Category Archives: Cancer Treatment

Breast cancer incidence rates converging among white, African American women

The finding is published in Breast Cancer Statistics, 2013 published in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society. The report and its consumer version, Breast Cancer Facts & Figures 2013-2014, are published biennially and provide detailed analyses of breast cancer incidence, mortality, and survival trends, as well as information on early detection, treatment, and factors that influence risk and survival. An estimated 232,340 new cases of invasive breast cancer and 39,620 breast cancer deaths are expected to occur among U.S. women in 2013. …

Less can be more when removing lymph nodes during breast cancer surgery

In the Oct. 2 edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association, lead author Dr. Roshni Rao, associate professor of surgery at UT Southwestern, and other investigators from the Harold C. Simmons Cancer Center reviewed studies on patient outcomes of women who had received various forms of surgical treatment, ranging from removal of one lymph node to prevent the spread of breast cancer to removing the entire network of lymph nodes spanning the armpits…

Technique to promote nerve regeneration after spinal cord injury restores bladder function in rats

For decades, scientists have experimented with using nerve grafts as a way of bridging the spinal cord injury site in an attempt to recover lost function following spinal cord injury. However, coaxing these cells to grow and form connections capable of relaying nerve signals has been elusive. In the current study, Yu-Shang Lee, PhD, of the Cleveland Clinic, together with Jerry Silver, PhD, of Case Western Reserve Medical School, and others, used a chemical that promotes cell growth along with a scar-busting enzyme to create a more hospitable environment for the nerve graft at the injury site. …

MicroRNAs have diagnostic and prognostic potential in urinary bladder cancer

German researchers have identified four biomarkers that correctly determine malignancy of urinary bladder cancers and contribute to the accurate prediction of patient outcomes. Their results are published in the September issue of The Journal of Molecular Diagnostics. Current prognosticators of bladder cancer, such as tumor grade, stage, size, and number of foci, have limited usefulness for clinicians since they do not accurately reflect clinical outcomes…

Genomic differences found in types of cervical cancer

The study, published August 23, 2013 in the online version of the journal Cancer by researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH), is the first to compare the spectrum of cancer-related gene mutations in the two main subtypes of cervical cancer — adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma. In tests on 80 cervical tumor samples, the investigators found high rates of mutations in two genes: PIK3CA and KRAS. While PIK3CA mutations appeared in both subtypes, KRAS mutations were found only in adenocarcinomas. By linking their findings to data on patients’ treatment and survival, researchers found that PIK3CA mutations are associated with a shorter survival period: patients whose tumors carried these mutations lived a median of 67 months after diagnosis compared with 90 months for patients whose tumors lacked the mutations…

Higher intake of fruits and vegetables may reduce the risk of bladder cancer in women

The investigation was conducted as part of the Multiethnic Cohort (MEC) Study, established in 1993 to assess the relationships among dietary, lifestyle, genetic factors, and cancer risk. Park and her fellow researcher’s analyzed data collected from 185,885 older adults over a period of 12.5 years, of which 581 invasive bladder cancer cases were diagnosed (152 women and 429 men). After adjusting for variables related to cancer risk (age, etc.) the researchers found that women who consumed the most fruits and vegetables had the lowest bladder cancer risk…

Three of four cases of bladder cancer display mutations in the same gene

The study was led by Francisco X. Real, head of the Epithelial Carcinogenesis Group at CNIO, together with Nuria Malats, the head of the Genetic & Molecular Epidemiology Group at CNIO, as well as other European groups, especially Yves Allory, a pathologist at the Mondor Hospital (Créteil, Paris, France), who is on a sabbatical year with Real and Malats’s groups at CNIO, and Ellen Zwarthoff’s group at the Erasmus Medical Centre in Rotterdam. The results are published in the online version of the journal European Urology. …

Scientists identify potential new drug for inherited cancer

The new study showed the drug candidate — known as FRAX97 — slowed the proliferation and progression of tumor cells in animal models of Neurofibromatosis type 2. This inherited type of cancer, caused by mutations in the anti-tumor gene NF2, leads to tumors of the auditory nerve that connects the inner ear to the brain…