Texas voters overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment in 2007 establishing the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) and authorizing the state to issue $3 billion in bonds to fund groundbreaking cancer research and prevention programs and services in Texas. CPRIT’s goal is to expedite innovation and commercialization in the area of cancer research and to enhance access to evidence-based prevention programs and services throughout the state. CPRIT accepts applications and awards grants for a wide variety of cancer-related research and for the delivery of cancer prevention programs and services by public and private entities located in Texas. More information about CPRIT and the funded proposals is available at its website, www.cprit.state.tx.us.

Here is who got funding!

January 20, 2010 CPRIT Research Awards

High Impact/High Risk: Short term projects that are developmental or exploratory in nature targeting new avenues of cancer research that, if successful, will contribute to major new insights into the etiology, diagnosis, treatment, or prevention of cancers.

Total monies awarded: $ 2,596,950
Recipients:
Baylor College of Medicine
Baylor University
InGeneron, Inc.
Rice University
Texas A&M University
The University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center
The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas

Individual Investigator: Innovative research proposals directed by a single investigator addressing critically important questions that will significantly advance knowledge of the causes, preventions and/or treatment of cancer.

Total monies awarded: $ 56,311,597
Recipients:
Baylor College of Medicine
Rice University
Texas A&M University System Health Science Center
Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center
The Methodist Hospital Research Institute
The University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Dallas
The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio
The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center
The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas
Visualase, Inc.

Recruitment (First Time, Tenure Track, Rising Stars and Superstars) Awards tailored to the career stage of the targeted recruits for relocation to Texas.

Total monies awarded: $ 2,000,000
Recipients:
The University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio

Cancer Research Institute Activities

The funding announced today is part of $3 billion that will be invested in cancer research projects during the next 10 years.

The Austin-based organization awarded 66 projects funding, which were chosen from about 900 proposals. A team of 100 experts reviewed applications and chose projects that study causes and treatments for brain, breast, blood, cervical, colon, liver, lung, ovarian, and prostate cancer.

At the same time, the institute awarded the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio the second CPRIT Scholar in Cancer Research. The facility will use the donation to recruit new staff.

Texas voters passed a constitutional amendment that created the organization in 2007. The state garnered $3 billion in bonds for research that aims to expedite innovation and commercialization in cancer research.

The University of Texas was among the winners.

As it turns out BBC News has reported the use of screening tests other than smears may prevent of more deaths caused by cervical cancer. This is so for women who are over 35.

Italian researchers headed by Dr. Guglielmo Ronco of the Turin Centre for Cancer Prevention studied data on over 90,000 women over three and a half years. The findings were that women who have been tested for the human papillomavirus (HPV) suffered less cancers than women who were tested using the more common smear technique.

Testing for HPV can pick up early pre-cancerous alterations to cervical cells, which means that the correct treatment can be started at an early stage. The director of information at the Cancer Research UK,, Dr. Leslie Walker state that “we might be able to spot the warning signs even earlier and it might, in future, mean that women go for screening less often.”

The good news according to the research is that HPV testing does not require the same amount of testing. Once every five years will do whereas smears need to be done once every three years.

Good for women under the age of 35

Unfortunately this type of testing is not the best one for all women. Since HPV testing is generally more sensitive, it also tends to find problems that, when discovered in younger women, often correct themselves over time and are truly better left untreated. Therefore, the testing is not best suited for women under the age of 35 in order to avoid being over-treated.

We encourage you to read more on this.

Doctor Speaks About Cervical Cancer Screenings

Dr. Bernadine Healy speaks about ACOG’s new recommendations for less frequent pap smears to detect cervical cancer in this video.

Finnish medical biotechnology group Biohit said Monday it had developed a capsule that could help prevent stomach and throat cancer by neutralising the cancer-causing compound acetaldehyde.

Acetaldehyde is produced from alcohol and sugar by microbes in the mouth. The gastric acid of a healthy stomach generally kills these microbes, but they can survive in an acid-free stomach and continue to produce acetaldehyde there.

“It is clear that acetaldehyde is a class one carcinogenic, or a cancer-causing factor of the worst kind, and it is clear that an acid-free stomach is a risk factor for stomach cancer,” Biohit chief executive Osmo Suovaniemi told AFP.

He said the capsule, developed by Biohit in collaboration with researchers from the University of Helsinki, neutralised acetaldehyde when taken with meals or alcohol and could, therefore, help prevent the development of cancer.

“How many cancer cases it may prevent in the future remains to be seen,” Suovaniemi said, adding it would take years to determine the capsule’s cancer-preventing impact.

Suovaniemi said the drug had received the approval of medical authorities after undergoing clinical testing.

Biohit aims to make the over-the-counter capsules available in Finnish pharmacies during the first half of this year and to start marketing them internationally during 2011 at the latest.

Biohit shares surged on the news and were up by 120 percent at 3.36 euros in late afternoon trading on the Helsinki stock exchange.

With acknowledgment to AFP.

Lloyd Webber, 61, said in a health diary published on his website that he noticed the first symptoms of his cancer last summer and underwent an operation to remove his prostate gland after a biopsy came back positive.

He was told the cancer had been caught early and the treatment was successful, but he then battled an underlying e-coli infection that had been there all along.

“If that infection had been found and cured, I could have been blissfully unaware that I had a cancerous tumor that was on the verge of breaking loose around the rest of my body. I could have thought that my frequent peeing was due to a weak bladder. I have been bloody lucky,” wrote Lloyd Webber.

“I say to every red-blooded male, if you do begin to have a problem down under, however embarrassing, go to your GP at once. Even if you don’t have any symptoms, if you are over 50 get regular PSA (prostate specific antigen) tests.”

Lloyd Webber, the composer behind hit musicals including “Jesus Christ Superstar,” “Cats” and “Starlight Express,” is staging a sequel to “The Phantom of the Opera” called “Love Never Dies” that is due to open in London in March this year.

He has also just kicked off a search for Dorothy to star in his West End production of “The Wizard of Oz” with his search to be the topic of a BBC television talent show.

Interview with Andrew Lloyd Webber

This may be a bit late for a look at cancer issues over the last decade but Sandy Hutchens Cancer Prevention will do so nonetheless. Here we focus on three famous lives that were struck down by cancer in late 2009.

Farrah Fawcett lost her struggle with cancer

Farrah Fawcett, 62, who became famous on television’s Charlie’s Angels, was diagnosed with cancer in 2006.

She died in a Los Angles hospital.

A spokesman said that Fawcett “passed to a better place and left the pain and confines of her bed behind”.

Fawcett’s fight against the cancer was the theme of an emotional documentary that was released shortly before her death.

Senator Edward Kennedy died of cancer

A life of public service.

Ted Kennedy was called the “liberal lion of the Senate” and he fought a year-long battle with cancer of the brain. “He left the scene of the accident and has gone to a better place.” said a friend and admirer.

Edward Kennedy’s 1969 Chappaquiddick Speech – Memories of Greatness

Remembering Patrick Swayze

The cowboy celebrity that cared.

Patrick Swayze who became famous with the movie “Dirty Dancing” and then with the movie “Ghost,” died at the age of 57 after a battle with pancreatic cancer.

“Patrick Swayze passed away peacefully today with family at his side after facing the challenges of his illness for the last 20 months,” said a statement released shortly after his death.

Pancreatic cancer is a particularly deadly form of cancer.

It is interesting to note that the reason men leave a sick spouse is partially explained by their lesser ability to quickly adjust to becoming a caregiver and be the primary homemaker. Links were discovered between age and length of marriage and the probability of separation. Longer marriages seem to remain more stable however the older the woman, the more likely the partnership would end.

The study that Hutchens Cancer Prevention is reporting on was conducted with the Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah School of Medicine and Stanford University School of Medicine. For the study, patients were divided into three diagnostic groups: those with malignant primary tumors, those with solid tumors with no central nervous system involvement, and those with multiple sclerosis. Approximately one half were women.

Chamberlain said the study was begun since doctors noticed that in their neuro-oncology practices, divorce occurred almost exclusively when the wife was the patient, but in all cases the woman was more likely to end up alone. Researchers also looked at the quality of life among the patients who separated or divorced.

They found that these patients used more psychotropics for depression, took part in less clinical trials, had a greater frequency of hospitalizations, were less likely to continue their courses of radiation therapy and it was more common for them to not die in their own homes.

The findings will be published in the journal Cancer. Medical professionals should be sensitive to potential marital problems in couples afflicted by a serious medical illness, especially when the one diagnose is a woman.

“Early identification and psychosocial intervention might reduce the frequency of divorce and separation, and in turn improve quality of life and quality of care,” claimed the researchers.

Cancer and Marriage: Four Couples

Tobacco

This is the single largest preventable cause of cancer in the world. It causes over 80% of all lung cancer deaths, and 30% of all cancer deaths in the third world. This includes deaths from cancer of the oral cavity, larynx, oesophagus and stomach. A comprehensive program which would include a stop to tobacco advertising, increased taxation on tobacco products, and stop smoking programs can greatly reduce the use of tobacco in many countries. The World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control adopted measures in May 2003, aims to curb tobacco-related deaths and disease. We are looking for updates on their progress.

Diet

Changes in diet is another critical action to take to prevent and control cancer. There are know links between obesity and many types of cancer such as oesophagus, colorectum, breast, endometrium and kidney. Diets high in fruits and vegetables have a preventative effect against a great number of cancers. On the other hand, consumption of red and preserved meat is connected with an increased risk of colorectal cancer.Healthy eating habits which ameliorate the development of diet-related cancers have the added benefit of lowering the potential for cardiovascular disease.

Exercise

Regular physical exercise along with a healthy body weight and healthy diet, will greatly reduce the chances of cancer. National policies and programs have been implemented in some countries which raise awareness and reduce exposure to cancer risk factors. To ensure that citizens are provided with the information and the tools they need to adopt healthy lifestyles governments may play a large role.

Preventing Disease

Infectious agents are responsible for almost one quarter of cancer deaths in the third world and 1 in 20 in industrialized countries. Viral hepatitis B and C can cause liver cancer; human papilloma virus infection can cause cancer of the cervix; the bacterium Helicobacter pylori can greatly increase the risk of stomach cancer. In some countries the parasitic infection schistosomiasis increases the risk of bladder cancer and in other countries the liver fluke increases the risk of cholangiocarcinoma to do with the bile ducts system. Preventive measures include vaccination and prevention of infection and infestation.

Radiation

Exposure to radiation is well known to cause some cancers. Solar ultraviolet radiation can raise the risk of all types of skin cancer. Avoiding excessive exposure, use of sunscreen and protective clothing are important preventive activities.

Asbestos

On the subject of home and workplace safety, asbestos must be looked at because it can cause lung cancer. Also aniline dyes have been linked to bladder cancer. Benzene has been linked to leukemia. The prevention of certain occupational and environmental exposure to these and other chemicals are important steps to take in preventing cancer.

Smile For Cancer Prevention video

The practice scooped £20,000 for its Maggie’s Centre, a cancer care facility in west London, beating BDP’s Liverpool One masterplan and Eric Parry’s St. Martin-in-the-Fields restoration, in London among others.

Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners came first three years ago for Barajas Airport in Spain.

In a press release the RIBA said the building successfully created a haven for those who have been diagnosed with cancer.

“Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners’ achievement is in having created a completely informal, home-like sanctuary to help patients learn to live with cancer.”

The building – designed as the antithesis of a hospital – is a two-storey pavilion with a roof canopy hovering above the walls and over a series of gardens, courtyards and roof terraces. It is encircled with an orange wall to provide separation from the rest of the city.

There are six Maggie’s Centres in the UK designed for terminally ill cancer patients by well-known architects including Frank Gehry and Zaha Hadid. The foundation behind them was created by architecture writer, Charles Jencks whose wife died of the disease. He is the client on the jobs.

Meanwhile, in a contentious move, all six clients shortlisted for the prize received the best client award.

RIBA judges said: “This was a positive decision in an exceptional year which produced some remarkable clients. The RIBA Awards Group wished to celebrate the achievements of all six in the same way.”

Maggie’s Centre: Stirling Prize Shortlist 2009

Will Wimshurst of Rogers, Stirk, Harbour + Partners explains the design of Maggie’s Centre, Hammersmith.

The Architects’ Journal has talked to the architects behind each of the six shortlisted projects for this year’s Stirling Prize.

The Royal Institute of British Architects’ Stirling Prize is the most prestigious award in British architecture.

Previous winners have included Norman Foster, Will Alsop, David Chipperfield and Richard Rogers.

General David Petraeus, leading U.S. military commander in the Middle East, is being treated for early-stage prostrate cancer. A statement to this effect was released by his office on Tuesday.

He was diagnosed in February and received two months of radiation at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington.

“The treatment is assessed to have been successful,” said the statement, released by Erik O. Gunhus, spokesman for Petraeus who is 56 years old and the Commander of U.S. Central Command. He is in charges of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The general considers his illness to be a personal matter and is keeping as private as possible because it is not interfering with his duties.

President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mike Mullen are aware of Petraeus’ condition, it added.

Petraeus: “I Do Think You Have To Talk To Enemies”