This article written by Maggie Fox, and can be found at www.reuters.com.

Ginger, Pepper Treat Difficult Cancers

By Maggie Fox

WASHINGTON APR 05, 2006 (Reuters) - Ginger can kill ovarian cancer cells while the compound that makes peppers hot can shrink pancreatic tumors, researchers told a conference on Tuesday.

Their studies add to a growing body of evidence that at least some popular spices might slow or prevent the growth of cancer.

The study on ginger was done using cells in a lab dish, which is a long way from finding that it works in actual cancer patients, but it is the first step to testing the idea.

Dr. Rebecca Liu, an assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center, and colleagues tested ginger powder dissolved in solution by putting it on ovarian cancer cell cultures.

It killed the ovarian cancer cells in two different ways -- through a self-destruction process called apoptosis and through autophagy in which cells digest themselves, the researchers told a meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research.

"Most ovarian cancer patients develop recurrent disease that eventually becomes resistant to standard chemotherapy, which is associated with resistance to apoptosis," Liu said in a statement.

"If ginger can cause autophagic cell death in addition to apoptosis, it may circumvent resistance to conventional chemotherapy."

Ovarian cancer kills 16,000 out of the 22,000 U.S. women who are diagnosed with it every year, according to the American Cancer Society.

Ginger has been shown to help control inflammation, which can contribute to the development of ovarian cancer cells.

"In multiple ovarian cancer cell lines, we found that ginger-induced cell death at a similar or better rate than the platinum-based chemotherapy drugs typically used to treat ovarian cancer," said Dr. Jennifer Rhode, who helped work on the study.

A second study found that capsaicin, which makes chili peppers hot, fed to mice caused apoptosis death in pancreatic cancer cells, said Sanjay Srivastava of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

"Capsaicin triggered the cancerous cells to die off and significantly reduced the size of the tumors," he said.

The spicy compound killed pancreatic tumor cells but did not affect normal, healthy pancreas cells, researchers told the AACR meeting.

Last year the same team reported similar results with pancreatic cells in lab dishes. Pancreatic cancer is highly deadly, killing 31,000 of the 32,000 it will be diagnosed in this year.

Last month researchers in Los Angeles reported that capsaicin killed prostate tumor cells. Other studies have shown that turmeric, a yellow spice used widely in Indian cooking, may help stop the spread of lung cancer and breast cancer in mice.

Experts point out that many compounds shown to stop cancer in mice are not nearly as effective in human cancer patients.

Labels: alternative cancer treatments, cancer, complementary therapies

This Article was written for the American Cancer Society's website (www.cancer.org): Study Offers Portrait of Complementary Therapy Use Among Survivors

Article date: 2008/08/06

A paper by American Cancer Society researchers published this week in Cancer, one of the Society's peer-reviewed journals, offers one of the largest and most detailed portraits of complementary and alternative therapy use among cancer survivors in the United States. Complementary therapy refers to treatments, techniques, or methods that are used along with standard or mainstream medicine. Some complementary therapies may help relieve certain symptoms of cancer or its treatment. An alternative therapy refers to an unproven therapy that is used instead of conventional medicine. Some alternative therapies are bogus, and some have dangerous or even life-threatening side effects. Still others scientists don't know enough about. To date, information on just how many patients actually use complementary and alternative methods and on which patient characteristics influence that use has been limited. Popular Therapies ACS researchers surveyed more than more than 4,000 survivors who were participants in the American Cancer Society's Study of Cancer Survivors-I (SCS-I) and found that more than half used some type of alternative or complementary therapy. "Many complementary methods are extremely popular among cancer survivors, who are spending a lot of their time, money, and attention on them," said Ted Gansler, MD, Director of Medical Content at the American Cancer Society and co-author of the study. "For this reason, it's important to determine which are helpful, not only for shrinking tumors and extending survival, but also for relieving symptoms and improving quality-of-life." The researchers looked at 19 different complementary methods -- from acupuncture to Tai Chi. Survivors listed the following practices most frequently: prayer/spiritual practice (61.4%), relaxation (44.3%), faith/spiritual healing (42.4%), nutritional supplements/vitamins (40.1%), meditation (15%), religious counseling (11.3%), massage (11.2%), and support groups (9.7%). Hypnosis (0.4%), biofeedback (1.0%), and acupuncture/acupressure (1.2%) were among the least cited. A Detailed Picture Of the group, younger, more affluent, and more educated cancer survivors were more likely to use the therapies. Women were more likely than men to use energy techniques such as Tai Chi and yoga (10.1 vs. 1.9%) and manipulative body practices such as massage (16.9 vs. 3.9%), though both men and women were only somewhat less likely to use non-spiritual mind-body methods such as aromatherapy, hypnosis, and meditation (58.6% vs. 42.8%). Breast and ovarian cancer survivors were more likely to use alternative and complementary therapies than survivors of other cancer types, even when the researchers controlled for factors such as gender, stage of disease, and other characteristics. More research is needed into why these groups are more likely to embrace the methods. This is the first of several reports that will tap American Cancer Society's Study of Cancer Survivors-I (SCS-I) data to further investigate the topic of complementary and alternative medicine use among cancer survivors. "We need to learn more about why some people use certain complementary methods, why other don't, what benefits users expect, and how effective various complementary methods are in improving survivors' length and quality of life," said Gansler. For more information on this topic and to learn more about some of the therapies mentioned in this story, see the American Cancer Society's guide to Complementary and Alternative Therapies. Citation: "A Population-based Study of Prevalence of Complementary Methods Use by Cancer Survivors: A Report From the American Cancer Society's Studies of Cancer Survivors." Published online August 4, 2008 in Cancer. First author: Ted Gansler, MD, MBA. American Cancer Society.

Labels: alternative cancer treatments, cancer, complementary therapies

As a patient that is seeking an alternative cancer treatment, it is important to understand that the physician must also be willing to meet their respective client’s needs. A physician is highly trained in their medical field; however, their education and skill for the treatment of cancer may overshadow the compassion that also underlies many medical ailments. A cancer physician must be aware of other treatments that are also available to the patient, and understand the various treatments that the patient will be comfortable working with. Each patient is a fine, infinite being that must be handled just as such. Allowing the physician to know where the patient stands on their medical treatment, and what they are willing to do to be proactive towards their own recovery is essential for anyone that is going through a medical treatment.

Approaching a medical physician with information that is deemed important by the patient is essential to assisting the physician in understanding the medical benefits that one wishes to receive. With medical treatments and research, there are continuous pieces of information that continue to flow into literature. There are constant medical breakthroughs that are continuously arising on the medical front. This is an important part of medical research, and both the medical professional as well as the patient should be vigilant in reading such material. When the patient goes to their next doctor’s visit, they should take the information that they have regarding new medical information with them so their physicians can also review the material.

When dealing with a physician, it is important to remember that the patient’s life and the ability to become rehabilitated is what is at stake. There are many medical professionals that are proficient in their designated field of practice, but are also interested in working only with what they were taught in medical school. By taking any information that is readily available to the physician, the physician can review the materials and see if it is an innovative program that will also be of benefit to the patient.

Joining a support group is also a very important journey of any medical treatment. It is through a support group that one can effective receive the love and understanding that is needed while going through an alternative Cancer treatment. A support group can also offer the encouragement that a patient needs in order to remain proactive towards a cure for their cancer ailment, additional research to be conducted, or for there mere moral support. There is sufficient evidence to support that there are many patients that have come along much further in their medical treatments when they have received adequate support from those that they know and others in the community.

Stimulating the body to accept a new means of medicine, or knowing when the body is unable to receive evasive medical procedures is important to those that are looking for an alternate means of cancer treatment. Working with a physician that is open-minded is also a wonderful way to ascertain that there will be medical treatments that are readily available for when the patient is ready.

The staff at New Hope Medical Center strives to aid their patients through alternative resources, and encourage their patients to strive for the best in their own personal care. There is certainly no one way that a health ailment such as Cancer can be treated with one method of medical assistance. Giving faith and courage, as well as the perseverance to remain strong, both mentally and physically, will offer the best results when receiving medical treatments.

Labels: alternative cancer treatments