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In my last post, I mentioned about plants that can cause cancer, so this time I am going to talk about plants that can treat cancer. Well, treat is a fancy word as plants cannot cure cancer on its own, but they have anti-cancer properties that can be used as a treatment or prevention of cancer. There are many plants with anti-cancer property and in this post I am going to mention a few.

In a research conducted to document different types of medicinal plants in their effectiveness in preventing cancer, they discovered that the extracts of the leaves of bandicoot berry, South African Leaf and simpleleaf chastetree showed a promising result in fighting 7 types of cancer. These 7 types of cancer are breast, cervical, colon, leukemia, liver, ovarian and uterine. Other than that, the leaf extracts of the seven star needle performed well in fighting cervical, colon, liver, ovarian and uterine cancer cells. While the leaf extracts of fool's curry leaf and black face general also showed efficacy against some cancer cells.

I also want to talk about plants (especially spices) that are close to us , that we use in our daily lives, that can prevent or be used in cancer treatment. Firstly is turmeric, it contains active polyphenol ingredient which is curcumin that is anti-inflammatory that can slow the growth of cancer cells. Next is ginger which is rich in antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties which protect against cancer. Cayenne pepper which contains capsaicin and beta-carotene which is known to be toxic to cancer cells. Saffron with water-soluble carotenoids that inhibits and slows the progression of cancer. Oregano with the richest source of antioxidants that can slow cancer growth and promotes apoptosis. And last but not least, the most used herbs, garlic which is a part of the cancer-fighting allium group and can decrease the growth of cancer cells.

I find plants to be very fascinating and I am sure there are more unknown plants species that might be a better cancer prevention and treatment yet to be discovered.

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Last time, I learned about etiology of cancers and I am interested about Aflatoxins which is a potent liver carcinogen that is produced by fungi, especially by Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus. I wondered is there any other "nature" that can cause cancer, and I came across plants that can cause upper urinary tract and bladder cancer and these plants have a thing in common which is they contain aristolochic acids.

Aristolochic acids are a group of acids found in naturally many types of plants known as Aristolochia and some types of plants known as Asarum. This toxic components are known to be nephrotoxic, carcinogenic and mutagenic and these components can be found in traditional herbal medicine that is used to treat arthritis, gout and inflammation.

These herbal products have not been approved by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) and fair enough as upper urinary tract and bladder cancers have been reported among individuals who had kidney damage caused by the consumptions of these herbal medicine.

Let's talk more about the plants, Aristolochia is large plant genus with over 500 species and under the family of Aristolochiaceae. It is commonly known as birthwort, pipevine or Dutchman's pipe and are spread widely in diverse climates. It is generally considered to be South American origin. Asarum is also a genus of plants in the same family and most commonly known as wild ginger. It is distributed across the temperate zones and the Northern Hemisphere with most species in East Asia and North America.

What I learned from this, is that not all "natural" thing is safe and it can indeed be far more dangerous than processed compounds. I also think that more research needs to be done upon these "traditional herbal medicine" to see if it is really safe.

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HPV stands for human papillomavirus and it is the most common sexually transmitted infection (STI). Even though it is a viral carcinogen but not all types can lead to cancer, and most HPV infections are harmless and would go away eventually. As the name suggests, it can be transmitted through unprotected vaginal or anal sex with someone who has the virus. Some people can also contract the HPV while doing oral sex, this is called mouth wart.

From Planned Parenthood, there are more 200 types of HPV and about 40 kinds can infect the genital area such as vulva, vagina, cervix, rectum, penis, anus and scrotum, as well as the mouth and throat (through oral sex). There are also other types of HPV that is not sexually transmitted, and this can commonly be seen in the case of hand warts and plantar warts on the feet.

Just now I have mentioned that HPV has a few types and these different types may cause different infections. HPV types 6 and 11 cause most cases of genital warts. As disturbing as it may sound, this is a low-risk HPV and they do not cause serious health problems or even lead to cancers.

However, there are also types of HPV that can cause serious health problems and lead to cancer especially HPV types 16 and 18. These are called high-risk HPV. HPV is usually related to cervical cancer, but it can also cause vulva, vagina, penis, anus, mouth and throat cancer.

To avoid from getting infected with HPV, one can just have protected sex especially if he/she is sexually active and change partners frequently. Regular check ups can also be done, at least once a year and usually women who have had sex are recommended to take a Pap Test which can detect abnormal cells in the cervix including the cancer cells. There are also vaccines that you can take to avoid yourself from getting a certain types of HPV. In Malaysia, young girls at the age of 13 are given this vaccine at their own school.

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Radiation carcinogen: Radium girls and their unfortunate lives

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Radiation carcinogen: Radium girls and their unfortunate lives

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Previously, I have touched about Radium Girls while talking about Marie Curie, but since we are going to talk about Radiation Carcinogen, we are going to dive deeper in this unfortunate event.

So what is Radium and how dangerous it really is? Radium is a radioactive that was first discovered in 1898 by Pierre and Marie Curie. Long exposure to Radium can result in an increased risk of certain types of cancer especially lung and bone cancer. Being exposed to higher doses of Radium can also cause anemia, cataracts, broken teeth and reduced bone growth.

Radium is currently being used in medicine, producing radon gas from radium chloride to be used in radiotherapy for cancer. But before this, in 1920s, the public went crazy for radium as they were fascinated by its mysterious glow and it was added to many everyday item including paints. Because Radium was also used to treat cancer successfully, many people thought that Radium was a magical and miracle element that it was also commercialized as ingredients in toothpaste and cosmetics. Back then, the dangers were not known until Marie Curie realized the potential dangers and helped to end the use of radium.

This was where Radium Girls played a big part. To begin, Radium Girls were female factory workers who contracted radiation poisonings from working in the luminous paint industry. In 1924, a New York doctor was surprised to find many sign of jaw cancer in a large number of young women who worked in that particular luminous paint industry. He then realized the shocking truth that the women had been licking the tips of their paintbrushes causing them to ingest a harmful quantities of Radium.

Those girls were known as "ghost girls" as they were being exposed to radium, their clothes, hair and skin were literally glowing and of course they thought that this was a good thing that they literally wore their best dresses to go to work, so the fabric of the dresses would shine brilliantly after work.

Among the first victim was Amelia, then the numbers of victims increased, toll of deaths also increased and this eventually led to those Radium Girls to fight over their own health and lives. And after many events, cases and issues, the legacy of the Radium Girls was the one that made us realized about the danger of radioactive. It was also the first case in which a company was held responsible for the health and safety of its employees.

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Chemical Carcinogens in Cigarettes and Vape (e-cigarettes)

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Chemical Carcinogens in Cigarettes and Vape (e-cigarettes)

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We all know that cigarettes are cancers in a stick, containing multiple chemical carcinogens, but is vape a healthier alternative that does not pose any risk? Or is it just too good to be true?

First of all, we are going to talk about the diverse chemical carcinogens in traditional cigarettes. When burned, cigarettes contain more than 7000 chemicals and at least 70 of these chemicals are carcinogenic. These include PAH (Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons), N-nitrosamines, aromatic amines, 1,3-butadience, benzene, aldehydes and ethylene oxide. In short, tobacco in cigarettes is the main criminal in making it deadly.

So, what is the difference between cigarettes and e-cigarettes? One major difference is that e-cigarettes do not contain tobacco, but it does however, contain nicotine, which as we all know is a highly addictive chemical substance. Since, nicotine comes from tobacco, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) classifies them as "tobacco products".

Nicotine itself is toxic and could cause the rise in blood pressure and also spikes adrenaline which increases the heart rate and the risk of having a heart attack but from Cancer Research UK, nicotine does not cause cancer (although it is still too early to be sure).

The main question is still unanswered. Is e-cigarette less harmful than traditional cigarette? The answer is yes, but not to the point that it does not pose any risk. This is because most of the toxic chemicals in cigarettes are not present in e-cigarettes but it still contains some potentially dangerous chemicals. But the levels are usually far far lower than in tobacco cigarettes. We can say that the exposure may be the same as people who use nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) such as patches or gum.

In conclusion, it might be a good idea to switch to e-cigarettes from smoking traditional cigarettes but for a greater health benefit, it is better to stop smoking completely.  It can definitely help in beating the cravings of nicotine and it might be the first step for you to stop smoking.

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(Image taken from Kementerian Kesihatan Malaysia)

Recently I learned about cancer epidemiology and I am interested to learn more about cancer incidence especially in Malaysia. From this image, we can see the distribution of certain cancer among Malaysians with Breast cancer having the highest incidence followed by colorectal, lung, lymphoma and nasopharynx. We can also see that different type of cancer is affecting different sexes with male having the highest incidence of colon cancer and female having the highest incidence of breast cancer.

First thing first, let's talk about breast cancer that seems to affect the most Malaysians. From Breast Cancer Foundation, Malaysia has higher incidence of breast cancer as compared to Europe and United States with about one in 19 women  is affected with it. Moreover, Chinese women are at higher risk of getting breast cancer with an incidence of 59.7 per 100 000, followed by Indian Women (55.8 per 100 000) and Malay women (33.9 per 100 000). Breast cancer is also most common in older women between 40 - 60 years old.

Next, let's talk about colon cancer. From Be Cancer Alert Campaign, it is the most common cancer in men (age-standardized incidence rate 14.8/100 000) and second most common in women (age-standardized incidence rate 11.1/100 000). It is also the third most common cause of cancer deaths in Malaysia. This is because about 66% of men and 65% of women colon cancers are detected late therefore increasing the risk of death.

Then, we will compare different cancer incidence in three major ethnics in Malaysia. For women, the most common cancers in Malay are breast, colon, ovarian, lung cervical. In Chinese women, it is breast, colon, lung, cervical and ovarian cancers while in Indian women, it is breast, colon, cervical, corpus uteri and ovarian cancer.

For men, the most common cancers in Malay are lung, colon, lymphoma, prostate and liver. In Chinese men, it is colon, lung, prostate, nasopharynx and liver cancers while for Indian men, it is colon, prostate, lung, lymphoma, liver and stomach cancer.

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First of all, it is very impressive how much she contributed to the world of science despite facing many challenges such as gender inequality. About her findings, especially about discovering radium, had such a big impact in educating the public about the dangers of radioactive substances. The horrible "Radium Girls" event that happened around 1917-1935 could have been avoided and saved many lives if the dangers of Radium were to be discovered earlier. Despite that, Marie put her life in line and in return, it made the whole world cautious about radioactive substances. Furthermore, even though Radium was no longer used as a cancer treatment, it still helped in advancing the knowledge in treating cancer. The principle of the treatment is still relevant up until now, all thanks to her.