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Helping people with cancer to stop smoking is vital because quitting improves health outcomes significantly. A recent study finds that nearly 46% of people with cancer quit smoking through a tailored tobacco treatment program. It is no secret that smoking is bad for health — smoking, and exposure to tobacco top the causes of premature, preventable death in the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), smoking causes 480,000 deaths a year, or approximately 1 in 5 premature deaths. Of those deaths, 36% are due to cancer, including cancers of the lung, mouth, bladder, colon, and pancreas; smoking takes its toll on almost every organ in the body. Once someone receives a cancer diagnosis, they may still find quitting tobacco challenging. However, giving up could significantly improve their outcome. "Quitting at the time of diagnosis increases the chance of survival by 30% to 40%. Patients also have less chance of a recurrence or secondary cancer if they quit," explains Diane Beneventi, Ph.D., one of the authors of a recent study.

(Credits: www.medicalnewstoday.com)

A preclinical study in mice has tested a new method that could prevent the scarring that occurs after a heart attack and thus prevent heart failure. The researchers have used a drug to target aspects of the body clock that trigger harmful immune responses. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), someone in the United States experiences a heart attack every 40 seconds. In this medical emergency, the blood flow to the heart becomes obstructed, stopping the organ from functioning normally and damaging some of its muscle tissue. After a heart attack, as the heart tissue begins to heal, scar tissue forms and is unable to contract and relax as well as healthy tissue. With time, this may lead to heart failure, in which the heart becomes unable to pump blood effectively. While various treatments can help individuals with heart failure manage their condition, there is no cure that can reverse it. But what if doctors were able to prevent scar tissue from forming after a heart attack and thus make heart failure less likely? This is precisely what a team of researchers from the University of Guelph, in Ontario, Canada, are working toward. In a preclinical study in mouse models, the research team has tested a new method that aims to prevent the formation of scar tissue in the heart.

(Credits: www.medicalnewstoday.com)