Issue Date: August 31, 2008

In this article: Hope against disease Beating the "Big C"

Fight worth winning

As the stars gather for a historic telethon, we take a look at the latest progress in the battle to cure cancer.

By Dennis McCafferty

CUSTOMIZED CARE IS KEY
Much of fighting cancer these days is about getting personal -- as in more personalized treatments for individuals. Doctors are realizing that the same game plan cannot be applied for everyone sharing the disease. The Children's Memorial Research Center in Chicago, for example, is launching a personalized approach to pediatric cancer cases, tapping the new XB BioIntegration Suite, which takes data from clinical trials, animal testing models, individual genetic makeup, medical histories and other critical information in attempting to seek the best solution. For breast cancer patients who have successfully undergone tumor removal, there's a new tool called MammaPrint, which looks at the activity of 70 genes from every patient to help doctors figure out if there's a high risk or low risk of tumor recurrence. This is done by taking a tissue sample of the surgically removed tumor and analyzing it. MammaPrint results also may help doctors plan post-surgery treatment for patients, including chemotherapy, hormone therapy or other measures.

PROTON POWER
There's lots of interest now in treating cancer patients with proton therapy, as opposed to traditional radiation procedures. Both techniques kill cancer cells by preventing them from dividing and growing. But radiation is more of a "shotgun" approach, affecting healthy tissue as well as tumors. Proton treatment is a cancer-cell sniper that targets cells in the tumor, resulting in more effective doses and reduced damage to healthy parts of the body. Look for this treatment to pick up steam as more centers around the country are approved.

EMPTY STOMACHS MAY EQUAL BETTER TREATMENT
Apparently, what you eat -- or don't eat -- seems to affect chemotherapy treatments. At the University of Southern California, researchers will ask patients to fast for two days before chemo treatments. (However, please don't attempt to fast before chemotherapy treatment on your own, doctors say. This USC effort is part of a carefully monitored medical study.) Why are they doing this? Because testing with lab mice has revealed that mice with empty stomachs given a high dose of chemotherapy did much better after the treatment than normally fed mice. Test-tube experiments with human cells that were deprived of nutrients to simulate starvation have met with similar results.

Here's the theory behind the study: When deprived of food, healthy cells go into "lockdown" mode, researchers say, protecting themselves by becoming more resistant to exterior stresses. Cancer cells, however, never go into lockdown because, by nature, they are constantly looking to grow. Therefore, during chemo, healthy cells stay healthy after fasting, but cancer cells remain subject to elimination. USC is planning to test this fasting theory in the fall on humans with lung and bladder cancer.

STAY ACTIVE
We've known for years that a sedentary lifestyle can be an unhealthy one. But we haven't realized that this applies to the workplace -- until now: If you're a man with a desk job, you may be at a higher risk for prostate cancer than men with more physically active vocations. That's what researchers at the University of Athens recently found, as they compared prostate-cancer rates among civil servants, teachers and other men with office jobs with those of bakers, barbers and guys who tend to stay on their feet. The upshot: Men with sedentary office jobs were 30% more likely to have prostate cancer. The study mirrors similar research findings earlier this year from the UCLA-based Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, which concluded that men with physically active occupations are less likely to develop prostate cancer.

DECODE AND DETECT
Early cancer detection is getting better thanks to biomarkers, which are biochemical traits within the bloodstream and urine. Just as doctors for years have measured cholesterol, a biomarker, to scout out potential heart disease cases, they're discovering biomarkers that can pinpoint the probability of a particular kind of cancer in a person. At George Mason University outside Washington, D.C., researchers use nanotechnology to locate and trap biomarkers so they can be better extracted for examination. Austin-based Biophysical Corp. has launched testing that will search for biomarkers that can reveal the presence of breast, liver, pancreatic and other types of cancers.

BROCCOLI IS BETTER
We all know that eating our greens is good for us. But eating one green -- broccoli -- may be among the best to avoid prostate cancer. The Norwich, England-based Institute of Food Research has found that men who ate one or more servings of broccoli a week demonstrate more positive change than those who ate peas when it comes to the gene expression that best protects against prostate cancer.

BOOSTING IMMUNITY
A protein known as interleukin-7 (IL-7) is currently being studied as a potential immune booster for cancer patients. The National Cancer Institute has found that cancer patients who are treated with IL-7 see an increase in lymphocytes -- white blood cells that strengthen immune responses. These cells often are reduced during chemotherapy. In one National Cancer Institute study, the number of lymphocytes increased by 300% to 400% among patients given IL-7.

LESS INVASIVE SCREENINGS
Some people are reluctant to undergo colonoscopies because they consider the procedure too invasive. Fortunately, Madison, N.J.-based Quest Diagnostics is coming up with ways to detect cancer through both stool and blood-screening tests. Although less invasive, neither screening technique should be considered a substitute for colonoscopies, the company stresses.

With reporting by Reyhaneh Fathieh, Lisa Gartner, Danielle Taylor and MacKenzie Cotters

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Hope against disease

The stars align to raise funds to fight cancer -- and help victims and their families realize they're not alone.

When Hollywood stars show up for something that really matters -- not a movie, not a TV show, not an album, but something that could help their loved ones and the families of thousands in America -- you get a glimpse of them at their best.

Jennifer Aniston (whose aunt died of liver cancer), Sidney Poitier (a prostate cancer survivor) and Terrence Howard (he says his mom has stage 4 colon cancer) are using their star power to promote "Stand Up to Cancer," a one-hour telethon to raise awareness and funds for cancer research. The special will air simultaneously on three networks -- ABC, CBS and NBC -- on Sept. 5 at 8 p.m. ET/PT.

The show, which will be hosted by Katie Couric, Charles Gibson and Brian Williams, will feature stars such as Meryl Streep, Scarlett Johansson and Forest Whitaker.

At the USA WEEKEND photo shoot, the three stars spoke easily, if emotionally, about the topic that brought them together. "About 1,500 people a day die from cancer," says the petite Aniston, who rarely gives interviews. "Both my grandmothers died of cancer," she says softly.

"Cancer has directly impacted my life," Oscar winner Poitier says. He was diagnosed with prostate cancer 14 years ago. His brother Cyril died of the disease. Aftersurgery to remove a tumor, he says he is now cancer-free.

"I would like to speak to all men, especially to the African-American male, who needs to be aware of the danger prostate cancer poses, because it gives you sometimes very little if any warning at all. Be tested," he says.

Howard, who was nominated for an Academy Award for best actor in 2005's "Hustle & Flow," sits on a gray sofa in skinny jeans and a green V-neck shirt and bows his head. "My mother cries a lot," he says. "She doesn't want to die. I say, 'Mommy, you have been running from death for five years. Just stand up and fight it'. I want to give my mother hope. That's why I am involved in this."

Some of the most powerful women in Hollywood and in the media feel the same way. Women like Couric, former movie exec Sherry Lansing and Ellen Ziffren, one of the show'sco-producers, among others, banded together when they realized that TV could have a profound effect on fundraising for cancer research. "We were all cancer advocates and had been touched by cancer in some way," says Lansing, whose mother died of ovarian cancer at age 64. "So we got together and dreamed. This is Hollywood, so we dreamed big! What's bigger than getting all three networks to do a simultaneous broadcast?"

Cover and cover story photography by Robert Sebree for USA WEEKEND; illustrations by Jim Nuttle for USA WEEKEND
Hair for Aniston: Chris McMillan; makeup for Aniston: Angela Levin; styling for Aniston: Nina and Clare; grooming for Howard: Natalie Miller; styling for Poitier and Howard: Jennifer Azoulay. Inside clothing: Howard's shirt by Zadig & Voltaire; Aniston's shirt: Zooey Tees by Alice Heller; Poitier's shirt: John Varvatos

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Beating the "Big C"

By Dr. Tedd Mitchell

The last 20 years have brought remarkable advances in treating many of the ailments we face in our society. Nowhere has the change been more dramatic than in detecting and treating cancer. This has resulted in better care for those suffering from many of the most common cancers.

In fact, modern medicine has greatly enhanced our ability to find cancers early and treat them effectively. Therapy is no longer the disfiguring, quality-of-life-disrupting event that it was ageneration ago. Among the improvements are genetic testing for breast cancer, blood tests for early detection and robotic surgery thatminimizes a person's downtime from treatment.

Indeed, our ability to address what was once considered a death sentence has improved greatly. As you can see from this story, we learn about new advances daily. Still, much more research lies ahead so we can one day prevent cancer altogether.