Capsaicin, a component of chilli peppers, can kill cancer cells by attacking their mitochondria, the parts of cells that are responsible for generating energy.

The research raises the possibility that other cancer drugs can be developed to target mitochondria.

The study from the University of Nottingham was published in Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications. ”

The report showed that vanilloids, the family of molecules to which capsaicin belongs, stick to proteins on cancer cell mitochondria and generates apoptosis, or cell death, without harming surrounding healthy cells.
We believe that, in fact, we found the ‘Achilles heel’ for all major cancers
Dr. Timothy Bates, University of Nottingham

Capsaicin was tested on cultures of lung cancer cells and human pancreas.

Lead researcher Dr Timothy Bates said: “As these compounds attack the very heart of cancer cells, we believe, in fact, we found the ‘Achilles heel’ fundamental to all types of cancer.”

“The biochemistry of the mitochondria in cancer cells is very different from normal cells.”

“This is an innate selective vulnerability of cancer cells.”

Dr. Bates said a dose of capsaicin that could induce cancer cells to apoptosis would not have the same effect on a normal cell.

Potential drugs

The experiments showed that pepper extracts killed cancer cells grown in the laboratory, but have not yet been tested to see if they are safe and effective in humans
Josephine Querido, Cancer Research UK

The fact that capsaicin and other vanilloids are often in food shows that are safe to eat.

This could make the process of making a drug containing them a much faster and cheaper.

Bates said: “Capsaicin, for example, already found in treatments for muscle strain and psoriasis, which raises the question of whether an adapted topical treatment could be used to treat certain types of skin cancer.”

“It is also possible that patients with cancer or those at risk could be advised to develop a diet richer in spicy foods to help treat or prevent disease.”

But Josephine Querido, information officer at Cancer Research UK Foundation, said: “The investigation did not suggest that eating vast quantities of chilli pepper will help prevent or treat cancer.”

“The experiments showed that pepper extracts killed cancer cells grown in the laboratory, but have not yet been tested to see if they are safe and effective in humans.”

Cancer Research UK recommends reducing the risk of cancer through a healthy, balanced diet with plenty of fruits and vegetables.

Bates added that the mitochondria in cancer cells could also be targeted by other compounds. <!– /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:”"; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:”Times New Roman”; mso-fareast-font-family:”Times New Roman”;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} –>

videosurveillance

He said research and drug development for chemotherapy anti mitochondrial be “extremely significant” in the fight against cancer.

The researchers analyzed medical records of 286 patients with bladder cancer. In this way confirmed a link between sexually transmitted infections and cancer.

The School of Public Health at Harvard examined in detail the information health records on 51,529 U.S. men. 

The team behind the study said in the British Journal of Cancer inflammation caused by gonorrhea could be the key.

Dr. Dominique Michaud, assistant professor of epidemiology and co-author of the research, said: “Two previous studies suggested a link between gonorrhea and bladder cancer in men.”

The campaign in the UK seeks to encourage condom use to prevent not only HIV.

“But they were retrospective studies, which means that information about gonorrhea was gathered after the cancer was diagnosed,” said Dr. Michaud.

“These studies can sometimes give misleading results,” he said.

The analysis was done prospectively. Selected cases of gonorrhea were abundant information available before the study started.

It is the first time a prospective study confirmed the link.

Inflammation

Michaud said: “Gonorrhoea is an infection that often recurs, causing local inflammation and symptoms such as incomplete emptying of the bladder. The inflammation is itself associated with symptoms that could contribute to the development of bladder cancer.”

Professor John Toy, medical director of Cancer Research UK, said: “This study strengthens the suspected link between infection by the bacterium of gonorrhea and bladder cancer in men.”

“The next step is to confirm whether the increased risk could be caused directly by infection with gonorrhea or its symptoms,” said the teacher.

“Further research is needed to exclude the possibility that gonorrhea is acting as a marker of cancer-causing agent as a separate infection,” he added.

Danger
Rapid diagnosis is essential, so anyone who thinks that was at risk of contracting a sexually transmitted infection or have developed their symptoms should seek immediate medical attention
Gwenda Hughes, Agency for Health Protection UK

Although the number of new patients has fallen each year, gonorrhea is the second sexually transmitted infection most commonly diagnosed in the United Kingdom and the new study emphasizes the importance of protecting against such infections.

Gwenda Hughes, head of the department of surveillance of sexually transmitted infections of the Agency for Health Protection in the UK, said: “According to our latest statistics for all sexually transmitted infections, gonorrhea has decreased 13% (from 22 350 cases 2004-19495) in 2005, she said.

“However, we should not be satisfied, because in general the cases of these infections are increasing,” added Hughes.

“Rapid diagnosis is essential, so anyone who thinks that was at risk of contracting a sexually transmitted infection or have developed their symptoms should seek immediate medical attention,” the official recommended.

More than 1,300 patients worldwide will help test the drug Stimuvax, which in preliminary trials was shown to increase the chance of survival in many patients.

The vaccine works by stimulating the immune system to attack cancer cells.

It was created to cure non-small cell cancer (or non-small) which is the most common form of the disease in the UK.

Currently, treatment consists of a combination of chemotherapy, surgery and radiotherapy.

Read: key lung cancer

Half of the people involved in the test (which takes place in several countries) receive this treatment plus the vaccine, while the other half receive a placebo treatment.

In this way, scientists can verify their effect.

Other forms of cancer

The vaccine was developed in the UK with the support of the Cancer Research Association and the technology was provided by the Canadian company, Biomira.
Vaccines for a specific purpose are a way of interesting approach, which can provide potentially new treatment options for different types of cancer
Keith Blundy, of Cancer Research

Dr Keith Blundy, chief operating Reserarch Cancer Technology, the commercial arm of Cancer Research, said that “the vaccine for a specific purpose are a way of interesting approach, which can provide potentially new treatment options for different types of cancer .

Other scientists are investigating the potential that the same vaccine may have to treat other forms of cancer.

The vaccine works by causing the immune system to attack a chemical called MUC-1, which is found only on the surface of cancer cells.

Once this happens, the body should be able to kill cancer cells without touching healthy cells.

More years of life

Testing on a smaller scale, in which 171 patients took part in which conventional treatments were successful, demonstrated that the vaccine may be beneficial for some people with cancer.

Again, doctors divided the group into two, about the vaccine were applied and the other a placebo.

During the following years, scientists monitored the group.

In the group receiving the placebo, half of the patients survived for 13 months or more. In contrast, half of patients in group that was given the vaccine survived for 30 months or more.

If the test is taking place currently provides similar results, the vaccine could then be made available to a larger number of patients with lung cancer.

The breakthrough was announced by the same research center that created a little over ten years, the first mammal cloned from an adult cell, Dolly the sheep.

The Roslin Institute, near Edinburgh, Scotland, said it has produced five generations of these birds, a total of about 500.

“One of the characteristics of many current medical treatments is that they are very expensive,” he told the BBC the institute’s director, Harry Griffin.

“The use of laying hens to produce proteins for treatment means that they can produce in large quantities cheaply and, in fact, the only raw material needed in this production system is literally food for chickens,” he added.
The only raw material needed in this production system is literally food for chickens
Harry Griffin, director of the Roslin Institute

The project is the result of more than 15 years of work of the research team leader, Dr. Helen Sang.

However, the institute warned that it could take another five years before any possibility of human clinical trials and ten until they can produce drugs.

Antiviral approach

For years, there are therapeutic proteins, like insulin, in bacteria, but there are complex proteins that can be manufactured only in the more sophisticated cells of larger organisms.

The transgenic chickens could boost the production of cheaper drugs.

Scientists from various countries have succeeded in making a range of these molecules in the milk of sheep, goats, cows and rabbits, all modified by genetic pathway.

The work carried out at the Roslin Institute also shows that the hens can be used as “biofactories.”

Some of the birds have been modified to lay eggs that contain miR24 protein, a type of antibody that could be used to treat malignant melanoma.

Others produce human interferon b-la, which can be used to prevent virus replication in cells.

The proteins are secreted into the whites of the eggs and extract and purify process is very simple.

Productivity

Dr Sang said the team is very encouraged by the level of productivity of the birds, but they must make improvements.

“We’re probably getting a high enough productivity to very active protein like interferon, but not enough to make antibodies because people need large doses of these over long periods,” he told the BBC.
One of our next challenges is to seek to clear performance
Dr. Helen Sang, head of the team

“One of our next challenges will be trying to increase the yield in the clear.”

The scientist noted that the use of birds has certain advantages over other animals because of these life cycles are shorter.

“Once you have created transgenic birds, it is very easy. After successfully introduced a gene, can get hundreds of birds from one cockerel.”

“As you can play with hundreds of chickens, one can get an egg a day, and produce hundreds of chicks in no time,” he said.

Reproductive Biology

The team also hopes that the birds changed offer new information on different aspects of reproductive biology, including fundamental processes that control the early development of vertebrates.

The Roslin Institute’s research is part of the Avian Transgenic Project, a joint venture with biotechnology firms Viragen and Oxford BioMedica.

It is known that vitamin D processed after exposure to sunlight improves the prognosis of certain forms of cancer.

The drug company Novacea produced a pill which delivers a concentrated dose of the vitamin, which produces no side effects of an overdose.

Chemistry and Industry magazine reports that if clinical trials are successful, the drug-Seat (DN-101) - may be available in 2009.

See also: Jalapeños against prostate cancer?

The drug will be given to patients at an advanced stage of disease, along with chemotherapy drugs.

Professor Nick James, a cancer expert at the University of Birmingham, UK, said the drug had produced impressive results in the preliminary stages of clinical trials.

According to James, the patients taking the drug lived an average of nine months longer than those to which they were given only chemotherapy drug taxotere.
On average, patients in advanced stages of the disease about 18 months survived. From my point of view, an extension of nine is very significant
Nick James, a cancer expert at the University of Birmingham

“On average, patients in an advanced stage of the disease survive about 18 months. From my point of view, an extension of nine is very significant,” said James.

Vitamin D levels Asentar body are between 50 and 100 times higher than normal.

According to doctors, patients should take one tablet once a week, along with the weekly regime of taxotere for three weeks in four.

No Warranties

However, James said it was far from certain that the third phase of the trials would repeat the positive results of the preliminary stages.

Phase two used a system less than optimal taxotere. For this reason, the survival rate could have been artificially inflated.

The investigator said that since it was known that vitamin D played a key role in the regulation of various tissues, including prostate and breast.

James said laboratory tests showed that cancer cells had lost the ability to respond in a normal way to vitamin D and continued dividing uncontrollably.

Sensitivity

The data indicate that prostate cancer rates are higher in more remote countries of Ecuador, where exposure to sunlight is lower.
We welcome any improvement in the treatment of prostate cancer for patients who are at an advanced stage of disease and the drug has shown potential in early clinical trials
Julie Sharp, Cancer Research Center UK

James believes it is possible that the new drug helped to increase the sensitivity of cancer cells to the effects of other chemicals used in chemotherapy.

Dr Julie Sharp, of Cancer Research UK, said: “We would welcome any improvements in the treatment of prostate cancer for patients who are at an advanced stage of disease and the drug has shown potential in early clinical trials. ”

“But you need the results of a much larger study to fully establish if this treatment is effective and safe.”

Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of death in men. In the United Kingdom kills one man every hour.

The tumor in the mouse (left) shrugged (right) when the gene was reactivated.

Treatment requires “reactivate” a gene that becomes defective and causes cancer tumor growth.

In two separate studies published in the journal Nature, showed that reactivating one of those genes in animals that tumors did not shrink or disappear.

The studies were carried out at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in New York.

“These studies provide clear evidence that restoring the functions of the P53 gene may be a therapeutic method of dramatic results,” the BBC said Dr. Tyler Jacks, who led the study at MIT.

“But now we have to repeat exactly in human patients, which we did in mice,” says the researcher.

Guardians

Has long been known that p53 plays a key role in the development of many cancers.

The P53 is the “guardian of the genome” because it causes the “suicide” of cells with damaged DNA.

When the gene becomes defective and is disabled, you produce the conditions for the development of various cancers.

The p53 gene plays a crucial role in the development of cancer.

The P53 is one of the most widely studied genes in cancer research.

Scientists had already identified compounds able to restore their functions.

But so far not known whether this renewed activity could reverse the growth of established tumors.

The two studies published in Nature appear to have shown that it can.

“The importance of this study has shown that it is possible that cancer cells even in advanced stages of cancer may be influenced by the P53,” says Dr. Jacks.

“And if we can restore the function of P53, we will achieve dramatic results,” said the scientist.

In the MIT study, the researchers used genetically modified mice who had been off the P53 gene.

But also included a “switch” that allowed researchers to revive the P53 after tumors had developed.

Once the switch was activated, p53 appeared in cancer cells and most tumors shrank between 40 and 100%.

“Until this study believed that the function of p53 was only important before tumor formation,” says Dr. Jacks.

“But the study found that cancer cells actually continue to monitor the status of oncogenic pathways and make it through the P53″ he says.

Any cure?
These studies provide clear evidence that restoring the functions of the P53 gene may be a therapeutic method of dramatic results
Dr. Tyler Jacks, MIT

The mechanisms of tumor regression appear to vary depending on the type of tumor.

In the lymphoma cancer cells were misled to commit suicide.

In cancer, sarcoma (connective tissue), the cells began to age and lost their ability to divide.

Researchers are now trying to identify other genes that are activated in each type of tumor is reactivated whenever the P53.

The results, experts say, are unique and offer a “powerful” to treat this disease.

However, we now have to prove that the same results can be obtained in humans.

“We still will be quite some time before we can be able to repeat these same effects on patients,” says Dr. Jacks.

“If we had success with humans undoubtedly achieve therapeutic benefits, but still can not say that this is the total cure for cancer,” says the researcher.

According to experts, this is due to constant exposure to sunlight that filters through the window of the car. And those who roll down the window are at even greater risk.

Most glass used in windows of vehicles blocking the passage of ultraviolet B (UVB, for its acronym in English) that reddens the skin, but not the ultraviolet A (UVA) which are more penetrating.

The team from the School of Medicine, Saint Louis University presented the findings of their research to the American Academy of Dermatology.

Exposure

They looked at 898 patients (559 men and 339 women) with skin cancer in the left and right sides of the body.

Among men, the signs of skin cancer were directly linked to areas of the body most exposed to sunlight while driving, ie on the left side of the body.

Many of these tumors were cancers that develop over time and are related to the accumulation of hours of sun exposure, rather than intense, intermittent exposure to sunlight.

The areas affected were the head, neck, arms and hands.

Dr. Scott Fosko, the study noted that “the findings support our theory that drivers who spend much time in their cars over the years are more likely to develop skin cancer on the left side of body , particularly skin cancer that develops over time. ”

Windows open

Fosko’s team is currently collecting information on the driving habits of patients with skin cancer who visit his clinic.
Since there are more cars on the road than ever before, it is likely that this trend will continue. And with more women driving, there will be more cases of women with skin cancer on the left side in the future
Scott Fosko, director of the study

Preliminary reports indicated that those who spend more time per week driving a car are more likely to develop cancer in the left side of the body.

“We’re also finding that all drivers who occasionally drive with the windows open had a higher incidence of the disease in his left side,” said Fosko.

He added: “Since there are more cars on the road than ever before, it is likely that this trend will continue. And with more women driving, there are more cases of women with skin cancer on the left side in the future.”

Harmful rays

Most windscreens, unlike the side windows are made of laminated glass that can filter both UVB and UVA rays.

Fosko suggests using window glass on the windows or place for UV filters to reduce exposure to the sun’s harmful rays.

For its part, the Association of Cancer Research Cancer Research UK said: “Although glass greatly reduces the risk of burns do not prevent long term damage caused by UVA rays.”

“Therefore, if you are driving long distances or sitting all day in your winter garden thus exposing themselves to the rays of the sun, you are putting yourself at risk.”

But Josephine Querido, of Cande Research, stressed this did not necessarily mean that you would get skin cancer.

“It is important to take precautions every time one is exposed to the sun, knowing the type of skin you have, and above all, never burn as this can double the risk of skin cancer,” he said Dear.

The biggest murderer is lung cancer.

That is the warning of a group of experts from the International Agency for Research on Cancer.

The study, published in the Annals of Oncology, was conducted in Europe, and indicates that in 2006 there were 3.2 million new cases of cancer.

In 2004, researchers say, there were 2.9 million new cases in the continent.

Scientists say that the key factor in this increase of the disease is the increase in the average age of the population.

That’s why, say, needed to implement urgent measures to improve the diet, increasing exercise, reducing obesity and consumption of snuff in the population.

“The situation in Latin America is also very alarming, and perhaps worse than in Europe,” he told BBC Science Dr. Eduardo Laura, Representative of Central and South America International Association of Cancer Registries.

“Developed countries started from the 1970 strong control programs and cancer prevention.”

“But in emerging countries such as Latin America, the idea of prevention is in political discourse but not yet exercised in concrete actions,” said the expert.

Increase

In Europe alone last year there were more than three million new TB cases and nearly two million deaths.

Smoking is still primarily responsible for lung cancer.

Cancer, scientists say, remains a huge public health problem.

And as the population ages, they add, these numbers continue to increase.

The IARC study indicates that the four most lethal cancers in the European continent are: lung, colorectal, breast and stomach.

In Latin America the situation is similar, as indicated by Dr. Eduardo Laura.

“In men, the primary cancer is lung, followed by colorectal cancer. And in women is breast, colorectal also followed the”.

The chief murderer in the world, experts say, continues to lung cancer, with nearly 30% of the total number of deaths from this disease.

And the main responsible for the vast majority of these deaths is still snuff consumption.

The priority, experts say, is the implementation of measures to reduce consumption rates.

“In Argentina, and we could talk about various countries Latin-American, very little is done to control tobacco,” said Dr. Laura.

The lack of funds to implement these programs, says the doctor, is one of the main problems facing the region.

“If we compare what California spends per capita in snuff control programs, compared to investing Argentina per capita per year, the difference is 1000 to 1.”

“And therein lies the difference in the results obtained,” he adds.

Lifestyle

The IARC report also shows that there has been an increase in breast cancer diagnoses.
If current trends continue, governments and health systems of our countries do not react urgently, the impact of the cancer epidemic will be huge in Latin America
Dr. Eduardo Laura, International Association of Cancer Registries

But this is partly due to screening programs have detected more cases of the disease, often in the early stages.

“A type of cancer also continues to have enormous impact throughout Latin America is cervical cancer,” says Dr. Laura.

“Although it is so easily controlled, is a type of cancer that continues to claim many lives.”

Experts say that interventions to change the lifestyles of people may have a potentially important effect in reducing disease rates.

But it is also necessary, they say, increase screening programs.

As more and more the world will be older people, the numbers of cancer patients continue to rise.

That’s why, experts say, it is vital that the world’s health systems implement appropriate measures to address this health problem.

“The situation is very alarming,” said Dr. Eduardo Laura.

“If current trends continue, governments and health systems of our countries do not react urgently, the impact of the epidemic of cancer will be enormous in developing countries.”

Inks, arranged in a series of 36 points, detect lung cancer accurately in nearly three of every four people with the disease; experts said the scientific journal Thorax.

The concept of a “trace gases” to detect lung cancer is not new, but the device is.

The sensor, which is slightly larger than a coin of 25 cents, is cheap and easy to use.

According to him the Cleveland Clinic team conducting the study, the test could revolutionize how cancer is detected and save lives.

Experts already knew that the chemical composition of a person’s breath changes when it develops lung cancer.

Even the dogs, animals with a highly developed sense of smell, are able to distinguish the breath of patients with lung cancer and healthy people.

Volatile Organic Compounds

This is because cancer cells give off chemicals called volatile organic compounds (VOC, for its acronym in English), which are then expelled by exhalation.

In the past, scientists have used highly sensitive machines such as gas chromatography and mass spectroscopy to “read” accurately compounds.

However, these machines are very expensive and require specially trained personnel to interpret the findings.

When compared with those machines, the color sensor is cheap and easy to read, say scientists.

Many lung cancer cases are detected through an x-ray.

The spots on the sensor changes color depending on the chemicals with which they come into contact.

Researchers used the color sensor to examine the breath of 122 people with different types of lung disease, including 49 with cancer and 21 healthy people.

The method was able to accurately predict the presence of cancer by almost 3 to 4 people with lung cancer, including tumors early.

The method is crucial because lung cancer tends to be silent in its early stages, making it difficult to detect in a stage where it can be treated effectively, said the team of researchers led by Peter Mazzone.

“This line of research could lead to a diagnostic test for lung cancer, nothing expensive or invasive,” the scientists said.

The medical director of the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation, Jesme Fox, said: “There is an urgent need for an early diagnosis.”

“Currently we rely on people coming to the clinic with symptoms or lung X-rays taken only by chance.”

Fox said that the test will require more research before it is available at the clinical level.

The research, conducted by a team from the University of Umea in Sweden, found links between high level of sugar in the blood of women and cancer of the pancreas, skin, uterus and urinary tract.

However, diabetes experts say that more evidence to confirm this association.

The study coincides with other research relating to foods high in fat and carbohydrates, with the risks of contracting breast cancer.

Both diabetes and a diet based on carbohydrates, produce high levels of blood sugar.

Evidence

The study found that women who obtained the highest reading levels of blood have a 26% more likely to get cancer than those who received the lowest readings.

The research is part of a comprehensive health study in Sweden known as the Vasterbotten Intervention Project. ”

In the mid-80s, were invited to about 64.500 participants, whose age ranged between 40-60 years.

Data collection lasted 13 years and in that period, 2478 cases of cancer detected.

The study also found clear evidence of an increased incidence of hypoglycemia (abnormally high levels of sugar in the blood), as the increasing age.

Lifestyle

The chief researcher Dr Par Stattin, said “statistics show a significant risk to women, but not so in men.”

Apparently, high levels of sugar in the blood of men protect against prostate cancer, but not significantly.

Maintain a healthy weight can make a difference in cancer prevention.

The research was funded in part by the World Wide Fund for Cancer Research, WCRF, for its acronym in English.

The director of scientific studies for WCRF UK, Greg Martin, said the results “are concerning.”

“But they are important because if women are aware of the facts, they will be more motivated to change their lifestyle if their blood sugar levels are high,” said Martin.

For Martin the good news is that “you can reduce those levels with a balanced diet consisting of lots of vegetables and fruit, and maintaining a healthy weight.”

“We know it can prevent up to 40% of cancer cases with this type of healthy lifestyle, so that’s another reason for people to make these small changes can make a big difference.”