(HealthDay News) -- No one knows precisely why people get cancer, and there's no surefire cure.
But if you maintain a healthy lifestyle, you can help reduce your risk. Here are some suggestions, courtesy of AARP:
Eat a healthy diet, including plenty of whole grains, fruits and vegetables. Limit intake of red meat, saturated fats, smoked and salt-cured foods, and foods preserved with nitrates.
Get regular exercise of 30 minutes or more at least five days a week.
Maintain a healthy body weight.
If you drink alcohol, do so in moderation.
Wear sunscreen and avoid prolonged exposure to direct sun during the midday hours.
Get screened for cancers for which you may be most susceptible.
(HealthDay News) -- The most deadly melanoma skin cancers occur on the scalp and neck, says a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) study.
Researchers analyzed 51,704 melanoma cases in the United States and found that patients with scalp or neck melanomas died at 1.84 times the rate of patients with melanoma elsewhere on the body, including the face or ears.
The five-year survival rate for patients with scalp-neck melanomas was 83 percent, compared with 92 percent for patients with melanomas at other sites. The 10-year survival rate was 76 percent for scalp-neck melanomas and 89 percent for other melanomas.
The findings confirm that melanoma patient survival rates differ depending on where the cancer first appeared, the researchers said. The study was published in the April issue of the Archives of Dermatology.
Doctors need to pay close attention to the scalp when examining patients for signs of skin cancer, said senior author Dr. Nancy Thomas, an associate professor of dermatology in the UNC School of Medicine and a member of the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center.
"Only 6 percent of melanoma patients present with the disease on the scalp or neck, but those patients account for 10 percent of melanoma deaths. That's why we need to take extra time to look at the scalp during full-skin examinations," Thomas said in a prepared statement.
There has been debate about whether scalp and neck melanoma is more deadly primarily because it's diagnosed later than melanomas in other locations, but this study indicates that the presence of melanoma on the scalp or neck is, in itself, an indicator of poorer patient prognosis.
"We think there's something different about scalp and neck melanomas. This gives us directions for research to look at tumor cell types in those areas at the molecular level and to see if there are differences. I'm interested in identifying the mutations that drive malignancy," Thomas said.
The patients included in study were non-Hispanic white adults in nine states who were first diagnosed with invasive melanoma between 1992 and 2003. Patients with scalp-neck melanomas were more likely to be male and were an average age of 59 years, compared to 55 years for those with other melanomas.
Scalp-neck melanomas were thicker (0.8 millimeters) than other melanomas (0.6 millimeters) and more likely to be ulcerated. The study also found that lymph node involvement was more common in cases of scalp-neck melanomas.
More information The American Academy of Family Physicians has more about melanoma.
Melanoma and skin cancer is usually a concern for adults who have basked in the sun for years. However, as Nancy Johnson reports, young children are also at risk as cases of melanoma in children has doubled in recent years. This medical segment focuses on the warning signs of Melanoma and ways to reduce risk.
(HealthDay News) -- Long-term exposure to solvents in products such as paints and dry cleaning agents may cause disturbances in the brain's wiring, researchers report.
These abnormalities play a role in a condition called chronic solvent-induced encephalopathy (CSE), the Dutch team conclude in the April issue of the Annals of Neurology.
People with CSE experience problems with memory, attention and psychomotor function long after exposure to solvents has ceased, according to background information in the study. Cases of CSE, a recognized occupational health problem, are increasing in a number of western nations.
This study found that disturbances within the brain's frontal-striatal-thalamic (FST) circuitry are related to the clinical characteristics of CSE, as well as to the severity of exposure to solvents.
The study included 10 CSE patients who'd been exposed to solvents and had mild to severe cognitive impairment, 10 people who'd been exposed to solvents but had no CSE symptoms, and 11 people with no exposure to solvents and no CSE symptoms.
All the participants underwent a number of tests, including MRI and single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) scans to assess their FST circuitry.
The CSE patients had reduced striatal dopamine D2 receptor (D2R) binding ratios, which were predictive of impaired psychomotor speed and attention, and were also linked to solvent exposure severity, the study authors found. Dopamine receptor density is believed to play a role in psychomotor speed.
The 10 people who were exposed to solvents but had no CSE symptoms showed similar reductions but to a lesser extent. Both groups showed reduced levels of choline (which plays a role in neurotransmission) in the frontal grey matter of the brain.
The results indicate that certain parts of the FST circuitry are affected in CSE patients and in workers who've been exposed to solvents but don't have any CSE symptoms, the study authors said.
"A better understanding of the nature, severity and specificity of these suspected biological markers may further validate diagnostic procedures, this reinforcing medical and social recognition, and underlining the importance of prevention," wrote Ieke Visser, of the Academic Medical Center in Amsterdam, and colleagues.
More information The U.S. National Library of Medicine has more about CSE.
(HealthDay News) -- No one knows precisely why people get cancer, and there's no surefire cure.