According to a previous Health24 article blood tests may now be used to detect the early stages of pancreatic cancer or death risk after surgery and even to distinguish the early stages of depression from schizophrenia.

And now there are even more possibilities.

A new genetic blood test might pave the way for detecting early stage cancers that often prove fatal when caught too late, a new study suggests.

The report appears in the issue of the journal Science Translational Medicine.

DNA fragments tested for mutations

The test scans blood for DNA fragments released by cancerous tumours, explained lead researcher Dr Victor Velculescu.

By reviewing these DNA fragments for mutations found in 58 “cancer-driver” genes, the blood test detects many early stage cancers without rendering false positives for healthy people, said Velculescu, co-director of cancer biology at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center, in Baltimore.

The test detected stage one or two colon, breast, lung or ovarian cancers between 59% and 71% of the time when assessing 200 patients previously diagnosed with cancer, researchers found.

Early detection key for survival

“If we are able to detect cancer earlier, our chances of saving lives would be much higher,” Velculescu said. “The survival difference between late-stage and early stage disease in these cancers accounts for over a million lives worldwide each year.”

The test also proved capable of screening out cancer-free people.

Dr Len Lichtenfeld, deputy chief medical officer for the American Cancer Society, called this “important research” that “moves us one step further down the path to developing a blood test that might find cancer earlier.”

A step forward

“We still need to improve the sensitivity, but this is a step forward. It is a proof of concept,” Lichtenfeld said. “It is not a test that’s going to be available in a clinical laboratory anytime soon.”

To develop a genetic blood test for cancer, researchers must find ways to spot DNA mutations linked to cancer while ignoring natural and harmless mutations that regularly occur in humans, Velculescu explained.

Velculescu and his team developed a genetic scan that essentially “takes a fragment here and a fragment there and uses it to create a picture of what the tumor DNA looks like,” Lichtenfeld said. “That’s what makes it so elegant.”

Ovarian cancer a priority

The research team assembled a panel of 58 cancer-linked genes, and used their scan to look for tumour DNA fragments in the blood of 200 people known to have cancer.

Overall, researchers detected about 62% of stage one and two cancers.

The test specifically spotted early stage colon cancer 71% of the time, breast and lung cancer 59% of the time, and ovarian cancer 68% of the time.

The ability to catch early stage ovarian cancer is particularly needed, Lichtenfeld said. Fewer than one in five ovarian cancers are caught early, when the five-year survival rate is greater than 90%. Most are detected after they’ve spread, and by then the odds of five-year survival are 40% or less, he said.

“Finding any marker in a stage one ovarian cancer patient is very important, because this is a tumour that usually presents at a much later stage,” Lichtenfeld said.

The researchers also directly tested cancerous tissue removed from half of the 200 cancer patients. They found that 82% of the tumours contained mutations that correlated with DNA fragments found in the person’s blood.

Larger studies needed

Despite these promising results, researchers need to validate the blood test in larger studies, Velculescu said.

“What’s going to be so important is to be able to distinguish cancers that will hurt people versus cancers that may not have long-term impact on survival,” Lichtenfeld said.

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An HIV positive single father from Duduza, who was getting sicker because he was too weak to fetch his medication from the clinic, is getting better thanks to the intervention of social services.

Emmanuel Sibisi (36) from Duduza, in Ekurhuleni says he is extremely grateful for the help he and his 11-year-old son have received after Health-e News wrote about their desperate plight in May.

Social workers helped a lot

“I’m now very happy and getting better every day. The social workers contacted me last month. We arranged for an appointment because they wanted to come to check my house,” he said, explaining how the authorities stepped in to see what they could do for him.

Sibisi was diagnosed with HIV and tuberculosis in 2011, soon after his wife died. Earlier this year he fell sick after defaulting on his medication and was struggling to fetch his treatment because he was not well enough to get to his local clinic.

But social workers and members of the local Treatment Action Campaign stepped in to help the father and son.

Food parcels

“The social workers helped a lot. They have registered me for a social grant. I feel very relieved because they have also organised someone from the clinic to bring my treatment to me at home,” Sibisi said.

Sibisi’s friend Asanda Molefe (33) said “I’m very happy for my neighbour because their situation was very sad since he had to walk a very long way to the clinic for his treatment.”

“Part of our job is to make sure that he does get his the social grant. This was not the last visit to this family, because we are still organising to bring them food parcels,” said Ntshapo Mbonambi a social worker from the Emmaus Centre in Duduza.  – Health-e News.

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Esau Dlamini

The Thohoyandou Victim Empowerment Programme (TVEP), a local organisation which offers an integrated range of prevention and support services to combat sexual assault, domestic violence and child abuse said every month they record an average of 120 new cases of domestic violence.

In the past two months about five women in Vhembe have been killed in domestic violence incidents with the latest case being a 37-year-old from Muledzhi village, outside Tshilamba who was murdered over the weekend by her husband at their home.

The killings must stop

TVEP spokesperson Tshilidzi Masikhwa said that people in abusive relationships were often too ashamed to speak up and seek help, and feared being left alone.

“We usually encourage abused people to approach us as soon as possible as we believe that through communication we can save lives. Couples who are in abusive relationships should attend family counselling before it’s too late,” said Masikhwa.

Recently a group of women marched to the Vhembe District Municipality offices to plead with the district mayor Florence Radzilani to intervene and help put an end to the killings.

“Monthly we record over 120 cases of domestic violence. Most of the cases are women who are being physically, emotionally and verbally abused by their partners. The cases increase during the festive season,” said Masikhwa.

‘We need to work together’

He said the organisation was also concerned about an increase in cases of ritual murders and rapes. He said TVEP received about 40 rape cases of rapes monthly and in recent months six cases of ritual killings had been reported in the district.

The latest ritual murder victim was Rirhandzu Manganyi (16) from Gumbani village who was found murdered with her eyes gouged out and her ears and skin on her forehead cut off.

“We need to work together as a nation to end the number of rapes which are being committed in our country,” said Masikhwa.

Limpopo police spokesperson Moatshe Ngoepe said more resources had been dedicated to fighting domestic violence and ritual killings in the province.

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You don’t necessarily need a flu shot to protect yourself this winter. There are quick and easy steps you can take to make yourself less susceptible to illness.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, your body could be harbouring viruses before symptoms start to appear. You could, therefore, be contagious before you even know that you are sick.

1. Sanitise your office space

Cold and flu viruses easily spread from person to person, as well as making their way onto surfaces we regularly touch. These surfaces include doorknobs, kitchen appliances and office equipment like telephones, mice, computer keyboards and desks.

Research has shown that the average computer keyboard is five times dirtier than a toilet seat.

To ensure than your office equipment and surfaces remain clean and germ-free, Health24 suggests keeping an alcohol-based sanitiser at hand to sterilise surfaces that may harbour germs and viruses that can make you sick.

2. Wash your hands

Research has shown that good hand hygiene and regular hand-washing may help protect you against colds and flu.

Hand-washing is the simplest way to prevent infection or illness as your hands constantly come into contact with other people and unhygienic surfaces. Those germs are quickly transferred to your mouth, eyes, and nose.

CDC advises when you should be washing your hands:

• Before, during, and after preparing a meal
• Before eating
• Before and after taking care of a sick person
• Before and after treating a cut or a wound
• After using the toilet
• After changing diapers
• After coughing, sneezing, and blowing your nose
• After touching pets or other animals
• After touching any form of garbage

3. Clean your cellphone

You hold your cellphone against your face every day, and according to a previous Health24 review, the average cellphone has 10 times more bacteria than a toilet seat.

Germs and viruses can spread from cellphones to people’s hands and faces and make them sick.

Using an antiseptic wipe to clean your phone can go a long way towards preventing you from getting ill. Just remember to throw away the wipe once you are done.

4. Good health habits

It’s better to take keep your immune system strong and stay healthy than trying to remedy the situation once you have fallen ill.

Take care of your immune system by eating fresh fruits and vegetables every day and getting plenty of rest each night.

A balanced diet is a crucial part of taking care of your health as it provides a variety of nutrients that help to keep you healthy.

Sleep deprivation may also contribute to the development of a variety of serious medical conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, and heart disease.

5. Make time to de-stress

Stress can increase your chances of getting sick. If you are stressed all the time, your nervous system stays aroused and keeps on releasing stress hormones like adrenaline and cortisol, which can affect your immunity. 

According to CDC, in stressful situations they body is in a constant state of alertness, increasing the rate of “wear and tear” to the biological systems. As a result, your body becomes drained and more susceptible to infectious illnesses.

6. Exercise

Research has shown that people who exercise on a regular basis are less likely to catch a cold. Exercise strengthens the immune system and cuts your risk of catching a cold by nearly 50%.

You don’t need to belong to a gym to exercise. Walking is often underrated, and this easy form of exercise can go a long way toward keeping you healthy and able to fight off the common cold.

7. Stay warm

Your chances of catching a cold drop when you stay warm. Research has shown that when infected cells with the cold virus were exposed to a healthy core body temperature, the virus died off more quickly and was unable to replicate itself in the body and spread.

The study found that higher body temperatures enhance an enzyme called RNASEL – which attacks and destroys viral genes. Cooler body temperatures, however, enable the cold virus to spread in airways.

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Naseema Barday

You might not think it’s possible to squeeze a date night into your hectic schedule, especially if your family includes young children.

But “The Date Night Opportunity” report from the National Marriage Project at the University of Virginia states that making time for just the two of you is a must for a healthy relationship.

Many relationship benefits

Couples who are able to carve out together time at least once a week are much more likely to enjoy a high-quality relationship and have a lower likelihood of divorce than couples who don’t make the time to be with each other.

Specific benefits to the marriage include greater commitment to each other, a higher degree of communication and a more satisfying sex life.

Time is valuable

How you spend your couple’s time matters, too. Couples who have higher “relationship quality” do more than simply go to dinner and a movie. They enjoy activities that are new and exciting and allow them the opportunity to de-stress and engage with each other – from hiking to dancing to travel. But it can even be something as low key as playing card games.

The researchers found that carving out couple time is particularly valuable for those who aren’t involved with activities within their community or church and those who need to feel a greater commitment to each other.

The researchers also point out that all couples can benefit, regardless of whether they have children.

Stuck in a rut?

Try these ideas for date nights:

• Book at that restaurant in your area that you always drive past but have never been to. Try Food24’s restaurant guide if you are stuck for dinner ideas.
• Rewatch all your favourite movies together at home. Repeat your favourite movie quotes together. Don’t forget the popcorn.
• Play your favourite board game.
• Cook dinner together.
• Put on your favourite playlist and dance your hearts out.
• Do those DIY tasks you’ve been putting off forever, but make it fun.
• Try a new activity such as ballroom dancing.
• Combine your fitness routines. Skip the gym and go for a walk or run together. 

And apparently we South Africans have even more reason to spice up our date nights. According to a Fin24 article, South African cities offer the best value for money when it comes to a night out on the town compared to other cities in the world.

So get out your calendar and plan that date right now!

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