While brown rice is a staple dietary constituent in Asia, rice consumed in the Western world is generally white, obtained from brown rice by removal of the bran. Rice bran contains the flavone tricin, which has been shown to inhibit colon cancer cell growth. We tested the hypothesis that tricin interferes with adenoma formation in the Apc Min mouse. Mice received tricin (0.2%) in their American Institute of Nutrition 93G diet throughout their postweaning life span (4 -18 weeks). Consumption of tricin reduced numbers of intestinal adenomas by 33% (P < 0.05) compared with mice on control diet. We explored whether tricin may exert its effect via inhibition of cyclooxygenase (COX) enzymes. Its effect on COX activity was assessed in purified enzyme preparations in vitro and its ability to reduce prostaglandin E 2 (PGE 2 ) levels in human colon-derived human colon epithelial cell (HCEC) and HCA-7 cells in vitro and in Apc Min mice in vivo. Tricin inhibited activity of purified COX-1 and COX-2 enzyme preparations with IC 50 values of f1 Mmol/L. At 5 Mmol/L, it reduced PGE 2 production in HCEC or HCA-7 cells by 36% (P < 0.01) and 35% (P < 0.05), respectively. COX-2 expression was reduced by tricin weakly in HCEC and unaffected in HCA-7 cells. PGE 2 levels in the small intestinal mucosa and blood of Apc Min mice that had received tricin were reduced by 34% (P < 0.01) and 40% (P < 0.05), respectively, compared with control mice. The results suggest that tricin should be further evaluated as a putative colorectal cancer chemopreventive agent. [Mol Cancer Ther 2005;4(9):1287-92]

Background. The increasing rate of obesity among Kuwaiti adolescents is associated with immediate and long term-risks to their health and well-being.Objective.

Objective: The present study was designed to assess physical activity, sedentary behaviours and dietary habits among adolescents in Kuwait and to compare the differences between genders. Design: A cross-sectional study was conducted among secondary-school children who participated in the Arab Teens Lifestyle Study (ATLS), a multi-centre collaborative project. Setting: Secondary schools in Kuwait. Subjects: Adolescents (463 boys and 443 girls), aged 14-19 years. Results: Nearly half (44?6 %) of the boys and three-quarters (76?0 %) of the girls did not meet the recommended daily physical activity levels ($2520 MET-min/week, moderate to vigorous intensity). Nearly all (96?3 % of boys and 96?7 % of girls) adolescents reported spending .2 h/d on screen time, with girls found to spend more time per day watching television (P 5 0?02) and using a computer (P , 0?001). The large majority of the adolescents reported skipping breakfast and not having milk and milk products, vegetables and fruit daily, while nearly two-thirds of the boys and girls had sugar-sweetened drinks on more than 3 d/week. Compared with girls, boys reported consuming more fruit (3?4 v. 2?8 times/week, P 5 0?001), dairy products (4?5 v. 3?6 times/week, P 5 0?001) and energy drinks (1?3 v.

The results demonstrate that these structurally similar flavonoids regulate COX-mediated PGE-2 production in different fashions. Their ability to attenuate prostanoid levels may contribute to their cancer chemopreventive efficacy.

Background During the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, patients with cancer in rural settings and distant geographical areas will be affected the most by curfews. Virtual management (telemedicine) has been shown to reduce health costs and improve access to care. Objective The aim of this survey is to understand oncologists’ awareness of and views on virtual management, challenges, and preferences, as well as their priorities regarding the prescribing of anticancer treatments during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods We created a self-administrated electronic survey about the virtual management of patients with cancer during the COVID-19 pandemic. We evaluated its clinical sensibility and pilot tested the instrument. We surveyed practicing oncologists in Gulf and Arab countries using snowball sampling via emails and social media networks. Reminders were sent 1 and 2 weeks later using SurveyMonkey. Results We received 222 responses from validated oncologists from April 2-22, 2020. An awareness of virtual clinics, virtual multidisciplinary teams, and virtual prescriptions was reported by 182 (82%), 175 (79%), and 166 (75%) respondents, respectively. Reported challenges associated with virtual management were the lack of physical exam (n=134, 60%), patients’ awareness and access (n=131, 59%), the lack of physical attendance of patients (n=93, 42%), information technology (IT) support (n=82, 37%), and the safety of virtual management (n=78, 35%). Overall, 111 (50%) and 107 (48%) oncologists did not prefer the virtual prescription of chemotherapy and novel immunotherapy, respectively. However, 188 (85%), 165 (74%), and 127 (57%) oncologists preferred the virtual prescription of hormonal therapy, bone modifying agents, and targeted therapy, respectively. In total, 184 (83%), 183 (83%), and 176 (80%) oncologists preferred to continue neoadjuvant, adjuvant, and perioperative treatments, respectively. Overall, 118 (53%) respondents preferred to continue first-line palliative treatment, in contrast to 68 (30%) and 47 (21%) respondents indicating a preference to interrupt second- and third-line palliative treatment, respectively. For administration of virtual prescriptions, all respondents preferred the oral route and 118 (53%) preferred the subcutaneous route. In contrast, 193 (87%) did not prefer the intravenous route for virtual prescriptions. Overall, 102 (46%) oncologists responded that they would “definitely” prefer to manage patients with cancer virtually. Conclusions Oncologists have a high level of awareness of virtual management. Although their survey responses indicated that second- and third-line palliative treatments should be interrupted, they stated that neoadjuvant, adjuvant, perioperative, and first-line palliative treatments should continue. Our results confirm that oncologists’ views on the priority of anticancer treatments are consistent with the evolving literature during the COVID-19 pandemic. Challenges to virtual management should be addressed to improve the care of patients with cancer.