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FALL 2007 / V1N2
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BODY / SNIPPETS
Gynecological cancer survivors should be on the lookout for swelling or pain in the legs, which would mean they are suffering from lympedema. Many breast cancer survivors are familiar with the postsurgical arm swelling called lymphedema, a chronic condition likely caused by excess lymphatic fluid in the limb following lymph node dissection or removal. Less well-known is that about 25 percent of gynecological cancer survivors may experience swelling in their legs, according to a new survey, although more than half of sufferers failed to receive a clinical diagnosis of lymphedema. > The most common triggers are standing all day, hot weather and long-distance travel. > The risks were greatest for vulvar cancer survivors, anyone who had lymph node dissection, cervical cancer survivors who had radiation therapy, and overweight or obese uterine and ovarian cancer survivors. > Lymphedema symptoms, which can vary greatly from case to case, include swelling, tight skin and pain. The condition is chronic but treatable with compression garments, lymphatic massage and lymphatic exercises. The authors of the survey of 802 gynecological cancer survivors in Queensland, Australia, urge care providers to give patients information about lymphedema before surgery as well as ongoing access to supportive care. CANCER, 6/15/07 "Even if a [breast cancer survivor] is overweight, if she eats at least five servings of vegetables and fruits a day and walks briskly for 30 minutes, six days a week, her risk of death from her disease goes down by 50 percent. … The key is that you must do both.” —JOHN PIERCE, PhD, MOORES CANCER CENTER AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO In a recent study, 55 percent of black men having a biopsy for prostate cancer thought they had no chance of having the disease; 20 percent of white men thought likewise. The finding is troubling, says a Chicago scientist, because black men in this study actually had a 70 percent likelihood of having prostate cancer, compared with 50 percent for white men. AMERICAN SOCIETY OF CLINICAL ONCOLOGY ANNUAL MEETING, JUNE 2007
BLOOD ONLINE, 3/19/07 Hair relaxers don’t account for the greater breast cancer risk that African-American women face over their Caucasian peers. Chemical relaxers may contain potentially harmful compounds that can enter the bloodstream through cuts on the scalp. But results from the nationwide Black Women’s Health Study show that women who used relaxers seven or more times a year for 20 years or longer had no more risk of breast cancer than women who had used the chemicals for less than a year. CANCER EPIDEMIOLOGY, BIOMARKERS & PREVENTION, MAY 2007
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Twenty percent of children whose acute lymphoblastic leukemia is put into remission through chemotherapy eventually experience a relapse that is highly resistant to treatment. A new study by Australian scientists shows that drug-resistant leukemia cells were probably present at the time of diagnosis, rather than developing resistance during therapy. Better detection of chemotherapy-resistant cells at diagnosis could help improve treatment.