Scientists and Physicians Discuss Latest Discoveries for Stopping
Cancer before It Starts
Philadelphia
PA, 31 October 2003
More
than 650 scientists and clinicians from around the world gathered
in Phoenix, Arizona on October 26-30, 2003 at the second annual
American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) International Conference
on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research.
Novel
findings reported at the conference include:
-
A
low-carbohydrate diet, rather than a low-fat diet, may halt
the progression of prostate cancer. Conversely, vitamin A and
related compounds present in dairy products, beef fat and fish
oil, slow the growth of prostate tumors.
-
Eating
fruits and vegetables reduces breast cancer risk but may not
impede colorectal cancer, while ginger potentially can.
-
Drinking
green tea helps the body retain an enzyme that inhibits the
formation of certain lesions and tumors.
-
The
antioxidants in grapes and wine decrease the odds of developing
skin cancer from exposure to ultraviolet light; so do some
non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.
-
Changes
in the nucleus of some cells can serve as predictors of cancer
susceptibility.
"Over
the past five years there have been significant advances in our
understanding of the signaling pathways responsible for the development
of both pre-invasive and invasive cancers," said Raymond N. DuBois,
PhD, MD, meeting chairperson and Professor of Medicine and Cell
Biology and Director, Division of Gastroenterology, Vanderbilt University
Medical Center, Nashville TN.
"This
meeting will provide a venue for discussion of our current strategies
for cancer prevention and for a critical evaluation of exciting
new opportunities to reduce the high burden of cancer on our society
by using better diagnostics, predictive markers and personalized
medicine," he added.
A
sea change in the war on cancer is quietly under way in the laboratories
of medical centers, research hospitals, universities, government
health agencies and pharmaceutical companies globally. The burgeoning
field of cancer prevention researchthe quest to identify drugs
and other substances that will ward off the onset of cancer, hinder
its progress, reverse its course or diminish the chances of its
recurrenceis augmenting the search for a cure.
"AACR
launched the annual cancer prevention meetings last year, to facilitate
the exchange of research results from laboratories and clinical
trials, foster translational research, and strengthen the vitally
important partnership among basic scientists, clinical oncologists,
physician-scientists, behavioral scientists, and epidemiologists
from academia, government, and industry, as well as cancer survivor
groups," said Karen S. H. Antman, MD, AACR president and Wu Professor
of Medicine and Professor of Pharmacology, Division of Oncology,
Department of Medicine, Columbia University, New York.
"This
second annual, multidisciplinary conference will link the biology
of the cancer process with its clinical prevention and reversal
in pre-invasive stages," she added.
Founded
in 1907, the American Association for Cancer Research is a professional
society of more than 21,000 laboratory, translational, and clinical
scientists engaged in cancer research in the United States and in
more than 60 other countries. AACR's mission is to accelerate the
prevention and cure of cancer through research, education, communication,
and advocacy. Its principal activities include the publication of
five major peer-reviewed scientific journals: Cancer Research;
Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular
Cancer Research; and Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.
AACR's annual meetingsnext year in Orlando FL, March 27-31attract
more than 15,000 participants who share new and significant discoveries
in the cancer field. Specialty meetings like this one, held throughout
the year, focus on the latest developments in all areas of cancer
research.
Source
American
Association for Cancer Research.
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