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Mesothelioma: A Killer
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Lycopene, vitamin E reduce prostate tumors in mice
Last Updated: 2004-09-30 9:50:00 -0400 (Reuters Health)
By Patricia Reaney
LONDON (Reuters) - Scientists are testing the impact of vitamin E and a synthetic version of lycopene, a compound in tomatoes, in cancer patients after they found that the combination slowed the growth of prostate tumors in mice.
Lycopene is what gives tomatoes their rich red color. Studies have suggested that it can reduce the risk of prostate cancer.
Dr. Jacqueline Limpens, of the Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam, presented new research in Geneva on Thursday showing that, in mice studies, the impact of lycopene can be enhanced by using it with vitamin E.
"The combination of lycopene and vitamin E produced the most active response and the most significant," Limpens said in a telephone news conference from the EORTC-NCI-AACR Symposium on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics.
She and her team tested low and high doses of synthetic lycopene alone and combined with vitamin E and a combination of low dose lycopene and low vitamin E against a placebo in mice injected with human prostate cancer cells.
"What was particularly marked was that it was the low dose of both lycopene and vitamin E that was the most effective, demonstrating that 'more does not necessarily equal better,"' said Limpens.
The combination reduced the growth of the tumors by 73 percent by the 42nd day of the trial.
A study testing the compounds in cancer patients is now under way. Prostate cancer kills about 200,000 men each year, mostly in developed countries. Most men diagnosed with the disease are usually 65 or older.
The incidence of the disease is rising in many countries but experts believe it is due largely to improved screening. It is usually treated with surgery or radiation treatment.
Limpens said the findings are in line with research suggesting that vitamin E and lycopene could have a protective effect against prostate cancer.
"Therefore we would certainly recommend that all men regularly eat lycopene and vitamin-E-rich foods; for example, all kinds of processed tomato products, papayas, pink grapefruit and watermelon, wheat germs, whole grains, mangoes, leafy green vegetables, nuts and olive oils," she added in a statement.
Copyright © 2004 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. Reuters and the Reuters sphere logo are registered trademarks and trademarks of the Reuters group of companies around the world.
Intravenous line no benefit for ear tube surgery
Last Updated: 2004-09-29 16:26:23 -0400 (Reuters Health)
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Otherwise healthy children who are having ear tubes inserted do not benefit from having an intravenous (IV) line placed at the time of surgery.
In fact, such lines, which allow doctors to give fluids and drugs directly into a vein, may increase the need for pain medications and prolong the hospital stay, researchers report in the Archives of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery.
Dr. Michael S. Haupert, from Wayne State University in Detroit, and colleagues studied 100 children who were randomly selected to have an IV line or no IV line at the time of their ear tube surgery. Both groups were given the same type of general anesthesia. The parents were called the next day to determine how the child was faring.
Compared with children that did not have an IV, those who did spent about 4 minutes longer in the operating room, 24 minutes longer in the recovery room, and 31 minutes longer in the hospital.
The authors found that IV treated children required more pain medications. In addition, parental satisfaction rates were lower for in the group treated with the IV line.
"As physicians, we continually strive to improve the quality of care we deliver as well as improve the quality of our patients' lives," the researchers write. "A small but significant part of care, such as (the use of IV lines), can greatly affect the child's hospital stay and the parent's satisfaction."
SOURCE: Archives of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, September 2004.
Copyright © 2004 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. Reuters and the Reuters sphere logo are registered trademarks and trademarks of the Reuters group of companies around the world.
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