“What we have found is that Asian Americans are an incredibly diverse group that cannot be indiscriminately combined together,” said Trinh, associate surgeon for the Division of Urology at BWH, faculty at the Center for Surgery and Public Health (CSPH) and lead author of the study. “With Asian Americans, there is important variation in socioeconomic… Read More »
B cells are white blood cells that produce antibodies against antigens, namely substances which the immune system recognises as foreign. Normal B cell development and maturation is regulated by a balance between kinase and phosphatase enzymes. These enzymes phosphorylate or de-phosphorylate the signalling subunits of the B cell antigen receptors (BCR). This means that the… Read More »
In recent years, there have been numerous reports in the media about potential risks of tests that use ionizing radiation. However, benefit-risk discussions about ionizing radiation from medical imaging are rare and seldom initiated by clinicians. For the new study, researchers from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) in New York City analyzed over nine… Read More »
However, the mechanisms behind the protective effect have not been understood and it is not known why some people appear to benefit while others do not. Conducted by investigators from four countries, including Professors Mark Jenkins and John Hopper from the University of Melbourne, the findings suggest this protection differs according to variations in DNA.… Read More »
In a randomized phase 3 trial, adrenal cancer patients receiving the investigational drug linsitinib fared no better than patients receiving a placebo. But the researchers noticed a small subset of patients who had significant response and remained on the drug for an extended time. “While it was only a small subset of patients who responded to linsitinib, this remains very promising in the era of precision medicine,” says co-principle investigator Gary D. …
One of the challenges of personalised medicine is the development of treatment resistance. At the Comprehensive Cancer Center (CCC) Vienna at the MedUni Vienna and Vienna General Hospital, a study is now commencing which involves patients with metastasized bowel cancer who are undergoing a new diagnostic method, namely liquid biopsy in the form of a blood test. The aim of this new method is to spot a tumor’s development of resistance early on and therefore adjust the treatment quickly and in a targeted manner…
In the United States the National Lung Cancer Screening Trial (NLST) showed that annual lung cancer screening of high-risk individuals with LDCT reduces lung cancer mortality by 20% and overall mortality by 7%. There are now multiple lung cancer screening trials ongoing throughout the world, but one concern is the high number of early repeat scans for suspicious findings that are in fact not lung cancer. …
The seven-year study began in 2007 and the findings revolutionized the standard protocol for patient management in NCCS with an attenuated-dose regimen of sunitinib for patients with mRCC. The new treatment regimen for sunitinib has been accepted by oncologists in Singapore. For the patients, this would mean an estimated 30 per cent reduction in fees because of the lower dosage. …
Sanjay Mathur and colleagues note that recent research has revealed the potential usefulness of nanoparticles — iron oxide in particular — to make biomedical imaging better. But the nanoparticles have their disadvantages. They tend to cluster together easily and need help getting to their destinations in the body. …
Without antibodies we would be at the mercy of pathogens or cancer cells. Therapeutic antibodies are used as passive vaccines, for cancer therapy or for controlling autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis. According to “bccresearch.com” the global market for antibody drugs was worth nearly 70 billion USD in 2014 and should rise to 122 billion USD until 2019. Two thirds of those molecules are produced biotechnologically using Chinese hamster ovary cells (CHO)…