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Indiana University And Head And Neck Cancer Alliance To Provide Screenings At Allstate 400
Race fans at this year"s Allstate 400 at the Brickyard can get a free oral, head and neck cancer screening.
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Sugar Substitute Appears To Prevent Early-Childhood Cavities
Children given an oral syrup containing the naturally occurring sweetener xylitol may be less likely to develop decay in their baby teeth, according to a report in the July issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
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Singer Elton John Calls For Increased HIV/AIDS Education, Care
Singer Elton John on Tuesday at the 2009 Bio International Convention in Atlanta called for renewed efforts to fight HIV/AIDS, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. John, founder of the Elton John AIDS Foundation, addressed an audience that included CEOs of organizations working to develop HIV/AIDS therapies and vaccines. He called on governments and institutions to increase their focus on education, especially among young people; access to medical treatment; and needle-exchange programs (Poole, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 5/19)."There are long-standing stereotypes and prejudices that inhibit our efforts to combat AIDS," John said, adding, "I am asking for your leadership." According to John, CDC estimates that one in every three new HIV cases occurs among people younger than age 30, a statistic that he said has not received adequate attention. "It is unfathomable and unconscionable that we are not making a bigger effort to educate this demographic about HIV/AIDS with creative materials and up-to-date information," John said, adding, "Our failure to do so is costing lives" (Turner, AP/PennLive.com, 5/19). John also noted a recent report by the Kaiser Family Foundation, which found that the number of Americans who believe HIV/AIDS is an urgent health problem has declined to 6% currently from 44% in 1995. Bob McNally, CEO of GeoVax Labs, said John"s message is that "just not enough is being done" and that "people continue to die from the disease." He added that John "spurred the audience towards being advocates" (Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 5/20).
Nutrition

Study Suggests Vitamin D Screening And Appropriate Supplementation Indicated For All Cancer Patients

Vitamin D deficiency was found to be prevalent in cancer patients regardless of nutritional status, according to the results of a recent study conducted at Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA). Based on these results, CTCA researchers determined that screening for vitamin D deficiency and aggressive vitamin D repletion should be considered for all people with cancer. "While emerging evidence suggests the protective role of vitamin D in cancer, vitamin D status is not routinely assessed in cancer patients despite the high prevalence of malnutrition in this population," said Carolyn Lammersfeld, national director of nutrition for CTCA and a principal investigator in the study. During the study, a consecutive case series of 737 cancer patients (302 male and 435 female) seen at CTCA between January - June 2008, were assessed for nutritional status and categorizes into three distinct classes of nutritional status: well nourished, moderately malnourished and severely malnourished. The mean age at presentation was 55.7 years (SD = 10.2) and the most common cancer types were lung (133, 18%), breast (131, 17.8%), colorectal (97, 13.2%), pancreatic (86, 11.7%), prostate (44, 6%) and ovarian (38, 5.2%). Before the study, the researchers hypothesized that malnutrition could contribute to vitamin D deficiency and therefore expected mean serum 25-hydroxy-vitamin D [25(OH)D] levels to be significantly lower in malnourished oncology patients. However contrary to what they expected, vitamin D deficiency was found to be prevalent in cancer regardless of nutritional status. About Cancer Treatment Centers of America Founded in 1988, Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA) is a national network of hospitals providing a comprehensive, fully integrative approach to cancer treatment. CTCA serves patients with advanced cancer from all 50 states at facilities located in suburban Chicago, Philadelphia, Tulsa and suburban Phoenix. Cancer Treatment Centers of America


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