AACR: Cancer from flour?

Well, hopefully not. But today, I learned that some researchers question the wisdom of adding a nutrient called folic acid to flour, as we do in the United States. Folic acid is a form of vitamin B that is essential for preventing very serious birth defects. It’s also suspected to prevent colon cancer. But confusingly, some researchers also seem to be concerned that too much folate given throughout life creates its own cancer risk, and that giving it to pregnant women (as is currently recommended) creates cancer hazards for the fetus.  Read more

AACR: Tofu or not tofu?

If you’re like me, you often find yourself confused by scientific advice on what to eat for good health. For every study that finds some miracle benefit to some food, another study always seems to come along and contradict the results of the first. This meeting is no exception. One study released yesterday claimed to have found a chemical reason why soy prevents cancer. But another study presented today claims the opposite, reporting that soy doesn’t prevent colon cancer. So should you blend up that delicious tofu shake, or not?  Read more

AACR: Staying focused

Cancer researchers are embarking on a huge experiment that is attempting to deliver on science’s promise to usher in the era of personalized medicine. Led by the National Cancer Institute, the project is called the Cancer Genome Atlas. The idea is to catalog all the genetic mutations associated with cancer. The positive spin on this project is that it’s highly ambitious, but some have called it foolhardy. Tonight, a room of brain cancer researchers hashed over their portion of the Cancer Genome Atlas – a pilot project to catalog genetic mutations in one form of brain cancer called glioblastoma multiforme. And, as scientists are wont to do, they spent more than an hour pointing out all the flaws with the design of the brain cancer part of the atlas.  Read more

ASHG: More bad news

Last night, NIH director Elias Zerhouni warmed up the geneticists with a sure-fire crowd-pleaser: a joke about the mishaps of Vice-President Dick Cheney, who’s in town for a Republican fund-raiser. Zerhouni apologized for the bad traffic yesterday, which was all tangled up due to Cheney’s motorcade. Zerhouni said he’d asked Cheney to divert his motorcade away from the convention center. In reply, Cheney invited Zerhouni on a hunting trip. “But I said no – I have a prior commitment to the American Society of Human Genetics,” Zerhouni said, adding after a small pause: “That was an act of self-preservation.”  … Read more

ASHG: Recovering from Katrina

Even just walking to and from the convention center here in New Orleans, it’s impossible to miss the fact that this city is still recovering from the mass disaster of Hurricane Katrina last year. Lots of businesses are empty or shut down. Workers are still clearing away rubble and there’s small damage on some of the buildings. And this isn’t even the part of town that was most affected by the storm.  Read more