This is the key finding in a study led by researchers from Georgia State University in collaboration with the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine and published in journal Oncotarget.
The spread of cancer cells from the initial site of occurrence (primary site) to other secondary tissues is called metastasis, and contributes to poor or limited response of cancer cells to treatments, which results in death. For example, cancer cells initially in the lungs can begin to spread to other organs, including the brain and liver.
]]>McArthur, a senior research ecologist with the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory and Odum School of Ecology, believes environmental contaminants may be partly to blame for the rise in bacterial resistance, and he tested this hypothesis in streams on the U.S. Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site.
The 310-square mile site near Aiken, South Carolina, east of the Savannah River, was closed to the public in the early 1950s to produce materials used in nuclear weapons. This production led to legacy waste, or contamination, in limited areas of the site. This waste impacted some of the streams in the industrial areas.
]]>An 8-year-old Utah girl has developed only the 35th known case of secretory breast carcinoma, a rare form of breast cancer that occurs in young girls.
The “financial toxicity” of cancer is not unique to the U.S., as an American oncologist learned over dinner with two colleagues practicing in the nation of Georgia.
Two pediatric oncologists share their insights into to dealing with the “unsung heartache” of caring for children with cancer.
]]>Using advanced liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry techniques coupled with machine learning computer algorithms, researchers have identified 16 metabolite compounds that provided unprecedented accuracy in distinguishing 46 women with early-stage ovarian cancer from a control group of 49 women who did not have the disease. Blood samples for the study were collected from a broad geographic area - Canada, Philadelphia and Atlanta.
While the set of biomarkers reported in this study are the most accurate reported thus far for early-stage ovarian cancer, more extensive testing across a larger population will be needed to determine if the high diagnostic accuracy will be maintained across a larger group of women representing a diversity of ethnic and racial groups.
]]>Researchers from Moffitt previously developed a radiation sensitivity index (RSI) that predicts how sensitive tumors are to radiation based on expression patterns of different genes. In a paper published July 15 in The International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology and Physics, they used the RSI to determine the radiation sensitivity of 704 metastatic and 1362 primary colon tumors.
They discovered that metastatic colon tumors are more resistant to radiation than primary colon tumors. The researchers also report that radiation sensitivity may be dependent on the anatomic location of the tumor metastasis. This is one of the first research studies to highlight the importance of the location of the metastasis as well as the location of the original primary tumor, in predicting response to radiation therapy. The researchers confirmed some of these findings by analyzing how effective radiation therapy was in 29 colon cancer tumors that metastasized to either the liver or lung. Their findings validated that those patients who had metastatic disease in their lungs had a better response to radiation then patients who had metastatic disease in their liver, as predicted by RSI.
]]>A new analysis, however, provides some of the best evidence to date that this widely accepted adage just isn’t true.
Researchers analyzed the results of 53 different experiments (a so-called meta-analysis) involving nearly 8,500 people, done over 44 years. All of these experiments examined some facet of the question of whether sexual or violent media content could help sell advertised products.
When all the results are considered together, the overall conclusion, with some caveats, is that programs featuring violence and sex aren’t the ideal context for effective advertising, said Brad Bushman, co-author of the study and professor of communication and psychology at The Ohio State University.
]]>In December 2010, the Belgian communities of Schelle and Hemiksem in the province of Antwerp faced an outbreak of gastroenteritis, with more than 18,000 people exposed to contaminated drinking water. During the outbreak, VIB and KU Leuven set up a scientific task force to study the incident’s long-term effects, led by Guy Boeckxstaens (UZ Leuven / KU Leuven) and Adrian Liston (VIB / KU Leuven).
Seizing an unexpected opportunity
Adrian Liston (VIB/KU Leuven): “The water contamination in Schelle and Hemiksem was an ‘accidental experiment’ on a scale rarely possible in medical research. By following the patients from the initial contamination to a year after the outbreak we were able to find out what factors altered the risk of long-term complications.”
]]>Type 1 diabetes, previously known as juvenile diabetes, affects about 1.25 million Americans. About 200,000 of them are under 20 years old. The condition arises when a person’s own immune system destroys the pancreas cells that make insulin, the hormone that converts blood sugar into energy. To make up for this loss of insulin production, patients must take insulin daily. Current delivery methods involve multiple daily injections or insulin pump therapy, both requiring the user to actively track glucose and calculate the needed insulin dose. There is also a significant time lag between when a dose is needed and when it can take effect. Francis J. Doyle III and colleagues wanted to find a way to make monitoring and insulin delivery automatic and needle-free.
The researchers designed an algorithm that monitors blood sugar levels and computes an insulin dose that it delivers quickly and automatically when necessary.
]]>“This DFMO trial is an important advancement in neuroblastoma research,” explained Dr. Sholler. “We believe that by using DFMO to target an important cancer stem cell pathway to ‘turn cells off,’ we may prevent children from relapsing. Cancer cells have pathways that drive the cancer to grow and DFMO targets a specific pathway to turn these cells off.”
Dr. Sholler recently published her laboratory studies describing how this drug works in neuroblastoma in preventing tumor formation in lab models and also published the full results of the phase one trial.
]]>The Fit for Work Scheme will be introduced in most regions in England and Wales at the end of this month. Its aim is to provide additional support for those in employment at risk of long term incapacity by using an occupational health-based assessment and a plan for helping individuals return to work.
The GP’s role in the new voluntary scheme is advisory, supporting their patients to consider the benefits of extra support. This complements the recently introduced ‘fit note’ certificate that allows GPs to be clearer about their patients’ capacity to work and extra support that may help them return to work.
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