There is more evidence that taking vitamin E pills can be risky. A study that followed up on men who took high doses of the vitamin for about five years found they had a slightly increased risk of prostate cancer — even after they quit taking the pills.
Doctors say it's another sign that people should be careful about using vitamins and other supplements.
"People tend to think of vitamins as innocuous substances, almost like chicken soup — take a little and it can't hurt," said lead author Dr. Eric Klein of the Cleveland Clinic. The study shows that is not true.
"If you have normal levels, the vitamin is probably of no benefit, and if you take too much, you can be harmed," Klein said.
Men randomly assigned to take a 400-unit capsule of vitamin E every day for about five years were 17 percent more likely to get prostate cancer than those given dummy pills. That dose, commonly found in over-the-counter supplements, is almost 20 times higher than the recommended adult amount, which is about 23 units daily.
The results mean for every 1,000 men who took vitamin E, there were 11 additional cases of prostate cancer, compared with men taking dummy pills.
The study was actually launched to try to confirm less rigorous research suggesting vitamin E might protect against prostate cancer. Overall, about 160 of every 1,000 U.S. men will develop prostate cancer in their lifetime.
Risks increase as men age. Detection can be tricky since symptoms such as frequent urination can also be caused by harmless conditions, and doctors disagree about the benefits of screening tests. Treatment is also complex since some slow-growing prostate cancers are not deadly but some procedures, including surgery, can damage sexual function and cause incontinence.
Just last week, a government-convened panel of experts recommended against routine PSA screening for prostate cancer. That draft advice is open for public comment.
What should vitamin E users do, given the new study results? About 13 percent of American men take it, according to a supplement trade group.
Dr. Otis Brawley, chief medical officer for the American Cancer Society, says they should stop taking large doses and talk to their doctors about risks and benefits from prostate cancer screening. Smaller doses, typically found in multivitamins, are probably fine, said Brawley, who was not involved in the research.
Vitamin E is found in foods such as nuts, seeds and vegetable oils. The nutrient helps nerves, muscles, blood vessels and the immune system function.
Vitamin E supplements have long been promoted for disease prevention, but scientific research has disproven many claims and suggested they might increase risks for some conditions, including heart failure.
Brawley noted that the study echoes previous thinking on beta-carotene, which once was thought to protect against cancer but more recently has been linked with increased risks for lung cancer, especially in smokers.
"There should be a global warning that ... excessive use of vitamins has not been proven to be beneficial and may be the opposite," Brawley said.
Experts generally agree that foods are the best sources for vitamins.
The new research appears in Wednesday's Journal of the American Medical Association. The National Cancer Institute and National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine paid for the multimillion-dollar study.
Joe Latina, a cabinet shop owner in Aurora, Ohio, was among study participants. He said researchers gave him pills they said "might slow down prostate cancer." Now 71 and cancer-free, he says he doesn't know whether he was given vitamins or dummy pills.
Latina said he "was kind of surprised" by the study results, but is not stressing out over the possibility that he still might get cancer.
"I'm a positive thinker," he said. "I'm not walking around saying, 'Oh my God, the other shoe is going to drop. I don't think I have any way to control it."
The study involved more than 35,000 healthy men aged 50 and older, from the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. They were randomly assigned to take daily vitamin E or selenium supplements, both pills or dummy pills. The study was halted after about five years when there were signs of no benefit and a possible increased risk for prostate cancer in vitamin E users. The researchers continued tracking the men even after they stopped taking pills.
The follow-up found that a potential link between selenium and diabetes was a false alarm, but it confirmed signs of a vitamin E-prostate cancer link. Over a total of about seven years, there were 76 cases of prostate cancer diagnosed per 1,000 men, versus 65 cases in men given dummy pills.
"The implications of our observations are substantial," the study authors said.
The results suggest that extra risks associated with taking relatively high doses of vitamin E continue even after supplements are stopped. The researchers said it is unclear how vitamin E would harm the prostate.
There was no increased risk for men who took both vitamin E and selenium, suggesting that selenium might somehow counter the harmful effects of vitamin E, the study authors said.
Duffy MacKay of the Council for Responsible Nutrition, a supplement makers' trade group, said the study shouldn't be interpreted as questioning the benefits of vitamin E as an essential nutrient, and he said there is evidence that many Americans don't get enough.There is more evidence that taking vitamin E pills can be risky. A study that followed up on men who took high doses of the vitamin for about five years found they had a slightly increased risk of prostate cancer — even after they quit taking the pills.
Doctors say it's another sign that people should be careful about using vitamins and other supplements.
"People tend to think of vitamins as innocuous substances, almost like chicken soup — take a little and it can't hurt," said lead author Dr. Eric Klein of the Cleveland Clinic. The study shows that is not true.
"If you have normal levels, the vitamin is probably of no benefit, and if you take too much, you can be harmed," Klein said.
Men randomly assigned to take a 400-unit capsule of vitamin E every day for about five years were 17 percent more likely to get prostate cancer than those given dummy pills. That dose, commonly found in over-the-counter supplements, is almost 20 times higher than the recommended adult amount, which is about 23 units daily.
The results mean for every 1,000 men who took vitamin E, there were 11 additional cases of prostate cancer, compared with men taking dummy pills.
The study was actually launched to try to confirm less rigorous research suggesting vitamin E might protect against prostate cancer. Overall, about 160 of every 1,000 U.S. men will develop prostate cancer in their lifetime.
Risks increase as men age. Detection can be tricky since symptoms such as frequent urination can also be caused by harmless conditions, and doctors disagree about the benefits of screening tests. Treatment is also complex since some slow-growing prostate cancers are not deadly but some procedures, including surgery, can damage sexual function and cause incontinence.
Just last week, a government-convened panel of experts recommended against routine PSA screening for prostate cancer. That draft advice is open for public comment.
What should vitamin E users do, given the new study results? About 13 percent of American men take it, according to a supplement trade group.
Dr. Otis Brawley, chief medical officer for the American Cancer Society, says they should stop taking large doses and talk to their doctors about risks and benefits from prostate cancer screening. Smaller doses, typically found in multivitamins, are probably fine, said Brawley, who was not involved in the research.
Vitamin E is found in foods such as nuts, seeds and vegetable oils. The nutrient helps nerves, muscles, blood vessels and the immune system function.
Vitamin E supplements have long been promoted for disease prevention, but scientific research has disproven many claims and suggested they might increase risks for some conditions, including heart failure.
Brawley noted that the study echoes previous thinking on beta-carotene, which once was thought to protect against cancer but more recently has been linked with increased risks for lung cancer, especially in smokers.
"There should be a global warning that ... excessive use of vitamins has not been proven to be beneficial and may be the opposite," Brawley said.
Experts generally agree that foods are the best sources for vitamins.
The new research appears in Wednesday's Journal of the American Medical Association. The National Cancer Institute and National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine paid for the multimillion-dollar study.
Joe Latina, a cabinet shop owner in Aurora, Ohio, was among study participants. He said researchers gave him pills they said "might slow down prostate cancer." Now 71 and cancer-free, he says he doesn't know whether he was given vitamins or dummy pills.
Latina said he "was kind of surprised" by the study results, but is not stressing out over the possibility that he still might get cancer.
"I'm a positive thinker," he said. "I'm not walking around saying, 'Oh my God, the other shoe is going to drop. I don't think I have any way to control it."
The study involved more than 35,000 healthy men aged 50 and older, from the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. They were randomly assigned to take daily vitamin E or selenium supplements, both pills or dummy pills. The study was halted after about five years when there were signs of no benefit and a possible increased risk for prostate cancer in vitamin E users. The researchers continued tracking the men even after they stopped taking pills.
The follow-up found that a potential link between selenium and diabetes was a false alarm, but it confirmed signs of a vitamin E-prostate cancer link. Over a total of about seven years, there were 76 cases of prostate cancer diagnosed per 1,000 men, versus 65 cases in men given dummy pills.
"The implications of our observations are substantial," the study authors said.
The results suggest that extra risks associated with taking relatively high doses of vitamin E continue even after supplements are stopped. The researchers said it is unclear how vitamin E would harm the prostate.
There was no increased risk for men who took both vitamin E and selenium, suggesting that selenium might somehow counter the harmful effects of vitamin E, the study authors said.
Duffy MacKay of the Council for Responsible Nutrition, a supplement makers' trade group, said the study shouldn't be interpreted as questioning the benefits of vitamin E as an essential nutrient, and he said there is evidence that many Americans don't get enough.
Showing posts with label cancer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cancer. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Jobs death caused by respiratory arrest, cancer
Jobs died last Wednesday at age 56. Apple did not disclose his cause of death, but Jobs had been in poor health for a number of years.
He battled pancreatic cancer in 2004 and underwent a liver transplant in 2009 after taking a leave of absence for unspecified health problems. He took another leave of absence in January — his third since his health problems began — and resigned in August, handing the CEO job over to his hand-picked successor, Tim Cook.
The death certificate, released by the Santa Clara County Public Health Department and obtained by The Associated Press, said Jobs had a metastatic pancreas neuroendocrine tumor for the past five years. It listed his immediate cause of death as respiratory arrest.
He died at his home in Palo Alto. No autopsy was performed, and he was buried on Friday. Details of the certificate were reported earlier by Bloomberg News.
The certificate listed Jobs' occupation as a high-tech entrepreneur. Jobs started Apple Inc. in his parents' Silicon Valley garage with friend Steve Wozniak in 1976. Both men left Apple in 1985 — Jobs following a clash with then-CEO John Sculley.
Jobs returned in 1997 as interim CEO after Apple, then in dire financial dire straits, bought Next, a computer company he started. That was the start of Apple's remarkable turnaround, which continues today with the popularity of products such as the iPhone, iPod and iPad.
Jobs died the day after Apple announced its latest iPhone, the 4S, which will go on sale Friday. Some fans and investors were initially disappointed that Apple didn't come out with a smartphone that is radically different from the existing iPhone 4. But Apple said first-day pre-orders of the device on Friday topped 1 million — higher than the record set by the iPhone 4 when it was released last year.
Apple employees will hold a memorial service to celebrate Jobs' life on Wednesday, Oct. 19 at 10 a.m. at the company's Cupertino, Calif., campus, according to an email sent out by Cook. An Apple spokesman said that the company will not be holding any public services.
Friday, September 30, 2011
Cancer cost 'crisis' warning from oncologists
The cost of treating cancer in the developed world is spiralling and is "heading towards a crisis", an international team of researchers says.
It says the number of cancer patients and the cost of treating each one is increasing.
It argues for reducing the use and analysing the cost of cancer services.
About 12 million people worldwide are diagnosed with cancer each year. That figure is expected to reach 27 million by 2030.
The cost of new cancer cases is already estimated to be about £185bn ($286bn) a year.
Rising costs
A group of 37 leading experts from around the world say the burden of cancer is growing and becoming a major financial issue.
Their report says most developed countries dedicate between 4% and 7% of their healthcare budgets to dealing with cancer.
"The issue that concerns economists and policymakers is not just the amount of money spent on healthcare, but also the rate of increase in healthcare spending or what has become known as the cost curve."
It says the UK's total spend on breast cancer has increased by about 10% in each of the past four years.
"In general, increases in the cost of healthcare are driven by innovation. We spend more because we can do more to help patients."
For example, the number of cancer drugs available in the UK has risen from 35 in the 1970s to nearly 100, but the report warns they can be "exceedingly expensive".
It adds: "Few treatments or tests are clear clinical winners, with many falling into the category of substantial cost for limited benefit."
The cost of drugs is not the only target for criticism.
Lead author Prof Richard Sullivan told the BBC: "It's not just pharmaceuticals. Biomarkers, imaging and surgery are all getting through with very low levels of evidence - the hurdles are set too low."
The report calls for a proper evaluation of the relative merits of conventional surgery and less invasive robotic surgery.
Too much
Another criticism is "overusing" treatments and technologies.
"It is often easier to order a scan than to reassure the patient or physician on the basis of a careful history and a physical examination," the report claims.
Prof Sullivan said: "We're on an unaffordable trajectory. We either need to manage and reduce the costs or the cost will increase and then inequality rises between rich and poor."
He said failure to manage costs could result in a "train crash".
The report says solutions fall into two categories: reducing the cost of services or reducing the number of people using them.
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