Engineers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have developed a prosthetic vein valve to help improve the lives of those suffering from a condition known as chronic venous insufficiency. The condition, which affects more than seven million people in the United States alone, occurs when valves in a person's veins can no longer ensure a one-way flow of blood back to the heart.
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A new study suggests that bacteria-infecting viruses – called phages – can make collective decisions about whether to kill host cells immediately after infection or enter a latent state to remain within the host cell.
Combining the new drug trabectedin with pegylated liposomal doxorubicin provides clinical benefit to women with relapsed ovarian cancer, according to new results presented at the 33rd Congress of the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) in Stockholm.
The combination, which importantly does not include a platinum drug, challenges the current standard of treatment for women whose cancer recurs at least 6 months after first-line treatment, said Associate Prof. Bradley J. Monk from the University of California Irvine Medical Center.
Acting Surgeon General Steven K. Galson, M.D., M.P.H., today issued a Call to Action to reduce the number of cases of deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism in the United States.
Galson urged all Americans to learn about and prevent these treatable conditions.
Deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism affect an estimated 350,000 to 600,000 Americans each year, and the numbers are expected to increase as the U.S. population ages. Together, deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism contribute to at least 100,000 deaths each year.
Spanish researchers led by Dr. Emilio Alba have been studying the effects of pegylated liposomal doxorubicin in a group of 155 women who had already been treated with chemotherapy.
At the 33rd Congress of the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) in Stockholm, they present long-term follow-up data showing that 81% of patients prescribed the drug were alive after one year, compared to 66% of those who did not receive the treatment.
The aim of the therapy was to delay progression of disease while inflicting as few side-effects as possible, said Dr. Alba.
Scientists at Sunnybrook Research Institute (SRI) are developing and commercializing a promising novel therapy for the treatment of prostate cancer that may offer patients a faster and more precise treatment than existing clinical alternatives, with fewer side effects.
The new treatment—magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-guided transurethral ultrasound—uses heat from focused ultrasound to treat cancer in the prostate gland precisely while sparing the delicate noncancerous tissues around the prostate essential for healthy urinary, bowel and sexual function.
The targeted therapy gefitinib should be considered a first-line therapy for non-smoking Asian patients with adenocarcinoma of the lung, one of the most common types of lung cancer, suggests a presentation at the 33rd Congress of the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) in Stockholm.
Asia has a high proportion of lung cancer patients who are non-smokers, a significant proportion of whom develop a form of cancer known as adenocarcinoma.
[PRESS RELEASE, 15 September 2008] The time span in which treatment should be given for acute ischaemic stroke – i.e. stroke caused by a clot or other obstruction to the blood supply – can be lengthened. This according to a study from the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet, the results of which can bring about more effective and safer treatments for stroke sufferers.
For patients with chemotherapy-induced anemia, adding intravenous iron to treatment with the drug darbepoetin alfa results in a faster and more potent improvement in response with lower doses of the drug, according to data presented at the 33rd Congress of the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) in Stockholm.
An investigational drug that combats ovarian cancer by inhibiting the formation of new blood vessels has shown promise in a phase II trial, according to a presentation at the 33rd Congress of the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) in Stockholm.
Prof. Michael Friedlander from Australia presented the results of an international collaborative trial which administered the drug to 35 patients with recurrent ovarian, fallopian tube or peritoneal carcinoma. At the ESMO Congress, he presented final results of the trial on behalf of his co-investigators.
For patients with early stage breast cancer that has spread to the lymph nodes, adding four cycles of docetaxel (Taxotere) into a sequential regimen of epirubicin followed by cyclophosphamide, methotrexate and fluorouracil (CMF) reduces the risk of recurrence and death, updated long-term results show.
This advantage comes at the cost of an increased, but manageable, toxicity, Italian researchers report at the 33rd Congress of the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) in Stockholm.
Treating locally advanced head and neck cancers with an alternating regimen of chemotherapy and radiotherapy, plus cetuximab, has shown promise in a phase II trial, Italian researchers report.
Their trial in 45 patients combined chemotherapy with fluorouracil and carboplatin given on weeks 1, 4 and 7 of treatment, with radiotherapy administered daily on weeks 2-3, 5-6 and 8-10.
Cetuximab was also added weekly.
Lung cancer patients whose tumors carry specific genetic mutations can achieve significantly longer survival when treated with targeted therapies such as erlotinib, Spanish researchers report.
Investigators from the Spanish Lung Cancer Group conducted the largest-ever study to examine the benefits of customizing lung cancer treatment based on mutations in the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene.
FAIRFAX, Va.—ATTRACT—the first major national trial of a catheter-based treatment for deep vein thrombosis—will evaluate the use of clot-dissolving drugs in combination with clot removal devices to prevent post-thrombotic syndrome in patients with DVT (the formation of a blood clot in a leg vein). PTS, a common irreversible complication of DVT, causes permanent damage to the veins, resulting in debilitating chronic leg pain, swelling, fatigue and/or skin ulcers. About 25 percent of DVT patients develop PTS when treated with blood thinners alone.
Irvine, Calif. — Women with recurrent ovarian cancer can be helped by an experimental therapy using a drug already touted for its ability to fight other cancers, a finding that provides hope for improved treatment of this deadly disease.
Dr. Bradley Monk, a UC Irvine gynecologic oncologist who led the worldwide phase III clinical trial, said trabectedin is the most recent addition to a short list of active drug therapies for recurrent ovarian cancer. He presents study results Sept. 15 at the 33rd Congress of the European Society for Medical Oncology in Stockholm.