Post-translational modification of histones provides an important regulatory platform for processes such as gene transcription and DNA damage repair. It has become increasingly apparent that the misregulation of histone modification, which is caused by the deregulation of factors that mediate the modification installation, removal and/or interpretation, actively contributes to human cancer. In this Review, the…
Read moreThis review by Pappas and Schaich discusses Vaccinium macrocarpon, the American cranberry, recording a comprehensive list of phytochemical components, and their prevalence in cranberry fruit and its products. Increased dietary consumption of fruits and vegetables may improve increased cardiovascular health and may reduced the risk of cancer, stroke, degenerative diseases, loss of functionality associated with…
Read moreBurdge and colleagues discuss the substantial evidence which shows that constraints in the early life environment are an important determinant of risk of metabolic disease in adult life.. There is emerging evidence that higher birth weight, which reflects a more abundant prenatal environment, is associated with increased cancer, in particular breast cancer and childhood leukaemia.…
Read moreThis is an interesting Perspective on turning anti-ageing genes against cancer. In such fluid states nutrition is bound to have a role. Recent studies in diverse organisms implicate proto-oncogenic pathways, including insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I), Ras and AKT/protein kinase B in the ageing process. Although IGF-I is thought to contribute to cancer by promoting growth…
Read moreThis is such an intriguing paper. Many lay people believe that there is a relationship between stress and the development of cancer. The tumour suppressor p53 is activated following stress and initiates a heterogeneous response in a cell-, tissue- and stress-dependent manner. This heterogeneity is reflected in the different physiological outcomes that follow p53 activation.…
Read moreLetai (2008) Diagnosing and exploiting cancer’s addiction to blocks in apoptosis Nature Reviews Cancer H, 121-132Apoptosis is an important bodily function, but the control of which has yet to be associated with nutrition.Cancer cells survive despite violating rules of normal cellular behaviour that ordinarily provoke apoptosis. The blocks in apoptosis that keep cancer cells alive…
Read moreVitamin D health and illness.Susan Mayor in the BMJ 12 JANUARY 2008 VOLUME 336 page 62 Vitamin D deficiency is associated with bone disease .Two recent studies show that lack of the vitamin D also increases the risk of heart disease and is linked to poorer prognosis for some cancers.A follow-up study of 1739 offspring…
Read moreGillian Reeves and her colleagues have studied whether there is a relationship between body mass index (kg/m1) and cancer incidence and mortality. They studied a large group of 1.2 million UK women recruited into the Million Women Study, aged 50-64 during 1996-2001, and followed up, on average, for 5.4 years for cancer incidence and 7.0…
Read moreLung cancer is the major and most preventable cause of cancer world wide. 80% of these tumours are non-small cell lung cancers. An article and a summarising article in NatureMeyerson M Broken genes in solid tumours Nature 2007, 448, 545-6Soda M Identification of the transforming EML4-ALK fusion gene in non small cell lung cancer. Nature…
Read moreBurkitt and Trowell observed and then suggested that the African population was free of colonic cancer because of the protective action of dietary fibre. There has been much debate as to whether or not this is fact or fantasy. Epidemiological studies have been both supportive and dismissive of the fibre story. They preached that wheat…
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