The World Cancer Congress (WCC) has been held in many cities around the world since 1933. For the first time, it will take place in Canada in 2012 (August 27-30) at the Palais des Congrès in Montreal. Organized by the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) in collaboration with the Canadian Local Host Committee (LHC) composed of the Fondation québécoise du cancer, McGill University, and Université de Montréal, the WCC is expected to attract more than 3000 participants and world leaders in the fight against cancer from 120 countries. The 2012 WCC will provide education and training opportunities throughout the program including interactive meetings, forums, workshops and sessions.The program consists of four tracks, each directly linked to one or more of the World Cancer Declaration targets: 1) prevention and early detection; 2) cancer care and survivorship; 3) palliation and pain control; and 4) systems in cancer control. The preliminary program along with online services (registration and hotel services) will be launched on November 4th, 2011 (www.worldcancercongress.org).

The Toronto Star has reported that practitioners’ signatures and/or credentials are being utilized for insurance fraud without the professional’s knowledge. The article titled Shady clinics bill 1.3 billion in bogus car insurance claims scam, was written by Michele Henry and published on July 13, 2011 in the Toronto Star. It states, “Insurance companies only pay out if treatment is given by a regulated health professional — a doctor, chiropractor, physiotherapist, or massage therapist. It appears that [bogus] clinics sometimes steal a professional’s information. In other cases, a professional briefly worked in the clinic and left behind a college- issued registration number and electronic signature.” Henry also writes, “Health care professionals from all disciplines say the province must do something to stop their credentials from being misused.” Insurance investigators claim that more than 300 clinics in the Greater Toronto Area loosely connected in fraudulent rings are working this system.

Metagenics, Inc. has announced that it will partner with Vitamin Angel’s Operation 20/20 outreach program to eliminate vitamin A deficiency among infants, children and pregnant mothers worldwide. For every two bottles of Metagenics’ omega-3 fish oil supplements that is sold, Metagenics will fund nutritional support for a child under five years of age for one year. “We are proud to partner with Vitamin Angels in an international program to reduce mortality and sickness in some of the most vulnerable and underserved populations in the world,” said Jeffrey Bland, Ph.D., FACN, FACB, the chief science officer for Metagenics, Inc. “Our mission at Metagenics is to help individuals achieve optimum health. Now, people can help a child in need to be healthy, while also improving their own health when purchasing two bottles of our omega-3 fish oil supplements.” “With Metagenics’ help, Vitamin Angels is now reaching over 24 million children in the U.S. and in 40 countries around the world,” said Howard B. Schiffer, president and founder of Vitamin Angels. “For the children and mothers we are serving, these vitamins are giving them a chance to lead full and productive lives. We are honored to have Metagenics as a partner in this important effort.”

Laboratory test results of 60 multivitamins have shown that a supplement cannot be judged by its label or by its price. “Consumers should know that multivitamins vary widely in quality,” said Tod Cooperman, MD, president of ConsumerLab.com, White Plains, NY. “Fortunately, you don’t have to spend a lot to get a good multivitamin.” ConsumerLab.com’s latest report on multivitamins sold in the U.S. and Canada (including three products for pets) found that the contents of the bottle do not always match the claims on the label. Eight multivitamins contained less of an ingredient than claimed, two contained more than claimed, one multivitamin intended for pets was contaminated with lead, tablets of another multivitamin failed to properly disintegrate, and three supplements listed ingredients in ways that did not comply with FDA requirements. Surprisingly, there was almost no connection between price and quality. Many inexpensive multivitamins (ranging in price from 3 to 14 cents per day) passed every test. At the same time, several relatively expensive products (some costing more than 50 cents or even more than $1 a day) failed ConsumerLab.com’s review. This review is available online.

Ocean Nutrition Canada Limited (ONC), the provider and supplier of MEG-3® brand Omega-3 EPA/DHA ingredients has announced the launch of Adult Essentials Gummies Omega-3 and Enhanced Multivitamin, both with Omega-3 EPA/DHA. These two new omega-3-containing adult gummies are part of Life Science Nutritionals’ new line of all natural gummy vitamins formulated for adults – the first of its kind in Canada. Every 10 g serving (four gummies) of all natural Adult Essentials Omega-3 gummies provides 100mg omega-3 EPA/DHA, has no artificial sweeteners or colours, and contains nine essential vitamins. The enhanced multivitamin is the first to be enriched with fish oil and is approved by Health Canada. “While awareness about the importance of Omega-3 EPA/DHA at all life stages continues to grow, Canadians are still not consuming adequate amounts,” says Jon Getzinger, Chief Sales and Marketing Officer of ONC. “Incorporating EPA/ DHA into a multivitamin is a progressive step by Life Science Nutritionals, and we’re proud to be a part of this innovative product.” Adult Essentials Gummies are available at drugstores and supermarkets nation-wide.

An article in the Nutrition Business Journal stated that the year 2010 was another banner one for vitamin D, with supplement sales up another 30%. Vitamin D basked in the glow of promising research with more than 1000 studies looking at the vitamin’s effect on health conditions veering far beyond bone health to immunity, inflammation, and even protection against some forms of cancer. Consumer awareness of Vitamin D’s importance was also on the rise, especially after TV’s Dr. Oz began touting its benefits and the importance of supplementation for adequate daily intake.

The Vitamin D Council, a nonprofit educational corporation based in California, launched their “Vitamin D and Cancer” campaign, presenting 20 detailed summaries of the evidence on the role of vitamin D in preventing cancer. The summaries can be found under the “Health conditions” tab on the Vitamin D Council website (http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/health-conditions/cancer/). The Vitamin D Council hopes the campaign will spread more awareness about the importance of vitamin D sufficiency and the dangers of vitamin D deficiency. Some vitamin D and cancer facts that are presented in the summaries include: 1) many studies have found solar ultraviolet-B (UVB) and vitamin D associated with reduced risk of breast, colon, and rectal cancer; 2) randomized controlled trial with 1100 IU/ day vitamin D3 plus 1450 mg/day calcium found a 77% reduction in all-cancer incidence; 3) geographical studies have found reduced risk in mortality rates for 20 types of cancer in regions of higher solar UVB doses; 4) observational studies have found that the risk of breast, colon, and rectal cancer fall as vitamin D blood levels rise at least up to 40 ng/mL (100 nmol/L); 5) those who develop nonmelanoma skin cancer may have produced enough vitamin D to reduce their risk of internal cancers; 6) those with higher vitamin D blood levels at time of cancer diagnosis had nearly twice the survival rate of those with the lowest levels; and 7) higher UVB exposure early in life has been found associated with reduced risk of breast and prostate cancer.

BC Children’s Hospital and University of British Columbia (UBC) researchers have found that two existing screening tests are accurate in diagnosing development delays in children and could be incorporated in a busy family practice setting with relative ease. Parents can complete the Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ) or the Parents’ Evaluation of Developmental Status (PEDS) at home or in the family physician’s office, with the physician scoring the tests and providing results in a matter of minutes. “Only 30 per cent of children with developmental delays are identified prior to school age – whether that’s social, physical or learning – and most experts would agree that we should be identifying those delays earlier through regular screening,” says Dr. Marjolaine Limbos, principal investigator and a psychologist at BC Children’s Hospital. However, researchers believe the tests are not routinely administered by Canadian family physicians because they have not been validated in a primary care setting and because of physicians’ concerns about having enough time to administer such tests in a busy practice. The authors of this research study, however, concluded that the ASQ and, to a lesser extent, the PEDS are accurate and can be administered effectively and at low cost.” (J Dev Behav Pediatr. 2011 Jul 14. PMID: 21760526)

A new University of Toronto study published in the August issue of Health Affairs, reports that U.S. physician practices spend almost four times as much money and 10 times as many hours on paperwork than Canadian practices. “The Canadian system is by no means perfect and often gets a lot of criticism, but there are points in time where we have to sit back and say our system does allow access for people and does provide quality care and it does deliver it in an efficient fashion compared to the U.S.,” said Dr. Dante Morra, lead author of the study. American practices spend $83,000 per doctor every year dealing with health insurers and other payers compared to Canadian practices that spend only $22,000. In addition, nurses and medical assistants in the U.S. spend 20.6 hours per week on administrative duties associated with payers and health insurers, whereas in Ontario, that work amounts to just 2.5 hours. Clinicians, physicians, and nurses are best suited to provide patient care but in the U.S., a significant amount of time spent is spent just dealing with paperwork associated with multiple different insurance companies. Despite the U.S.’s hefty spending, Morra said that Canada boasts better patient outcomes.

A recent notice from Health Canada and Pharmaceutical Partners of Canada Inc. (PPC) stated that PPC brand Calcium Gluconate Injection 10% has been found to contain aluminum. The Warning section of the package insert states: “This product contains aluminum that might be toxic. Aluminum might reach toxic levels with prolonged administration if kidney function is impaired. Premature neonates are particularly at risk because their kidneys are immature, and because they require large amounts of calcium and phosphate solutions which contain aluminum. Research indicates that patients with impaired kidney function, including premature neonates, who receive parenteral levels of aluminum at greater than 4 to 5 μg/kg/day accumulate aluminum at levels associated with central nervous system and bone toxicity.” To address the issue of aluminum toxicity, PPC is investigating alternate processes and alternate container materials, such as plastic vials, to determine if they will reduce the amount of aluminum present in the product and if they are suitable for utilization. PPC will inform healthcare professionals of the date at which the newly manufactured vials are expected to be available. Any cases of serious or unexpected adverse reactions in patients receiving Calcium Gluconate Injection 10% should be reported to PPI or Health Canada.