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FOCUS ON HEALTH
South 16 Woodham
South Woodham Focus
PICKING UP PROSTATE CANCER EARLY. Prostate cancer has
hogged the headlines recently because ‘celebs’ have had been telling
their story. The PSA test has its uses when it comes to picking up
cases of prostate cancer … but it’s not a great way of screening. (It
may help diagnose some additional cases but seemingly has little
significant effect on survival rates). Any additional help we can get
will, therefore, be gratefully received.
KILLER VITAMINS? The Guardian (again) carried this headline:
“Vitamins and antioxidants: some supplements linked to increased
risk of death. Vitamins B3, A, C and E associated with higher risk
of all causes of death in international study.” In case you missed the
point, the newspaper article added: “"Not only are vitamin and
mineral supplements a waste of money, they can in some instances
actually harm the body" Shock, horror!
Ian Sample writes in The Guardian that “Doctors have begun a trial
of a simple saliva test that aims to spot the top 10% of men who are
most at risk of developing prostate cancer. One in eight men develop
prostate cancer at some point in their lives. The test draws on more
than 150 DNA markers to identify the 10% of men who have nearly
a threefold greater risk of the disease than the general population,
and the 1% of men with a sixfold greater risk.
Researchers created the test after a major study into the genetics of
prostate cancer found 63 new gene variants linked to the disease.
The new test combines these with more than 100 DNA markers that
were already known from previous work. Off the back of the
findings, scientists at the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) in
London have launched a trial of the test across a small number of
GPs’ surgeries with the ultimate aim of reducing cases of the cancer
in men with the greatest inherited risk.”
Rosalind Eeles, a geneticist, says: “The reason we are particularly
excited by the test is that this can be offered in general practice as a
spit test to really try and identify who is most at risk of prostate
cancer so we can offer them targeted screening.” Men with a high
genetic risk can then be screened with MRI scans and biopsies.
Never agree to plastic surgery if the doctor's office is full of
portraits by Picasso.
Sample reminds us that “Prostate cancer is one of the most common
forms of cancer among men in the developed world, but researchers
have yet to identify actions men can take to reduce their risk.
Beyond a family history of the disease, the greatest risk factors are
age and ethnic background, with older men, and those with African-
Caribbean or African descent, being most likely to develop the
disease. In Britain, 47,000 men are diagnosed and 11,000 die from
the disease each year. The cancer is highly heritable and so runs in
families: men are more than twice as likely to get prostate cancer if
their father or brother has been diagnosed.”
To find new gene variants linked to the disease, the ICR scientists
compared the DNA of 80,000 prostate cancer patients and 61,000
healthy controls. Many of the new variants affect how the immune
system talks to other cells in the body, suggesting that glitches in
the body’s defences may be a driver of the disease. Other gene
variants were involved in repairing damaged DNA”.
Iain Frame, director of research at Prostate Cancer UK, says: “This
new research could help men to understand their individual genetic
risk of prostate cancer, which could prompt them to speak to their
GP about the disease. We urgently need more accurate diagnostic
tests which are suitable for use in a nationwide screening
programme and Prostate Cancer UK is investing heavily in research
in this area.”
The NHS looks into some of these headlines and comes up with
some interesting points. Here are the hard facts: “A new Canadian
review pooled the findings from existing research into the role of
vitamin and mineral supplements for the prevention and treatment
of cardiovascular disease (CVD). CVD is a general term for
conditions affecting the heart or blood vessels, such as heart disease
and stroke. The review found that taking the most widely used
supplements – multivitamins, vitamin D, vitamin C and calcium –
had no significant effect on the risk of heart-related illnesses. And
some supplements, such as vitamin B3 (niacin) may do more harm
than good. And while a large Chinese study did find that folic acid
reduced the risk of stroke, these results may not apply to the UK
population.”
I thought reverse psychology was when you made your therapist
cry.
So what is the advice given by the NHS (which doesn’t want to
waste its money on useless treatments – and doesn’t want you to
waste yours either.) We’re told that: “Current UK guidelines advise
everyone to consider taking a vitamin D supplement during winter.
Women who are trying for a baby or are in the first 12 weeks of
their pregnancy should take folic acid supplements. And vitamins A,
C and D supplements are recommended for children aged 6 months
to 5 years.”
The advice stops short of advising us all to walk around naked on
sunny days in order to boost production of Vitamin D in the skin,
perhaps because of the increased risk of skin cancers – and possibly
because of a fear of unduly encouraging exhibitionists with a morbid
fear of vitamin D deficiency. Setting up ‘naturist’ zones in SWF
would not be without its difficulties so let’s be thankful for small
mercies.
The conclusion was that this review broadly found that vitamin and
mineral supplements did not reduce the risk of cardiovascular
disease or death. The one possible exception, as I say, was folic acid
(see above.) Although the results of this review do not support
taking supplements to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease,
some supplements have other benefits and are recommended if
people have deficiencies.
In general, though, the old advice still applies … you should be able
to get all the vitamins and minerals you need through your diet …
without having to take supplements.
Dr John
This shows that the researchers are, at last, starting to get a move on!
Scientists say the universe is made up of Protons, Neutrons, and
Electrons. They forgot to mention Morons.
SOUTH WOODHAM
FOCUS
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