Tag Archives: journal

Rare stem cells hold potential for infertility treatments

Researchers studying infertility in mouse models found that, unlike similar types of cells that develop into sperm, the stem cells that express PAX7 can survive treatment with toxic drugs and radiation. If the findings hold true in people, they eventually could lead to new strategies to restore or protect fertility in men undergoing cancer treatment. “Unfortunately, many cancer treatments negatively impact fertility, and men who receive such treatments are at high risk of losing their fertility…

Blood test for ‘nicked’ protein predicts prostate cancer treatment response

The study evaluated two groups of 31 men with prostate cancer that had spread and whose blood levels of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) were still rising despite low testosterone levels. Investigators gave each man either enzalutamide (Xtandi) or abiraterone (Zytiga) and tracked whether their PSA levels continued to rise, an indication that the drugs were not working. In the enzalutamide group, none of 12 patients whose blood samples tested positive for AR-V7 responded to the drug, compared with 10 responders among 19 men who had no AR-V7 detected. In the abiraterone group, none of six AR-V7-positive patients responded, compared with 17 responders among 25 patients lacking AR-V7. …

Some women still don’t underststand ‘overdiagnosis’ risk in breast screening — ScienceDaily

In a survey of around 2,200 women, Cancer Research UK scientists at University College London (UCL) found that 64 per cent felt they fully understood the information given about overdiagnosis — the chance that screening will pick up cancers that would never have gone on to cause any harm — by the National breast screening programme. Information about overdiagnosis has only been included in the NHS breast screening invitation leaflets since late 2013, meaning that overdiagnosis is likely to be a new concept for many people. But despite uncertainty over the information they were given, intentions to attend breast screening remained high, with only seven per cent of women saying they would be less likely to attend screening after receiving the overdiagnosis information…

Increase seen in use of double mastectomy, although not associated with reduced death

Randomized trials have demonstrated similar survival for patients with early-stage breast cancer treated with breast-conserving surgery and radiation or with mastectomy. However, previous data show increasing use of mastectomy, and particularly bilateral mastectomy (removal of both breasts) among U.S. patients with breast cancer. Evidence for a survival benefit with this procedure appears limited to rare patient subgroups…

Increase seen in use of double mastectomy, although not associated with reduced death — ScienceDaily

Randomized trials have demonstrated similar survival for patients with early-stage breast cancer treated with breast-conserving surgery and radiation or with mastectomy. However, previous data show increasing use of mastectomy, and particularly bilateral mastectomy (removal of both breasts) among U.S. …

Invisible blood in urine may indicate bladder cancer

Scientists at the University of Exeter Medical School found that one in 60 people over the age of 60 who had invisible blood in their urine (identified by their GP testing their urine) transpired to have bladder cancer. The figure was around half those who had visible blood in their urine — the best known indicator of bladder cancer…

Invisible blood in urine may indicate bladder cancer — ScienceDaily

Scientists at the University of Exeter Medical School found that one in 60 people over the age of 60 who had invisible blood in their urine (identified by their GP testing their urine) transpired to have bladder cancer. The figure was around half those who had visible blood in their urine — the best known indicator of bladder cancer. However, it was still higher than figures for other potential symptoms of bladder cancer that warrant further investigation. Lead author Sarah Price, a PhD student at the University of Exeter Medical School, led the first robust study to investigate whether invisible blood in urine can indicate bladder cancer…

New tool aids stem cell engineering for medical research

“This free platform has a broad range of uses for all types of cell-based investigations and can potentially offer help to people working on all types of cancer,” says Hu Li, Ph.D., investigator in the Mayo Clinic Center for Individualized Medicine and Department of Molecular Pharmacology & Experimental Therapeutics, and co-lead investigator in the two works. “CellNet will indicate how closely an engineered cell resembles the real counterpart and even suggests ways to adjust the engineering.” The network biology platform contains data on a wide range of cells and details on what is known about those cell types. Researchers say the platform can be applied to almost any study and allows users to refine the engineering process. In the long term, it should provide a reliable short cut to the early phases of drug development, individualized cancer therapies, and pharmacogenetics. …

Better classification to improve treatments for breast cancer — ScienceDaily

Cancer arises due to genetic changes which cause normal cells to develop into tumors. As we learn more about breast cancer, we are seeing that it is not one single disease — the mutations in the genes that cause different cancers are not alike, and this is why tumors respond differently to treatment and grow at different rates. Currently, there are two key markers that clinicians use to predict response to treatments. Spotting the trends in tumor genetics and creating a system to diagnose tumor types is a primary objective of cancer scientists. …