolf said, "I would recommend two glasses of red wine a day, preferably pinot noir, for men, one glass for women, plus wearing sunscreen." To your health now has a whole new meaning.


references : http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/health&id=7270230