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"A pack a day keeps lung cancer away" quoted Dr Ian McDonald prominent cancer surgeon. Dr Henry Garland said it was a "harmless pastime". Both men were enlisted by the FDA to do tests on Laetrile (B17) stating "No satisfactory evidence has been produced to indicate any significant cytotoxic effect of Laetrile on the cancer cell". Dr Ian McDonald died when his cigarette set his bed on fire, Dr Garland died of lung cancer.

Orlando, Fla. (April 6, 2019) - Findings from a new study show that the compound responsible for chili peppers' heat could help slow the spread of lung cancer, the leading cause of cancer death for both men and women. Most cancer-related deaths occur when cancer spreads to distant sites, a process called metastasis. "Lung cancer and other cancers commonly metastasize to secondary locations like the brain, liver or bone, making them difficult to treat," said Jamie Friedman, a doctoral candidate who performed the research in the laboratory of Piyali Dasgupta, PhD, at Marshall University Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine. "Our study suggests that the natural compound capsaicin from chili peppers could represent a novel therapy to combat metastasis in lung cancer patients." Friedman will present the research at the American Society for Investigative Pathology annual meeting during the 2019 Experimental Biology meeting to be held April 6-9 in Orlando, Fla. In experiments involving three lines of cultured human non-small cell lung cancer cells, the researchers observed that capsaicin inhibited invasion, the first step of the metastatic process. They also found that mice with metastatic cancer that consumed capsaicin showed smaller areas of metastatic cancer cells in the lung compared to mice not receiving the treatment. Additional experiments revealed that capsaicin suppresses lung cancer metastasis by inhibiting activation of the protein Src. This protein plays a role in the signaling that controls cellular processes such as proliferation, differentiation, motility and adhesion. "We hope that one day capsaicin can be used in combination with other chemotherapeutics to treat a variety of lung cancers," said Friedman. "However, using capsaicin clinically will require overcoming its unpleasant side effects, which include gastrointestinal irritation, stomach cramps and a burning sensation." https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-04/eb-scf032819.php

No, that's not your doctor playing Red Dead Redemption 2 on his lunch break...he's using equipment from Auris Health, a surgical robotics company Johnson & Johnson (+0.22%) will acquire for about $3.4 billion in cash. The deal gives J&J (the world’s largest health care products manufacturer) a leg up in diagnostic and early-intervention tools for lung cancer—an area where Auris has developed high-tech surgical scopes that can quickly identify cancerous tumors. At this point, J&J can basically field a footbag net team of surgical robots. It already has a robot surgery company called Verb Surgical, which it formed with Google-owned Verily Life Sciences in 2015. Zoom out: J&J’s deal shows there’s strong appetite among medical companies for developing tech to make surgery 1) less invasive and 2) much safer. + This is pretty funny: Auris Medical Holding AG, not to be confused with Auris Health, was...confused with Auris Health. Investors mistakenly bought its stock, which rose as much as 30% early in the day. via Morning Brew

As toxic clouds of smog continue to cover much of China, more and more Chinese are turning to vent their anger online at the airpocalypse—even turning to poetry. A poem written by a Chinese chest surgeon has gone viral for pointing out the obvious: there is a link between smog and lung cancer. But in China, where many writers and scholars are punished for speaking out about serious problems, people are hailing the poem as a bold move to raise awareness. Many websites have reproduced the poem in the past week, with the articles racking up thousands of shares and comments on domestic social media (link in Chinese, registration required). Titled I Long to be King, the verses are told through the viewpoint of a “ground-glass opacity,” the term for a CT scan image showing fluid in the lungs that is an early indicator of lung cancer. It reads: I long to be king, With my fellows swimming in every vessel. My people crawl in your organs and body, Holding the rights for life or death, I tremble with excitement… From tiny to strong, From humble to arrogant. No one cared when I was young, But all fear me we when full grown. I’ve been nourished on the delicious mist and haze, That sweetly warmed my heart, Always loving when you were heavy drunk and smoking, Creating me a cozy home. Dr. Zhao Xiaogang, deputy chief of thoracic surgery at the Shanghai Pulmonary Hospital of Tongji University, said the Chinese public has a low level of understanding about how lung disease develops. “I see many cancer patients everyday and I feel their pain. I wrote this poem to bring some common knowledge of lung cancer to ordinary people,” he said in an interview by phone. “Lung cancer is the leading form of cancer in China. Stress, smoking and lack of sleep are all factors that can cause cancer, while environmental pollution is also a factor that cannot be ignored.” The poem originally ran in English in the American medical journal Chest in October. Zhao then allowed the publication of a Chinese translation of the poem in The Paper (link in Chinese), a Chinese state-funded news website, last week. He said he has long enjoyed writing poetry and finds it is a way to express his emotions. “The intense rise in lung cancer [in China],” Zhao told the Global Times, a state-backed tabloid, “is intimately related to smog.” According to official statistics from 2012, 569,000 people in China die from lung cancer annually. Researchers at the University of California found in 2015 that air pollution kills about 1.6 million people in China each year. Expatriates and wealthier Chinese commonly use air purifiers at home and wear masks outside to protect themselves, but air purifying machines and effective facemasks are expensive. The poor are also more likely to work outdoors in jobs such as security guards, taxi drivers, and food stall operators. China may have declared a “war” on pollution and shut down the worst polluting factories, but it is unclear whether the country will ultimately prioritize public health over economic growth. Manufacturing is still the backbone of China’s economy, though the country’s energy agency said last week it plans to invest 2.5 trillion yuan ($361 billion) into renewable power generation by 2020 in a bid to reduce reliance on burning coal. However, authorities have sent mixed signals about whether it condones open discussion about pollution. State-run media outlets regularly air in-depth stories about pollution, but they tend to highlight steps the government is taking rather than investigate short-term or long-term health effects. Some Chinese artists have had leeway to protest against the smog, but online comments from citizens criticizing the government’s handling of the crisis have been swiftly removed. Last year, censors pulled an independent journalist’s blistering anti-pollution documentary, Under the Dome, from websites after it racked up hundreds of millions of views. So it is unsurprising that Zhao was careful to stress that environmental factors are not the only causes of lung cancer. There are many things people can do to lower their risk, such as exercising, eating plenty of fruit and vegetables, avoiding cigarette smoke, and managing stress, he said. As for the toxic air? “Wearing masks helps of course, but it is best to avoid pollution altogether,” said Zhao. “But just as the haze in Los Angeles was solved eventually, I have faith that the Chinese government will tackle the serious pollution and that it won’t take too long.” https://qz.com/880752/a-doctors-poem-is-going-viral-in-china-and-raising-awareness-that-smog-surprise-is-a-cause-of-cancer/