Fasting and Chemotherapy

In a recent article on Low Carb Diets And Cancer, we looked at some interesting results of studies on low carb diets on established tumours. The conclusion to that study showed that a low carbohydrate, high protein diet:

...reduces blood glucose, insulin, and glycolysis, slows tumor growth, reduces tumor incidence, and works additively with existing therapies without weight loss or kidney failure. Such a diet, therefore, has the potential of being both a novel cancer prophylactic and treatment, warranting further investigation of its applicability in the clinic, especially in combination with existing therapies.

Well, you can’t get lower carb than not eating altogether, and that’s exactly what another new paper explores as an option. Published in the journal Science Translational Medicine, you get a clear idea of what it’s about from the title: Fasting Cycles Retard Growth of Tumors and Sensitize a Range of Cancer Cell
Types to Chemotherapy. As with the previous paper, much of the data in this paper comes from mice models of cancer. So, as always it’s important to keep in mind that what works in mice doesn’t necessarily work in humans. Aside from anything else, mice don’t have to cope with the stress of knowing they have cancer…

February 29th is Rare Disease Day 2012

In the words of the the Rare Disease UK network:

• 1 in 17 people will be affected by a rare disease at some point in their life.
• This amounts to approximately 3.5 million people in the UK.
• 75% of rare diseases affect children and 30% of rare disease patients will die before their 5th birthday.
• There are over 6,000 recognised rare diseases.
• Collectively rare diseases are not rare.

Rare Disease UK (RDUK) is the national alliance for people with rare diseases and all who support them. We believe that everyone living with a rare disease should be able to receive high quality services, treatment and support.

One of those rare diseases is Li Fraumeni Syndrome, and the George Pantiarka TP53 Trust is proud to announce that it has joined RDUK. To find out more about the network, and what it's doing for Rare Disease Day 2012 please take a look at: http://www.raredisease.org.uk/news/rdd2012_2weeks.htm

In particular note that there's a political angle to this campaign:

It has now been over 2 years and 9 months since the Government signed the European Recommendation which committed them to developing a plan for rare diseases.
It has been a year since Rare Disease UK launched our comprehensive recommendations to inform the plan in our report Improving Lives, Optimising Resources: A Vision for the UK Rare Disease Strategy

As a result, we are using Rare Disease Day to call for no further delays to the plan. Please help us to do this by writing to your politician! If you have done so already, thank you very much – we have had a fantastic response rate! RDUK has also been busy contacting politicians, but as their constituent, you have the most influence over your representatives.

Information on how to contact your local politician and template letters depending on whether you live in England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland are available here.

Let's hope that the activity and extra focus on February 29th has an effect at last.

LDN Research Trust Newsletter

The February 2012 newsletter of the LDN Research Trust is now available here: http://www.ldnresearchtrustfiles.co.uk/docs/February%20Newsletter%202012.pdf

As well as covering all the news from the world of Low Dose Naltrexone research, there's also an article about this website and the work of the George Pantziarka TP53 Trust. It's a good read - so if you're at all interested in low dose naltrexone it's definitely worth following up.

George Pantziarka TP53 Trust On Facebook

As part of our strategy to make contact with as many people as possible with Li Fraumeni Syndrome and other TP53-related conditions, we have just created a George Pantziarka TP53 Trust presence on Facebook. As well as a Facebook page here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-George-Pantziarka-TP53-Trust/339541346091212, there is also a group here: http://www.facebook.com/groups/117336885058553/

If you're on Facebook please drop by. If you know of anyone with a TP53-related condition, or an interest in TP53, then please pass on the word.

Interview With Galina Selivanova

Professor Galina Selivanova (GS) heads a research group in the Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, one of Europe's leading medical schools and research institutes. Her work focuses on re-activating TP53 using small molecule drugs, some of which are beginning to emerge into clinical trials. She is generally acknowledged to be one of the world's leading researchers on TP53 as a medical target in oncology. She is interviewed here: http://www.tp53.co.uk/index.php/interview-galina-selivanova and what she has to say is generally optimistic, which is welcome given how optimism is in precious short supply when it comes to Li Fraumeni Syndrome

Oncology Nurses Society On LFS

General information on Li Fraumeni Syndrome is comparatively rare, which is frustrating when you're trying to explain what it is to a doctor, nurse or other medical profession, let alone family and friends. However, the journal ONS Connect, published by the Oncology Nursing Society, have published a five-minute introduction to Li Fraumeni Syndrome.

Obviously aimed at the oncology nurse, it covers a reasonable level of detail and describes the current state of the art when it comes to the condition. If you need to point your nurse or doctor to a source that they can trust, then point them at this article:

http://www.onsconnect.org/2011/03/5min/an-introduction-to-li-fraumeni-syndrome

And of course, point them to http://www.tp53.co.uk as well...

Omega 3s, Stress and Cancer

Stress is a fact of life for cancer sufferers not just when they are undergoing treatment, but beyond that too, once they are in remission. It’s a fact life for people with Li Fraumeni Syndrome and other TP53-related conditions, and for those with Lynch Syndrome or other inherited conditions that predispose to cancer. This would be bad enough if we didn’t also know that stress can negatively affect the health, including negatively affecting the immune system. And, to cap it all, this knowledge itself causes stress, thereby creating one of those horrible vicious cycles that can lead to depression and anxiety.

Before reaching for the anti-depressants though, there are some positive things that can be done to tackle this stress. And, as a bonus, many of these steps to tackle stress can also boost the immune system and generally have a positive effect on health. What’s more, there is also accumulating evidence that many of the steps that I will outline are also good for people in the middle of cancer treatment, not just those who are in remission or worried about the next test results.

These positive steps include:

• Exercise
• Meditation
• Tackling sleep problems
• Improving diet
• Omega 3 fatty acids