Non-Melanoma Skin Cancers Tied to Risk for Other Cancers

TUESDAY, April 23 (HealthDay News) -- White people with skin cancer that is not melanoma may be at greater risk for developing other forms of cancer, according to a new study.

Patients with basal cell carcinoma had a 15 percent greater risk than other people of eventually having another type of cancer, researchers found. Meanwhile, patients with squamous cell carcinoma had a 26 percent increased risk.

Although melanoma is more deadly, it is much less common than other types of skin cancer, according to the American Cancer Society.

In conducting the new study, researchers led by Dr. Jiali Han, an associate professor at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston, examined two large U.S. studies involving more than 51,000 male health professionals and nearly 122,000 female nurses. Among white participants, researchers identified more than 36,000 cases of non-melanoma skin cancer and more than 29,000 new cases of other forms of cancer.

When considering only non-melanoma skin cancers, the researchers found men with skin cancer had an 11 percent greater risk for other types of cancer. Women had a 20 percent higher risk.

More specifically, the study revealed women with non-melanoma skin cancer were at greater risk for melanoma, as well as breast and lung cancers. Men were at increased risk for melanoma.

Although the study found an association between having non-melanoma skin cancer and future risk for other cancers, it did not establish a cause-and-effect relationship.

"This prospective study found a modestly increased risk of subsequent [cancers] among individuals with a history of non-melanoma skin cancer, specifically breast and lung cancer in women and melanoma in both men and women," the study authors wrote. "Because our study was observational, these results should be interpreted cautiously and are insufficient evidence to alter current clinical recommendations."

The researchers concluded that more research is needed to investigate the link between skin cancer and other forms of cancer.

The study appeared April 23 in the journal PLoS Medicine.

-- Mary Elizabeth Dallas
Copyright © 2013 HealthDay. All rights reserved. SOURCE: PLoS Medicine, news release, April 23, 2013

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Pap Test to Detect Ovarian, Endometrial Cancers?

Jan. 9, 2013 -- A new test for ovarian and endometrial cancers looks at cervical fluid obtained during a routine Pap test to detect genetic mutations linked with the cancers.

Although the research is in early stages, the test did well in detecting these cancers, says researcher Yuxuan Wang, a graduate student at the Ludwig Center for Cancer Genetics and Therapeutics at the Johns Hopkins University's Kimmel Cancer Center in Baltimore.

If ongoing research bears out, the new test could someday become a routine screening test, much like the Pap test is for cervical cancer, she says.

"This would not add anything to the current [Pap] procedure," Wang says. "All we do is take part of the sample for DNA testing.''

The cervical fluid collected during a Pap smear contains normal DNA and, if a person has cancer, DNA from those cancer cells.

The researchers used genomic sequencing to pick out the cancerous DNA from the normal DNA.

The study is published in Science Translational Medicine.

Widespread use of the Pap test has reduced deaths from cervical cancer and increased early detection. But finding reliable screening tests for ovarian and endometrial cancers has been elusive.

More than 69,000 U.S. women were expected to get a diagnosis of either ovarian or endometrial cancer in 2012.

If endometrial cancer is suspected, a doctor may order a transvaginal ultrasound. If ovarian cancer is suspected, a doctor may order a blood test that looks for CA-125, a protein found at high levels in some ovarian cancer patients.

Neither test is as reliable as a screening test, the researchers say. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force and the American Cancer Society do not recommend general routine screening for endometrial or ovarian cancer.

During a Pap test, cells collected from the cervix are examined for signs of cancer. The DNA in the Pap sample may also be examined for human papillomavirus (HPV), which causes cervical cancer.

The cervical fluid collected during the Pap test can also contain cells shed from the ovaries or the uterine lining (the endometrium).

Cancer cells from either the ovaries or endometrium could also be present in the fluid, the researchers say.

In the new study, the researchers determined the most common genetic mutations found in ovarian and endometrial cancers.

"We ended up with 12 genes," Wang says. The test they developed, called the PapGene test, looks for mutations on those 12 genes.

They searched for the mutations in 24 endometrial cancer tissue samples and 22 ovarian cancer tissue samples.

Mutations were found in all 46 samples.

They looked at the Pap test to see if the same mutations were found as they found in the tissue samples.

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Coffee May Lower Risk of Dying From Oral Cancers

Dec. 12, 2012 -- Heavy coffee drinkers -- those who drink more than four cups a day -- may cut their risk of dying from cancers of the mouth and throat by nearly half, according to new research.

"We examined coffee drinking habits in nearly 1 million men and women," says Janet Hildebrand, MPH, an epidemiologist with the American Cancer Society.

"Those who reported drinking at least four cups per day of caffeinated coffee incurred about half the risk of dying from mouth and throat cancers compared to people who did not drink caffeinated coffee daily or only drank it occasionally."

That link held even when the researchers took into account smoking habits and alcohol use. 

Smoking and alcohol use are among the strongest risk factors for oral cancers.

About 35,000 new cases of oral cancers are expected in the U.S. this year, with 6,800 deaths, according to the American Cancer Society. The new study is published online in the American Journal of Epidemiology.

Previous research by others has linked drinking more than four cups of coffee a day to about the same risk reduction in getting a diagnosis of oral cancer.

Hildebrand's team evaluated more than 968,000 men and women enrolled in the Cancer Prevention Study II. It began in 1982 and is overseen by the American Cancer Society.

At the start of the study, all men and women were free of cancer. During the 26-year follow up, 868 deaths from oral or throat cancers occurred.

The researchers evaluated the coffee- and tea-drinking habits of the men and women. They found the link between coffee and a reduced risk of dying from oral cancers.

More than 97% of the men and women drank either coffee or tea. More than 60% said they drank at least a cup a day of caffeinated coffee.

Among those who drank regularly, most had three cups a day.

The risk reduction of nearly half was similar for those who drank four, five, or six cups daily. Beyond seven cups, Hildebrand says, there weren't enough people to gauge the effect on risk accurately.

Hildebrand found only a suggestion of a link between those who drank more than two cups of decaf daily.

No benefit was found for tea drinkers.

"We really don't clearly know the mechanism," Hildebrand says. "But we do know that coffee contains hundreds of biologically active compounds."

Many of them, she says, are now known to have anti-cancer properties.

The researchers can't be sure in this study whether the coffee lowered the risk of getting the cancers or improved the odds of survival once cancer occurred. The study only looked at deaths, not the diagnosis.

"We're not recommending people start to drink coffee or that people increase their coffee [intake] for cancer prevention," Hildebrand says. "Much more epidemiological and scientific and clinical evidence would be needed to support such a recommendation."

The new findings are ''fascinating and remarkable," says Joel Epstein, DMD. He is director of oral medicine at the City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center, located outside Los Angeles. He reviewed the study findings.

"It seems like there is a significant theme,'' he says, citing several other studies finding a lower risk of various cancers in coffee drinkers. "They are large studies," he says, usually funded by reputable organizations such as the American Cancer Society.

By and large, the studies are coming up with the same findings, he says, even though the researchers study different populations and different cancers. That's a good sign, he says.

View the original article here

Coffee May Lower Risk of Dying From Oral Cancers

ByKathleen Doheny
WebMD Health News Reviewed byBrunilda Nazario, MD

Dec. 12, 2012 -- Heavy coffee drinkers -- those who drink more than four cups a day -- may cut their risk of dying from cancers of the mouth and throat by nearly half, according to new research.

"We examined coffee drinking habits in nearly 1 million men and women," says Janet Hildebrand, MPH, an epidemiologist with the American Cancer Society.

"Those who reported drinking at least four cups per day of caffeinated coffee incurred about half the risk of dying from mouth and throat cancers compared to people who did not drink caffeinated coffee daily or only drank it occasionally."

That link held even when the researchers took into account smoking habits and alcohol use. 

Smoking and alcohol use are among the strongest risk factors for oral cancers.

About 35,000 new cases of oral cancers are expected in the U.S. this year, with 6,800 deaths, according to the American Cancer Society. The new study is published online in the American Journal of Epidemiology.

Previous research by others has linked drinking more than four cups of coffee a day to about the same risk reduction in getting a diagnosis of oral cancer.

Top Cancer-Fighting Foods

Coffee & Oral Cancers: Study Details

Hildebrand's team evaluated more than 968,000 men and women enrolled in the Cancer Prevention Study II. It began in 1982 and is overseen by the American Cancer Society.

At the start of the study, all men and women were free of cancer. During the 26-year follow up, 868 deaths from oral or throat cancers occurred.

The researchers evaluated the coffee- and tea-drinking habits of the men and women. They found the link between coffee and a reduced risk of dying from oral cancers.

More than 97% of the men and women drank either coffee or tea. More than 60% said they drank at least a cup a day of caffeinated coffee.

Among those who drank regularly, most had three cups a day.

The risk reduction of nearly half was similar for those who drank four, five, or six cups daily. Beyond seven cups, Hildebrand says, there weren't enough people to gauge the effect on risk accurately.

Hildebrand found only a suggestion of a link between those who drank more than two cups of decaf daily.

No benefit was found for tea drinkers.

Why Coffee May Protect

"We really don't clearly know the mechanism," Hildebrand says. "But we do know that coffee contains hundreds of biologically active compounds."

Many of them, she says, are now known to have anti-cancer properties.

The researchers can't be sure in this study whether the coffee lowered the risk of getting the cancers or improved the odds of survival once cancer occurred. The study only looked at deaths, not the diagnosis.

"We're not recommending people start to drink coffee or that people increase their coffee [intake] for cancer prevention," Hildebrand says. "Much more epidemiological and scientific and clinical evidence would be needed to support such a recommendation."

Coffee & Oral Cancers: Perspective

The new findings are ''fascinating and remarkable," says Joel Epstein, DMD. He is director of oral medicine at the City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center, located outside Los Angeles. He reviewed the study findings.

"It seems like there is a significant theme,'' he says, citing several other studies finding a lower risk of various cancers in coffee drinkers. "They are large studies," he says, usually funded by reputable organizations such as the American Cancer Society.

By and large, the studies are coming up with the same findings, he says, even though the researchers study different populations and different cancers. That's a good sign, he says.

View Article Sources

SOURCES:

Janet Hildebrand, MPH, epidemiologist, American Cancer Society, Atlanta.

Joel Epstein, DMD, director of oral medicine and adjunct professor of otolaryngology and head and neck surgery, City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center, Duarte, Calif.

Hildebrand, J. American Journal of Epidemiology, published online Dec. 9, 2012.

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