March 17, 2004 (Vol. 2, No. 1)
Advancing Knowledge, Saving Lives is a quarterly e-newsletter of cancer research and health-care advances from Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.
Read this e-newsletter online at: http://www.fhcrc.org/about/pubs/enews/fhcrc-enews/2004-03/

Learn about cancer prevention at Fred Hutchinson open house
The public is invited to learn how diet, exercise and other lifestyle factors can help prevent cancer at an open house for Fred Hutchinson's new Public Health Sciences building 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 17. The building's grand atrium and sweeping views of Lake Union are surpassed only by the excellence of the science conducted inside. PHS researchers focus on understanding the roles of lifestyle and environment in cancer development with the goal of stopping cancer before it starts. At the open house, talk to a nutritionist, calculate your body-mass index, learn to perform breast self-exam and much more.

Heavy antibiotic use and breast cancer risk
Women with high levels of antibiotic use may have twice the risk of developing breast cancer as those who have not used antibiotics, according to a study conducted by researchers at Group Health Cooperative, Fred Hutchinson, University of Washington and the National Cancer Institute. Risk doubled among women who had taken the drugs for more than 500 days or had more than 25 prescriptions over an average of 17 years. The study did not address whether antibiotics cause the increased risk or whether those who need antibiotics have underlying conditions that lead to breast cancer.

For more information, go to:
http://www.fhcrc.org/pubs/center_news/2004/mar4/sart1.html


Genetic test could predict transplant success
A simple genetic test developed by Fred Hutchinson researchers could help doctors predict the likelihood that a patient will develop a potentially life-threatening complication after a bone-marrow or stem-cell transplant. A recent study revealed that transplant recipients with a common variant of an immune-system regulator gene are half as likely as other patients to develop severe graft-vs.-host disease. The complication occurs when transplanted cells mount a destructive immune reaction against a patient's body.

For more information, go to:
http://www.fhcrc.org/pubs/center_news/2004/jan8/sart2.html


Antiviral drugs may help stem spread of STDs
Taking a daily antiviral drug can significantly reduce the chances of passing genital herpes to an uninfected partner, according to a recent study led by Fred Hutchinson. This is the first demonstration that an antiviral drug can prevent a viral sexually transmitted disease. The results provide the framework to extend this approach to HIV infection and other diseases.

For more information, go to:
http://www.fhcrc.org/pubs/center_news/2004/jan8/sart1.html


Pesticide exposure among farm workers varies by task
Agricultural workers who thin trees in orchards face a greater likelihood of pesticide exposure than other farm workers, according to a new Fred Hutchinson study. Orchard thinners also were more likely to have detectable levels of pesticides in their house and vehicle. The study also found that children of thinners were more likely to have evidence of pesticide exposure in their urine than children of non-thinners.

For more information, go to:
http://www.fhcrc.org/pubs/center_news/2004/mar4/sart4.html



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Copyright 2004
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
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