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International Symposium on Hormone Disrupters
In recent years there has been a surge of interest regarding
`hormone (endocrine) disrupters' among not only researchers but
also the general public. Endocrine disrupters generally refers to
the exogenous chemicals derived from the living environment
which cause adverse health effects in an intact organism, or its
progeny, consequent to changes in endocrine function. The
abbreviation of ED (endocrine disrupter) or EDC (endocrine
disrupting chemicals) is being generalized. Unfortunately, this
term has been mistakenly interpreted as `environmental
hormone' in the Japanese media. `Hormones' are the chemicals
which are synthesized and secreted by the specialized cells in the
endocrine system, and are carried by the systemic (sometimes
local) circulation to target cells with specific receptors to them.
Finally target cells are then activated to yield physiologic
function. Therefore, it is apparently inappropriate to use the term
`environmental hormones' for exogenous chemicals in the living
environment. Nowadays, the Japanese media begins to use the
correctly interpreted term, `ED' or `EDC', instead of
`environmental hormone'. Recent greater interest in EDC among
the general public seems to be based on the increased abnormality
in human reproductive systems: these include oligospermia,
cryptorchidism, hypospadias, and the increase in incidence of
breast and prostate cancer. To date, however, the relationship
between exposure to EDC and these abnormalities has not been
examined extensively.
During June 29 to 30, 1989, the International Symposium on
Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals and Human Life, Focusing on
Food Safety, was held at the United Nations University
Headquarters, Tokyo, by the Japanese Society of Food Chemistry.
There were four sessions following an educational satellite
program. The four sessions dealt with the following themes: (1)
reporting the study results of endocrine disrupting chemicals (in
vivo, in vitro); (2) the exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals;
(3) the effects on human health; and (4) the endocrine disrupting
chemicals and human health: international and domestic
approaches. Preceding the four sessions, an educational program
provided fundamentals of normal endocrine systems and
definition, and mechanism of endocrine disrupting chemicals to
help the better understanding of the symposium for participants.
Regarding the relationship between ED and cancer, Dr T. Shirai
at the Nagoya City Medical School, Nagoya, reported the `risk of
ED for cancer development'. He reported that even for
estrogen-like substances the effect on the carcinogenesis is
complex, having an opposing (promoting and inhibiting) nature
for cancers of different organs. The increased incidence of
hormone-dependent cancers such as breast, ovarian, endometrial,
and prostate cancers in Japan may be attributable to increased
exposure to EDC. However, at present there is no data suggesting
a possible relationship between EDC and these cancers.
In the oncological community, further investigation of biologic
nature of EDC, especially of the carcinogenic effect on the special
cancers, should be promoted, since this information may indicate
the appropriate prevention of cancers.
The First International Tele-Conference between IGR and NCC
Two years ago, in November 1996, the Institut Gustave Roussy
(IGR), France, and the National Cancer Center (NCC), Japan,
signed an agreement based on cooperation between the two
institutes. The collaboration program includes exchange of
researchers, promotion of collaborative cancer research, and
organization of joint conferences in the following research fields:
(1) genetic alteration; (2) gene therapy and cell therapy; (3)
anticancer drug; (4) telemedicine; and (5) surgery and endoscopy
for intestinal tract cancer.
As one of the activities of comprehensive collaborative
program, the First IGR-NCC Joint Seminar was held using a
tele-conference system on September 2, 1998. Two rooms, one in
Europe and the other in the Far East, were connected by ISDN
lines and the tele-conference system was used to communicate
between each site, including voice and movie images. Despite the
time difference (10 am in France whereas 5 pm in Japan) and the
long distance between the two countries, the joint seminar was
very successful and the sound and pictures were very clear.
Following the opening remarks by Professor Abe, President of
NCC, and Professor Tursz, President of IGR, congratulatory
speeches were given by Professor Ito, Director General, Health
Service Bureau, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Japan, Mr
Motai, Deputy Vice-Minister for Technology Policy
Coordination, Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications, Japan,
and Professor Angelino, Scientific Adviser, the Embassy of
France. The presentations entitled `Current Status of Cancer
Research in France and Japan' were then given by Professor
Kourilsky, Vice President of IGR, and Professor Terada, Director
of NCC Research Institute.
The two institutes have decided to have this IGR-NCC Joint
Seminar periodically for continuing information exchange.
1998 Group Training Course in Clinical Oncology II
The National Cancer Center, Tokyo, is training many foreign
doctors, nurses and other medical professionals every year. The
Group Training Course in Clinical Oncology II is one of the
training courses which is aimed at sharing knowledge and
techniques in cancer diagnosis and treatment with the medical
professions in the developing countries. This course is organized
by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). From
August 31, 1998, participants will spend 10 weeks attending
lectures and individual programmes with Japanese specialists in
each field of cancer.
The following eight doctors participated this year: Dr Pilnik de
Mareca N. Graciela from Argentina, Dr Tan Twian Vui from
Malaysia, Dr Sebastian Prado from Chile, Dr Soe Aung from
Mynmar, Dr Gaibisso R. Rosana Febiola from Uruguay, Dr Santi
Lokejaroenlarb from Thailand, Dr Nilton Antonio, Tello Cruz
from Peru and Dr E. Abdel Moghny M. El Shiekh from Egypt.
Chevalier dans l'Ordre National du Mérite to Dr Masaaki Terada
The President of the French Republic awarded the title of
Chevalier dans l'Ordre National du Mérite to Dr Masaaki Terada,
Director of the National Cancer Center Research Institute (Tokyo)
on August 11, 1998. Each year, awardees of this high honor are
selected from throughout the world based on their significant
contributions to the causes being promoted by France in science,
culture and many other fields. At the presentation ceremony, Dr
Henri Angelino, Science and Technology Councillor for the
Ambassador of France, introduced the outstanding scientific career
of Dr Terada and paid tribute to his years of energetic promotion
of Franco-Japanese cancer research cooperation. Dr Terada has been a workshop coordinator for the
France-Japan Cooperative Cancer Research Program from its
establishment in 1986. Last year, he led the launch of the
Scientific Collaboration Program between the Institut Gustave
Roussy, the largest cancer center in Europe in the suburbs of Paris,
and the National Cancer Center in Tokyo. Dr Terada was also a
member of the fellowship selection committee (1981-1983) and
of the scientific council (1992-1996) for the International
Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) in Lyon.
In response to Dr Angelino's speech, Dr Terada stressed the
importance of promoting collaboration between France and
Japan in the field of cancer research. Although it hardly needs
pointing out, the history of medical science includes a number of
luminaries from France such as Drs Marie Curie, Louis Pasteur,
François Jacob and Jacques Lucien Monod. Dr Terada
emphasized that personal interactions among scientists is
essential for fruitful collaboration. Dr Terada himself is one of the
pioneers in human molecular oncology and is known for a series
of distinguished scientific achievements, including the
identification and biological characterization of novel oncogenes,
growth factors and their receptors, the discovery of a
transforming activity of the DNA of the human
papillomavirus-infected cervical cancers, extensive analysis of
gene amplification and other genomic abnormalities in cancers,
to name but a few. Other awards and honors bestowed on Dr
Terada over the years include the Princess Takamatsu Cancer
Research Award and the Takeda Prize for Medical
Science.
Teruhiko Yoshida, M.D.
As shown in the graph, age-specific death rates for females show steadily
increasing trends in all age groups. The death rates in older age groups,
particularly those over age 80, should be viewed with caution, because they
are based on a small number of deaths. It is also worth noting that
the age groups from 55-79 to 75-79 show the death rates of close similarity
in magnitude as well as time trends, since 1965.
S. Yamamoto and N. Yamaguchi
Mitotic checkpoint genes may speed cells toward malignancy
Bert Vogelstein and his group in the Johns Hopkins Oncology
Center have some evidence that mutations in certain genes may
not only be responsible for deregenerating genes in malignant
cells but may also explain why most tumors have an abnormal
number of chromosomes and may account for the genetic basis
of several cancers. The role of human BUB1 and BUBR1
(budding uninhibited by benomyl) genes in human cancers is
described in the March 19 issue of Nature.
They had shown that mutations in human mismatch repair genes
led to higher mutations in short stretches of microsatellite DNA and
were strongly associated with hereditary non-polyposis colon cancer
(HNPCC) and with about 10% of most sporadic cancers. However,
it was known that only a small portion of colon cancer tumors have
defects in mismatch repair genes; microsatellite instability (MIN).
Instead most tumors have chromosomal instability (CIN), an
abnormal number of chromosomes in human tumors. Recently, they
reasoned that the genes involved in CIN in yeast may account for
abnormal chromosome numbers in human tumors.
Christoph Lengauer and his colleagues, also at the Johns Hopkins Oncology Center, cloned two human counterparts of the yeast mitotic checkpoint genes and found that hBUB1 was mutated in two out of 19 colon cancer tumors that have abnormal numbers of chromosomes and this instability was reversed when the normal hBUB1 gene was put back into the tumor cell. Though these papers do not prove that defects in mitotic checkpoint genes cause aneuploidy, the data are certainly consistent with this possibility. He estimates that there are about 100 known genes involved in all phases of chromosomal segregation and any of them could be candidates for causing abnormal numbers of chromosomes in premalignant cells.
Tom Smyrk of the University of Nebraska Medical Center
suggests that colon cancer can be divided into two broad groups
- one with aneuploid DNA, occurring mostly in the left side of
the colon and behaving aggressively, and one with diploid DNA
and microsatellite instability, occurring mostly in the right colon
and behaving indolently (JNCI 1989;90:1252-3).
How randomized clinical trials came into their own
The British Medical Journal will hold a conference in London on
October 29-30, 1998, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of
the BMJ's October 1948 publication of a study that may have
been the first to have all the methodological elements of modern
randomized clinical trials.
The study was undertaken for Britain's Medical Research
Council by a team led by the late Sir Austin Bradford Hill, who
would also help design the first epidemiological study
definitively linking smoking to lung cancer. The study's purpose
was to determine the effect of streptomycin on pulmonary
tuberculosis. As the previous controlled studies proved
inconclusive, he arranged to have the antibiotic given in some
tuberculosis hospital wards but not in others, in a randomized and
multicenter fashion. Also in the interest of objectivity, the clinical
impressions played no part in arriving at the result, instead, the
evaluation was done by two radiologist who did not know which
patients were given the antibiotic and which were not, and read
independently the chest films that were taken at entry, 6 months
and 1 year into the study. It was truly a milestone when this study
found the streptomycin treated group had fared significantly
better than the control. These studies now become the gold
standard for clinical research.
The conference will cover not only the history and how RCTs
have continued to evolve, but also a range of issues including the
complexities of running multicenter trials with good quality
control, the impact of these trials on ordinary medical practice,
ethical and other challenges of globalizing trials, and how politics
can influence which trials get priority and how they are shaped.
The speakers will come from a variety of disciplines and from
16 countries ranging from Australia to Zimbabwe. The
conference will close with a talk entitled `If not RCT's, then
what?' (JNCI 1989;90:1257-8).
Compiled and edited by Hisanao Ohkura, M.D.
Chemotherapy Foundation Symposium XVI Innovative Cancer Therapy for Tomorrow
Date: November 11-13, 1998
News from Japan
Awards
Dr. Masaaki Terada
Genetics Division
National Cancer Center Research Institute, Tokyo
Cancer Statistics Digest
Breast Cancer Mortality in Japan
Cancer Information and Epidemiology Division
National Cancer Center Research Institute, Tokyo
Source: Statistics and Information Department, Ministry of Health and
Welfare, Japan
Viewing the News from Abroad
Medical Oncology Division, Ibaraki Kenritsu Chuo Hospital and
Cancer Center
Ibaraki, Japan
Announcements
Location: Sheraton Hotel, New York City, USA
Sponsors: The Page & William Black Post-Graduate School of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine
Chairperson: Ezra M. Greenspan, Clinical Professor of Medicine (Oncology) at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine
Further information: Jaclyn Silverman, Conference Coordinator
Division of Neoplastic Diseases
Box 1178, Mount Sinai School of Medicine
One Gustave Levy Place, New York, NY 10029
Tel: +1-212-241-6772
Fax: +212-996-5787
E-mail: J_silverman{at}smtplink.msmm.edu
To include information of upcoming cancer-related events in the News Section, please send details, including the title, date, place, organization, contact name, address (fax number and e-mail address if any) to the news department of the editorial office of JJCO who also welcome suggestions for news stories. Items in this section are selected for publication and edited by the editorial office at their discretion.
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Last modification: 19 Aug 1998
Copyright©Japanese Journal of Clinical Oncology, 1998.
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