A study by Don G. Morris, MD, PhD of the Tom Baker Cancer Center showed that reovirus did in fact have a substantial effect on prostate cancer cells. Although Dr. Morris said there are downsides, as a whole the study was quite successful. Reovirus can potentially be combined with chemotherapy or other therapies to mitigate these issues. Not only can reovirus destroy cancer cells but can also cause an immune system response in the area of the tumor.
The Chicago Tribune posted an article about the risks of CT scans which is quite informative. CT scans while a powerful tools for diagnosing a wide range of diseases has the potential to cause problems as well. Although the AMAS test is not by itself diagnostic of the presence or absence of disease, it can be used as an aid to diagnosis, detection or monitoring of disease. Since the AMAS test is non-invasive, in some cases it can be used for screening rather that CT scans which can lessen the exposure to potentially harmful radiation.
March is colorectal cancer awareness month. Information about the risks, when to start screening and the types of screening can be found at the links below.
An interesting article was recently posted on CancerConsultants.com about ovarian cancer and how the symptoms are not particularly helpful in its early detection. In 2000 an article was published in Cancer Detection and Prevention about the link between Anti-Malignin Antibody and ovarian cancer and more importantly how it can be used for early detection. The AMAS test looks for this antibody in the blood and has been shown to be more sensitive than the CA125 test.
February 4th marks the fifth year of the World Cancer Day which is lead by The International Union Against Cancer (UICC) Each year focuses on a different initiative, this year's being "Cancer can be prevented too".
Dr. Kandace Klein of the Medical College of Georgia has linked the breast cancer mortality rate to the availability of mammograms. While Mammograms are typically seen as the best cancer screening tests there are downsides. Mammograms are quite intrusive and painful. By no means do we suggest that the AMAS test is a replacement for mammograms but the AMAS test can be used along side standard cancer screening tools to increase the possibility of spotting a malignancy in the early stages.
CancerConsultants.com (an informational cancer website) posted an article citing an American College of Radiology Imaging Network study that found approximately 58% of women with a high risk of breast cancer agreed to a MRI screen while the remainder refused for a variety of reasons.
"The AMAS test is a powerful diagnostic and prognostic tool when used
properly. Measuring the levels of antibodies to Malignin, it can be
used to diagnose sub-clinical cancer. That is, it can detect very
small tumors before they become evident by usual diagnostic tests and
physical exam. Small cancers can often be treated for cure with either
conventional means or natural means. This is truly one of the weapons
against cancer that is grossly underutilized.
With
the barrage of media hype surrounding breast cancer (and you're hearing
more lately because this is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month),
it's no wonder women often cite it as their primary health concern.
All
this worry (and "awareness") has made breast cancer screening an
enormous business. Women have been terrorized into having repeated
mammograms, manual breast examinations, light exams, and anything else
that can be dreamed up to get an early diagnosis.
While the medical community appears to be struggling ferociously with
the specter of malignant disease, statistics show that in the last few
decades cancer rates have been steadily increasing. Alarmingly, it is
now estimated that one of three Americans will have had cancer during
his or her lifetime. Should this trend continue, within several years
it is likely that one of every two Americans will have the disease.
Therefore, as an informed individual, you should be concerned about the
high risk of developing cancer even in the absence of family history,
significant exposure to carcinogens, or known presence of cancer genes
in your body.
Naturally, a discussion of the many causes for
the victory and spread of cancer in our population will be appropriate
and interesting, but it should be reserved for a lengthy presentation
elsewhere (come to our free Tuesday lectures, for example...). The main
focus of this article is to provide the reader with valuable diagnostic
information of which most patients and health care practitioners are
unaware. Specifically, I would like to briefly summarize the benefits
of using a laboratory blood test called AMAS (Anti-Malignin Antibody in Serum).