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Omega-3 Fatty Acids Not Associated With Reduced Cancer IncidenceA new meta-analysis suggests that regular dietary intake of omega-3 fatty acids is not associated with a reduction in a person's risk of developing cancer.
Past studies have suggested that intake of or supplementation with omega-3 fatty acids is associated with lower cancer risk. In a recent meta-analysis, Catherine H. MacLean, M.D., Ph.D., of RAND in Santa Monica, Calif., and colleagues analyzed 38 articles published between 1966 and October 2005 on the association between intake of omega-3 fatty acids and the risk of 11 types of cancer.
Results of the analysis suggest that intake of omega-3 fatty acids is not associated with reduced overall cancer risk or individual cancer risk for the 11 types of cancer. The authors write, "A large body of literature spanning numerous cohorts from many different countries and with different demographic characteristics did not provide evidence to suggest a significant association between omega-3 fatty acids and cancer incidence."
The study was published in the January 25 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Study Finds No Association Between Mobile Phone Use and Glioma Risk
A new study has found no association between the most common type of brain tumor, called glioma, and mobile phone use.
Patricia McKinney, Ph.D., of the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom, and colleagues interviewed 966 people diagnosed with glioma and 1718 healthy people aged 18–69 years about their lifetime mobile phone use, including the lifetime number of calls, duration of calls, duration of phone use, and the phone model they used. Glioma patients were also asked which side of the head they held the phone to, and this information was compared to tumor location.
The authors found that mobile phone use was not associated with increased risk of developing a glioma. No associations were found between lifetime years of mobile phone use, hours of use, or number of calls made and risk of glioma. They did find an increased risk of gliomas on the same side of the head as regular phone use, but they also found a decreased risk of gliomas on the opposite side of the head as regular phone use. The authors believe this last result may be due to a reporting bias, with participants more likely to report phone use on the same side of the head as a known tumor.
They write, "There is generally a lack of convincing and consistent evidence of any effect of exposure to radio frequency field on risk of cancer. Overall our findings are consistent with this and with most studies of mobile phone use."
The study was published online January 21 in the British Medical Journal.
Adjuvant Radiation Therapy Associated With Improved Survival in Stage I Endometrial Cancer
Adjuvant radiation therapy is associated with improved survival rates for women with stage I endometrial cancer, according to a new population-based retrospective study.
Endometrial cancer, cancer of the lining of the uterus, is a common gynecologic cancer in the United States. Women are normally treated by surgical removal of the ovaries and uterus, but doctors remain unsure about the optimal adjuvant treatment for the disease. Past trials have shown mixed results about the benefits of adjuvant radiation therapy for this disease.
David K. Gaffney, M.D., Ph.D., of the Huntsman Cancer Hospital and University of Utah Medical Center in Salt Lake City, and colleagues analyzed data from 1988 to 2001 on 21,249 women with stage 1A–C node-negative endometrial adenocarcinoma in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program. A total of 4,080 women received adjuvant radiation therapy and 21,249 women did not.
Adjuvant radiation therapy was associated with a higher level of overall survival in women with stage 1C disease. The study is the largest population analysis of the association of adjuvant radiation therapy and endometrial cancer outcomes. The authors write, "Hopefully, appropriate adjuvant radiation therapy will be used to decrease the death rate from this most common of gynecological malignancies. Future work is needed to continue to delineate clinical and biological factors that can guide treatment and account for disparities in outcome between varied subsets of patients."
The study was published in the January 25 issue of JAMA.
FDA Updates Labeling On Eczema Drugs To Include Cancer Risk Warning
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved new labeling for two drugs for the treatment of the chronic skin disorder eczema, called Elidel Cream (pimecrolimus) and Protopic Ointment (tacrolimus), after reports indicated that both drugs may be associated with an increased risk of cancer.
Elidel Cream and Protopic Ointment are currently recommended only as second-line treatments. Current research is attempting to determine whether these medications are associated with long-term risk of cancer. A medication guide is available to address patients' concerns and provide information about the new pharmaceuticals.
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