Tag Archives: government

Highly effective new anti-cancer drug shows few side effects in mice

When taken by mouth, the drug was well tolerated with limited toxicity. An intravenous form, delivered within a liposome, was just as effective with fewer side effects. Both approaches — described in the October 22, 2014 issue of Science Translational Medicine — led to complete regression of transplanted tumors. …

Ovarian cancer: New test can help doctors choose best treatment

Successful treatment depends in part on accurately identifying the type of tumor, but this can be difficult. As a result, many women with cancer are not sent to the right specialist surgeon, or those with a benign cyst may have a more serious operation than they need. In a study published today in the British Medical Journal, an international team led by Imperial College London and KU Leuven, Belgium describe a new test, called ADNEX, which can discriminate between benign and malignant tumors, and identify different types of malignant tumor, with a high level of accuracy. The test is based on the patient’s clinical information, a simple tumor marker blood test and features that can be identified on an ultrasound scan…

Rare form of tongue cancer suggests screening vigilance

A 65-year-old male patient with a history of chronic alcoholism complained of an odd, painless white growth over his tongue. Doctors at the Government Medical College in Latur, India were intrigued when they identified the hard white growth as a rare case of spindle cell carcinoma. Spindle cell carcinoma is an aggressive variant of squamous cell carcinoma. These tumors get their name from their distinctive spindle-shaped cells, readily detectable by immunohistochemistry…

Misunderstanding of palliative care leads to preventable suffering

The authors say for palliative care to be used appropriately, clinicians, patients, and the general public must learn the fundamental differences between palliative care and hospice care, a distinction that is not well-known. Seven in ten Americans describe themselves as "not at all knowledgeable" about palliative care, and most health care professionals believe it is synonymous with end-of-life care. While both are intended to relieve suffering, hospice care provides care for people in the last phases of an incurable disease so that they may live as fully and comfortably as possible. Palliative care focuses on helping patients get relief from symptoms caused by serious illness and is appropriate at any age or stage in a serious illness…

Kill-switch controls immune-suppressing cells, scientists discover

The discovery of the cell death processes that determine the number of ‘regulatory T cells’ an individual has could one day lead to better treatments for immune disorders. Regulatory T cells are members of a group of immune cells called T cells. Most T cells actively respond to clear the body of infections. …