Health Buzz: Blood Test May Detect Cancer's Spread

February 19, 2010 RSS Feed Print

Blood Test May Detect Cancer's Spread

A new test that looks for tumor DNA in the blood could help doctors personalize your cancer treatment, Reuters reports. In a study published in Science Translational Medicine, researchers identified defects in the genetic code of colorectal and breast cancer samples. The defects functioned as genetic fingerprints called biomarkers that are unique to each individual's cancer. The team then tracked the level of cancer biomarkers in patient blood samples. In two patients with colorectal cancer, the level of their cancer biomarkers dipped after surgery but later rose again, indicating the cancer had not been eliminated. Researchers think that, because of its sensitivity, the test could be an improvement on the existing method of detecting whether cancer has returned, which uses imaging technology, according to Reuters.

[Read Breaking Cancer's Gene Code and How to Get the Very Best Cancer Care.]

Aspirin: A Blockbuster Therapy for Breast Cancer Survivors?

"Has it spread?" "Am I going to die?" These are questions that run through the minds of women who have been told that they have breast cancer, U.S. News columnist and physician Bernadine Healy writes. They courageously face surgery, long and arduous chemotherapy, and radiation treatments, hoping to fend off the fate of the 40,000 women whose breast cancer will take a deadly turn this year, reappearing and relentlessly spreading throughout their bodies.

A report just released from the Nurses' Health Study offers 2 million American women who have had breast cancer some vital and actionable information. Taking a single aspirin tablet—a baby aspirin or one adult pill—every other day can be lifesaving.

A long-term, low-dose aspirin program would be initiated a year or more after the cancer diagnosis as an add-on to treatment, not as a substitute for it, to control tumor cells silently left behind. For some women, the cancer has not entirely disappeared but merely gone underground during this post-treatment phase. This can lead to unexpected recurrence, with the cancer sometimes spreading 10 to 20 years after diagnosis. Scientists seem to have stumbled upon an easy way to cut that risk, Healy writes. Read more.

[Slide Show: 5 Questions to Ask Your Doctor Before You Fill That Prescription.] [Read 12 Things You Should Know About Aspirin and Surgery for Breast Cancer: Complex Options, Difficult Decisions.]

Are Sugar-Loving Kids More Likely to Grow Up Alcoholic and Depressed?

Kids like sweet things, a preference that starts with breast milk and continues on to lollipops and birthday cake. But for some children, intense cravings for sweets may be associated with a vulnerability to alcoholism and depression, U.S. News contributor Nancy Shute writes. And that same vulnerability may also make it harder for some children to cut back on sugary treats.

The biological preference kids have for the taste of sweet probably evolved to guide them to calorie-rich foods at times when they are growing quickly. But a new study of 300 children found that those with a family history of alcoholism and who show symptoms of depression were much more likely to favor really intense sweetness; they liked a sugar-water solution that was 24 percent sucrose, about twice as sweet as a typical cola. Kids without a family history of alcoholism or symptoms of depression preferred an 18 percent solution.

The finding that some differences in children's response to sweets may be linked to alcoholism and depression makes sense, says biopsychologist and study author Julie Mennella, since sugar and alcohol both activate the same pleasure-generating circuitry in the brain. Read more.

[Read Foods Surprisingly High in Added Sugar and Getting Kids to Eat Their Vegetables.]

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