Tag Archives: journal

Longer screening intervals possible with HPV-based tests

Cervical screening programs have until recently relied on cytology to identify women at risk for developing cervical cancer. However, it has long been known that testing screening with human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA tests has a higher sensitivity for cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN), the lesion that the program intends to find since it can progress to cervical cancer if left untreated. Until now, it has been unclear whether HPV-based screening results in overdiagnosis of lesions that would not have progressed to cancer. …

How to improve HPV vaccination rates? It starts with physicians

Moffitt’s research team found only a "modest increase" in physicians who consistently recommended the vaccine to early adolescent girls and no significant increase in recommendations for slightly older girls in so-called "catch-up groups" between the ages of 13 and 26. The goal of universal HPV vaccination is to lower the risk of developing cervical cancer later in life by vaccinating the target age group prior to their first sexual experience. …

Possible new druggable target in Ewing’s Sarcoma

"We started with all the microRNAs downstream from the EWS/FLI1 fusion and narrowed in on microRNA-22. But then we looked even further downstream from there and found that microRNA-22 works through another gene, KDM3A, to cause this cancer. When we turned down this gene (KDM3A) in lab studies, we observed a profound inhibition of the tumorigenic properties of Ewing Sarcoma cells," says Paul Jedlicka, MD, PhD, CU Cancer Center investigator and assistant professor of pathology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. …

Colonoscopy withdrawal times linked to polyp detection rates

"There has been controversy over whether longer withdrawal times could lead to detection of increased numbers of polyps of various types," said Lynn F. Butterly, MD, director of Colorectal Cancer Screening at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center and NCCC, and associate professor of Medicine at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth. "Since the rate of discovery of polyps is a critical quality measure for colonoscopy, examining whether or not there is an association between withdrawal time and finding more polyps may contribute evidence leading to improved quality in screening through colonoscopy." During a colonoscopy, a lighted tube (colonoscope) is passed through the colon to find and remove polyps…

‘Molecular scaffolding’ found that maintains skin structure, organization

A study by the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO), featured on the cover of the Journal of Cell Biology, shows how interactions between skin stem cells — the cells responsible for the constant renewal of skin — maintain the architecture of this organ. "We knew that these junctions were important in skin stem cells but the cellular components involved in their structure and function were not yet understood," says Mirna Pérez-Moreno, head of the Epithelial Cellular Biology Group that led the study. Using skin cells derived from mice, researchers have discovered that one of the key elements in the formation and stabilisation of these junctions are microtubules, tubular structures that are part of all cells and that serve as pillars to maintain their form and function. "We have seen for the first time that skin stem-cell microtubules connect with cell-cell junctions to form velcro-like structures that hold the cells together," says Marta Shahbazi, a researcher on Pérez-Moreno’s team and the first author of the study…

Genomic study identifies subgroups of breast cancer with varying sensitivities to treatment

The study led by Aleix Prat, Principal Investigator of VHIO´s Translational Genomics Group, in collaboration with José Baselga, Physician-in-Chief of the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York (USA), has today been published in the journal Clinical Cancer Research. The research centers on the fact that not all HER2+ tumors respond in the same way to anti-HER2 targeted therapy…

Here comes the sun to lower your blood pressure

Research carried out at the Universities of Southampton and Edinburgh shows that sunlight alters levels of the small messenger molecule, nitric oxide (NO) in the skin and blood, reducing blood pressure. Martin Feelisch, Professor of Experimental Medicine and Integrative Biology at the University of Southampton, comments: "NO along with its breakdown products, known to be abundant in skin, is involved in the regulation of blood pressure. When exposed to sunlight, small amounts of NO are transferred from the skin to the circulation, lowering blood vessel tone; as blood pressure drops, so does the risk of heart attack and stroke." While limiting sunlight exposure is important to prevent skin cancer, the authors of the study, including Dr Richard Weller of the University of Edinburgh, suggest that minimising exposure may be disadvantageous by increasing the risk of prevalent conditions related to cardiovascular disease…

Most women undergoing conservative surgery for vulvar cancer maintain healthy body image and sex life

Women diagnosed with vulvar cancer are often treated with surgery that involves the removal of substantial sections of the external genitalia. Because survival rates are extremely high for women with early stages of the disease, it is important to understand the psychosocial issues that women experience following treatment. Ellen Barlow, RN, of The Royal Hospital for Women in Australia, and her colleagues interviewed 10 women who had previously been treated for early stage vulvar cancer, with a focus on investigating the women’s experiences of sexuality and body image. The researchers found that the majority of women experienced little to no long-term disruption to sexuality and body image following conservative surgery to treat their cancer…