..."Abstract A method for inhibiting a tumor in a mammal using a composition comprising an anthocyanin or cyanidin from a berry is described. The method involves using the composition in an amount and for a time to inhibit the tumor. The composition can include other antitumor agents. "...

"A new variant of Kaposi’s sarcoma (KS) has been described by French skin specialists in middle-aged, HIV-negative gay men with normal immune function. The skin cancer, which is caused by HHV-8, a virus of the herpes family, is an AIDS-defining illness when it occurs in HIV-positive men."..."In addition the researchers found a worrying association with other cancers. One in seven of the HIV-negative KS sufferers went on to develop other cancers – in one case, another skin cancer, but in other cases cancers of the lymphatic system. This is the same proportion of patients who go on to develop other cancers as in HIV-positive KS cases. "..."Anecdotal cases of KS in HIV-negative people have been described in scientific literature from the late 1980s but this was the first systematic search for such patients in the post-HAART era. The researchers retrospectively studied all consecutive patients seen between 1995 and 2007 at the dermatology clinics of two Paris hospitals. During this period, approximately 300 cases of KS were seen in HIV-negative people. Of these, 28 (9%) were identified as gay or bisexual men. The researchers were unable to calculate directly whether this represented a greater prevalence of KS than in heterosexual patients, but a previous study found HHV-8 seropositivity rates of 4% in heterosexual white men attending a sexual health clinic and 24% in gay men. It is thought that HHV-8, which was only discovered in 1994, was already widespread in gay men before the advent of HIV, because prevalence figures did not increase significantly in the HIV era. HHV-8 is carried in saliva and the higher rates seen in gay men are attributed to oral sex. "..."HHV-8 antibodies were detected in the blood of 22 of the 25 patients that were tested for them (88%). In the three negative cases antibodies were detected when more sensitive antibody tests were used on KS tissue samples. Only two of 22 patients who underwent HHV-8 DNA tests had HHV-8 virus detectable in their blood at the time of diagnosis, one with mild disease and one with severe disease. But perhaps significantly, when two out of three patients who developed lymphomas were tested, both had detectable HHV-8 viral loads at the time of these later diagnoses. In conclusion, the researchers say, they have identified a fourth type of KS to go alongside the three already known: the relatively benign ‘classical’ type seen in older Mediterranean men, the AIDS-related type, and the endemic type seen in Africa that often affects children. "..."The researchers suggest that all men who have sex with men should have their HHV-8 antibody status ascertained, especially if immunosuppressive drugs such as steroids are prescribed. "

"Fraudulent claims on Internet sites"..."The products contain ingredients such as bloodroot, shark cartilage, coral calcium, cesium, ellagic acid, Cat's Claw, an herbal tea called Essiac, and mushroom varieties such as Agaricus Blazeii, Shitake, Maitake, and Reishi. Because these products claim to cure, treat, mitigate or prevent disease, and these products have not been shown to be safe and effective for their labeled conditions of use, they are unapproved new drugs marketed in violation of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. "...

..."Inflammation can be caused by many factors, including infectious agents such as Helicobacter pylori and Hepatitis C, which are already known to increase cancer risk in the stomach and liver, respectively. The inflammatory response produces cytokines, the chemicals in the immune response that encourage cell proliferation and suppress apoptosis, which can also contribute to an increased risk of cancer. In most normal situations, damage induced to DNA during an inflammatory response is repaired by the cell's internal error correction system -- but if this is not functioning properly, there is a higher chance that mutation will occur, increasing the risk of cancer. Knowing the connection between these factors and cancer can help doctors better guide patients who might be at risk for inflammation induced cancers. "..."By performing two separate studies, the team discovered that chronic inflammation in mice generally increased the development of tumors. This was tested additionally using mice who were already less able to repair DNA damage and thus more susceptible to cancerous mutations. While this was long hypothesized, these studies help confirm the idea that inflammation can be linked to cancer. "It's something that was expected but it was never formally proven," said lead author Lisiane Meira, research scientist in MIT's Center for Environmental Health Sciences (CEHS). "...

"A promising approach for cancer chemoprevention might be a combination therapy utilizing dietary phytochemicals and anticarcinogenic pharmaceuticals at a suboptimal dosage to minimize any potential adverse side effects. To test this hypothesis, various dosages of anthocyanin-rich tart cherry extract were fed in combination with suboptimal levels of the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug sulindac to APCMin mice for 19 weeks. By the end of the feeding period, fewer mice that were fed the anthocyanin-rich extract in combination with sulindac lost more than 10% of body weight than mice fed sulindac alone. Mice that were fed anthocyanin-rich extract (at any dose) in combination with sulindac had fewer tumors and a smaller total tumor burden (total tumor area per mouse) in the small intestine when compared to mice fed sulindac alone. These results suggest that a dietary combination of tart cherry anthocyanins and sulindac is more protective against colon cancer than sulindac alone. "

"Before the human exploration of Mars or long-duration missions on the Earth's moon, the risk of cancer and other diseases from space radiation must be accurately estimated and mitigated. Space radiation, comprised of energetic protons and heavy nuclei, has been shown to produce distinct biological damage compared with radiation on Earth, leading to large uncertainties in the projection of cancer and other health risks, and obscuring evaluation of the effectiveness of possible countermeasures. Here, we describe how research in cancer radiobiology can support human missions to Mars and other planets. "