Breakthroughs Today

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) acts as an intergovernmental agency that forms part of the World Health Organization (WHO) of the United Nations (UN). It has its main offices in Lyon, France, and conducts and coordinates research into the causes of cancer. IARC Classification IARC categorizes various substances and mixtures thereof into five categories based on its cancer-producing capability as far as available scientific studies indicate. Group 1 Agents are scientifically confirmed carcinogenic to humans. Group 2A Agents are probably carcinogenic to humans based on available studies. Group 2B Agents are possibly carcinogenic to humans. Group 3 Agents are probably not carcinogenic to humans. So far there is only one substance placed in this category--caprolactam. Credibility Critics of IARC have claimed that it has become susceptible to industry influence and suffers from lack of transparency. In 2003, Lorenzo Tomatis (IARC director, 1982-1993) was barr

IN THE more than 30 years of cancer research, there have been serious efforts in determining the connection between cancer development and calorie intake. But most of those years were spent in laboratory experiments using animal models. We still have to look for a human trial to support their findings. So much, however, has been learned since then. And the stage is set for a Phase 0 Clinical Trial to follow. Phase 0 is a recent addition in the process, designed for first-in-human trials in microdosing (intake in minute doses), and conducted in accordance with the United States Food and Drug Administration’s 2006 Guidance on Exploratory Investigational New Drug Studies. These three decades of research found out that... ( Read more. ) This article appears in Sun-Star Cebu on 15 September 2010. 

I WATCHED Ninja Assassin lately, and I am impressed with the discipline against physical pain that this film talks about. That makes me understand the wisdom in Japanese poet Kenji Miyazawa’s words: “We must embrace pain and burn it as fuel for our journey.” The approaches between these two schools of thought, however, differ. The ninjas (in the movie) believe in the stoic way of killing the pain, so the will can gain full control of the body. Miyazawa proposed the opposite—embrace pain and let it become an intense fuel to propel one’s life. Well, in healthcare both physical and mental, pain has its important role, too. Primarily pain warns a person about... ( Read more . )   This article appears in Sun-Star Cebu newspaper on 18 August 2010.

PROLIFIC historical novelist Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet of Scotland, wrote: “A rusty nail placed near a faithful compass will sway it from the truth, and wreck the argosy.” In cancer medicine, a toenail rich in selenium, a purplish-gray element, may make an important difference in protecting us from bladder cancer... (Read more ) This article appears in SunStar Cebu newspaper on 19 May 2010.