Archive by category | American Association for Cancer Research

AACR: (Too) sunny San Diego

Greetings from San Diego — or, as I’ve come to think of it, ‘the surface of the sun’. Normally I’d spend this introductory, ‘scene-setting’ blog entry whining about how I’d rather be out playing in the Pacific. Not today. It was absurdly, oppressively, unjustly sunny outside. The sun streamed into the windows of the convention center, and attendees squinted and winced down the hallway. Some sat out on the patio, stretched out with their feet up on chairs sunbathing, but I don’t know how they did it. One trip out of the convention center for lunch left me sunburned and sapped. A darkened conference room offered sanctuary, but the doorway opened into one of those sun-drenched hallways. From inside the room, the hallway was nothing more than a blaze of white light.  Read more

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