Tag Archives: performance

GPs should be more open when referring patients for cancer investigations, study says

They found that patients were rarely involved in the decision to be referred for investigation and that reasons for referral tended to be couched in non-specific terms rather than ‘cancer investigation’, even when the patient was on a cancer-specific pathway. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) referral guidelines emphasise that the patient should be involved in the decision-making process and be informed of the reasons for referral…

Promising drug doubled positive effect in hormone-receptor positive breast cancer, study finds

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 PFS 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. …

High-definition scopes accurately assess polyps, physicians say

The benign hyperplastic polyp appears very pale and bland on imaging. Their 522-patient study, published in the December issue of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, found that physicians correctly evaluated whether a polyp was precancerous or benign using high-definition optical lenses during a colonoscopy…

Promising drug doubled positive effect in hormone-receptor positive breast cancer, study finds — ScienceDaily

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 PFS 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. …

Diagnostic screening: Microwave imaging of the breast may be better and safer — ScienceDaily

A better, cheaper, and safer way to look for the telltale signs of breast cancer may be with microwaves, said Neil Epstein, a NSERC CREATE I3T postdoctoral fellow at the University of Calgary in Canada. Epstein and his colleagues–engineering professor Paul Meaney of Dartmouth College’s Thayer School of Engineering and Keith Paulsen, director of the Dartmouth Advanced Imaging Center and the Robert A. …

Too much, too little, just right: Balance of proteins keeps cancer in check — ScienceDaily

“The p53 protein is necessary for tumor suppression,” said Xinbin Chen, professor at the UC Davis Schools of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine. “When Rbm38 suppresses p53, organisms develop tumors. Knocking out Rbm38 increases p53, which we thought might be a good thing. But too much p53 suppresses cell-cycle progression, causing cell death, premature aging and even cancer.” The relationship between p53 and Rbm38 can best be described as a loop: p53 regulates Rbm38 expression, while Rbm38 suppresses p53. …

Detection of enterovirus infection in insulin producing cells in patients newly diagnosed with type 1 diabetes

The discovery provides possibility for both antiviral treatment and vaccine of type 1 Diabetes, according to a press release from The University of Oslo. Type 1 Diabetes affects young people and children. Unlike type 2, type 1 cannot be treated by diet changes and exercise Insulin is needed. Only 29 % of the patients reach the recommended goals for treatment to prevent disabling late diabetes complications. …

Personalized therapy for cancer: Additional applications for FL118

In a study of preclinical models of colorectal cancer, the researchers identified an underlying mechanism for the activation of p53 by FL118. The agent activates the p53 tumor-suppressor protein largely independent of ataxia telangiectasia mutated (ATM)-dependent DNA damage-mediated p53 activation. ATM-dependent activation of p53 is usually induced by many — if not all — types of DNA-damage drugs, including camptothecin compounds such as irinotecan and topotecan, leading the authors to conclude that FL118’s mechanisms of action are distinct among camptothecin analogues. “While FL118 is an analogue of irinotecan and topotecan, two FDA-approved cancer drugs that are also based on the naturally occurring compound camptothecin, our findings add further evidence that FL118 has novel mechanisms of action that may make it especially potent against solid tumors and especially effective as a well-tolerated, targeted therapy,” said Dr. …

Potential new tool for cervical cancer detection, diagnosis

As rosy a picture as that paints, cervical cancer continues to claim far too many lives. Thousands of American women still die from the disease every year, and hundreds of thousands of other women around the world suffer the same fate — sad, stark statistics that showcase the continued need for more advanced screening methods to catch more cases of the disease early, when it is most treatable. Now a team of researchers from Central South University in China have demonstrated that a technique known as photoacoustic imaging, which is already under investigation for detecting skin or breast cancers and for monitoring therapy, also has the potential to be a new, faster, cheaper and non-invasive method to detect, diagnose and stage cervical cancer with high accuracy. …