30.08.2008 at 08:00
- Category:
Cancer and Oncology
AUSTRALIA -- A strong skeleton may be less likely to be penetrated by metastasizing cancer cells. Researchers found that a calcium deficiency might increase the tendency of advanced breast cancer to target bone. They reasoned that dietary calcium might help to prevent the spread of breast cancer to bone and might serve as an additional treatment during therapy.
About 70 percent of patients who develop advanced breast cancer have secondary tumors in the bone. The spread of cancer to bones often leads to cellular processes that physically break down existing bone, leading to further pain and illness.
In fact, the breakdown of bone and subsequent bone re-growth forms what senior author Colin R. Dunstan, Ph.D., termed a vicious cycle that turns bone into an, environment conducive to cancer growth.
To better understand the role of bone turnover in the spread of cancer, Dr. Dunstan and his team compared the effects of low-calcium and high-calcium diets. They found that dietary calcium deficiency-independent of the chemical factors that controlled turnover-was related to a significantly higher increase in cancer cell proliferation and the total proportion of bone, which had been penetrated.
(Source: Cancer Research., 2007; 67:9542-9548.)
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