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Consuming a diet rich in vitamin A or its analogs may help prevent children and young adults with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) reduce their risk of developing painful pancreas inflammation during chemotherapy treatment. For people with ALL, treatment with the enzyme asparaginase helps starve cancer cells by reducing the amount of asparagine circulating in the blood, which the cancer cells need but cannot make themselves. The medication, often used in combination with other chemotherapies, is given via injection into a vein, muscle, or under the skin. However, an estimated 2% to 10% of asparaginase users develop inflammation of the pancreas...

CAROTENOIDS MAY PROTECT AGAINST PROSTATE CANCER   Asians are well known to have a low incidence of prostate cancer. Australian and Chinese researchers conducted what is called a "case-control study" in southeast China, the first of its kind in an Asian population. They discovered that dietary lycopene and other carotenoids may protect against prostate cancer.   The researchers compared 130 patients with adenocarcinoma of the prostate to 274 controls - men who were in the hospital for conditions other than prostate cancer. They found that the more carotenoid-rich foods the men ate, the less their risk of developing prostate cancer....

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - New research provides further evidence that substances in kale, spinach and other green vegetables help protect aging eyes from cataracts. In an experiment, investigators found that human eye cells treated with antioxidants called lutein and zeaxanthin showed less damage after being exposed to ultraviolet rays, the sunlight ingredient considered a major contributor to cataracts. Cataracts occur when proteins in the eye's lens begin to clump together, forming a milky cloud that obscures vision. Currently, around 20 million Americans have cataracts, and research suggests that the more sunlight you are exposed to in life, the greater...