National Cancer Institute

 【网址】 http://www.cancer.gov/
【类型】专业机构
美国国立癌症研究所(National Cancer Institute, NCI) 是美国癌症研究和资助的主要机构，是美国国立卫生研究院(NIH)所属的27个研究所中历史最为悠久的研究所。NCI主要任务是推动国家癌症研究计划的执行，采用多元化运作模式，工作内容包括相关人员培训、健康资讯传播、拟定癌症诊治研究计划以及关注病人康复。NCI的目标是鼓励和支持癌症研究中的新发现并促进其应用，以期使癌症在不远的将来变为少见而易治的疾病。
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NCI 主页的癌症相关信息资源有：
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（1）癌症主题（Cancer Topics）：信息内容涉及癌症相关的多个领域，包括癌症类型、癌症简介、治疗、预防、预后、遗传因素、筛查和检测等。“Cancer Library”提供NCI的事实数据、出版物、癌症主题检索；癌症术语资源链接了NCI辞典、联合医学术语表、美国食品药品管理局（FDA）术语表和临床数据交换标准协会(CDISC)术语表。
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（2）临床试验（Clinical Trial）：提供临床试验相关信息，内容包括临床试验项目简介、近期临床试验的结果、临床试验过程中使用的信息资源和工具等。
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（3）癌症统计学（Cancer Statistics）：提供癌症统计数据，介绍统计术语、数据用途、基于人群的癌症统计数据的计算；多种常见癌症的最新主题报告、交互图和地理与人口学分布；SEER项目癌症数据库入口、统计学方法和软件工具。
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（4）研究和资助（Research &; Funding）：公布NCI科研资助预算，NCI资助项目和培训计划的介绍、受助条件和标准，另外还链接了多种在线研究工具和在线服务供研究者参考。 （中国医科大学医学信息学系 黄亚明 潘现伟 整理）     

Treatment of Cancer

To cure cancer,it is,however,necessary forthe medical personnel as well as the patientsfirst to criticize the erroneous idealist view thatregards malignancy as“incurable”so asto build up confidence in fighting and eradica-ting cancer and gain better therapeutic results.Cure is accomplished by ablation or de-struction of all the malignant cells.This may bedone by surgical extirpation as with cancer ofthe breast,or with radiation therapy as withcancer of the uterine cervix.Sometimes the twomethods are combined with one preceeding theother in either order.No matter what te-chnique is used,however,elimination of all the     

Gastric Cancer Chemoprevention

In 1996, approximately one million new cases of gastric cancer were found. It is the second most common cancer in the world, and seventy five percent of the new cases are found in Asia. It is therefore an important issue in Asian countries. Like most malignancies, the etiology of gastric cancer is still unclear. It is generally agreed that the pathogenesis is multifactorial, which may include dietary factors, environmental factors, bacterial and viral infections. The role of Helicobacter pylori infection in gastric carcinogenesis is certainly very important.     

Gastrin and Colon Cancer

The classical peptide hormone gastrin was identified originally as a stimulant of gastric acid secretion, but is now known to also act as a growth factor for the gastrointestinal mucosa. In an earlier review the existing evidence that gastrin and related peptides act as growth factors for the normal colonic mucosa and for colorectal carcinomas was summarised. In this review I will highlight some recent developments in the field.     

International Agency for Research on Cancer

 【网址】 http://www.iarc.fr/
【类型】 专业机构
国际癌症研究机构（International Agency for Research on Cancer, IARC）是具有跨学科性质的国际机构，她融合了流行病学、实验室科学和生物统计学领域的技术来探究癌症病因，从而预防癌症发生、减轻患者负担。机构的主要任务是阐明环境和生活中潜在危险因素的致癌作用，通过基于人群的研究和适当的实验模型来揭示这些因素与遗传因素之间的相互作用，通过科学研究来揭示癌症与环境因素之间直接或间接的关系，以期找到癌症预防的方法。IARC还致力于研究癌症早期检测和预防策略的评价方法。IARC另一个工作重点是教育和培养来自世界各地的癌症研究者，通过提供奖学金、专业课程和出版物来达到培训的目的。来自中低收入国家的癌症流行病和癌症统计领域的研究人员具有优先获得培训的机会。

IARC主页栏目有：
（1）Publications：主要提供科技论文和IARC出版物。科技论文是论文书目、摘要和全文数据库，可按作者、题目、关键词等字段检索；IARC出版物有肿瘤分类标准、癌症预防手册、致癌风险因素评估论著以及IARC系列科技刊物。部分工作报告和指南文件可以免费下载。专著和分类标准文件只提供了简介，获取全文需要购买。
（2）Research：信息内容包括科学研究、IARC生物库、癌症主题、癌症统计资源、人类致癌物评估、癌症筛查和预防、TP53数据库以及研究项目网站链接，用户可以根据分类列表查看资源。
（3）Education & Training：提供教育和培训信息，如各种奖学金的设置、培训时间和课程安排。每一次培训网站都给出培训内容介绍、目标人群、设备和资料等。
此外，News & Events栏目提供了IARC的最新消息、多媒体资源、会议和研讨会信息。     

Cancer cachexia—pathophysiology and management

About half of all cancer patients show a syndrome of cachexia, characterized by anorexia and loss of adipose tissue and skeletal muscle mass. Cachexia can have a profound impact on quality of life, symptom burden, and a patient’s sense of dignity. It is a very serious complication, as weight loss during cancer treatment is associated with more chemotherapy-related side effects, fewer completed cycles of chemotherapy, and decreased survival rates. Numerous cytokines have been postulated to play a role in the etiology of cancer cachexia. Cytokines can elicit effects that mimic leptin signaling and suppress orexigenic ghrelin and neuropeptide Y (NPY) signaling, inducing sustained anorexia and cachexia not accompanied by the usual compensatory response. Furthermore, cytokines have been implicated in the induction of cancer-related muscle wasting. Cytokine-induced skeletal muscle wasting is probably a multifactorial process, which involves a protein synthesis inhibition, an increase in protein degradation, or a combination of both. The best treatment of the cachectic syndrome is a multifactorial approach. Many drugs including appetite stimulants, thalidomide, cytokine inhibitors, steroids, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, branched-chain amino acids, eicosapentaenoic acid, and antiserotoninergic drugs have been proposed and used in clinical trials, while others are still under investigation using experimental animals. There is a growing awareness of the positive impact of supportive care measures and development of promising novel pharmaceutical agents for cachexia. While there has been great progress in understanding the underlying biological mechanisms of cachexia, health care providers must also recognize the psychosocial and biomedical impact cachexia can have.     

Colorectal Cancer in Denmark 1943–1997

PURPOSE: This article reports the incidence rates of colon and rectal cancer in Denmark during 55 years of data registration and estimates the number of cases identified attributable to four modifiable risk factors and potentially preventable.METHODS: On the basis of reports in the nationwide, population-based, Danish Cancer Registry, we calculated age-standardized, period-specific, incidence rates and age and birth cohort-specific incidence rates. To calculate the population attributable risk, relative risk estimates were obtained from meta-analyses, case-control, and prospective cohort studies, combined with data from surveys of the consumption of alcohol, red meat, vegetables, and level of physical activity.RESULTS: For both genders, the incidence rate of colon cancer increased, whereas the incidence rate for rectal cancer decreased during the period 1943 to 1997. The decrease in the incidence rate of rectal cancer was observed for both genders, but the incidence rate among males was higher than that among females. The proportion of cases that could have been prevented if the Danish population had not been exposed to the four known risk factors varied from 0 to 15 percent for each of the four risk factors.CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that the incidence rate of colon cancer has increased, whereas that of rectal cancer has decreased in Denmark during 55 years of observation. The potentially preventable proportions of incident cases are substantial but not as high as might have been expected.Supported by the Danish Cancer Society and the National Institute of Public Health, Denmark.     

eNOS Genetic Polymorphisms and Cancer Risk: A Meta-Analysis and a Case–Control Study of Breast Cancer

The association between endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) polymorphisms (intron 4a/b, -786T>C and 894G>T) and cancer risk remains elusive. In addition, no studies focused on their associations with the risk of breast cancer in Chinese Han population. Thus, a meta-analysis was conducted to determine the relationship between eNOS polymorphisms and cancer risk, and then a case–control study in Chinese Han population was performed to assess their associations with breast cancer susceptibility.Odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to assess the strength of association. The pooled analysis indicated that eNOS intron 4a/b and -786T>C polymorphisms were significantly associated with an increased risk of overall cancer. In subgroup analyses based on cancer type, the significant association was found between eNOS intron 4a/b polymorphism and prostate cancer risk, eNOS -786T>C polymorphism and risk of prostate, bladder and breast cancers, and eNOS 894G>T polymorphism and breast cancer risk. In subgroup analyses based on ethnicity, eNOS intron 4a/b and -786T>C polymorphisms were associated with an increased risk of cancer in Caucasians. In consistent with our meta-analysis results, a case–control study in Chinese Han population showed significant associations of eNOS -786T>C and 894G>T polymorphisms with the increased risk of breast cancer. In addition, stratified analyses based on pathological type showed that eNOS 894G>T polymorphism was only associated with the risk of infiltrative ductal carcinoma. Stratified analyses by tumor stage showed that eNOS -786T>C polymorphism was only associated with the risk of tumor stage III and IV.In conclusion, our meta-analysis and case–control study suggest that eNOS -786T>C and 894G>T polymorphisms are associated with the increased risk of breast cancer.     

Digitalis,A Targeted Therapy for Cancer?

The clinical benefit of digitalis for patients with heart disease is well established. However, recent studies have also suggested that digitalis has antineoplastic activities at clinically relevant serum concentrations. Much of the early evidence supporting the anticancer activity of digitalis has been circumstantial. Observational studies suggest a protective benefit and improved outcomes in patients who develop cancer while they are taking digitalis. The mechanism by which digitalis selectively affects the growth of malignant cells is complex, involving several important signaling pathways. Experiments to determine its mechanism of action have demonstrated that digitalis inhibits cell growth and angiogenesis and induces apoptosis in multiple cancer cell lines. Most, if not all, of these effects are mediated through its target enzyme, sodium- and potassium-activated adenosine triphosphatase. This article reviews the literature, which supports the use of digitalis in patients with malignancies with a discussion of the potential mechanisms of action. We hypothesize that sodium- and potassium-activated adenosine triphosphatase is an important new target for cancer therapy. It is reasonable to expect that the addition of digitalis to current cancer treatments will improve the clinical outcomes.     

Cancer and HIV infection: any association?

PURPOSE: Morbidity and mortality related to neoplasia are increasing in HIV-infected patients. CURRENT KNOWLEDGE AND KEY-POINTS: The incidence of AIDS opportunistic infections dramatically decreased since the introduction of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). Among AIDS-cancers, the incidences of Kaposi sarcoma and of cerebral lymphoma decreased in a same way than AIDS infections but the incidences of systemic non-Hodgkin lymphoma and of cervical cancer decreased less than the others and remain higher than in the general population. This suggests that other factors than the quantitative immune reconstitution could be implicated. The most recent and large studies have also shown a 1.7 to 3 fold increased risk of developing non-AIDS cancers in HIV-infected patients when compared to the general population without significant impact of HAART on incidence curves. These malignancies include Hodgkin disease, lung, anal, head and neck cancers, hemopathies, and conjunctival cancers. PERSPECTIVES: Epidemiologic survey will help to define priorities in terms of prevention and screening in this specific population and to evaluate interventions which should be systematically proposed (alcohol and tobacco cessation programs, viral coinfection). The own roles of HIV itself and of antiretrovirals as prooncogenic factors need to be assessed.     

Gender-based Differences in the Pathogenesis of Gastric Cancer

In the developed Western part of the world, the incidence of GCA has markedly decreased over the past decades. This decrease of the GCA incidence seems to be a general and global event, suggesting that one or some globally and generally common factors play a critical role in the pathogenesis of GCA, and that thisfactor or factors have decreased in influence worldwidely during the past decades. These etiopathogenetic factors hardly are exotic differences in local habits of eating or drinking only. Such exotic and local factors cannot explain the striking consistency that is apparent in the global epidemiology of GCA. Regarding the H.pylori infection as the key factor in the pathogenesis of gastric cancer, these requirements of globality are fulfilled.     

DNA Methylation and Folate Metabolism in Stomach Cancer

Increasing interest in theanalogues or antagonists inapplication of gut peptide the diagnosis and treatmentof colorectal cancer necessitates a better insight and characterization of receptors for gut peptides in the development and metastasis of colorectal cancer. This study visualized and characterized the receptors for vasoactive intestinal peptide, secretin and somatostatin in the development and metastasis of colorectal cancer with storage phosphor autoradiography. Receptors for these three peptides were demonstrated in tumor-free colon and colon tumors. A decrease in affinity of vasoactive intestinal peptide receptors was shown in the sequence from tumor-free colon (Kd=0.93nmol),