Tag Archives: published

Better way to track emerging cell therapies using MRIs

In a paper published September 17 in the online journal Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh and elsewhere describe the first human tests of using a perfluorocarbon (PFC) tracer in combination with non-invasive magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to track therapeutic immune cells injected into patients with colorectal cancer. “Initially, we see this technique used for clinical trials that involve tests of new cell therapies,” said first author Eric T. Ahrens, PhD, professor in the Department of Radiology at UC San Diego…

Medicaid reimbursements may affect cancer screening rates among beneficiaries — ScienceDaily

Although Medicaid is a joint state-federal government health insurance program, each state sets the policies for its own Medicaid program within requirements set by the federal government. This includes setting how much providers are paid for health care services and who is allowed to enroll in Medicaid. To determine whether state Medicaid eligibility and reimbursement policies affect receipt of breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer screening among Medicaid beneficiaries, Michael Halpern, MD, PhD, MPH, of RTI International, and his colleagues analyzed 2007 Medicaid data from 46 states and Washington DC. “Few studies have examined how state-specific differences in Medicaid policies might affect use of preventive care services, particularly for early detection of cancer,” said Dr…

U.S. lung cancer rates vary by subtype, sex, race/ethnicity, and age

Overall, lung cancer rates are declining in the United States, but little is known about trends related to different subtypes of lung cancer and different demographic groups. To investigate, Denise Riedel Lewis, PhD, MPH, of the National Cancer Institute, and her colleagues analyzed information from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program. Their goal was to update the classification of lung cancer subtypes and to determine the rates of lung cancer overall as well as the rates of squamous cell, small cell, adenocarcinoma, large cell, other, and unspecified carcinomas among US whites and blacks diagnosed from 1977 to 2010 and white non-Hispanics, Asian/Pacific Islanders, and white Hispanics diagnosed from 1992 to 2010. The researchers found that squamous and small cell carcinoma rates declined since the 1990s, although less rapidly among females than males…

Lifestyle choices may affect long-term heart health of childhood cancer survivors

Adults who had cancer as children are known to be at increased risk for the metabolic syndrome, a group of risk factors that increases the likelihood of developing heart disease and other health problems such as diabetes and stroke. People with the metabolic syndrome have some combination of factors including high blood pressure, abnormal cholesterol and glucose levels, and increased body fat. …

ACP recommends against pelvic exam in asymptomatic, average risk, non-pregnant women

ACP’s new evidence-based clinical practice guideline, “Screening Pelvic Examination in Adult Women,” was published today in Annals of Internal Medicine, ACP’s flagship journal. ACP’s guideline is based on a systematic review of the published literature on human subjects in the English language from 1946 through January 2014. “Routine pelvic examination has not been shown to benefit asymptomatic, average risk, non-pregnant women. It rarely detects important disease and does not reduce mortality and is associated with discomfort for many women, false positive and negative examinations, and extra cost,” said Dr. …

Two proteins compete for one port on a growth factor; one promotes metastasis, the other blocks it

Such is the case with two proteins identified by scientists at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center that fit on to the same binding site on an important cellular growth factor receptor called FGFR2 with starkly different results. "There is competition for binding to FGFR2 and one of the two competitors, phospholipase Cγ1 (Plcγ1), will increase cancer cell metastasis. The other protein inhibits the opportunity for this to occur," said John Ladbury, Ph.D., professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. …