Debunked cancer study about blood tests has wide ripple effects, Wall Street Journal reports

Research groups that have relied on data from an apparently flawed cancer study now must deal with criticism of the original findings.

Steven Salzberg, PhD

That's the conclusion of Steven Salzberg, a PhD computational biologist at Johns Hopkins University, according to a story by Nidhi Subbaraman in The Wall Street Journal last week.

Salzberg, whose critique, written with colleagues in the field, led to the study's recent retraction, is quoted as saying the faulty conclusions have "polluted the literature."

The WSJ piece says the lead researcher, Professor Rob Knight of the University of California, San Diego, had indicated the 2020 study had "reported that 32 different cancers, from prostate tumors to skin melanomas, harbored unique combinations of microbes, chiefly bacteria and viruses, that acted as fingerprints for each type of tumor. The idea had clinical significance: A blood test could allow physicians to use evidence of microbes detected in the blood as a proxy to diagnose the cancers."

Since the study's publication in 2020 in Nature magazine, more than 600 papers have cited it, Subbraman's article says, and at least a dozen groups based new work on its data. 

In addition, the initial co-researchers had "launched a startup to capitalize on their findings" — although support for it "has dried up" since the criticism became public.

Knight, "a heavyweight in the field of microbiology," the WSJ piece adds, had been "widely regarded as a pioneer of big-date microbial analysis. His resume lists multiple awards and prestigious fellowships at scientific societies, two books and a TED talk."

The original study analyzed data from more than 17,000 samples from over 10,000 people with cancer.

Among the problems discovered was that "some microbes the researchers flagged as components of cancer signatures weren't known to exist in humans." To boot, the critics, whose work was published in the journal mBio, apparently couldn't find "most of the bacteria reported in the Nature study."

Salzberg told The World Street Journal that "it wasn't a close call. This data is completely wrong."

According to the story, a wide ripple effect has followed the criticism: "The publishers and journal editors of eight studies have been reviewing the papers."

More details on studies that had to be retracted can be found in Rollercoaster: How a man can survive his partner's breast cancer, a VitalityPress book that I, Woody Weingarten, aimed at male caregivers.

'Boy Meets World' star says she's been diagnosed with a form of breast cancer that's curable

Danielle Fishel, who played Topanga Lawrence in the teen sitcom "Boy Meets World," has a curable form of breast cancer.

In a story by Annabelle Timsit in today's editions of The Washington Post, Fishel urged other women to get their mammograms, or breast cancer screenings, to catch any issues early.

Danielle Fischel

The diagnosis, Fishel disclosed, is that she has DCIS (ductal carcinoma in situ), which affects more than 55,000 women in the United States each year but usually is noninvasive and curable. 

The 43-year-old Fischel, who now also uses the name Fishel-Park, having added her second husband, a comedian, to the appellation, says she's having surgery to remove the abnormal cells and will receive "some follow-up treatment," according to Timsit's story.

The Post piece also quotes the television star as saying that "the only reason I caught this cancer when it is still Stage 0 is because the day I got my text message that my yearly mammogram had come up, I made the  appointment."

Cancers are rated from 0, the least dangerous form of the disease, to 4, the most advanced (and normally deadly).

The Cleveland Clinic maintains that "DCIS accounts for up to a quarter  of all new cancer diagnoses," the story adds.

Although modern medical imaging technology "has made it possible to detect DCIS whereas it would typically go undetected before and could in some cases turn into invasive and deadly forms of breast cancer," the article continues, Nigel Bundred, an emeritus professor of surgical oncology at Manchester University, emphasizes that DCIS can recur "and turn into invasive breast cancer and therefore requires close monitoring and, in many cases, treatment."

To learn more about DCIS, buy Rollercoaster: How a man can survive his wife's breast cancer, a VitalityPress book that I, Woody Weingarten, aimed at male caregivers.

Oncologist, in op-ed for The Washington Post, suggests five tips on reducing your cancer risk

Dr. Mikkael A. Sekeres, in today's guest op-ed for The Washington Post, after outlining his family's bent toward getting cancer and his own risks, offers five tips on how to reduce chances of contracting the disease.

The oncologist emphasizes, however, that "it's important to understand that not all cancers are associated with modifiable risk factors" so you may not be able to lower your chances of getting a malignancy even if you change your behavior.

Still, the most recent statistics, which were published by the American Cancer Society last month stemming from figures dating to 2019, indicate that the positive chances are substantial.

Dr. Mikkael A. Sekeres

Sekeres, chief of hematology and professor of medicine at the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Miami, and author of two books, writes in the op-ed that the ACS study estimates "40 percent of new cancer diagnosis in adults aged 30 years and older in the United States were due to modifiable risk."

The doctors's tips on lowering your risks include taking sun protection seriously, keeping alcohol intake at a minimum, not smoking, exercising half an hour daily, and avoiding sugary drinks, fast food, and processed meats.

Sekeres—who says he became a cancer specialist in part because of all of that disease in his family— cites his mother's lung cancer, his maternal grandmother and uncle's leukemia, his paternal grandmother's ovarian cancer, and his paternal grandfather's prostate cancer.

To help prevent skin cancer, he pushes the application of sunscreen each day and following guidelines of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to wear hats, sunglasses, and long-sleeve shirts.

Regarding booze, he writes that "while we commonly associate alcohol with cancers of the oral cavity or esophagus, by far the greatest  number of  cancer diagnoses attributed to alcohol consumption was actually breast cancer."

Cigarette smoking, he notes, "was attributed to about 86 percent of lung cancer diagnoses, about 54 percent of cancers of the esophagus, and about 51 percent of bladder cancers."

As for exercise, Sekeres' piece maintains that "in a recent study of over 60,000 adults, those who exercised for two or more hours per week have a 26 percent lower risk of head and neck cancer, a 20 percent lower risk of lung cancer, and an 11 percent lower risk of breast cancer."

Finally, the doctor,  while promoting balanced meals, contends that "research has found an association between colorectal cancer and consumption of red meat and processed meat" and that "low fruit and vegetable consumption has been associated with oral cavity, pharyngeal, esophageal and laryngeal cancers." 

More statistics about risks of the disease can be found in Rollercoaster: How a man can survive his partner's breast cancer, a VitalityPress book I, Woody Weingarten, aimed at male caregivers.

American Cancer Society begins 30-year study of 100,000 black women's case and death rates

The American Cancer Society "has begun an ambitious, far-reaching study focusing on a population that has long been overlooked, despite high rates of cancer and cancer-related deaths: black women." 

That's the lead of a story by Roni Caryn Rabin in recent editions of The New York Times on an initiative called VOICES of Black Women that noted it's "believed to be the first long-term population study of its size to zero in specifically on the factors driving cancer prevalence and deaths among black women."

Researchers plan to enroll black women without cancer, ages 25 to 55, in D.C. and 20 states where most black women live.

Black women, the story says, have the highest death rates and lowest survival rates for many cancers of any racial or ethnic group. They die of uterine cancer at twice the rate of white women, and are "twice as likely to be diagnosed with stomach cancer and more than twice as likely to die of it," Rabin's piece notes. "They are also 40 percent more likely to die of breast cancer."

Dr. Alpa Patel

Racial disparities in breast cancer are relatively new. The Times story quotes Dr. Alpa Patel, senior vice president of population science at the ACS and co-principal investigator of the VOICES study, as saying that "until the 1970s, there was no disparity in breast cancer outcomes between black and white women. We know now there are more aggressive tumors, especially at younger ages in black women compared to white women, and we don't fully understand why."

Women in the study will be surveyed on their use of personal care products, "including hair straighteners, which have been implicated in some cancers," the article reports. In addition, researchers "will track stressors related to the physical environment, and facts such as neighborhood walkability, crime, air pollution, access to healthy food, and proximity to liquor stores and establishments that sell cigarettes."

More information on racial disparity can be found in Rollercoaster: How a man can survive his partner's breast cancer, a VitalityPress book that I, Woody Weingarten, aimed at male caregivers.

Because of uptick in cancers following pandemic, physicians are now asking if covid is to blame

A rise in cancers after the pandemic has been causing doctors to study whether Covid-19 is at fault.

A story by Ariana Eunjung Cha in editions of The Washington Post recently indicated that the "uptick in aggressive, late-stage cancers since the dawn of the pandemic is confirmed by some early national data and a number of large cancer institutions."

The article goes on to say that although "the idea that some viruses can cause or accelerate cancer is hardly new, [since] scientists have recognized this possibility since the 1960s, today researchers estimate 15 to 20 percent of all cancers worldwide originate from infections agents such as HPV, Epstein-Barr, and hepatitis B."

It will "probably be many years before the world has conclusive answers whether the coronavirus is complicit in the surge of cancer cases," Cha's story continues, but "concerned scientists are calling on the U.S. government to make this question a priority knowing it could affect treatment and management of millions of cancer patients for decades to come."

Douglas Wallace

The story quotes Douglas C. Wallace, a University of Pennsylvania PhD geneticist and evolutionary biologist, to the effect that "we are completely under-investigating this virus. The effects of repeatedly getting this throughout our lives is going to be much more significant than people are thinking."

Cha's piece also quotes David Tuveson, director of the Cancer Center at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and ex-president of the American Association for Cancer Research, as saying that "a number of small and early studies — many of which have been published within the past nine months — suggests that coronavirus infection can induce an inflammatory cascade and other responses that, in theory, could exacerbate the growth of cancer cells."

Covid "wrecks the body, and that's where cancers can start," he said, "explaining how autopsy studies of people who died of covid-19 showed prematurely aged tissue."

The story notes further that a paper "published in 2023 in the journal Biochimie explored mechanisms the coronavirus could exploit to aggravate several forms of cancer, including lung, colorectal, pancreatic, and oral."

Information about cancer not being monolithic can be found in Rollercoaster: How a man can survive his partner's breast cancer, a VitalityPress book that I, Woody Weingarten, aimed at caregivers.

Biotech giant Bayer pushing House Republicans to help it fight lawsuits linking Roundup to cancer

Bayer, a giant in the biotech industry, has been lobbying Congress to help shape a provision that could aid in the corporation's battle with lawsuits that tie its weed-killer Roundup to cancer.

The provision in the House's sweeping agricultural bill, according to a story by Tony Romm in last week's editions of The Washington Post, was drafted by Republicans with Bayer's help. Critics say it would undo nationwide pesticide protections.

Romm's piece says the farm bill "threatens to make it harder for farmers and groundskeepers to argue that they were not fully informed about some health and safety risks posed by the popular herbicide."

The focus is on glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, which plaintiffs in thousands of cases have claimed regular exposure to which "could cause them to develop debilitating or deadly diseases, such as non-Hodgkin's lymphoma."

Although Bayer, a German firm that acquired Roundup in 2018 as part of its purchase of Monsanto, has agreed to pay $10 billon in a landmark settlement that ended thousands of claims in  2020 without any admission of wrongdoing, it still faces nearly 60,000 additional claims.

Daniel Savery

The Post story quotes Daniel Savery, a senior legislative representative for Earthjustice, a climate advocacy group, as saying Bayer has been losing so it's "coming to Congress with hat in hand trying to change the law."

Currently, the article continues, "the Environmental Protection Agency does not treat the underlying chemical in Roundup as a carcinogen. While the agency plans to reevaluate its stance on glyphosate in 2026, its views are at odds with some global health experts, including the World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer, which identified glyphosate as 'probably carcinogenic' in 2015."

Bayer apparently has spent about $9.6 million to lobby federal policymakers on the legislation and other issues since the start of 2023.

More information about Monsanto and Bayer's legal woes can be found in Rollercoaster: How a man can survive his partner's breast cancer, a VitalityPress book that I, Woody Weingarten, aimed at male  caregivers.

Celebrants need to pay attention to Nancy Fox's legacy and spirit, her creativity and kindness

The two big celebrations of Nancy Fox's life are done — the warm 'n' fuzzy in-person open house at her daughter's Novato home and the successful Zoom session that drew friends from all over the country (and Portugal), only a few of whom were digitally-challenged.

Now the task for celebrants is to pay attention every day to the fact that Nancy Fox's spirit and legacy will always be here.

She made it easy to remember her creativity, her humor, her intelligence, her musical genius, her lighthearted snarkiness, her kindness, her inner and outer beauty, and the countless anecdotes that illustrate each of those attributes. 

Her physical form will be missed every minute, but if we let it, her soul can envelop each of us and help mold us into a better, more giving person.

Sorry about that gushiness, sweetie, but you deserve it. You epitomize what everyone dreams they'd want in a partner, mom, grandmother, daughter, friend, and neighbor.    

Upbeat Zoom tribute to Nancy Fox's life set for this Sunday from 4 to 5:30 p.m. Pacific time.

The second celebration of Nancy Fox's life will take place this Sunday from 4 to 5:30 p.m. Pacific time, 7 to 8:30 Eastern, via Zoom. 

Nancy and Woody in Montreal

The format will be loose, with whomever wants to talk or do music doing just that, but with no speaking over another participant.

I'd prefer, as I did with the first celebration, that Nancy's life be the focus, not her death.

The link to get on will be:

https://us04web.zoom.us/j/9976147615?pwd=dzhHT2orL3VpQ2wzTVJsNUN6THozdz09

Meeting ID: 997 614 7615

Passcode: 694840

The successful in-person, open-house celebration at the Novato home of Laura Schifrin, Nancy's daughter, last Sunday drew 60-plus loving friends — and Kevin, the wild turkey who apparently insisted on personally greeting each guest. Hannah Schifrin, our granddaughter, continuously corralled the big pecker and directed traffic.

Laura and her partner, Adam Fox (no relation to Nance), spent four days preparing their home and the food to be served at the tribute to my partner of 36 years. 

Charlie Hickox schlepped his keyboard from Fairfax so he could play throughout the event (including a medley of Nancy's favorite tunes).

As for me, I reveled in receiving more hugs in one day than ever before — as well as the sensation that my recently departed spouse's spirit was present the entire time. She'll undoubtedly be there this Sunday as well.