The Wingham Advance-Times, 1983-03-30, Page 47This is the office of the Huron County Unft of the Canadian Cancer Society. It is located at 20
Isaac Street in Clinton and manned by secretary Marg Allan. The phone number is 4824832.
(Photo by Howard Aitken)
Questions and answers .
• from page 14
human cells grown in tissue
culture may also be infected
with a virus and then the
cells can be shown to be
transformed to a type that
pathologists have identified
as being characteristic of
human tumours. In addition,
it is possible to isolate
viruses from cultures of
human tumour cells and
show that such viruses can
produce tumours when in-
jected into experimental
animals. However, in most
cases the final conclusive
evidence that any virus can
cause cancer in man is still
missing. There is also a con-
siderable body of evidence to
suggest that all of us have
the potential to produce
tumour viruses by a system
which lies dormant until ac-
tivated by some as yet
unknown outside
_mechanism —
6. Is cancer caused by the en-
vironment?
Several outstanding scien-
tists have examined
statistics from all over the
world and come to the con-
clusion that approximately
80 per cent of all cancer is
preventable. This has led
other scientists to suggest
that the 80 per cent of cancer
that is preventable is due to
factors contained in the en-
vironment. The search for
such evidence is -carried out
by epidemiologists who use
statistics to study the
distribution of disease and
the reasons for that distribu-
tion, and by experimen-
talists who study some of the
many compounds we en-
counter in daily life and try
to find out if any of them will
give rise to cancer in
laboratory animals. These
tests take a long time and
are so expensive to conduct
that every evaluation might
cost a million dollars. Since
there are millions of com-
pounds, and mixtures of
compounds,, in our environ-
ment it is not possible to
study more than a few in
detail. The Health Protec-
tion Branch of Health and
Welfare ( Canada ). permits
only a limited number of
chemicals to be used in food
or in cosmetics and each of
these must be carefully
screened to verify that in
standard laboratory tests
they do not give rise to
tumours in experimental
animals. Although this pro-
vides reassurance as far as
the quality of our food is con-
cerned, a lot of research is
being conducted to devise
simpler and cheaper
methods of determining
whether contaminants of our
environment represent a
major carcinogenic hazard.
7. Are new methods of detec-
tion being developed?
In a study carried out at
the University of Alberta it
was reported that 86 per cent
of all cases of carcinoma of
the pancreas had progressed
to an advanced stage by the
time they were detected.
Since the efficacy of treat-
ment is often correlated with
the degree of advancement
of the disease it becomes im-
portant to diagnose cancer
at the earliest possible stage.
Some years ago a blood test
known as CEA test was
devised in Montreal as a
potential means of early
-" detection- of - colo rectal -
cancer. Although the final
analysis of the results in-
dicated that the test was not
as specific as had originally
been hoped for, the study
markedly stimulated the
search for methods of detec-
ting early cancer by im-
munological reactions of the
blood. Another example of
this type of study is the work
presently being conducted at
McMaster University in
which attempts are being
made to detect antibodies to
a virus in womenwith car-
cinoma of the cervix, the
underlying assumption be-
ing that this type of cancer
may be caused by a virus
and that antibodies to this
virus are present in the blood
of such patients.
8. What future areas of
research look promising?
Information processing is
now so quick that scientific
advances do not long stay
associated with only one
field e.g. today's results in
virology may rapidly in- -
fluence tomorrow's ex-
periments in immunology
while advances made in the
study of cancer may have
even more impact on the ef-
fects of other diseases on
mankind. However, there
are areas of cancer research
that may well be growth
points in the next few years.
These include:
Radiosensitizers
The basic philosophy
underlying the use of 'radia-
tion to treat cancer is that
tumour cells are growing
more rapidly than normal
cells and that rapidly grow -
0 •
ing cells are more easily
destroyed by radiation than
normal cells. The sensitivity
of tumour cells to radiation
is influenced by other factors
such as the presence or
absence of oxygen and many
cells within the mass of a
tumour have a poor supply of
oxygen. They are therefore
less sensitive to radiation.
However, several com-
pounds have now been syn-
thesized which can restore
this sensitivity, even in the
continued absence of a good
supply of oxygen, and these
compounds are known as
radiosensitizers. Much of the
laboratory work is now com-
plete and studies are being
conducted to determine
whether the administration
of these. "compounds to pa-
tients makes treatment of
tumours by radiation any
more effective.
Genetics
The science of genetics is
primarily associated with
the study of genes and the
processing of the informa-
tion that they contain. It is
true that the genetic makeup
of the egg and sperm cells of
our parents determines the
mixture of genes that we will
possess and therefore deter-
mines most of our physical
attributes. But, most of the
cells in our Wodies are not
germ cells and they are call-
ed somatic cells. For exam-
ple, the cells of our liver are
not involved in the produc-
tion of our children and are
therefore somatic cells but
they are involved in the pro-
duction of new liver cells to
replace old or injured cells.
If they are caused to change
by a chemical carcinogen,
by a virus or by radiation
then the daughter cells that
they produce may have lost
the normal controls on
growth and have acquired
those characteristics which
make them malignant cells.
Scientists are now asking
whether such changes are
associated with one gene,
whether transfer of this gene
from cell to cell is associated
with change from a normal
to a malignant cell and
whether it is possible to sup-
press the activity of such a
gene.
Carcinogenesis
It has been known for
more than 250 years that
chemicals can cause cancer
in man. In recent years
tremendous progress has
been made in the study of
how this process takes place
and most cancer research
Unit office is in Clinton
The Huron County Unit of
the Canadian Cancer
Society's office is located at
20 Isaac Street in Clinton.
The staff secretary is Mrs.
Marg Allan and she is at the
office Monday to Friday
from 1:30-5 p.m. If you have
any enquiries about
becoming a volunteer or
about what services are
available to cancer patients,
etc, you can call the office at
482-7832.
Officers for the Huron
County Unit this year are as
follows: president -Ross i
McDaniel of Goderich; vice-
presidents -Mel Farnsworth
of Goderich and George
Michie of Belgrave;
treasurer -Steve Biskup of
Clinton; campaign chair-
man -Jim Remington of
Goderich, vice -chairman -
Murray Hunter of Wingham;
workers believe - that car-
cinogens ultimately interact
with the deoxyribsenucleic
acid (DNA) of the cell which
is the final storehouse of the
genetic information. In an
expression of concern for the
increasing complexity of our
environment and the poten-
tial carcinogenic hazard that
it represents, scientists have
begun to search for quick
and cheap methods to detect
environmental carcinogens
by utilizing the knowledge
that most carcinogens in-
teract with DNA and cause
genetic changes which result
in different growth
characteristics. If this air
proach is successful, it may
be possible to remove car-
cinogenic chemicals from
our environment and pre-
vent exposure to new ones.
9. What are you doing for the
patient oftodayY
Laboratory research
workers are making con-
tributions by developing new
chemotherapeutic agents,
by investigating new con-
cepts such as radiosen-
sitizers and by seeking'more
rapid and sensitive methods
of diagnosis. A major con-
tribution of the clinical com-
munity is the development of
a Canadian Clinical Trials
Program for treatment of
cancer patients. One use of
this type of clinical program
is in the final testing of new
modalities of therapy. A se-
cond use is based on the
assumption that there is
much to be gained from
more effective use of present
modalities of therapy. For,
example, if two drugs are
known to be of some benefit
in the treatment of a specific
type of cancer, is there any
benefit to be gained from us-
ing the two drugs together,
alternating them on a day to
day basis, alternating them
on a monthly basis, simply
employing one until it is no
longer effective and then tur-
ning to the other, or is there
any advantage to be gained
in using the two drugs in
combination with radiation
therapy? The questions ask-
ed in these trials can be
stated in a few simple
sentences but meaningful
answers will depend upon
the results of studies with
several hundred patients,
following the prescribed
course of treatment for mon-
ths or years and maintaining
follow-up for several years
Turn to page 16 •
commemoration funds -Mrs.
Marg Makins of Bayfield;
education -Mrs. Barb
Howson of Blyth; medical
advisory -Dr. R.B. Thomson
of Goderich; patient ser-
vices -Mrs. Elaine Blair of
Clinton; planning,
development and
Pees IS
nominating -Mel Farnsworth
of Goderich; publicity -Ross
Hamilton of Wingham;
mastectomy visiting -Mrs.
Phyllis Fitblado of R.R. 5
Goderich; and tran-
sporation-Russell Jervis of
Clinton.
This information s brought to you with
the kind co-operation of the following:
��tll & JlTatwuzr
Jurnrat 3Jit'mc
Michaels. Falconer
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