Henley on Thames
If she were standing there now she would be knee deep in water
Notice how I always seem to pose her with the sun directly in her eyes.
The monthly Fred Hutch newsletter just popped up on my
computer. I really shouldn’t write
another blog today; I have churned out two in the past two days, and I risk
boring you to death. However, it is
snowing, I have done my knee exercises, and Olympic coverage won’t start for
several hours. I could take a nap, but I
think I’ll risk another blog instead.
You can see the newsletter by clicking on
There are three items that are of particular interest. One concerns the benefits of coffee for men
with prostate cancer. Another describes
a method to predict the course of ovarian cancer, using a new technology
developed at the Hutch. The third, of
great interest to me, describes the effects of Vitamin E and selenium on
the risk of contracting prostate cancer.
I have written about prostate cancer before (3/27/12, with
five Comments, all by me.) Most of the
argument at that time revolved around whether or not to use PSA measurements to
predict the presence and virulence of prostate cancer. I also reported preliminary results
concerning whether or not coffee is good for you (5/30/12). Well, this newsletter describes experimental
results that indicate that – yes – coffee helps with prostate cancer. The experiment followed men who already had
prostate cancer. Those who drank as
little as one cup per day had a significantly lowered risk of cancer recurrence
or rapid growth. Men who drank up to
four or more cups also benefitted, but not by much more. They also followed tea drinkers, who
experienced no benefit at all. There is some
speculation as to why coffee might help, but I will spare you – it is a bit
“biofuzzy”. My take: I drink coffee all
the time and I’m going to keep right on doing it.
Ovarian cancer continues to be a tough nut to crack. Several Hutch scientists have learned that
the quantity of TILs active in an ovarian-type tumor will help predict how long
the victim will live. TIL stands for
“tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes”
Lymphocytes are part of the immune-systems arsenal. The more TILs, the better. The Hutch scientists have developed a method
for measuring TIL concentrations. I find
this report less than exhilarating. We
want to fix it so that women do not DIE of OVCA, not predict how long they will
last! But, I guess every little bit of
knowledge helps. I hope.
Finally, there is a report on the effects of high doses of
selenium and vitamin E on the occurrence of prostate cancer. I find this particularly interesting because,
not too many years ago, I was part of a nationwide trial (called SELECT) to see
if these two substances helped to ward of prostate cancer. After a few years the trial was abruptly
stopped, and now I know why. Far from preventing prostate cancer, Vitamin E and
selenium actually ENCOURAGE it.
Woops! Back to the drawing
board. But, anyway, I drink lots of
coffee and I’m too old to worry about this
kind of stuff.
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