Call for cervical cancer prevention
Cervical cancer in Asia may be as much as 50 per cent higher than the 250,000 cases reported each year and governments should consider vaccinations because screening is too costly, says a Cambridge University expert. Asia accounts for about half of the world's new cases each year, in large part because of inadequate early detection, Reuters reports. It's caused by the sexually transmitted human papillomavirus, which Margaret Stanley says is associated 'with early marriage, early childbearing, many children and the lack of access to medical services'.
Mainland food fails quality test
China's food-quality monitoring is seriously inadequate and only about 10 per cent of its food producers deliver goods that are eligible for export, says the deputy head of the country's Import and Export Food Safety Bureau. Li Chaowei made the admission at a Beijing seminar on the European Union's rapid-alert food monitoring system, AFP reports, quoting Xinhua.
Synthetic curry cure for tumours
Japanese researchers have created two synthetic versions of an ingredient in curry known for its cancer-fighting potential. Curcumin, the yellowish component in turmeric that gives curry its flavour, appears to suppress tumours, but tends to rapidly lose its anti-cancer properties when ingested. The synthetic versions are up to 30 times more potent and long-lasting in tests on mice with colorectal cancer, Reuters reports. The researchers want to test the synthetic curcumin on gastric cancers, as well as cancers of the breast, pancreas and lung.