Battling Cancer

Considering a wine to compliment tonight’s meal?

Think red.

Think resveratrol.

Resveratrol is a compound that is found naturally in wines, blueberries and peanuts. The largest amount can be found in the skin of the red grape and in red wines which are fermented in the skin of the grape.

Resveratrol has been in the news over the last few years as studies show a connection between the compound and its cardiovascular and anti-aging properties.

While the resveratrol has been recognized as a powerful antioxidant, it is now getting a second glance as a link to preventing breast cancer. Researchers have recently made the connection between resveratrol and reducing breast cancer risks.

From the July, Cancer Prevention Research, comes this news:

“Resveratrol has the ability to prevent the first step that occurs when estrogen starts the process that leads to cancer by blocking the formation of the estrogen DNA adducts. We believe that this could stop the whole progression that leads to breast cancer down the road,” study author Eleanor G. Rogan, a professor in the Eppley Institute for Research in Cancer and Allied Diseases at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, said in a prepared statement.”

Source:Atlanta Journal Constitution

ScienceDaily last year reported a link between resveratrol and prostate cancer in a clinical study out of the University of Alabama at Birmingham. “In the study resveratrol-fed mice showed an 87 percent reduction in their risk of developing prostate tumors that contained the worst kind of cancer-staging diagnosis. The mice that proved to have the highest cancer-protection effect earned it after seven months of consuming resveratrol in a powdered formula mixed with their food. ”

The next step for resveratrol will be clinical studies in humans.

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The FDA has given approval for a clinical trial that is all about cancer immunity. Wake Forest University School of Medicine, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina is the site of this amazing cancer research. Dr. Zheng Cui, an associate professor at the university, who teaches biochemistry, molecular biology, lipid biochemistry, cancer biology, and cancer immunology and his team will lead the trial.

The trial began with the accidental discovery of a mouse that was resistant to cancer. Repeated injection of cancer cells yielded zero tumor growth. Breeding the cancer immune mouse resulted in three of the seven grandchildren of the immune mouse also having the same immune characteristics.

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That’s right. Chocolate for cancer.

This story certainly perked up my ears.

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Now that you understand clinical trials, let’s see what new cancer initiatives are in progress right now.

Clinical Study Results.org is an excellent site for finding out what is going on with drug company research and provides clinical study results in a “reader friendly standardized format” to make the results for many marketed pharmaceuticals more transparent. ”

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What exactly is an antioxidant and what does it have to do with cancer?

Per the American Dietetic Association: “Antioxidants are dietary substances including some nutrients such as beta carotene, vitamins C and E and selenium, that can prevent damage to your body cells or repair damage that has been done.”

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Basically a clinical trial is a scientific research involving people, that studies the effects of a new medication, therapy or device to determine if it is safe and effective.

In the United States, clinical trials are monitored by the Food and Drug Administration.

The Phases of a Clinical Trial:

Phase I evaluates dosage parameters.

Phase II continues to evaluate safety and begins to study efficacy.

Phase III compares the new drug with standards of care or if there are none, a placebo.

Phase IV is used if the drug normally used as a standard is to be used for another condition or if the formulation is changed. This phase may also be used for extended studies on drug side effects.

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