Tag Archives: health

U.S. cervical cancer rates higher than previously reported, especially among older women, African-American women

Previous research finds an age-standardized rate of about 12 cases of cervical cancer per 100,000 women in the United States, with the incidence reaching a peak at age 40-44 and then leveling off. However, these estimates included women who had hysterectomies in which the lower part of the uterus, the cervix, was removed. By excluding these women, who are no longer at risk of developing this cancer, from their analysis, the researchers calculated a rate of 18.6 cases of cervical cancer per 100,000 women. They found the incidence increased steadily with age and peaked at a higher rate and at an older age, specifically in women 65-69 years old…

More than two-thirds of healthy Americans are infected with human papilloma viruses

Researchers say that while most of the viral strains so far appear to be harmless and can remain dormant for years, their overwhelming presence suggests a delicate balancing act for HPV infection in the body, in which many viral strains keep each other in check, preventing other strains from spreading out of control. Although infection is increasingly known to happen through skin-to-skin contact, HPV remains the most common sexually transmitted infection in the United States. It is so common that experts estimate nearly all men and women contract some strain of it during their lives. …

HPV testing: Benefit in primary screening

HPV testing is not reimbursed by SHI funds In screening for cervical cancer, the German statutory health insurance (SHI) funds currently offer an annual cytologic examination of mucosal cells from a smear taken from the neck of the womb (cervix). This test is called a Pap smear. Since it became known that infection with HPV is the main risk factor for developing cervical cancer, experts have been discussing whether HPV testing is also a suitable screening method or is even superior to a cytologic test…

Negative HPV test may predict lower cervical cancer risk than a negative Pap

In a comparison of the three strategies, Julia C. Gage, Ph.D., M.P.H., of the Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD, and colleagues analyzed data from the Kaiser Permanente Northern California (KPNC) large integrated health delivery system, which screened women age 30-64 since 2003 with both HPV and Pap testing. Data were available through 2012, and over 1 million women were screened at approximately 3-year intervals, with a mean follow-up time of 4.36 years. For each testing strategy, they estimated the cumulative risk of cervical cancer after a negative test result. …

New prostate cancer blood test now available in the U.S. — ScienceDaily

The most widely used screening test for prostate cancer is currently the PSA test, which measures the blood’s level of PSA — a protein that is naturally produced by the prostate gland and is typically increased when cancer is present. However, it is widely recognized that PSA results can often indicate the possibility of prostate cancer when none is present. “The PSA test is based on the fact that men with higher levels of the PSA protein are more likely to have prostate cancer,” said William Catalona, MD, principal investigator on the Prostate Health Index clinical study and urologist at Northwestern Medicine and director of the Clinical Prostate Cancer Program at the Robert H. …

Screening costs increased in older women without changing detection rates of early stage breast cancer — ScienceDaily

The effect of introduction of new breast cancer screening modalities, such as digital images, computer-aided detection (CAD), and use of ultrasound and MRI on screening costs among older women is unknown, although women over the age of 65 represent almost one-third of the total women screened in the US annually. …

Saving the heart in breast cancer treatment — ScienceDaily

Breast cancer patients who are positive for the HER2 gene may be at increased risk for heart damage during chemotherapy, according to a new study published in ecancermedicalscience. Patients with the HER2 gene are often treated with trastuzumab or lapatinib, which interfere with its cancer-causing signals…

Cancer study maps decade of discovery to potential anticancer agent — ScienceDaily

“What began with the question ‘what makes a particular aggressive form of breast cancer cells keep growing?’ turned into 10 years of systematic research to identify the enzyme PLK4 as a promising therapeutic target and develop a small molecule inhibitor to block it,” says Dr. Mak, Director of The Campbell Family Institute for Breast Cancer Research at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network. …

Why don’t genetically identical cells behave identically? Cellular noise

Dohlman, a professor of biochemistry and biophysics in the UNC School of Medicine, is like a mechanic for cells. He takes them apart to see how they function. He can tell you what part is like a gas pedal — a protein that pushes a brain chemical into action, for instance. And he can tell you which part is like the brakes — a protein that counteracts the effect of the gas pedal…