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Introduction  What is Cancer  Types of Cancer  Causes of Cancer  Prevention of Cancer  Diagnosing Cancer  Treatment of Cancer  Cancer Research  Social Impact  New treatment of Cancer       Introduction   Cancer is the most feared disease in the today. Cancer is a leading cause of death globally: an stimated 7.6 million people died of cancer in 2005 and 84 million people will die in the next 10 years if action is not taken. More than 70% of all cancer deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries, where resources available for prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer are limited or nonexistent.  It is estimated that over 40% of all cancer can be prevented.    Cancer in many cases are avoidable, or curable when detected early and treated according to best treatment. The main risk factors such as tobacco use, junk food, declining consumption of fruit and vegetables, life style and obesity are contributing to the rise in cancer rates, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Cancer may affect people at all ages, but risk  increase with age.   Cancer is predominantly a disease of modern civilization and is largely due to the way we feed and treat our bodies and our wanton disregard for the environment. Even the medical establishment agrees that cancer is almost totally preventable and that 80-90% of all cancers have their origin in poor dietary practices, smoking or exposure to known carcinogens. The greatest single reason for the devastating toll that cancer takes is ignorance. Ignorance about what cancer is and what causes it, ignorance about how it can be prevented, and ignorance about options for treatment.    On December 18, 2009 British scientists have unlocked the genetic codes of lung and skin cancers in a breakthrough expected to transform the way cancers are diagonised and treated in future.  The genetic maps show most mutations in lung cancer are traced to chemicals in tobacco smoke and in malignant melanoma (skin cancer) to ultra violet light, confirming they are preventable.    What is Cancer   All organs of the body are made up of cells. Normally, cells divide to produce more cells only when the body needs them. This orderly process helps keep us healthy. If cells keep dividing when new cells are not needed, a mass of tissue forms. This mass of extra tissue, called a growth or tumor, can be benign or malignant. Benign tumors are not cancer. They can usually be removed and, in most cases, they do not come back. Most important, cells from benign tumors do not spread to other parts of the body.    Malignant tumors are cancer. Cancer cells can invade and damage nearby tissues and organs. Also, cancer cells can break away from a malignant tumor and enter the bloodstream or the lymphatic system. This is how cancer spreads from the original (primary) tumor to form new tumors in other parts of the body. A few cancers, such as blood cancers (leukemia), do not form a tumor.   Cancer develops when cells in a part of the body begin to grow out of control.  Although there are many kinds of cancer, they all start because of out-of-control growth of abnormal cells. Normal body cells grow, divide, and die in an orderly fashion. During the early years of a person's life, normal cells divide more rapidly until the person becomes an adult. After that, cells in most parts of the body divide only to replace worn-out or dying cells and to repair injuries.

Cancer is the Latin word for crab       A Cancer Cell        Normal cells         Cancer cells producing tumor

Because cancer cells continue to grow and divide, they are different from normal cells. Instead of dying, they outlive normal cells and continue to form new abnormal  cells. Cancer cells develop because of damage to DNA. This substance is in every cell and directs all activities. Most of the time when DNA becomes damaged the body is able to repair it. In cancer cells, the damaged DNA is not repaired. People can inherit damaged DNA, which accounts for inherited cancers. More often, though, a person's DNA becomes damaged by exposure to something in the environment, like smoking.  Cancer usually forms as a tumor the abnormal growths: Neoplasia and neoplasm are the scientific designations for cancerous diseases. This group contains a large number of different diseases. Neoplasms can be benign or malignant. Cancer is a widely used word that is usually understood as synonymous with malignant neoplasm.   Some cancers, like leukemia, do not form tumors. Instead, these cancer cells involve the blood and blood-forming organs and circulate through other tissues where they grow. Often, cancer cells travel to other parts of the body where they begin to grow and replace normal tissue. This process is called metastasis. Regardless of where a cancer may spread, however, it is always named for the place it began.   Different types of cancer can behave very differently. For example, lung cancer and breast cancer are very different diseases. They grow at different rates and respond to different treatments. That is why people with cancer need treatment that is aimed at their particular kind of cancer.     Types of Cancer   Cancers are classified by the type of cell that resembles the tumor and, therefore, the tissue presumed to be the origin of the tumor. The following general categories are usually accepted: Carcinoma:  malignant tumors derived from epithelial cells. This group represent the most common cancers, including the common forms of breast, prostate, lung and colon cancer. Lymphoma and Leukemia: malignant tumors derived from blood and bone marrow cells Sarcoma: malignant tumors derived from connective tissue, or mesenchymal cells Mesothelioma:  tumors derived from the mesothelial cells lining the peritoneum and the pleura. Glioma:  tumors derived from glia, the most common type of brain cell. Germinoma: tumors derived from germ cells, normally found in the testicle and ovary Choriocarcinoma: malignant tumors derived from the placenta.   The general classification of Cancer are:    1. Bladder Cancer   2, Breast Cancer   3. Brain Cancer  4. Cervix/uterus    5 Colon and rectum Cancer  6. Endometrial Cancer     7. Kidney (Renal Cell) Cancer 8.  Leukemia    9. Liver cancer    10. Lung cancer   11. Malignant melanoma    12. Prostate Cancer    13.Pancreas Cancer  14.  Oral Caner   15.  Ovary Cancer    16. Sarcoma  17. Skin Cancer (Non-melanoma)  18.  Throat Cancer    19. Thyroid Cancer  20.  All other cancers

Cancer cells continue    to grow and divide       Cancer cell        Oral cancer     Skin cancer

Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers affecting women. A tumor that originates in the milk ducts may lead to Paget's disease of the breast. Tumors may spread to other organs, such as the lungs or the liver, before being detected. The underlying cause of most is unclear. However, some risk factors have been identified, many of which suggest that the female hormone estrogen is an important factor in the development and progress of the disease.  Possible risk factors include: High fat diet, excessive alcohol intake, estrogen replacement therapy and oral contraceptive use. If a diagnosis of it is established, staging tests include: Liver function tests,  alkaline phosphates test to check for bone disease, chest X-ray (Radiography) and bone Scan.    Brain cancers are abnormal growths of cells in the brain. Although such growths are popularly called brain tumors, not all brain tumors are cancer. Cancer is a term reserved for malignant tumors. Some brain cancers occur when one type of cell transforms from its normal characteristics. Once transformed, the cells grow and multiply in abnormal ways. As these abnormal cells grow, they become a mass, or tumor.     Pancreatic cancer is a disease in which malignant (cancer) cells form in the tissues of the pancreas. The pancreas is a gland about 6 inches long that is shaped like a thin pear lying on its side. The pancreas lies behind the stomach and in front of the spine. The digestive juices are produced by exocrine pancreas cells and the hormones are produced by endocrine pancreas cells. About 95% of pancreatic cancers begin in exocrine cells. Possible signs of pancreatic cancer include jaundice, pain, and weight loss. Pancreatic cancer is difficult to detect and diagnose early because the signs of pancreatic cancer, when present, are like the signs of many other illnesses. Pancreatic cancer is usually diagnosed with tests and procedures that produce pictures of the pancreas and the area around it. Pancreatic cancer can be controlled only if it is found before it has spread, when it can be removed by surgery.    Skin cancer is a malignant growth on the outer layer of the skin. A malignant growth is one that has the potential to cause death. Skin cancers are often divided into two general groups: malignant melanomas and non-melanoma cancers. The outer layer of the skin (the epidermis) contains three kinds of cells. Most of those cells are squamous cells. Cells near the bottom of the epidermis are called basal cells. And cells that provide pigment (color) to the skin are known as melanocytes (pronounced MELL-uh-no-sites). Each type of cell can become cancerous. The three types of skin cancers, therefore, are squamous cell cancer, basal cell cancer, and malignant melanoma (cancer of the melanocytes). Malignant melanoma is by far the most serious form of skin cancer. Basal cell cancer is the most common form of skin cancer. It accounts for about 75 percent of all skin cancers. Squamous cell cancer is the second most common type of skin cancer. It grows more quickly than basal cell cancer, but less quickly than a melanoma. Exposure to sunlight is thought to be the major cause of skin cancers.  Prostate cancer:  In India, there is a lack of awareness among men and there should be greater awareness of the Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) test which should be done by all men over 50 years at least annually. The PSA test is a screening process in detecting prostate cancer early and should be encouraged by all doctors. Presently most prostate cancer patients in India are being treated through open surgery due to the high cost of laproscopic and surgery using a robot   Causes of Cancer   The major causes of cancer are a faulty diet, smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, and exposure to toxic chemicals and radiation. It is estimated that 60% of all cancers in men and 40% of all cancers in women are caused by a diet that is too high in fat and proteins and too low in fruits, vegetables and fiber. Fats are believed to promote cancer rather than initiate it and animal fats and hydrogenated fats are particularly detrimental. A high intake of protein has been associated with an increased risk of many types of cancer and a high sugar intake significantly increases the risk of breast cancer. Smoked, pickled, salt-cured and barbecued foods are also potent cancer initiators while alcohol is strongly implicated in the promotion of already initiated cancer cells.    Smoking and the exposure to second-hand smoke accounts for about 30% of all cancer deaths. Pesticides and other toxic chemicals are increasingly implicated as cancer initiators. Asbestos has been strongly linked to lung cancer and benzene to leukemia and bone marrow cancers. Chlorination of drinking water is another potent cause of cancer and is estimated to cause 15% of all cancers of the rectum and 9% of all bladder cancers. Excessive exposure to solar radiation and electromagnetic fields can also lead to cancer. Although these causes of cancer are many and varied they have one thing in common - they are almost all avoidable!    Cancer is a gene disorder of somatic tissue, in which damaged genes fail to properly control cell proliferation. The cell division cycle is regulated by a sophisticated group of proteins. Cancer results from the mutation of the genes encoding these proteins.   Cancer can be caused by chemicals that mutate DNA or in some instances by viruses that circumvent the cell’s normal proliferation controls. Whatever the immediate cause, however, all cancers are characterized by unrestrained growth and division. Cell division never stops in a cancerous line of cells. Cancer cells are virtually immortal—until the body in which they reside dies. Cancer is unrestrained cell proliferation caused by damage to genes regulating the cell division cycle.    Many cancers originate from a viral infection; as viruses are responsible for 15% of human cancers worldwide. The main viruses associated with human cancers are human papillomavirus, hepatitis B virus, Epstein-Barr virus, and human T-lymphotropic virus. Experimental and epidemiological data imply a causative role for viruses and they appear to be the second most important risk factor for cancer development in humans. The mode of virally-induced tumors can be divided into two, acutely-transforming or slowly-transforming. In acutely transforming viruses, the viral particles carry a gene that encodes for an overactive oncogene called viral-oncogene (v-onc),      and the infected cell is transformed as soon as v-onc is expressed. In contrast, in slowly-transforming viruses, the virus genome is inserted, especially as viral genome insertion is an obligatory part of retroviruses, near a proto-oncogene in the host genome. The slowly-transforming viruses have very long tumor latency compared to acutely-transforming viruses, which already carry the viral-oncogene.

Vitamin A intake could cure cancer: Study   Intake of vitamin A in diet could help treat several forms of cancer due to its ability to control the malignant cells, a new study has found.   Scientists have hailed the discovery as a “new dawn” in cancer treatment after finding a link between malignant cells and lack of vitamin A. Experts at the University of York found that cancer cells are under control of a derivative of the vitamin, known as retinoic acid, the ‘Daily Express’ reported.   They believe that vitamin A can be used as new anti-cancer treatment and advised people to ensure they include adequate levels of the nutrient in their diets. The study was carried out on prostate cancer cells but Professor Norman Maitland of Yorkshire Cancer Research believes the treatment could apply to other cancers as well.   A simple blood test to detect lung and breast cancer      Now, a simple blood test to detect lung and breast cancer Washington: Scientists claimed to have developed a simple blood test that can accurately detect the beginning stages of breast and lung cancer in just an hour.   Researchers from the Kansas State University developed the test that can detect cancer even before symptoms like coughing and weight loss start.The test works by detecting increased enzyme activity in the body. Iron nanoparticles coated with amino acids and a dye are introduced to small amounts of blood or urine from a patient. The amino acids and dye  interact with enzymes in the patient`s urine or blood sample.   Each type of cancer produces a specific enzyme pattern, or signature, that can be identified by doctors. "These enzyme patterns can also help distinguish between cancer and an infection or other diseases that commonly occur in the human body," researcher Stefan Bossmann said.

Prevention of Cancer   Prevention of cancer can be accomplished by avoiding carcinogens or altering their metabolism, pursuing a lifestyle or diet that modifies cancer-causing factors and/or medical intervention  Generally between 80-90% of all cancers are preventable; but it takes knowledge and determination to act on this fact. The most important measures to prevent cancer are to eat a healthy diet, avoid smoking and second-hand smoke, and avoid exposure to toxic chemicals and radiation. Maintaining a strong immune system and an abundant supply of dietary antioxidants are equally important.    A healthy diet is one that contains an abundance of fresh, preferably organically-grown fruits and vegetables. The daily diet should be rich in fiber and low in fat. Protein intake should be moderate and red meat consumption should be limited. Sugar, alcohol, margarine and pickled, smoked, salted, and barbecued foods should be avoided.    Getting daily exercise and avoiding excessive psychological stress are also important preventive measures. Lack of physical activity has recently been implicated in the development of both breast and colon cancer. A lack of sunlight has also been implicated in the development of breast and colon cancer, ovarian cancer, and osteoporosis. It is important to get at least one half hour of unprotected sunlight every day and remember - sunscreens block the formation of vital vitamin D and do not protect against melanoma or squamous cell carcinoma.    Antioxidants like vitamin-C and vitamin-E, beta-carotene, and selenium are all recognized cancer fighters. They work by neutralizing the free radicals and toxins before they can initiate the gene mutation which eventually leads to cancer. Numerous scientific studies have shown that many people have a low antioxidant intake and that this vastly increases their risk of cancer. Other studies have shown that supplementing with antioxidants can significantly lower the risk of developing many types of cancer.    A strong immune system is an essential defense against cancer. A healthy diet will go a long way towards giving you a healthy immune system, but for optimum protection most progressive researchers recommend supplementation with appropriate amounts of vitamins, minerals, and especially antioxidants.   Eating a healthy diet, taking the appropriate supplements, avoiding smoking and alcohol, keeping your stress level low, getting lots of exercise, and staying far away from radiation and toxic chemicals you can reduce your chances of developing cancer by 80-90%.    Diagnosing Cancer   Most cancers are initially recognized either by their signs or symptoms. Generally, cancer symptoms can be divided into three groups: Local symptoms:  unusual lumps or swelling (tumor), hemorrhage (bleeding), pain and/or ulceration. Compression of surrounding tissues may cause symptoms such as jaundice. Symptoms of metastasis (spreading):  enlarged lymph nodes, cough and hemoptysis, hepatomegaly (enlarged liver), bone pain, fracture of affected bones and neurological symptoms. Systemic symptoms:  weight loss, poor appetite and cachexia (wasting), excessive sweating (night sweats), anemia and specific paraneoplastic phenomena, i.e. specific conditions that are due to an active cancer, such as thrombosis or hormonal changes. The common diagnosing methods are:   Biopsy:   A cancer may be suspected for a variety of reasons, but the definitive diagnosis of most malignancies must be confirmed by histological examination of the cancerous cells by a pathologist. Tissue can be obtained from a biopsy or surgery. The tissue diagnosis indicates the type of cell that is proliferating, its histological grade and other features of the tumor. Together, this information is useful to evaluate the prognosis of this patient and choose the best treatment. Cytogenetics and immunohistochemistry may provide information about future behavior of the cancer (prognosis) and best treatment.   Screening:   Cancer screening detect unsuspected cancers in the population. Screening tests suitable for large numbers of healthy people must be relatively affordable, safe, noninvasive procedures with acceptably low rates of false positive results. If signs of cancer are detected, more definitive and invasive follow up tests are performed to confirm the diagnosis. Screening for cancer can lead to earlier diagnosis which may lead to extended life. A number of different screening tests have been developed. Breast cancer screening can be done by breast self-examination. Screening by regular mammograms detects tumors even earlier than self-examination, and many countries use it to systematically screen all middle-aged women. Colorectal cancer can be detected through fecal occult blood testing and colonoscopy, which reduces both colon cancer incidence and mortality, presumably through the detection and removal of pre-malignant polyps. Cervical cytology testing leads to the identification and excision of precancerous lesions.  Prostate cancer can be screened for by a digital rectal exam along with prostate specific antigen (PSA) blood testing.   Screening for cancer is controversial in cases when it is not yet known if the test actually saves lives. The controversy arises when it is not clear if the benefits of screening outweigh the risks of follow-up diagnostic tests and cancer treatments.   Use of medical imaging to search for cancer in people without clear symptoms is similarly marred with problems. There is a significant risk of detection of what has been recently called an incidentaloma - a benign lesion that may be interpreted as a malignancy and be subjected to potentially dangerous investigations. Canine cancer detection has shown promise, but is still in the early stages of research.    Treatment of Cancer    Conventional treatment:    Cancer can be treated by surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, immunotherapy, monoclonal antibody therapy or other methods. The choice of therapy depends upon the location and grade of the tumor and the stage of the disease, as well as the general state of the patient.      Surgery: Cancers can be cured if entirely removed by surgery, but this is not always possible. When the cancer has metastasized to other sites in the body prior to surgery, complete surgical excision is usually impossible. Surgery can be quite effective when it comes to the removal of easily accessible, relatively small, early stage, localized tumors as for instance in the breast, colon, uterus or bladder. Some cases of stomach cancer also respond well to surgery. Surgery is no longer the only method for treating melanoma and skin cancer as there are now very effective herbal-based ointments which will remove the tumors in a relatively short time with no danger of metastasis. Surgery, of course, does not address at all the underlying cause of the cancer. So unless appropriate lifestyle and dietary changes are made, the cancer is likely to recur. Surgery and even biopsies also carry the very real danger of spreading the cancer to other organs in the body. The success rate for surgery can be improved by boosting the immune system before the operation and by timing it right.    Chemotherapy:  Chemotherapy is the treatment of cancer with drugs  that can destroy cancer cells. Chemotherapy is the least valuable and most dangerous of all conventional treatment modes. It uses a variety of highly toxic drugs to kill the cancer cells. Perhaps the greatest problem with chemotherapy is that it seriously weakens the immune system just at the time when it is needed the most. Chemotherapy has been used with some success in the treatment of Hodgkin's disease and certain lymphomas and leukemias.  However, chemotherapy is generally not useful in the treatment of the most common cancers like breast, colon, and lung cancer. Some cancer researchers are less charitable in their opinion of chemotherapy. Professor Levin goes on to add that physicians "are coerced into using it by special interest groups which have vested interests in the profits of the drug industry." Drugs used in chemotherapy have devastating side effects and patients undergoing chemotherapy, apart from being thoroughly miserable, frequently die of pneumonia, common infections or other cancers.   Radiation therapy:  Radiation therapy (also called radiotherapy, X-ray therapy, or irradiation) is the use of ionizing radiation to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors. Radiation therapy uses high-intensity x-rays to prevent cancer cells from reproducing; in the process it also kills off healthy cells, depresses the immune system, causes very unpleasant side effects, and greatly increases the risk of developing leukemia later on. Dr. John Cairns of the Harvard School of Public Health believes that "the majority of cancers cannot be cured by radiation because the dose of x- rays required to kill all the cancer cells would also kill the patient." Early studies at the Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center concluded that patients who received no radiation lived longer than those who were irradiated. Radiation therapy can be useful in early Hodgkin's disease, and in treating localized tumors of the prostate, cervix, head, neck, and larynx. In most other cases, it is of limited value and causes more harm than good.   Immunotherapy:   Immunotherapy is the use of immune mechanisms against tumors. These are used in various forms of cancer, such as breast cancer and leukemia.  The agents are monoclonal antibodies directed against proteins that are characteristic to the cells of the cancer in question, or cytokines that modulate the immune system's response.   Chronic pain due to cancer is almost always associated with continuing tissue damage due to the disease process or the treatment (i.e. surgery, radiation, chemotherapy). The failure of conventional medicine in coming to grips with cancer is perhaps best illustrated by looking at lung cancer. Lung cancer is now the most common cause of death from cancer. Researchers at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) admit that the current, conventional treatment of lung cancer is ineffective and state "The lack of improvement in survival underscores the importance of lung cancer prevention and early diagnosis, because various therapeutic interventions have had relatively little effect on lung cancer survival in the general population.   CyberKnife technology to treat cancer in India:    Now the most advanced CyberKnife robotic radio surgery system will be available to cancer patients from third week of March 2009 at the Apollo Specialty Cancer hospital, Chennai. The Apollo Hospital group has installed the most-advanced version of the system in Asia-Pacific at the cancer specialty centre in Chennai.  “The advanced technology behind CyberKnife uses real time image guidance technology and computer controlled robotics to deliver an extremely precise dose of radiation to targets, thereby avoiding the surrounding healthy tissue and adjusting for patient and tumour movement during treatment,” explained John Rodenbeck Adler, professor of Neurosurgery and oncology at the Stanford University Medical Centre. “The procedure requires no anaesthesia, as the treatment is painless and non-invasive,”said Adler.    Alternative Treatments:   Due to the poor results obtained with conventional therapies and the great harm they can cause, alternative therapies are gaining in acceptance and popularity. These therapies are all based on assisting the body's own defense systems in destroying the cancer cells. They use various methods to achieve this with most of them requiring a great deal of commitment and determination on the part of the patient. As in the case of conventional treatments, very few, if any, controlled experiments have been carried out on the value of the various therapies, so testimony as to their effectiveness is not known.   The experiments found that terminal cancer patients who received large, daily doses of vitamin C along with their regular treatment lived much longer than patients who did not receive vitamin C; they also had less pain and in general, a much improved quality of life. Vitamin C has many properties which makes it an excellent cancer fighter. It is a detoxifying agent, an antioxidant, and helps to produce antibodies. It is also very important in preventing growing tumors from invading adjacent tissue. Dr. Hoffer of Victoria, Canada later expanded on the Pauling/Cameron treatment protocol by adding large amounts of vitamin E, vitamin B-3, other B vitamins, beta-carotene, and some minerals. Those of Dr. Hoffer's cancer patients who followed this regimen lived, on the average, about 16 times longer than those who did not.   In January 1994, Dr. Donald Lamm and his colleagues at the West Virginia University School of Medicine reported that daily megadose vitamin therapy significantly lessens the risk of recurrence in bladder cancer patients. Patients who received the therapy, on the average, had less than half the tumor recurrence rate than did patients who did not receive it. Dr. Lamm's vitamin combination included multivitamins (RDA dosages) plus 40,000 IU vitamin A, 100 mg vitamin B-6, 2,000 mg vitamin C, 400 IU vitamin E, and 90 mg zinc(32). The megadose vitamin therapy, so far, has only been evaluated in combination with conventional cancer treatments.   Metabolic and herbal therapies aim at cleansing the body, boosting the immune system, and assisting the body in ridding itself of the cancer and the toxins created by the breakdown of the tumor.   The Gerson therapy believed that cancer results from a faulty metabolism and long-term exposure to pesticides and other environmental pollutants. His treatment involves a detoxification program and a meat-free, salt-free, and low-fat diet along with copious quantities of fresh fruit and vegetable juices as well as various supplements. The Gerson program is particularly effective for melanoma, lymphomas, and cancers of the liver, pancreas and colon. Success has also been achieved with inoperable brain cancer, metastasized breast cancer, and prostate cancer.    The Hoxsey therapy was developed by a self-taught American healer, Harry Hoxsey. The Hoxsey therapy includes the total avoidance of pork, vinegar, tomatoes, carbonated drinks, alcohol, bleached flour, and refined sugar. Various supplements are also given with the main component of the treatment being the Hoxsey tonic which consists of several different herbs, many with potent anti-cancer effects.   Immune therapies are used in both conventional and alternative treatment protocols. The Livingston Foundation Medical Center in San Diego treats cancer patients with various individually-tailored vaccines, gamma globulin, and a vegetarian diet with vitamin and mineral supplements. The Immunology Research Center in Freeport, Bahamas uses injections of immune substances to augment the body's own immune system and claims good success with breast, colon, kidney, and bladder cancer. The Burzynski Research Institute in Houston, Texas uses injections or supplements of peptides and amino acid derivatives occurring naturally in the body to augment the body's biochemical defense system and reprogram cancer cells so that they revert to normal development.   Other alternative therapies are based on the use of specific formulations such as the Canadian herbal remedy Essiac which has been used with apparent success since 1922. Shark cartilage has been found to be particularly effective against brain cancer and prostate, liver and breast metastases. It works by interfering with the tumor's ability to create a vitally needed blood supply. Hydrazine sulfate is particularly effective in combating cachexia, a deadly condition which causes many cancer patients to starve to death.    There are many highly respected alternative cancer therapies in use in Europe. The late Johanna Budwig, MD advocated a combination of sulfur-containing protein and essential fatty acids to treat many types of cancer. Dr. Hans Nieper, MD in Hanover, Germany uses a vegetarian diet and various combinations of vitamins, minerals, laetrile, and special vaccines. Traditional Chinese medicine and Ayurvedic medicine also have specific treatments for many cancers; the ancient technique of Qi Gong has been found to be particularly effective.     Cancer Research   February 28, 2010: Extracts of a fruit grown on tropical vines appears to have breast cancer blocking powers, say researchers. Scientists found key ingredients of the green  bitter melon fruit (Momordica charantia  called Karela ) interfered with chemical pathways involved in cancer growth. It turned off signals telling the breast cancer cells to divide and switched on signals encouraging them to commit suicide.                                Experts told Cancer Research journal more trials were needed. Although promising as an anti-cancer agent, trials in animals and then humans are still needed, study co-author Dr Rajesh Agarwal from the University of Colorado  said.      Targeted therapy which first became available in the late 1990s has had a significant impact in the treatment of some types of cancer, and is currently a very active research area. This constitutes the use of agents specific for the deregulated proteins of cancer cells. Small molecules (such as the tyrosine kinase inhibitors imatinib and gefitinib) and monoclonal antibodies have proven to be a major step in oncological treatment. Targeted therapy can also involve small peptidic structures as ´homing device´ which can bind to cell surface receptors or affected extracellular matrix surrounding the tumor. Radionuclides which are attached to this peptides (e.g. RGDs) eventually kill the cancer cell if the nuclide decays in the vicinity of the cell (vide supra Radiation therapy). Especially oligo- or multimeris of these binding motifs are of great interest, since this can lead to enhanced tumor specificity and avidity.    Considerable research effort is now devoted to the development of vaccines and to potential venues for gene therapy for individuals with genetic mutations or polymorphisms that put them at high risk of cancer.    The clinical trial findings from WHO's International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and published in 'New England Journal of Medicine' (April 2, 2009) indicated that HPV DNA testing was the most effective way to reduce incidence of cervical cancer compared to either Pap (cytology) testing or visual inspection with ascetic  acid (VIA).The study demonstrated that a single round of HPV testing was associated with a significant reduction in the number of advanced cervical cancers and deaths from the disease.    Social Impact    It is general conception that cancer is a deadly disease. Progressive and disseminated malignant disease has a substantial impact on a cancer patient's quality of life, and many cancer treatments may have severe side-effects. In the advanced stages of cancer, many patients need extensive care, affecting family members and friends. Government, NGOs and many local organizations offer a variety of practical and support services to people with cancer. Counseling can also provide emotional support to cancer patients and help them better understand their illness.     New treatment of Cancer   TomoTherapy, a new way to treat cancer, has given a ray of hope to the cancer patients. TomoTherapy  is the most advanced form of image-guided intensity modulated radiation therapy with several advantages.  Tomotherapy combines precise 3-D imaging from computerised  tomography (CT scanning) with highly targeted precise radiation beams. With this machine, radiation oncologists can check the location of the patient’s tumour before each treatment. They can then deliver painless and precise radiation therapy based on a carefully customised plan.