Short course: Cadmium in diet raises breast cancer risk

Cadmium in diet raises breast cancer risk

Houston: Women whose diet contain higher levels of cadmium, a toxic heavy metal, are at greater risk of developing breast cancer, a new study has claimed. The study which is published by the American Association for Cancer Research found that among 55,987 post-menopausal women, the one-third with the highest cadmium intakes were 21 per cent more likely to develop breast cancer.

Cadmium, which is identified as a carcinogen, leaches into crops from fertilizers. Whole grains, potatoes, other vegetables and shellfish are key dietary sources of cadmium, which also becomes airborne as a pollutant when fossil fuels are burned, and is inhaled as well as ingested.

Circumcision may lower prostate cancer risk

Houston: Men who have been circumcised are at lower risk of developing prostate cancer, a study published in the journal Cancer has suggested. The study, conducted by Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Centre in Seattle, has found that men circumcised before their first sexual encounter have a 15 per cent lower incidence of prostate cancer. Researchers say that because circumcised men are slightly less likely to contract herpes and human papillomavirus (HPV), which previous studies have linked to a higher incidence of prostate cancer, circumcision might offer protection.

"The problem with prostate cancer studies is that a large number of cases will stay confined to the prostate, causing few, if any symptoms," said Ron Gray, a researcher at Johns Hopkins University's Bloomberg School of Public Health. "Trying to find an underlying cause for that type of cancer is difficult and often pointless," he added.

Several urologists who are in favour of circumcision agree that it is too early to draw any conclusions about how this procedure may affect prostate cancer risk.

Statins could lessen chances of Parkinson's

New York: People taking statins have a slightly lower risk of developing Parkinson's disease than those not on the cholesterol-lowering drugs, suggests a new study. The findings don't mean that taking statins will ward Parkinson's off, and the researchers say evidence that there's a link between the drugs and Parkinson's "remains unconvincing."

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