FRIDAY, Sept. 7 (HealthDay News) -- Breast cancer patients treated with chemotherapy are at risk for mild mental deficits known collectively as "chemo brain," a new study finds.

Researchers at the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Fla., reviewed existing research on brain function ("cognitive" functioning) in breast cancer patients who received standard doses of chemotherapy for at least six months.

The analysis revealed that, on average, these patients had mild impairments in verbal abilities (such as difficulty choosing words) and visual-spatial abilities (such as getting lost more easily).

Mental functioning varied among the patients, with some reporting no problems and others reporting more severe or widespread impairments, the investigators found.

The study was published online Aug. 27 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

"Breast cancer patients treated with chemotherapy who have subsequent cognitive deficits should be referred to a neuropsychologist for evaluation and management of the deficits," lead author Heather Jim, whose research focuses on the psychosocial and behavioral aspects of cancer survivorship, said in a Moffitt news release.

"Management usually involves developing an awareness of the situations in which their cognitive difficulties are likely to arise so that they can come up with strategies to compensate," she explained. "Research shows that such strategies can make a big difference in daily life when cognitive difficulties do arise."

More information

The American Cancer Society has more about chemo brain  .

FRIDAY, Sept. 7 (HealthDay News) -- Pan-frying red meat may increase men's risk for prostate cancer by up to 40 percent, according to a new study.

Scientists explained that when red meat is cooked at high temperatures, cancer-causing chemicals are formed, possibly increasing disease risk.

Researchers from the University of Southern California and the Cancer Prevention Institute of California examined data on nearly 2,000 men involved in a study on prostate cancer. More than half of the men were diagnosed with advanced forms of the disease.

Participants completed detailed questionnaires about what types of meat and poultry they ate and how much. The men were asked about their cooking methods and whether they pan-fried, broiled or grilled their meats. They also were shown pictures of foods at various levels of preparation, so they could indicate how well done they typically ate their meats.

"We found that men who ate more than 1.5 servings of pan-fried red meat per week increased their risk of advanced prostate cancer by 30 percent," study leader Mariana Stern, associate professor of preventive medicine at the Keck School of Medicine at USC, said in a university news release. "In addition, men who ate more than 2.5 servings of red meat cooked at high temperatures were 40 percent more likely to have advanced prostate cancer."

Hamburgers, in particular, were linked to an increased risk of prostate cancer, the study found. The risk was greatest among Hispanic men.

"We speculate that these findings are a result of different levels of carcinogen accumulation found in hamburgers, given that they can attain higher internal and external temperatures faster than steak," Stern said.

Although men who ate mostly baked poultry had a lower risk of advanced prostate cancer, those who ate pan-fried poultry had a greater risk for the disease. The researchers concluded that diets rich in pan-fried meat or poultry of any kind may increase men's risk for prostate cancer.

Although the reason pan-frying may lead to a greater risk for prostate cancer is unclear, the researchers suggested the formation of DNA-damaging carcinogens -- known as heterocyclic amines -- during the cooking process may be to blame.

These cancer-causing chemicals are formed when sugars and amino acids are cooked at higher temperatures for longer periods of time, they explained.

"The observations from this study alone are not enough to make any health recommendations, but given the few modifiable risk factors known for prostate cancer, the understanding of dietary factors and cooking methods are of high public-health relevance," Stern said.

The study appeared recently online in the journal Carcinogenesis.

Although the study found an association between pan-fried meat and prostate cancer risk, it did not prove a cause-and-effect relationship.

More information

The U.S. National Cancer Institute has information on prostate cancer.

FRIDAY, Aug. 31 (HealthDay News) -- Prepping for a "virtual colonoscopy" at the Mayo Clinic now only involves swallowing four cleansing tablets, rather than the large amounts of liquid laxative typically required, researchers report.

This summer, Mayo embraced the tablet bowel prep as its standard of care for patients undergoing noninvasive colonography, which relies on a CT scan to generate a 3-D snapshot of the patient's colon and rectum.

The four-tablet prep, which contains the laxative agent bisacodyl, would not sufficiently prepare patients for a standard colonoscopy, which involves the insertion of a tiny camera into the patient's large intestine for a real-time visual inspection of the region.

The screenings are recommended for people over 50 for early detection of colon cancer. The colonography route would suffice for the vast majority of patients, the Mayo team says, raising the prospect that an easier prep experience may encourage more people to undergo colon cancer screening.

"About 70 million Americans are eligible for a screening," said Dr. C. Daniel Johnson, chair of the Mayo Clinic's department of radiology in Arizona. "But today only about half actually do it. And one of the major obstacles has been the inconvenience of the bowel prep, which requires ingesting about a gallon of liquid the day before the procedure."

When they compared the effect of a tablet prep vs. the full bowel prep in a group of colonography patients, "we really didn't find any discernable difference between the two," he added.

Johnson and his colleagues discussed their analysis of the tablet-prep option last year in the journal Abdominal Imaging.

Colonography is an extremely accurate means of picking up polyps that are either intermediate (6 to 9 millimeters) or large (1 centimeter or more), the researchers say.

However, Dr. David Greenwald, the gastrointestinal fellowship training director at Montefiore Medical Center at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City, pointed out that a virtual colonoscopy is not as good as colonoscopy at spotting smaller polyps, which may be precancerous or cancerous already.

Greenwald, a spokesman for the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, also said that a colonoscopy has an advantage over a colonography in that any identified polyp can be removed right then without having to undergo a secondary procedure.

"But having said that, the first goal is to identify people with polyps," he said. "So, any way we can help to get people into screening is welcome."

Colon cancer is really a preventable disease, he added. "Many people believe that the standard prep for these screenings is the hardest part of the procedure and keeps screening rates down, so if bisacodyl tablets can get people into colonography screenings and help to find those polyps, that's a good thing."

Johnson acknowledged, however, that a colonography isn't for everybody.

"About 2 to 5 percent of the population, those who have an inflammatory disease or an inherited disorder with multiple polyps forming at the colon, would be considered high-risk patients, and would need to undergo a colonoscopy," he explained. "And for that the tablets would leave behind fecal debris in the colon that would interfere with the procedure. So they would need a full bowel prep."

Mayo's target population for the tablet prep? "The vast majority of patients over 50 who we would say are at average or intermediate risk for colorectal cancer would be eligible for CT colonography," Johnson added.

"Of course, if we find a polyp during a colonography that patient has to then go on to have a colonoscopy," he said. "But we only find a polyp that needs to be removed about 12 percent of the time. So that means that you have an 88 percent chance of not having to go on to a colonoscopy and undertake the more burdensome prep it involves. And we think those are pretty good odds."

More information

For more on colorectal cancer, visit the U.S. National Institutes of Health.

WEDNESDAY, Sept. 5 (HealthDay News) -- Bosulif (bosutinib) has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), a cancer of the blood and bone marrow that primarily affects older people, the agency said in a news release.

Some 5,430 people are expected to be diagnosed this year with the disease, which primarily is caused by a genetic mutation called the Philadelphia chromosome, the FDA said. This abnormality causes a person's bone marrow to produce an enzyme that triggers development of abnormal white blood cells known as granulocytes. The new drug works to block the effects of this enzyme.

Bosulif was evaluated in a clinical trial that included 546 adults with CML. The drug's most common side effects included diarrhea, nausea, low blood platelets, abdominal pain, rash, anemia, fever and fatigue.

The drug is marketed by Pfizer, based in New York City.

More information

To learn more about this approval, visit the FDA.