Mayo Clinic Study Shows Stool DNA Testing For Colorectal Cancer Has Potential, But Challenges Remain

The first generation of a stool DNA test to identify early colorectal cancer has limitations, according to a Mayo Clinic-led study published in the Oct. 7, 2008, issue of Annals of Internal Medicine. Results did not corroborate findings of an earlier multicenter study that showed stool DNA testing was more accurate than fecal blood testing for colorectal cancer detection. "But the concerns we identified with stool DNA testing are all solvable," says David Ahlquist, M.D., lead researcher in the study that included 4,482 participants and 22 academic medical centers. Researchers have hoped that stool DNA testing could be the user-friendly and accurate screening tool that would increase screening numbers (see also Mayo Clinic). More than... More »


BN ImmunoTherapeutics Announces Positive Mature Phase II Results From Newly Acquired Prostate Cancer Vaccine

BN ImmunoTherapeutics has now evaluated the mature Phase II data from the therapeutic prostate cancer vaccine candidate PROSTVAC(TM) that had been obtained as part of the recently entered partnership with the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in the US. The results from the Phase II prospective randomized placebo-controlled study of 125 patients with advanced prostate cancer after 4 years of follow-up show that patients receiving PROSTVAC(TM) had a statistically significantly longer median overall survival by 8.5 months (p=0.015) compared to the control group. Currently the only approved treatment for advanced prostate cancer extends median overall survival by an average of approximately 2 months. In addition, PROSTVAC(TM) also had a favor... More »


Epigenomics AG Reports Successful Completion And Positive Results From Prostate Cancer Clinical Study

BERLIN and SEATTLE -- Epigenomics AG, a cancer molecular diagnostics company developing tests based on DNA methylation, today reported positive final results from its prognostic prostate cancer study. "After testing all patient samples for methylation in the PITX2 gene we have successfully conducted our final analysis," commented Dr. Gunter Weiss, Vice President Product Development at Epigenomics. "This analysis shows that PITX2 gene methylation is indeed a strong, independent prognostic marker that can help guide physicians to determine a patient's risk for relapse. The analysis demonstrated statistical significance for all study endpoints," Dr. Weiss added. The clinical study successfully analyzed paraffin embedded tis... More »


Mayo Researchers Explore Issues Related To Multiple Myeloma Treatment

Multiple myeloma (MM) is a cancer of plasma cells that affects approximately 3 in 100,000 people each year. Although there is no cure for this disease, researchers have developed treatments that help relieve pain, control complications, and slow the progress of MM in many patients. Unfortunately, some of the most effective therapies also have toxic side effects that can pose serious health risks and reduce quality of life. In the October issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings, two articles authored by Mayo researchers address the issue of how to balance the risks and benefits associated with MM treatments. Outpatient vs. Inpatient Stem Cell Transplants Since the 1990s, autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT) has become a standard treatment f... More »


Hodgkin Lymphoma -- New Characteristics Discovered

Researchers are still discovering new characteristics of Hodgkin lymphoma, a common form of cancer of the lymphatic system. The malignant cells are derived from white blood cells (B cells), but have lost a considerable part of the B cell-specific gene expression pattern. The phenotype and the characteristics of Hodgkin lymphoma cells are therefore unique. Bjorn Lamprecht and Dr. Stephan Mathas (Max Delbruck Center for Molecular Medicine, MDC, Berlin-Buch and Charite Universitatsmedizin Berlin, Germany) have demonstrated the production of interleukin 21 (IL-21) in the tumor cells of Hodgkin lymphoma. IL-21, a signaling molecule (cytokine) of the immune system, promotes the growth of cancer cells and helps them evade immune system detection... More »


One Woman's Journey: Abnormal Mammogram Starts Writer On The Road Through Breast Cancer Treatment Process

Statistically, chances of one in roughly 185,000 are no guarantee when it comes to winning a lottery. But if you, or someone you know, are the one in 185,000 or so who will be diagnosed with breast cancer during 2008, those numbers mean something different. I am one of the 185,000. So, no, this story is not unique. I feel as if I should always wear a sign that says those words: breast cancer. While they tell me the cancer cells were removed, I'm now undergoing one of the hormone replacement therapies used to treat some breast cancer patients who have had a lumpectomy and subsequent radiation. As I've been planning writing this, I believe it was my daughter who said to me, "How can you write about this when you don't talk abou... More »


October Is Month To Focus On Breast Cancer Risks, Testing, Prevention

It's hard to get excited about any medical visit or screening, but the month of October is dedicated to breast cancer awareness, a designation designed to increase awareness about the disease and encourage women to have regular screenings. Because early detection increases the likelihood of survival, medical professionals encourage women to do monthly breast self-exams and to have a baseline mammogram -- one to compare against in the future -- by age 35. According to the National Cancer Institute, there are 178,000 new cases of breast cancer in women diagnosed each year in the United States. There are about 2,000 cases diagnosed in men. Of these cases, approximately 40,460 women and 450 men will die from the disease. Breast cancer... More »



In child care, relationships with caregivers key to children?s stress levels

How children are affected by out-of-home care depends not only on the qualities of their teacher and the classroom, but also on the nature of the children?s relationship with their caregivers. That?s the finding of a new study on the level of the stress hormone cortisol in children in full-day child care. Cortisol, the primary stress hormone in humans, tends to be at its highest levels in the early morning and gradually declines over the course of the day. But recent research has found that many preschoolers in full-day child care have increases in cortisol from morning to afternoon. This study found that children in classrooms with closer to 10 children were more likely to show cortisol decreases from morning to afternoon, while children in classrooms with closer to 20 children tended to show greater increases in cortisol across the day. Children with more clingy relationships with their teachers showed greater rises in cortisol from morning to afternoon, and children with more conflicted relationships with their teachers showed greater cortisol boosts during a one-on-one session with their teachers. Conflicted relationships were said to occur when teachers tried to control resistant children, when children perceived their teachers as unfriendly, or when teachers or children reported that the teachers found the interaction frustrating. More »


UK study shows kids are active but not eating their ?5-a-day?

Most children are still failing to eat five pieces of fruit and veg a day, though their levels of physical activity do meet current Government recommendations, according to the SPEEDY study (Sport, Physical activity and Eating behaviour: Environmental Determinants in Young people). The original results for the study are published in the open access journal BMC Public Health. The study was performed by a team of researchers from The Medical Research Council Epidemiology Unit and The University of East Anglia, coordinated by Esther van Sluijs. During the Summer term 2007, they studied the diet, physical activity and body shape of 2064 Year 5 pupils (aged 9-10 years) in 92 schools across the county of Norfolk. They also investigated their socioeconomic and ethnic backgrounds, and school and home neighborhood environments. According to van Sluijs, ?To date, the extent of the problem of physical inactivity and unhealthy dietary habits in children has been largely unknown. Good data about physical activity, assessed using valid and reliable measures in large samples, are scarce - especially in children?. The aim of the SPEEDY study was to generate valid data about current diet and exercise patterns, and the factors that are most strongly associated with them. The authors sought to better understand why some children have a healthier lifestyle than others so that they can promote changes in important health behaviors.  More »


Plastic surgeons warn of malnutrition in body contouring patients

Identifying malnutrition before surgery in massive weight loss patients seeking body contouring will significantly decrease surgical complications, accelerate wound healing, improve scar quality and boost patient energy levels, according to a study in the December issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery®, the official medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS). Optimizing nutrition with the addition of supplements, such as powder drinks and multi-vitamin tablets formulated for massive weight loss patients, is vital to successful body contouring surgery, the study reveals. ?Body contouring procedures for massive weight loss patients are major operations with large incisions in many areas that demand a lot of the body during the healing process,? said ASPS Member Surgeon and study co-author Dennis Hurwitz, MD. ?By carefully monitoring nutritional deficiencies preoperatively and supplementing the patient with the necessary nutrients, minerals and vitamins, I have seen a significant decrease in complications and improved postoperative healing. In my practice, I won?t do body contouring procedures on this patient population without a preoperative regimen of nutritional supplements.? The study was performed in two parts; First, medical literature regarding nutrition?s effect on healing from the 1940s to the present was reviewed. More »


The Tooth Whisperers

The phrase, ?the eyes are the windows to the soul,? is attributed to several authors and philosophers. But the phrase, ?your teeth are the windows to your health,? can be attributed to Mohamed Bassiouny, DMD, MSc, PhD, who has been studying how teeth provide important clues to his patients? overall health for more than 30 years. As part of his ongoing research, Bassiouny chronicles the case of a patient in the November/December issue of General Dentistry whose teeth had eroded from stomach acids, a condition normally associated with bulimia and other systemic disorders. However, in this case the patient had no history of an abnormal eating disorder or gastric reflux syndrome. Rather, she suffered from dysmenorrhea - painful cramping related to menstruation. This severe cramping is what forced acids from her stomach back up her esophagus and into her mouth. More »


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Alzheimer?s Gene Slows Export of Toxic Protein

The only known genetic risk factor for Alzheimer?s disease slows down the brain?s ability to export a toxic protein known as amyloid-beta that is central to the damage the disease causes, scientists have found. The research, published Nov. 13 by the Journal of Clinical Investigation, provides new clues into the workings of a protein known as apolipoprotein E4, or ApoE4. People who carry two copies of the gene have roughly eight to 10 times the risk of getting Alzheimer?s disease than people who do not. The new results mark a step toward resolving a longstanding question that scientists have had about exactly how ApoE4 increases a person?s risk for the disease. The findings point to differences in the way that amyloid-beta is removed from the brain depending on which ApoE protein is involved. More »


Cigarette Smoke Could Alter Shape of Heart

Prolonged exposure to cigarette smoke can increase levels of the stress hormone norepinephrine and enzymes in the heart that have the potential to reshape the left ventricle, according to new research at the University of Illinois at Chicago. In a study using rats as as animal model, five weeks exposure to cigarette smoke was associated with the activation of enzymes called mitogen-activated protein kinases that govern cell growth and survival in heart muscle. Activation of these enzymes may be a key event in cigarette smoke-induced heart injury, says Mariann Piano, professor of biobehavioral health science in the UIC College of Nursing and lead researcher of the study. Heart disease probably develops as a result of complex interactions among many elements in cigarette smoke, she said. More »