Study of Native American genes searches for way to reduce cancer (Leader & Advertiser)

The future of cancer on the Flathead Indian Reservation could be changed by a tablespoon of blood.

The Montana Cancer Institute Foundation (MCIF), in collaboration with the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribal Health Department, is sponsoring a new program looking at Native American genes. Researchers are hoping to find out whether Tribal people might have certain genetic traits that can help fight cancer, or identify barriers to recovery.

According to Dr. LeeAnna Muzquiz, a Tribal liaison coordinating the project, patients who come into Tribal Health for regular appointments will have the chance to give blood for research.

“It’s a study that looks at cancer’s genetics,” she said.    full story

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Cancer study finds declines, complexitites and good news on data (Indian Country Today)

The nation’s vanguard organizations against cancer released a study Oct. 15 that found the cancer death rate has declined by almost twice the previous rate in the general U.S. population, while cancer incidence among all races and both sexes declined slightly.

Cancer incidence rates refer to newly diagnosed cancer. A special section of the report examined the most full and accurate cancer data ever compiled for American Indians and Alaska Natives, and the key finding here was that cancer incidence varies regionally and by cancer type. Although Native cancer incidence rates were higher for cancers of the stomach, liver, kidney, gallbladder and cervix, the incidence rate for all cancers is lower than for non-Hispanic whites from 1999 to 2004.

For the nation as a whole, said John R. Seffrin, Ph.D., CEO of the American Cancer Society, ”The evidence is unmistakable: we are truly turning the tide in the cancer battle. The gains could be even greater if everyone in the U.S. had access to essential health care, including primary care and prevention services.”    read more

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