Causes of death vary widely by country, but, at the global level, drug use disorders and chronic kidney disease account for some of the largest percent increases in premature deaths since 1990. Death rates from some cancers, including pancreatic cancer and kidney cancer, also increased. …
Lung cancer management in recent years has improved patient outcomes because of screening, improved surgery and radiotherapy in early and locally-advanced stages of disease, new chemotherapies, validated maintenance therapy, and effective targeted therapies. However, fears or misperceptions about lung cancer may alter physician-patient communications and could delay lung cancer screening, diagnosis, or treatment…
The new molecules — synthetic antibody mimics (SyAMs) — attach themselves simultaneously to disease cells and disease-fighting cells. The result is a highly targeted immune response, similar to the action of natural human antibodies. “Unlike antibodies, however, our molecules are synthetic organic compounds that are approximately one-twentieth the size of antibodies,” said David A. Spiegel, a professor of chemistry at Yale whose lab developed the molecules…
In a revolutionary approach the researchers from the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute made the discovery by combining images from cancer samples with genetic data. …
A gene normally involved in the regulation of embryonic development can trigger the transition of cells into more mobile types that can spread without regard for the normal biological controls that restrict metastasis, the new study shows. Analysis of downstream signaling pathways of this gene, called SNAIL, could be used to identify potential targets for scientists who are looking for ways to block or slow metastasis. “This gene relates directly to the mechanism that metastatic cancer cells use to move from one location to another,” said Michelle Dawson, an assistant professor in the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology…
Studies linking migraine to breast cancer have reported inconsistent results. …
The scientists say when activated, one protein, called the short form, stops glioblastoma cells from replicating their DNA, and the other, called the long form, prevents cell division if the DNA has already been replicated, explains Rebecca Riggins, PhD, assistant professor of oncology at Georgetown Lombardi. The study was posted online Dec…
An investigational drug discovered and being developed by Pfizer Inc., palbociclib targets a key family of proteins (CDK4/6) responsible for cell growth by preventing them from dividing. Results of the multi-year phase 2 study showed a significant increase in progression-free survival (PFS0 for patients with advanced breast cancer that was estrogen receptor positive (ER+), HER2-negative (HER2-), who were given a combination of the standard anti-estrogen treatment letrozole and palbociclib, compared to letrozole alone. “We’re essentially putting the brakes on cell proliferation and causing these tumor cells to stop growing,” said Dr. Richard Finn, associate professor of medicine at UCLA and lead author of the study…
It is estimated that the seven “high-risk” HPV types found in the nonavalent vaccine can potentially prevent over 90 percent of cervical cancers and a similarly high number of other HPV-associated cancers of the vulva, vagina, anus, penis, and some head and neck cancers. “As the healthcare providers for women who suffer from cervical and lower genital tract cancers, members of the SGO have always been advocates for the primary prevention of cervical and other HPV-related cancers,” said SGO President Richard R…
Chronic pancreatitis (CP) is an inflammatory disease that over time leads to loss of function of the pancreas and manifests with intractable pain, malabsorption and diabetes. While medical management and pain control are the initial approaches to CP, some patients need to undergo more invasive procedures to relieve ductal pressure in the pancreas. If those measures fail, surgical options can include total removal of the pancreas (total pancreatectomy, TP) or the Whipple procedure to remove part of the pancreas. Total pancreas removal produces diabetes because insulin-secreting cells are removed…