March 02, 2009

Cancer screening extends and improves lives

Health writer

Posted 09:00 AM PDT

Cancer deaths among African-Americans have been steadily declining in recent years, but are still much higher than they should be.

For most types of cancer, blacks continue to have the highest death rate – and shortest survival – of any racial or ethnic group in the United States, the American Cancer Society reported recently in a sweeping review of African-Americans and cancer.

All too often, when cancer is diagnosed in an African-American patient, the disease is more advanced and harder to beat, the scientists found.

The issue has more to do with social and economic disparities – and a lack of early screening – than any biological differences associated with race, the scientists concluded. Inequalities in wealth, education and health insurance are partly to blame.

But cancer also is not being detected early enough.

As a result, more than 63,000 African-Americans will die from cancer this year.

Your brain—a smart reason to kick the habit

Michael Nierenberg, M.D.,

Navigenics Medical Director

Posted 01:45 PM PDT

In one of the more famous public service announcements ever to hit American television, a man cracks open an egg, drops it into a hot frying pan and says “This is your brain on drugs. Any questions?” In another memorable segment, actress Rachael Leigh Cook smashes an egg – and the entire kitchen – with a skillet to illustrate what happens to the brain on heroin.

But what happens to the brain after many years of smoking? New research indicates the picture is no less disturbing. Smoking side effects go beyond the heart and the lungs; they go to the very core of your being—your mind.

In a study of more than 5,000 civil servants living in London, researchers determined that smoking is associated with an increased risk of poor memory. Smoking in middle age was linked not only to a significant memory deficit, but also to a decline in reasoning ability.

The concern, however, isn’t just that smokers might forget where they put their keys or glasses. The researchers noted that cognitive impairment is often a precursor to dementia.

Our look at DNA and lung cancer

Elana Silver,

Navigenics Curation and Epidemiology Manager

Posted 09:00 AM PDT

Want to know more about three recent studies linking DNA and lung cancer? Here’s a quick look at the basics, along with some thoughts on why the findings are interesting.

First the highlights, from the journals Nature and Nature Genetics: