Protecting Yourself from Cancer

by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

(Page 3 of 3)

Diagnostics into Therapies?

In buying critical time through early detection, the new cancer diagnostics may prolong thousands of lives. Better still, some may go beyond detecting to actually combating certain cancers.

In an experiment limited to 10 cancer patients, researchers at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) attempted for the first time to transfer foreign genes into humans. The purpose of the experiment was to determine how long tumor-invading lymphocyte (TIL) cells, which fight the cancerous cells, remain in the body.

The NCI team removed from a patient some portions of a melanoma tumor that contained TIL cells. The experimenters inserted a foreign gene derived from bacteria to make the TIL cells easier to detect. After a period of growth in the laboratory, the marked TIL cells were put into patients with various cancers. In one case, this procedure may have increased the potency of the TIL cells in attacking the cancerous cells: For one patient, the remission of a throat tumor was "dramatic."

While one result in one patient is not scientifically significant, it encouraged the doctors to expand the 10-patient test group to as many as 50. Other experiments aimed at strengthening TIL cells to combat cancer cells are going on.

In time, genetic markers could tell us how groups of genes predispose individuals either to resist or to contract cancers and other diseases. Such understanding could show scientists ways to direct genes to resist disease.

Though cancer is still a disease that inspires high anxiety in most Americans, the many diagnostics available now and under development give hope of increased cure rates through early diagnosis.

Protecting Yourself from Cancer

We needn't wait for new diagnostics to be developed and proven to protect ourselves from cancer. When experts tell us that almost a third of cancers can be traced to smoking and another third to dietary defects, there's a lot we can do for ourselves.

Most of the information relating behavior to cancer is derived from mass data (for example, populations with high-fiber diets tend to have a lower incidence of certain cancers). But it's hard to say with precision how this generalization applies to an individual.

Specifics of a diet beneficial for avoiding cancers are still being thrashed out. In general, more fiber and less fat in American diets might reduce cancer risks. One of the most painless suggestions for avoiding excessive intake of potential carcinogens is to vary the menu by enjoying a wide range of foods instead of subsisting on a few old favorites. By and large, it's wise to follow the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and FDA.

Many people also incorporate into their health regimens routine screening for those cancers to which they would be most susceptible given their age, sex, and other circumstances. Although recent studies have questioned the need for an annual physical, even for older people, some cancer specialists counter that periodic checkups, with appropriate cancer screenings, can be of value even for people under 25. This they believe is particularly true for older people, more vulnerable to cancer simply because any abnormal cells have had more years to work more mutations.

Others require particular screenings. A screening test for hidden blood in feces can help prevent colorectal cancer. A recent report by the U.S. Office of Technology Assessment estimated that use of this screening test by the 2.1 million Americans age 65 or older could prevent 23,000 cases of colorectal cancer by enabling doctors to detect growths in the colon called polyps before they turn cancerous.

Younger women, for instance, might be screened for cervical cancer every one to three years. The National Cancer Institute recommends annual Pap tests from age 18, or as soon as young women become sexually active. After three or more normal readings, the tests may be taken less often. Annual mammography to screen for breast cancer is recommended for women over 50. Many health organizations also recommend less frequent screening for younger women. Though mammography, combined with physical examination, has been estimated to reduce breast-cancer mortality by 56 percent, only 5 to 15 percent of women in age groups for which the screening is recommended are availing themselves of these x-ray examinations. (See "Why Women Don't Get Mammograms (And Why They Should)," FDA Consumer, May 1987.)

Though diagnostic tests are important, no one is recommending rushing to the doctor to demand every cancer test there is. Aside from the expense, some tests may have side effects that aren't worth the risk if there's no suspicion of cancer.

Some tests are not always definitive. Antigens characteristic of liver cancer can readily arise from other causes as well, so diagnostics in this developing area are far from exact. On the other hand, all of the new biotechnology tests approved so far by FDA unambiguously note the presence of a particular cancer.

A reasonable screening for cancer will differ for each individual. Your medical profile, which your doctor may derive from a questionnaire you fill out or by questioning you personally at your first physical, added to the results of the initial examination, will suggest the cancers for which you may be at highest risk.

Any of the following seven common warning signs of cancer or any other new abnormality is reason to consult the doctor. Note that these are just signals, not definitive symptoms. Their presence doesn't necessarily mean you have cancer, and their absence may not mean that you don't. What's certain is that ignoring such potential symptoms doesn't make them or their underlying causes go away. Ignoring them could prove fatal.

The Seven Warning Signs for Cancer

1. Change in bowel or bladder habits.
2. A sore that does not heal.
3. Unusual bleeding or discharge.
4. Thickening or lump in breast or elsewhere.
5. Indigestion or difficulty swallowing.
6. Obvious change in a wart or mole.
7. Nagging cough or hoarseness.

About the Author

www.fda.gov
FDA is A United States government body that oversees medical devices, including contact lenses, intraocular lenses, excimer lasers and eyedrops. In the US, these products must be approved by the FDA before they can be marketed.