Archive for June, 2010

System Effected by Possible Side Effects of Sorafenib

Gastrointestinal

Gastrointestinal (GI) side effects including diarrhea (43%), increased lipase (41%), increased amylase (30%), nausea (23%), anorexia (16%), vomiting (16%), and constipation (15%) have been reported. Common side effects have included mucositis, stomatitis, (including dry mouth and glossodynia), dyspepsia, and dysphagia. Uncommon side effects have included pancreatitis, GI reflux, and gastritis. In addition, GI perforation has been reported in less than 1% of patients receiving sorafenib and not always associated with apparent intra- abdominal tumor.

Dermatologic

Dermatologic side effects including rash/desquamation (40%), Hand-foot skin reaction (30%), alopecia (27%), pruritus (19%), and dry skin (11%) have been reported. Very common side effects have included erythema. Common side effects have included exfoliative dermatitis, acne, and flushing. Scalp dysesthesia and subungual splinter hemorrhages (characterized by straight black or red lines under the nails) have been reported. Uncommon side effects have included folliculitis, eczema, and erythema multiforme. Three cases of keratoacanthomas and two cases of sorafenib-induced eruptive melanocytic lesions have also been reported.

Cardiovascular

Cardiovascular side effects including hypertension (17%) have been reported. Uncommon side effects have included hypertensive crisis, congestive heart failure, myocardial ischemia, and/or infarction. Cardiac failure, thromboembolism, and arrhythmia have been reported infrequently.

Hematologic

Hematologic side effects including Hypoalbuminemia (49%), hemorrhage (15%) (i.e., gastrointestinal, respiratory tract and rarely cerebral hemorrhage) have been reported. Common side effects have included anemia and thrombocytopenia. Uncommon side effects have included abnormal international normalized ratio (INR) results. Cases of erythrocytosis have also been reported.

Respiratory

Respiratory side effects including dyspnea (14%) and cough (13%) have been reported. Common side effects have included hoarseness. Uncommon side effects have included rhinorrhea.

Nervous System

Nervous system side effects including sensory neuropathy (13%) and headache (10%) have been reported. Common side effects have included tinnitus. Cerebral hemorrhage, transient ischemic attack, and reversible posterior leukoencephalopathy have also been reported infrequently.

Musculoskeletal

Musculoskeletal side effects including joint pain (10%) have been reported. Common side effects have included arthralgia and myalgia.

Immunologic

Immunologic side effects have very commonly included leukopenia and lymphopenia. Common side effects have included neutropenia.

Hypersensitivity

Hypersensitivity side effects including skin reactions and urticaria have been reported.

Metabolic

Metabolic side effects including weight loss (10%), transient increases in transaminases, and hypophosphatemia have been commonly reported. Uncommon side effects have included dehydration, hyponatremia, transient increases in alkaline phosphatase, increased bilirubin (including jaundice), and hypothyroidism.

Psychiatric

Psychiatric side effects have commonly included depression.

Genitourinary

Genitourinary side effects have commonly included erectile dysfunction. Uncommon side effects have included gynecomastia.

Renal

Renal side effects including acute renal failure have been reported infrequently.

Hepatic

Hepatic side effects including liver dysfunction have been reported in at least 10% of patients.

Other

Other side effects including fatigue (37%) and abdominal pain (11%) have been reported. Very common side effects have included asthenia and pain (including mouth, bone, and tumor pain). Common side effects have included decreased appetite, influenza-like illness, and pyrexia. Uncommon side effects have included infection.

Broccoli To The Rescue

There are naturally occurring substances that block precisely this undesired NF-KB pathway and thus make the dangerous cells vulnerable: vegetables from the cruciferous family such as broccoli and cauliflower possess a high content of sulforaphane, an anti-cancer compound.

The experiments show that sulforaphane prevents the activation of the NF-kB pathway by sorafenib. The combination treatment reinforces the effect of sorafenib without causing additional side effects.

The invasive potential of cancer cells was prevented – metastasis was completely blocked in cell culture experiments. “We assume that nutrition may be a suited approach to break therapy resistance of cancer stem cells and thus make tumor treatment more effective,” Professor Herr suggested

You Must Remember, the medical advice from your doctor, leaves out one fact-food is medicine.

Cancer Treatment a Word of Caution

When we say cancer treatment a word of caution, we mean paragraphs full of cautionary warnings.

There is a relatively new medication for pancreatic cancer. It is a drug used for advanced liver and kidney cancer and appears to be effective against cancer stem cells in pancreatic cancer. The drug sorafenib inhibited typical properties of cancer stem cells from pancreas tumors and greatly reduced tumor growth. The effect lasted four weeks before new colonies of cancer stem cells formed that no longer reacted to a further treatment with sorafenib.

Well if that isn’t a breakthrough I don’t know what is. Except for these side effects we have a winner.

The drug manufacture claims that you will not get all the side effects, and they are almost always reversible, will go away after therapy is complete, and of course are quite manageable. It’s a promise that isn’t guaranteed in writing. These are the garden variety of problems.

Constipation; diarrhea; dry skin; hair thinning or loss; headache; loss of appetite; mouth, bone, muscle, stomach, or joint pain; nausea; tiredness; vomiting; weakness; weight loss.

These are the big boys. Seek medical attention right away if any of these SEVERE side effects occur when using Sorafenib:

Severe allergic reactions (rash; hives; itching; difficulty breathing; tightness in the chest; swelling of the mouth, face, lips, or tongue); black, tarry stools; chest pain; confusion; coughing or vomiting blood; decreased sexual ability; decreased urination; depression; fainting; fever, chills, or sore throat; irregular heartbeat; mouth sores; numbness of an arm or leg; one-sided weakness; redness, pain, swelling, numbness, tingling, or blisters on the palms of hands or soles of feet; seizures; severe or persistent dizziness; severe stomach pain; shortness of breath; speech changes; sudden severe headache or vomiting; sudden weight gain; swelling of the ankles, hands, or feet; unusual bruising or bleeding; vision changes; yellowing of the eyes or skin.

This is just part one, wait there are more delightful surprises. Come back and see for yourself the drawbacks of these kind of drugs.

Americans are the Winner and Loser at the same time in the radiation department.

Americans Get the Most Medical Radiation

Americans get the most medical radiation in the world, more than citizens in other rich countries. We finally win at something. The U.S. accounts for half of the most advanced procedures that use radiation and the average American’s dose had grown six fold over the last couple of decades.

This is not looking at anything but medical tests. What’s amazing is not looking at airport scanners, power lines, cell phones, or microwaves.

Americans get the most medical radiation and still have lousy health. So the biggest myth buster is more radiation is going to ensure better health. In fact it raises the cancer risk and medical costs.

Reality Check

Using technologically advanced medical imaging hasn’t changed how allopathic medicine conducts business. Americans are over tested and over treated, and yet are still unhealthy. Now, we have another source of danger acquiring too much radiation from all the testing.

Radiation accumulates over time. Doctors don’t keep track of radiation given to their patients. Also, there are no federal rules on radiation dose. Children are going to have a lifetime to accumulate more radiation exposure than any previous generation.

Sometimes machines aren’t adjusted for the patient’s size. This isn’t non-toxic and it makes plain sense to realize this generation of super X-rays that give fast, detailed images should be used very selectively.

At this point in time it is used selectively, to avoid a lawsuit by misdiagnosis of a patient.

Danger

Too much radiation raises the risk of cancer. That risk is growing because people in everyday situations are getting imaging tests far too often. Like the New Hampshire teen who was about to get a CT scan to check for kidney stones until a radiologist, Dr. Steven Birnbaum, discovered he’d already had 14 of these powerful X-rays for previous episodes. Adding up the total dose, “I was horrified” at the cancer risk it posed, Birnbaum said.

When other radiologists tell him they’ve never found such a case, Birnbaum replies: “That tells me you haven’t looked.”

Another study by Columbia University researchers, published in 2007, estimated that in a few decades, as many as 2 percent of all cancers in the U.S. might be due to radiation from CT scans given now. Since previous studies suggest that a third of all tests are unnecessary, 20 million adults and more than 1 million children are needlessly being put at risk, they concluded.

Business as Usual $

At this time this is how allopathic medicine conducts business. Yes, these are business decisions as well as dumb choices for safeguarding the American consumer’s health.

Spotting health problems by using ultra sophisticated scanning machines is one thing, trying to avoid a malpractice lawsuit shouldn’t be at the expense of the patient.

Welcome to America’s defensive healthcare, with you getting bombarded with radiation so doctor’s can play it safe. Imaging that shows a problem doesn’t always mean that it will lead to effective treatment.