This look-back study was undertaken to identify newborn infants who had been infected with the hepatitis C virus (HCV) as a result of transfusions received before the introduction of routine screening in 1991 and to determine the transmission rates and persistence of transfusion-transmitted HCV infection acquired in the neonatal period. A total of 24 infants, transfused between 1980 and 1991, were identified as having received potentially infected blood from 11 blood donors. Ten of the donors had been administered batches of anti-D in 1977 known to have transmitted HCV genotype 1b infection. HCV RNA was detected in five of these donors when tested in 1994-95; the past donations of five of the donors, who had received anti-D immunoglobulin and had serological evidence of previous HCV infection but who were PCR negative when tested in 1994-95, were considered of lower risk. The source and time of acquisition of HCV infection for the one remaining donor in the study was not determined. Twenty-one (88%) of the 24 children were living at time of lookback. The median age at transfusion was 12 days. The median age at time of testing was 6.3 years. One child, who tested negative, was excluded from further analysis of HCV transmission, due to incomplete transfusion records. Overall, 12 of 20 (60%) children tested were positive for anti-HCV and seven (35%) were HCV RNA positive. Twelve (71%) of the 17 recipients of viraemic blood were ELISA positive and seven (41%) were PCR positive. Resolved HCV infection, as determined by ELISA pos, RIBA pos or indeterminate and PCR negativity, occurred in five of 12 (42%). In many instances there was more than one recipient per HCV infected donation. All of the reported children are clinically asymptomatic. However, the duration of HCV infection is relatively short and there is evidence of a degree of hepatitis in five of the seven children who are HCV RNA positive as judged by mildly elevated transaminase levels. The three who have undergone liver biopsy show mild hepatitis. The lower rates of persistence of HCV infection in this study may be due to the young age at exposure or to the source of infection which for all but one of the children was linked to one HCV genotype from female donors. Sharing of units of blood among multiple infants should be discouraged.

Colorectal cancer is the second most common cancer in Malaysia and up to 80% of its patients seek complementary therapies. Globally, up to 95% of cancer patient use adjunct therapies to reduce chemotherapy-induced side-effects. Morgan et al. (2004) had showed that conventional treatment for colon cancer produced minimal results. The vast majority of cancer survivors admitted to using dietary supplements and herbs after their cancer diagnosis. Current treatment seems to pay more attention to cancer as a disease rather than meeting the physiological needs of the patient. Nutritional therapy should be individually tailored since dietary deficiency is multifactorial and the tumor burden for each patient is different. Cancer is a metabolic disorder and colon cancer is strongly associated with advancing age, dietary and lifestyle habits. Up to 90% of all cancers might be prevented with proper nutrition since one-third of overall cancer deaths are linked to malnutrition. This case study shows how a late stage colon adenocarcinoma might be completely reversed by evidence-based phyto-nutritional therapy combined with some lifestyle modifications. The cancer apoptotic properties of this natural protocol warrant further investigation involving a higher number of patients with similar conditions.

Current understanding of the aetiology of lung cancer suggests that oxidative stress is strongly implicated in its pathogenesis with both internal cellular production of free radicals and external carcinogens such as from tobacco smoke. Other risk factors include family history, exposure to radiation, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, overweight, chronic inflammation, and poor dietary habits. Patients' survival rates have not changed appreciably suggesting that Western conventional therapeutic advances have been rather slow. This case study shows how a welldesigned nutritional and phyto-therapy may offer an effective adjunct treatment for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The protocol included dietary and lifestyle modifications as well as the use of evidence-based nutraceuticals and herbs. The terminal cancer patient in question was diagnosed by his oncologist as being cancer-free after five months or so. According to ANMP (www.anmp.org.my), such a protocol treats, controls, and/or prevents chronic metabolic disorders such as cancer by impacting on the patient's physiological, hormonal, and/or immune functions.

While prostate cancer is the most common male malignancy in the West, it is ranked as the number two cancer death for non-smokers in many developing countries. This case study demonstrates how an early stage prostate cancer might be treated by a comprehensive and evidence-based nutritional cum phytotherapy if patient is given the option of using it. According to the ANMP (www.anmp.org.my), a nutritional therapy is used to treat, control, or prevent chronic disorders by impacting on the hormonal, neurological, and immune functions of the patient. It may take a decade or longer to develop a malignancy. Three quarter of prostate cancer occurs in men over fifty five years when they go through andropause, which is evidenced partly by elevation in their oestrogen levels. However, being overweight or obese may trigger early progression of prostate cancer in men.