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Low Vitamin D Levels In Blacks Could Contribute To Higher Rates Of Cancer, Other Diseases, Researcher Says
Low vitamin D levels in blacks could contribute to health gaps between white and black U.S. residents, Michael Holick, a professor at Boston University and a vitamin D researcher, said recently, the GNS/Chicago Sun-Times reports. According to Holick, blacks have lower levels of vitamin D than whites in part because the higher amount of pigment in their skin makes it harder for their body to absorb the nutrient, which is produced in response to sun exposure. Although scientists are debating optimum vitamin D levels, some scientists have said that vitamin D can reduce the risk of cancer, diabetes, heart disease and other illnesses. Holick added that some scientists believe blacks are more likely to have prostate cancer, breast cancer and colon cancer and have more aggressive forms of the cancer because they have lower levels of vitamin D. John Flack, principal investigator at the Center for Urban and African American Health at Wayne State University, said lower vitamin D levels among blacks is "potentially a very important explanation for some of the differences, from hypertension to cancer to heart failure," adding, "The actual proof is not there, but it"s plausible." Flack added that many factors -- including decreased access to health care and differences in income and education -- contribute to the overall poorer health among blacks. The Institute of Medicine next year is expected to release new guidelines on recommended daily intake for vitamin D. "All Americans, but particularly people with darker skin, should pay attention" to the new guidelines, according to Adit Ginde, a researcher at the University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine who led a recent study that found vitamin D levels are decreasing in all racial groups and are particularly low in blacks (Painter, GNS/Chicago Sun-Times, 5/28).
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Toshiba Introduces New Multi-Detector CT Systems
Toshiba America Medical Systems, Inc. introduces two advanced multi-detector CT systems, the Aquilion® Premium edition and the Aquilion CX edition. The Aquilion Premium rounds out the company"s CT portfolio to include a product with 160-detector rows and coverage up to 8 cm in a single rotation. This system is also field-upgradeable to an Aquilion ONE. The Aquilion CX is Toshiba"s next generation 64-detector row CT system featuring faster reconstruction standards with up to 28 images per second, Toshiba"s proven Quantum Advantage detector technology and a patient couch that can accommodate up to 660 lbs. The Aquilion Premium and Aquilion CX are both available now.
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In Prostate Cancer, Gene Activity Reveals Dynamic Stroma Microenvironment
As stroma - the supportive framework of the prostate gland- react to prostate cancer, changes in the expression of genes occur that induce the formation of new structures such as blood vessels, nerves and parts of nerves, said researchers at Baylor College of Medicine in a report that appears in the current issue of the journal Clinical Cancer Research.
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Prostate Cancer Screening Benefits Are Small, Says US Report

The recently released results of two large randomized trials suggest there are no big benefits from prostate cancer screening, and if anything, they are quite small, says a new report by US researchers. And an accompanying editorial goes so far as to suggest that while screening has doubled the risk of a diagnosis, it has done little to reduce the risk of death from prostate cancer. The report appears in the online pre-print 29 June issue of CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians and is the work of Dr Otis W Brawley, of the American Cancer Society and Drs Donna Ankerst and Ian M Thompson, of the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. Brawley and colleagues wrote that since prostate cancer affects many men as they age, the goal of screening should not be to find more cances but to reduce the risk of death from the disease, reduce the suffering it causes, or reduce the cost of treating and caring for patients who have it. They said that the current state of prostate cancer screening fails to reach any of these suggested standards. Neither the American Cancer Society nor any other major medical group recommends routine prostate cancer screening for men who are at average risk. In the US, about 1 in 6 men will get prostate cancer at some point in their lives, and since the mid 1980s, the PSA (prostate-specific antigen) blood test has doubled the likelihood of a prostate cancer diagnosis. The authors wrote however, that while prostate cancer deaths have also gone down over the same period, it is not clear whether this is due to PSA testing or other factors like better treatment. The recent release of two large randomized trials suggests that "if there is a benefit of screening, it is, at best, small", wrote the authors. One study applied a computer model to the National Cancer Institute"s Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) registries and estimated that 29 per cent of prostate cancers detected in white men and 44 per cent of those detected in black men were overdiagnosed. The other study used a similar model on European data and estimated that the overdiagnosis rate there was about 50 per cent. The authors suggest that men who are diagnosed with tumors that have little clinical significance undergo unnecessary diagnostic tests and treatment and are psychosocially harmed. They also have to put with the negative effect of being labelled a "cancer patient", which can affect them economically. On the public health monitoring front, overdiagnosis of prostate cancer has a big impact on the 5-year survival figures, causing confusion and failure to show the true progress of cancer control. The authors recommend that: "Methods to assess a man"s risk of prostate cancer, including those tools that integrate multiple risk factors, are now available and should be used in risk assessment." They also wrote that screening and assessment tools are improving, and there are also new ways to prevent the occurrence of prostate cancer, including the use of the drug finasteride, which is currently used to treat urinary symptoms that result from an enlarged prostate. Brawley also wrote a separate editorial on prostate cancer screening with Dr Peter Boyle, of the International Prevention Research Institute in Lyon, France. They commented that: "The real impact and tragedy of prostate cancer screening is the doubling of the lifetime risk of a diagnosis of prostate cancer with little if any decrease in the risk of dying from this disease." In 1985, before PSA was used in the US, an American man"s lifetime risk of being diagnosed with prostate cancer was 8.7 per cent, and the lifetime risk of dying from it was 2.5 per cent. In 2005, the lifetime risk of diagnosis shot up to 17 per cent, while the lifetime risk of dying has stayed at a low 3 per cent, they added, concluding that: "Men should discuss the now quantifiable risks and benefits of having a PSA test with their physician and then share in making an informed decision." Also, they urged that: "The weight of the decision should not be thrown into the patient"s lap." "Screening for Prostate Cancer." Otis W. Brawley, Donna P. Ankerst, and Ian M. Thompson. CA Cancer J Clin, published online before print June 29, 2009. DOI:10.3322/caac.20026 "Prostate Cancer: Current Evidence Weighs Against Population Screening." Peter Boyle and Otis W. Brawley. CA Cancer J Clin, published online before print June 29, 2009. DOI:10.3322/caac.20025 American Cancer Society. Written by: Catharine Paddock, PhD Copyright: Medical News Today Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today


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