Tag Archives: ucla

Men with life expectancies of less than 10 years still receive aggressive treatment for prostate cancer despite guidelines — ScienceDaily

In the first study to rigorously address prostate cancer treatment trends by life expectancy in a large, nationally representative sample, UCLA researchers found that more than half of prostate cancer patients 66 years and older have life expectancies of less than10 years, but half of those still were over-treated for their prostate cancer with surgery, radiation or brachytherapy, the implantation of radioactive seeds in the prostate. Randomized controlled studies have suggested that significant differences in survival between watchful waiting — monitoring the cancer closely but not treating it — and aggressive therapies don’t develop until 10 years after treatment. It only makes sense to not treat men expected to die of something else within 10 years…

Quality of biopsy directly linked to survival in patients with bladder cancer — ScienceDaily

The two-year study found that about half of bladder cancer patients who were biopsied had insufficient material — meaning there was no bladder wall muscle retrieved — to accurately stage the cancer. Additionally, the UCLA research team found that a suboptimal biopsy and incorrect tumor staging was associated with a significant increase in deaths from bladder cancer, said study first author Dr…

Biochemists solve ‘address problem’ in cells that leads to lethal kidney disease

Led by Carla Koehler, a professor of chemistry and biochemistry in the UCLA College, the researchers identified a compound called dequalinium chloride, or DECA, that can prevent a metabolic enzyme from going to the wrong location within a cell. Ensuring that the enzyme — called alanine: glyoxylate aminotransferase, or AGT — goes to the proper “address” in the cell prevents PH1. The findings were published online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and will appear later in the journal’s print edition. …

FDA approves new game changing drug to fight melanoma

The drug, Keytruda (pembrolizumab), was tested on more than 600 patients who had melanoma that had spread throughout their bodies. Because so many of the patients in the early testing showed significant long-lasting responses, the study was continued and the FDA granted the drug “breakthrough therapy” status, allowing it to be fast-tracked for approval…

Knowledge is power: Men who are uneducated about their prostate cancer have difficulty making good treatment choices — ScienceDaily

UCLA researchers found that men who aren’t well educated about their disease have a much more difficult time making treatment decisions, called decisional conflict, a challenge that could negatively impact the quality of their care and their long-term outcomes. …

Knowledge is power: Men who are uneducated about their prostate cancer have difficulty making good treatment choices

UCLA researchers found that men who aren’t well educated about their disease have a much more difficult time making treatment decisions, called decisional conflict, a challenge that could negatively impact the quality of their care and their long-term outcomes. …

Low-fat fish oil changes cancer tissue in prostate cancer, study shows

The findings are important because lowering the cell cycle progression (CCP) score may help prevent prostate cancers from becoming more aggressive, said study lead author William Aronson, a clinical professor of urology at UCLA and chief of urologic oncology at the West Los Angeles Veterans Affairs Medical Center. "We found that CCP scores were significantly lower in the prostate cancer in men who consumed the low-fat fish oil diet as compare to men who followed a higher fat Western diet," Aronson said…

Scientist uncovers internal clock able to measure age of most human tissues; Women’s breast tissue ages faster than rest of body

While earlier clocks have been linked to saliva, hormones and telomeres, the new research is the first to identify an internal timepiece able to accurately gauge the age of diverse human organs, tissues and cell types. Unexpectedly, the clock also found that some parts of the anatomy, like a woman’s breast tissue, age faster than the rest of the body. "To fight aging, we first need an objective way of measuring it. …