The new system, called a tumor-microenvironment-on-chip (T-MOC) device, will allow researchers to study the complex environment surrounding tumors and the barriers that prevent the targeted delivery of therapeutic agents, said Bumsoo Han, a Purdue University associate professor of mechanical engineering. …
Current screening by cervical cytology (smear test) is invasive and time-consuming — and in recent years, cervical screening in the UK has fallen below 80%, particularly amongst women aged 25-30. Several studies have suggested that detecting HPV in urine may be a feasible alternative to cervical sampling, but the accuracy of such a test is still uncertain. …
Their study, in the online issue of Neuron, offers the potential that targeting this specific defect with drugs “may rejuvenate or rescue this pathway,” says the study’s lead investigator, Guojun Bu, Ph.D., a neuroscientist at Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, Fla. “This defect is likely not the sole contributor to development of Alzheimer’s disease, but our findings suggest it is very important, and could be therapeutically targeted to possibly prevent Alzheimer’s or treat early disease,” he says. …
The study by researchers at King’s College Hospital and the University of Southampton suggests that adding nutraceuticals to chemotherapy cycles may improve the effectiveness of conventional drugs, particularly in hard to treat cancers, such as pancreatic cancer. The team tested the effectiveness of extract of chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa) in killing off cancer cells, probably by apoptosis (programmed cell death) as markers of early apoptosis appear in treated cells. Chokeberry is a wild berry that grows on the eastern side of North America in wetlands and swamp areas. The berry is high in vitamins and antioxidants, including various polyphenols-compounds that are believed to mop up the harmful by-products of normal cell activity. …
The study, using a national database of more than 100,000 women treated during the last decade, found that today nationally radiation oncologists are less likely to use radiotherapy in women older than 70 with early-stage estrogen-receptor-positive breast cancer and that when they do, treatment is appropriately less-intensive. This follows a randomized trial demonstrating low rates of recurrence in women who don’t receive radiotherapy after lumpectomy, provided they take endocrine therapy. This confirms radiation oncologists are responding to a growing impetus to keep medical practices current and cost-effective, said first author Charles Rutter, M.D., a radiation oncology resident in Yale’s School of Medicine. “In light of the current environment surrounding the cost of healthcare — with an intense focus on costs — only treatments with meaningful benefit should be delivered,” Rutter said…
During early vertebrate development, Nodal, an embryonic growth factor that governs the growth, pattern and position of tissues, is critical for normal maturation. Nodal plays a significant role in maintaining the pluripotency of embryonic stem cells, meaning the ability of stem cells to differentiate into any of the three germ layers that comprise the body. The recent discovery of Nodal’s re-expression in several aggressive and metastatic cancers has highlighted its critical role in self-renewal and maintenance of the stem cell-like characteristics of tumor cells such as melanoma. However, the signaling pathway receptors utilized by melanoma cells to propagate Nodal’s effect remain(s) mostly anecdotal and unexplored…
• Don’t recommend radiation following hysterectomy for endometrial cancer patients with low-risk disease. Patients with low-risk endometrial cancer, including no residual disease in hysterectomy despite positive biopsy, grade 1 or 2 with <50 percent myometrial invasion and no additional high-risk features such as age >60, lymphovascular space invasion or cervical involvement have a very low risk of recurrence following surgery. …
The paper published by these EORTC Imaging Group investigators highlights the most recent developments in MRI and PET and elucidates how these techniques can be used to detect bone metastases at an early stage as well as monitor the response of these to treatment. …
Ravi F. Saraf and Chieu Van Nguyen point out that early diagnosis of breast cancer, the most common type of cancer among women, can help save lives. But small masses of cancer cells are not always easy to catch. …
The research, presented at the European Respiratory Society (ERS) International Congress in Munich, suggests that testing the temperature of breath could be a simple and noninvasive method to either confirm or reject the presence of lung cancer. Many research teams have been looking at the possibility of using breath tests for a number of cancers. This is the first study looking at breath temperature as a marker in lung cancer. The researchers enrolled 82 people in the study who had been referred for a full diagnostic test after an x-ray suggested the presence of lung cancer…