ONS Connect - November 2008 - (Page 9)

screening programs for anal dysplasia, anal cancers may be diagnosed more often than in the past. Piketty, C., Selinger-Leneman, H., Grabar, S., Duvivier, C., Bonmarchand, M., Abramowitz, L., et al. (2008). Marked increase in the incidence of invasive anal cancer among HIV-infected patients despite treatment with combination antiretroviral therapy. AIDS, 22(10), 1203–1211. or the patient is entering a more serious phase of illness. Misono, S., Weiss, N.S., Fann, J.R., Redman, M., & Yueh, B. (2008). Incidence of suicide in persons with cancer. Journal of Clinical Oncology, 26(29), 4731–4738. Injected vitamin C Cuts Cancer Growth in mice Suicide risk Is Increased in Patients With Cancer he incidence of suicide among patients with cancer in the United States is nearly twice that of the general population, according to a new study. The study used two large databases (the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results program of the National Cancer Institute and the National Center for Health Statistics) to compare the incidence of suicide in patients with cancer with an age-, sex-, and race-adjusted cohort of the general population over a 30-year period. The researchers from the University of Washington analyzed data from nearly 3.6 million patients diagnosed with cancer from 1973–2002 and found 5,838 suicides. Patients with cancer had an adjusted rate of 31.4 suicides per 100,000 person years, compared with 16.7 suicides in the general population. The highest rates of suicide were found in older white men. They also found that the rates of suicide varied with the site of the cancer, with the highest rates found in patients with lung cancer (81.7), followed by stomach (71.1), oropharyngeal (53.1), and laryngeal (46.8) cancers. According to the researchers, systematic screening and treatment for suicidal thoughts are essential, especially at times of transition when disease is worsening, symptoms are increasing, I T njecting high doses of vitamin C into mice with aggressive cancers slowed the growth of their tumors without affecting normal tissues, according to a new study. Researchers injected high doses of vitamin C (also known as ascorbate or ascorbic acid) into the veins or abdominal cavities of mice with aggressive forms of brain, ovarian, and pancreatic tumors. The injections reduced tumor growth compared with xenografts in untreated mice. In immune-deficient mice with rapidly spreading ovarian, pancreatic, and glioblastoma tumors, the injections reduced tumor growth and weight by 41%–53%. Although the potential anticancer effects of vitamin C have been studied in the past, the delivery method used in the new study appears to be critical to the efficacy of the drug. When vitamin C is taken orally, the body prevents blood levels of ascorbate from exceeding a narrow range. Pharmacologic doses of vitamin C can be achieved in humans by IV infusion, but not by diet or supplements. The scientists injected up to four grams per kilogram of body weight daily. The researchers believe that the elevated amounts of ascorbic acid generate hydrogen peroxide in the body that acts against the cancer cells. The hydrogen peroxide leads to death of some cancer cells and does not seem to kill normal cells. According to the researchers, ascorbate may have benefits in cancers with poor prognosis and limited therapeutic options. The vitamin C treatments did not cure the mice, so the authors suggest that high doses of IV ascorbate should be studied in combination with other cancer therapies in humans. Chen, Q., Espey, M.G., Gun, A.Y., Pooput, C., Kirk, K.L., Krisna, M.C., et al. (2008). Pharmacologic doses of ascorbate act as a prooxidant and decrease growth of aggressive tumor xenografts in mice. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 105(32), 11105–11109. Contributing Editor Deborah McBride, RN, MSN, CPON®, is a nurse at the Kaiser Permanente Oakland Medical Center and a faculty member at Samuel Merritt College in Oakland, CA. November 2008 ONS CONNECT 9

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ONS Connect - November 2008 Contents Editor's Note Just In Lean on Me You Tell Us A Year in the Life-- Month Eleven Put Evidence Into Practice to Manage Caregiver Strain and Burden Web Connect Capitol Connection Caregiver Care New Technique Monitors Patients with NSCLC Calendar of Events Working for You Staying on Top

ONS Connect - November 2008

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