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.

Reader’s Comments | Post a comment