Carisa Documents

The Aortic News August 2009

Carisa Admin — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 13:09:08 SAST

Aortic (African Organisation for Research and Training in Africa) was formed by expatriate cancer care workers, scientists and their friends and is dedicated to the promotion of cancer control in Africa.

Disease Control Priorities in Developing Countries: Second Edition.

Carisa Admin — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 09:10:33 SAST

The Disease Control Priorities Project (DCPP) (http://www.dcp2.org/) is an ongoing effort to assess disease control priorities and produce evidence-based analysis and resource materials to inform health policymaking in developing countries. DCPP has produced three volumes providing technical resources that can assist developing countries in improving their health systems and ultimately, the health of their people.

Documents from the Second Stop Cervical Cancer in Africa conference.

Carisa Admin — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 08:50:20 SAST

The Second Stop Cervical Cancer in Africa conference, held from 21st to 22nd July this year, was well attended by government representatives and policy makers and health care workers. The official report from the conference highlights the key points of the sessions over the two days of the conference. You can also read the address of the First Lady of Uganda, Hon. Janet Museveni, who hosted the conference. The Minister of State for Health of Uganda, Dr Richard Nduhuura, composed the Call to Action arising from the conference, which calls on all to implement commitments arising from the conference.

Coverage of Cervical Cancer Screening in Developed and Developing Countries.

Carisa Admin — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 08:35:46 SAST

Screening rates for cervical cancer in the developing world are low. From an analysis carried out by Gakidou et al. recently published in PLOS Medicine, screening of cervical cancer in developing countries was shown to be an average of 19%compared with an average of 63% in developed countries. This is the result of analysis of 57 countries, inclusive of all levels of economic development, 30 of which are defined as developing countries. Their results point to inadequate cervical cancer prevention services in the developing world and inequality in access to services.

Liver Cancer and Hepatitis B Virus: reporting on the first anti-cancer vaccine.

Carisa Admin — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 11:16:37 SAST

The positive message that, after sufficient time, vaccination will be able to eradicate hepatitis B virus (HBV) and HBV-induced liver cancer will become a thing of the past was delivered by Professor Mike Kew at the CANSA Research in Action conference held at Emperor’s Palace from 20th to 22nd August. Kew, who spoke about the link between hepatitis B virus and liver cancer, is a world-renowned researcher in liver cancer and first described the link between hepatitis B virus liver cancer. According to him the picture for hepatitis C virus (HCV) and HCV-induced liver cancer is less optimistic however.

The Anti-Cancer Effect of Calorie Restriction- another step closer to reaping the benefits without the diet.

Carisa Admin — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 09:59:04 SAST

By Joanne Riley

A low calorie diet has been shown to protect against carcinogenesis (the creation of cancer) and to extend the lifespan of laboratory animals. This phenomenon has led to a large following of the low calorie diet as an anti-ageing and anti-cancer strategy, but the mechanisms of this phenomenon are still largely unknown.

South African Researchers Identifying Prostate Stem Cells May Drive More Effective Prostate Cancer Treatment

Carisa Admin — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 09:58:32 SAST

By Joanne Riley

The cancer stem cell hypothesis proposes that cancers contain cancer stem cells which are responsible for the continuous self-renewal of the tumour and fuel its growth. Consequently, they may be the most important targets of cancer therapy, as without their elimination the tumour will recur. Cancer stem cells and normal stem cells share numerous similarities, but also show cancer-defining differences. Common features include their capacity for self-renewal, their ability to differentiate, their protection against programmed cell death and their multi-drug resistance.

Dr Patsy Burger at the Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine (IIDMM) at the University of Cape Town, in collaboration with Prof Lynette Wilson, is characterising prostate stem cells by identifying markers expressed by the cells. They also plan to isolate prostate cancer stem cells and to determine how they differ and how they are similar to normal stem cells, to verify whether stem cells and/or post stem cells are the source of prostate cancer.

The Anti-Cancer Effects of ß-Glucans - Another Potential Complementary Cancer Therapy

Carisa Admin — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 09:57:56 SAST

By Joanne Riley

ß-glucans have become a subject of interest in the area of complementary cancer therapeutics due to their anti-cancer properties. ß-glucans are naturally-occurring polysaccharides (glucose polymers).

Human Embryonic Stem Cell Environment Suppresses

Carisa Admin — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 09:57:14 SAST

by Joanne Riley

Reports in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in March 2008 show how the human embryonic stem cell environment suppresses aggressive cancer cells (Postovit et al , 2008). This research by scientists at Northwestern University in Chicago followed on their previous work studying aggressive metastatic cancer cells, which share many characteristics with stem cells.

World Cancer Research Fund and American Institute of Cancer Research offer recommendations for cancer prevention

Carisa Admin — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 09:51:16 SAST

by Joanne Riley

A comprehensive report that explores the extent to which food and nutrition, physical activity and body composition affect the risk of cancer found that healthy patterns of eating and physical activity, and healthy ways of life protect against cancer, as they do against other diseases.