15,000 results from Silicon Valley startup studied

Will new liquid biopsies replace painful, risky, invasive tumor tests? Perhaps, research says

Are painful, risky biopsies on the way out?

Maybe.

According to a recent story by Andrew Pollack in The New York Times, a new test known as a liquid biopsy can detect cancer mutations — with results that apparently agree, generally, "with those of an invasive tumor biopsy."

Conventional biopsies mean a needle or surgery extracts a piece of a tumor. But both those methods can lead to complications.

The liquid biopsies, the Times piece says, "take advantage of the fact that DNA fragments from tumors can be found in tiny amounts in the blood of patients with cancer."

Dr. Philip C. Mack

The story quotes researcher Philip C. Mack, Ph.D. director of molecular pharmacology at the U.C. Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center, who presented his result at the annual meeting of 
the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

The findings come from a study that looked at the results of more than 15,000 liquid biopsies performed by Guardant Health, a Silicon Valley startup, on people with breast, lung, colorectal and other cancers.

So far, the liquid test only monitors disease progression or detects the genetic mutations "that could suggest which drug should be used," according to The Times, and is not yet used to diagnose cancer.

And it isn't cheap — with a list price of $5,800.

Dozens of companies, The Times notes, "are now developing or offering liquid biopsies, and tissue biopsy companies are trying to defend their turf."

Cancer research is extensive. To learn more about it, check out "Rollercoaster: How a man can survive his partner's breast cancer," a VitalityPress book I, Woody Weingarten, aimed at male caregivers.

Coffee, tea join list of 80 cancer-causing agents

Super-hot drinks can trigger disease, says a 10-country arm of World Health Organization 

Damn, that coffee's hot!

Well, that very pick-me-up — or similarly super-hot drinks — are not only likely to burn your tongue, they might well be cancer triggers.

According to an article by Alice Park in the current Time magazine, the World Health Organization (WHO) says liquids such as coffee and tea belong on the list of cancer-causing agents.

An organizational arm of WHO, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), checked 1,000 studies that looked into links between high-temp drinks and various forms of the disease and found anything above 149 degrees fahrenheit hikes the risk of esophageal cancer.

Dr. Otis Brawley

The conclusions of that study by the IARC, which is composed of 23 scientists from 10 countries, were published recently in Lancet Oncology.

As with virtually every piece of research, however, there's another side.

Dr. Otis Brawley, the American Cancer Society's chief medical and scientific officer, believes smoking and excessive alcohol are much bigger perils, the Time piece notes.

Interested in more info on some of the 79 other substances — including exposure to UV radiation from the sun, air pollution, red meat and DDT — that can be cancer risk factors? Check out "Rollercoaster: How a man can survive his partner's breast cancer," a VitalityPress book I, Woody Weingarten, aimed at male caregivers.

Adventure ranges up to 97 degrees, down to 29

Cross-country biker looking for volunteers to help cancer patients cope with hair loss

Nina Huston on cross-country trip.

Nina Husen's on a two-month cross-country bicycle trip filled with heart.

She's almost midway through a two-month adventure to the East Coast on her bike, which will be followed by a leisurely trip home with her crew (sons, Blake and Spencer) — by car.

Husen, 52, one of the owners of the NH2 Salon in Novato (along with Nicole Hitchcock), hopes to recruit 500 volunteer hairstylists nationally who'll "provide pro bono services to patients with cancer experiencing hair related side effects from treatment."

In a June 2 blog item, she succinctly summed up her mission: "I am riding across the country to bring awareness to Hairdressers with Heart" — which, she wrote, is a network of 50 hairstylists in Marin and Sonoma counties known as Style Heroes who connect with cancer patients and shave their heads, help style their wigs "or take them through one full year of complimentary clean up services as their hair grows in."

The trip — which she's never attempted before (though she's previously ridden "100 miles at a stretch") — has hardly been easy so far.

The Corte Madera resident already has "encountered 97-degree weather all the way down to 29-degree weather."

She left San Francisco at 6:30 a.m. May 18 with the intention of riding through "Nevada, Utah, Colorado, then on to Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky and finally Virginia."

On May 24, she noted, "I've had cramps, sun sickness, fatigue, skin loss in places unmentionable, tears and, well, a few sore muscles. The joys? Support from my sons…Their faces at each stop with smiles on them and hands waving, food and water ready for me. Lakes, trees, birds, the sun, the moon, clouds from heaven, and the landscape changing as quickly as my emotions."

She added, with great honesty and poignancy, "I climb out of the shower, a moment of usual reprieve…burnt nose and slits of eyeballs, I burst into tears…Feeling better now after water, ice, smoothie and rest, I have to mention that (A) No one is making me do this (B) I am enjoying myself much of the time, but if you did not hear the challenges it would simply be a pictorial of me riding and smiling and that would be a snoozer."

Hairdressers with Heart, "100% volunteer run," was formed seven years ago after Hitchcock's sister, Brandy, died at age 37 from heart failure while undergoing chemotherapy for acute myelogenous leukemia.

Earlier, Brandy had been upset when her hair started to fall out. So Nicole found her "a long, sexy, blonde wig" — which changed her attitude.

The Hairdressers with Heart foundation was created not long after Brandy's death.

Promotional materials for Nina's trip noted that "over a million people will be diagnosed with cancer this year in the United States. Individuals afflicted with cancer that suffer from unappealing hair loss often find the experience emotionally crippling. Hairdressers with Heart highlights Style Heroes that choose to share their gift of hairdressing with cancer patients across the nation."

To read how other organizations help folks with life-threatening diseases, check out "Rollercoaster: How a man can survive his partner's breast cancer," a VitalityPress book that I, Woody Weingarten, aimed at male caregivers.

Marin Man to Man original a 23-year regular

Weekly support group for partners of breast cancer patients losing a key member

Marv and Maria Edelstein

The Marin Man to Man weekly support group for guys whose partners have or had breast cancer will lose one of its key members in a few days.

Marv Edelstein is leaving the San Francisco Bay Area — and the state of California.

One of the four original members of Man to Man, he's been a regular for 23 years, since shortly after his wife, Maria, was diagnosed with breast cancer.

But Marv has found the local traffic and congestion more than he chooses to handle. And Maria apparently is even more bothered by the negative impact those changes have had recently.

It's not easy for them to say goodbye to the area, however.

They've lived in their San Rafael home 37 years.

Marv has been a regular in the weekly support group for 23 years and, in fact, has been vice chair and treasurer for a long time.

He's always been the epitome of the perfect member — particularly helpful to newcomers because he's been willing to be totally vulnerable, open and honest about his own ups and downs with Maria's bout with breast cancer more than two decades ago.

And her second bout earlier this year.

Marin Man to Man began when husbands of women with breast cancer in the First Position ballet support group realized they needed support themselves.

Eight current Man to Man members gathered this past Wednesday to wish Marv a fond farewell, to express their appreciation of his past contributions, and to say they hope he'll drop in again whenever he's visiting the Bay Area.

The Edelsteins intend to vacation in McCall, Idaho, then move either to Oregon or Washington to be closer to their son, who lives in Seattle.

The stories of their fighting cancer and Man to Man can be found in "Rollercoaster: How a man can survive his partner's breast cancer," a VitalityPress book I, Woody Weingarten, have aimed at male caregivers.

Up to 70% of cancers could be prevented

Old research challenged: 'Bad behavior trumps bad luck' when it comes to causes of diseases 

I've always been a believer in preventive medicine and a healthy lifestyle.

And a new analysis published in JAMA Oncology shows I've been on the right track.

The journal says between 40 and 70 percent of U.S. cancer deaths could be prevented if Americans stopped smoking, cut down on their alcohol, maintained a healthy weight and exercised at least 150 minutes each week.

In the meantime, cancer remains the second leading cause of death in the United States, behind heart disease, the article indicates.

Findings in the study conducted by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston and reported today by Melissa Healy in the Los Angeles Times suggest women who followed the preventive guidelines reduced their risk of breast cancer by 15 percent, lung cancer by 85 percent, other cancers somewhere in between.

Men did even better, as high as 90 percent for lung cancer.

A total of 89,571 women and 46,339 men participated in the analysis, which the Times said "was based on cancer rates and health behaviors in two large and long-running studies of health professionals — the Nurses' Health study and the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study," and which also used data from the National Cancer Institute.

The findings, according to the article, "present a significant challenge to research published last year that said as many as 80 percent of cancers might be attributable to factors beyond the control of individuals — the 'back luck' hypothesis. Instead the new research offers evidence that bad behavior trumps bad luck as a cause of cancer."

Edward Giovannucci

 Mingyang Song

The Times story quoted Dr. Mingyang Song of Massachusetts General Hospital and Dr. Edward Giovannucci of the Harvard T.H. Cohn School, the study's authors, as believing "primary prevention should remain a priority for cancer control."

Unfortunately, American adults remain vested in bad habits and bad lifestyle choices.

Apparently, about 17 percent, roughly 40 million, are still smoking cigarettes; obesity is a problem for 38 percent; almost a quarter of them do no exercise outside of job requirements; and 6.7 percent report they're heavy drinkers (with a full quarter  of adults acknowledging they engaged in binge drinking in the last month).

The top 10 causal factors account for nearly 75 percent of all deaths — with heart disease and cancer followed, in turn, by chronic lower respiratory disease, accidents, stroke, Alzheimer's, diabetes, flu and pneumonia, kidney disease and suicide.

Information and statistics on other studies can be found in "Rollercoaster: How a man can survive his partner's breast cancer," a VitalityPress book I, Woody Weingarten, have aimed at male caregivers.

Gene mutation may portend four times the risk

Men worry about defective breast cancer genes as possible clue to deadly prostate cancer

Holy cow, it wasn't enough that I worried about women I know having BRCA1 and 2 mutant genes that portend breast and ovarian cancers.

Now I'm worrying about the guys, too.

Seems that, according to a recent article in The Washington Post by Laurie McGinley, men (like me) are becoming more aware that the defective genes — "the kind that prompted actress Angelina Jolie to have her breasts and ovaries removed preemptively," the story notes — have also been linked to aggressive, potentially deadly prostate cancer.

McKinley writes that "men with these mutations are more likely than non-carriers to contract aggressive, lethal prostate cancer, to be diagnosed at a more advanced stage and to ultimately die of the disease, researchers say."

A study recently presented to a meeting of  the American Urological Association found 17 percent of patients with BRCA2 "already had advanced [prostate] disease, four times the rate of patients without the mutation," the article states. 

Dr. Bruce Montgomery

McKinley's story quotes Dr. Bruce Montgomery, an oncologist at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance-University of Washington Medical Center as saying, "The problem is, everyone associates this with women and their cancers. In men's minds, BRCA is about breast cancer, so they don't see it as relevant."

The implication, of course, is that they're wrong. It is not only relevant, knowledge about the mutation is a crucial part of a health-education learning curve.

Although "an estimated 12 percent of women will develop breast cancer during their lifetimes, according to the National Cancer Institute," McKinley's story says, "that proportion rises to as high as 65 percent of women who inherit a BRCA1 mutation and about 45 percent for those with a BRCA2 defect."

Men with the BRCA mutation also are at a higher risk of getting breast cancer. Currently, more than 2,000 American males contract that disease each year.

To learn even more about the BRCA defects, check out "Rollercoaster: How a man can survive his partner's breast cancer," the VitalityPress book I, Woody Weingarten, aimed at male caregivers.

'Dual duty' digital screenings are lauded

Research finds mammograms can find signs of heart disease at same time as breast cancer

Sure, we all know mammograms can detect early breast cancers and, therefore, save lives.

But we didn't know until recently that the tests may also red-flag heart disease.

And strokes.

Dr. Harvey Hecht

According to a Newsday story by Delthia Ricks, Dr. Harvey Hecht, a professor of medicine at Mount Sinai's Icahn School of Medicine in Manhattan, says calcium deposits that show up on the digital screenings can be "a more powerful predictor of heart disease risk than other well-established cardiovascular indicators such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure and diabetes."

It takes "less than 15 seconds to analyze," he said.

Heart disease kills 10 times more women than breast cancer, the story indicated.

Dr. Laurie Margolies

Dr. Laurie Margolies, chief of breast imaging at Mount Sinai Hospital's Dubin Breast Center, and one of Hecht's co-researchers in a study that involved nearly 300 women, emphasized that "a single mammogram can yield results about cancer and heart disease at the same time."   

The pair presented their findings at a meeting of the American College of Cardiology in Chicago about the possibilities of the "unappreciated tool" in effect doing double duty.

Questions about the efficacy of mammography? They may be answered in "Rollercoaster: How a man can survive his partner's breast cancer," a VitalityPress book I, Woody Weingarten, have aimed at male caregivers.

Doctor warns of hidden facts, bad memory

Not really knowing your family medical history can cause you cancer woes, oncologist says 

Heredity and cancer are inexorably linked.

Even if you prefer denial.

Theodora Ross

Knowing your family history could save your life, according to a recent story by Theodora Ross, an oncologist at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, in the Washington Post.

Hidden facts can be destructive, Ross indicates, pointing to one of her young patients who joked about her Irish heritage but discovered, through testing for breast cancer gene mutations, that she carried an Ashkenazi Jewish mutation that could spell trouble.

It was learned that her French Jewish family, apparently fearing anti-Semitism during World War II, had converted to Catholicism and made Ireland their home.

Ross, author of "A Cancer in the Family: Take Control of Your Genetic Inheritance," points out in her article that "many illnesses…are at least partly hereditary. One recent study found that 33 percent of cancer diagnoses can be explained by genes."

She also notes that "only one-third of Americans have ever tried to collect their family medical histories from relatives" and that part of the problem "is the fault of the medical profession…physicians [may] devote just three minutes to asking family-history questions during a patient's first visit."

Another difficulty is that many "relatives might never have revealed that they were sick, particularly if they struggled with a disease that carries a stigma." 

For example, she adds, "according to one study, 58 percent of psychiatrists said they wouldn't tell family and friends if they suffered from a mental illness."

Fear, ostracism and shame certainly can become obstacles to the truth.

Ross also cites patients who interpreted histories incorrectly, including one who "denied that he had a family history of cancer because, he said, nobody had died. Another suggested that her sister's breast cancer at age 38 was due to her divorce. One even told me her father had only 'a touch of melanoma.'"

In addition, language can be a barrier to understanding.

"It wasn't so long ago that tuberculosis was known as 'consumption' and epilepsy was 'falling sickness," Ross writes. "Strokes were 'apoplexy,' and 'bad blood' was code for syphilis."

Memory, too, can be faulty. Ross says that rather than factual it can be "a construction of what we think happened. Lung cancer may have, in fact, been colon cancer; ovarian cancer perhaps was cervical cancer."

Research into your family history, Ross indicates, is definitely worth the time invested. And The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention can be of assistance. So can the National Institutes of Health. 

Both have online guides that might help you get started.

To learn about the links between heredity and breast cancer, particularly BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutations, you also could check out "Rollercoaster: How a man can survive his partner's breast cancer," a VitalityPress book I, Woody Weingarten, aimed at male caregivers.