Is BRCA (“Breast Cancer Gene”) A Death Sentence?

……………………………………………………………………………….

Posted on:

Thursday, April 2nd 2015 at 7:15 am

Written By:

Sayer Ji, Founder

What we think we know about the BRCA (Breast Cancer Susceptibility Associated) genes causing cancer is patently false, according to a new meta-analysis on the extant literature on the subject of these gene variations on breast cancer survival prognosis.  

A groundbreaking new meta-analysis published in PLoS titled,”Worse Breast Cancer Prognosis of BRCA1/BRCA2 Mutation Carriers: What’s the Evidence? A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis“, calls into question the value of using BRCA1/2 gene status to determine breast cancer survival prognosis, as is common practice today. This implications of this research may have wide-ranging effects as the present climate, following Angelina Jolie’s high profile decision to have prophylactic breast, ovary and fallopian tube removed due to her perceived “genetic inheritance,” is to equate BRCA status with bona fide and mathematically calculable disease risk certainty.

Jolie’s decision to subject herself to multiple prophylactic organ removal was based on the premise that her BRCA mutations would result in an 87 percent lifetime risk of developing breast cancer and up to 54 percent chance of ovarian cancer, as prognosticated by her doctors. The notion that BRCA genes have full or near full penetrance (the ability of a mutation to cause clinically identifiable disease) has profound implications for the health of millions of women who rely on these predictions to make life and death medical decisions.

Because of a wide range of conflicting conclusions on the subject of BRCA’s role in determining cancer risk and prognosis, researchers in the new study attempted a systematic and quantitative synthesis of evidence using the following method:

“Eligible publications were observational studies assessing the survival of breast cancer patients carrying a BRCA1/2 mutation compared to non-carriers or the general breast cancer population. We performed meta-analyses and best-evidence syntheses for survival outcomes taking into account study quality assessed by selection bias, misclassification bias and confounding.”

They summarized their findings:

“Our review shows that, in contrast to currently held beliefs of many oncologists and despite 66 published studies, it is not yet possible to draw evidence-based conclusions about the association between BRCA1 and/or BRCA2 mutation carriership and breast cancer prognosis. We only found sufficient evidence for a 10% worse unadjusted recurrence-free survival for BRCA1 mutation carriers. For all the other outcomes the evidence was judged to be indecisive.”

In their concluding remarks, the researchers state, “In contrast to currently held beliefs of some oncologists, current evidence does not support worse breast cancer survival of BRCA1/2 mutation carriers in the adjuvant setting; differences if any are likely to be small. More well-designed studies are awaited.”

Read More Here

Breaking Report: HPV Cancers Rising In Spite of Vaccination

Posted on:

Thursday, January 9th 2014 at 10:30 am

Written By:

Sayer Ji, Founder

A new study by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) reveals that, despite increasing uptake of human papillomavirus (HVP) vaccines, cancers linked to HPV rose in the past decade.

The report, published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, was co-authored by researchers from the American Cancer Society (ACS), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Cancer Institute (NCI), and the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries (NAACCR), and found that while overall cancer death rates in the U.S. continue to decline among both men and women over the past decade, incidence rates are actually increasing for HPV-associated oral, vulva and anal cancers.

As reported by Fierce Vaccines, this finding may “irk HPV vaccine makers Merck and GlaxoSmithKline,” whose vaccines have been adopted and lauded by national and global health authorities as safe and effective, ‘live saving’ interventions.

Obviously, if the report is correct, and by 2010 as many as 48.7 percent of girls ages 13 through 17 had received at least one dose of the HPV vaccine, and 32 percent received all three recommended doses, we should expect to find a widespread decline in HPV-associated cancers if the vaccines actually work as advertised.

Read More Here

Related articles

• Protect Your Daughters from Cervical Cancer
• The HPV Vaccine, free for boys too?

A study led by a Michigan State University researcher offers the strongest evidence yet that reflexology – can help cancer patients manage their symptoms and perform daily tasks.

Health And Wellness Report

 

 

Reflexology: Ancient Foot Massage Technique May Ease Cancer Symptoms

ScienceDaily

A study led by a Michigan State University researcher offers the strongest evidence yet that reflexology — a type of specialized foot massage practiced since the age of pharaohs — can help cancer patients manage their symptoms and perform daily tasks.

Funded by the National Cancer Institute and published in the latest issue of Oncology Nursing Forum, it is the first large-scale, randomized study of reflexology as a complement to standard cancer treatment, according to lead author Gwen Wyatt, a professor in the College of Nursing.

“It’s always been assumed that it’s a nice comfort measure, but to this point we really have not, in a rigorous way, documented the benefits,” Wyatt said. “This is the first step toward moving a complementary therapy from fringe care to mainstream care.”

Reflexology is based on the idea that stimulating specific points on the feet can improve the functioning of corresponding organs, glands and other parts of the body.

The study involved 385 women undergoing chemotherapy or hormonal therapy for advanced-stage breast cancer that had spread beyond the breast. The women were assigned randomly to three groups: Some received treatment by a certified reflexologist, others got a foot massage meant to act like a placebo, and the rest had only standard medical treatment and no foot manipulation.

Wyatt and colleagues surveyed participants about their symptoms at intake and then checked in with them after five weeks and 11 weeks.

They found that those in the reflexology group experienced significantly less shortness of breath, a common symptom in breast cancer patients. Perhaps as a result of their improved breathing, they also were better able to perform daily tasks such as climbing a flight of stairs, getting dressed or going grocery shopping.

Wyatt said she was surprised to find that reflexology’s effects appeared to be primarily physical, not psychological.

“We didn’t get the change we might have expected with the emotional symptoms like anxiety and depression,” she said. “The most significant changes were documented with the physical symptoms.”

Also unexpected was the reduced fatigue reported by those who received the “placebo” foot massage, particularly since the reflexology group did not show similarly significant improvement. Wyatt is now researching whether massage similar to reflexology performed by cancer patients’ friends and family, as opposed to certified reflexologists, might be a simple and inexpensive treatment option.

Reflexology did not appear to reduce pain or nausea, but Wyatt said that could be because the drugs for combating those symptoms are generally quite effective, so the women may not have reported them to begin with.

Although health researchers only recently have begun studying reflexology in a scientifically rigorous way, it’s widely practiced in many parts of the world and dates back thousands of years.

“Reflexology comes out of the Chinese tradition and out of Egypt,” Wyatt said. “In fact, it’s shown in hieroglyphics. It’s been around for a very long time.”

Wyatt’s co-authors include MSU statistics and probability professor Alla Sikorskii and College of Nursing research assistant Mei You, along with colleagues from Northwestern University and the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.

 

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Michigan State University.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

---

Journal Reference:

1. Mei You, David Victorson, Mohammad Hossein Rahbar, Alla Sikorskii, Gwen Wyatt. Health-Related Quality-of-Life Outcomes: A Reflexology Trial With Patients With Advanced-Stage Breast Cancer. Oncology Nursing Forum, 2012; 39 (6): 568 DOI: 10.1188/12.ONF.568-577

Related articles

• Reflexology Foot Massage Eases Cancer Symptoms (positivelygood.net)
• Reflexology eases some cancer symptoms (nyrnaturalnews.com)
• Ancient foot massage technique may ease cancer symptoms (tracingknowledge.wordpress.com)
• Foot reflexology may ease cancer symptoms (holykaw.alltop.com)
• Might be of Interest (yapcab.wordpress.com)