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Oncotarget published "Association between miRNA signatures in serum samples from epidermal growth factor inhibitor treated patients and skin toxicity" which reported that on average 70% of patients treated with EGFRIs suffer from skin toxicity.
Studies showed a correlation between overall survival and the appearance of a skin rash, which is used as a biomarker for therapy efficacy.
Below please find summaries of new articles that will be published in the next issue of Annals of Internal Medicine. The summaries are not intended to substitute for the full articles as a source of information. This information is under strict embargo and by taking it into possession, media representatives are committing to the terms of the embargo not only on their own behalf, but also on behalf of the organization they represent.
Oncotarget published "Carcinoma cells that have undergone an epithelial-mesenchymal transition differentiate into endothelial cells and contribute to tumor growth" which reported that the authors investigated whether EMT can confer endothelial attributes upon carcinoma cells, augmenting tumor growth and vascularization.
During the large second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in fall 2020, pulmonologist and critical care provider Juan C. Rojas, MD, reflected on how disproportionately members of minority populations were being affected by the disease. After hearing similar thoughts from colleagues in New Orleans and New York City, Rojas began to wonder how, if at all, state governments planned to ensure these disparities would be addressed when COVID-19 vaccines were rolled out to the public.
Fast facts:
Nanobodies have been shown to inhibit the dysfunction of key proteins involved with various diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, psoriasis, B-cell lymphoma, and breast cancer
Understanding the structure of a nanobody helps to better understand its disease-fighting potential
Typically, the protein structure is determined from solid samples. Researchers at NYUAD used a liquid state technique to determine protein structure.
What The Study Did: Researchers in this study aimed to determine how each state and the District of Columbia planned to ensure equitable COVID-19 vaccine distribution.
Authors: Juan C. Rojas, M.D., of the University of Chicago, is the corresponding author.
To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/
(doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.15653)
What The Study Did: Changes in the use of women's preventive health services during the COVID-19 pandemic, including screening for sexually transmitted infections, breast and cervical cancer, and obtaining contraceptives from pharmacies are described by researchers in this study.
Authors: Nora V. Becker, M.D., Ph.D., of the University of Michigan Medical School in Ann Arbor, is the corresponding author.
What The Study Did: This study investigates whether different risk factors identify the same hospitals caring for a high proportion of disadvantaged patients using seven definitions of social risk.
Authors: Susannah M. Bernheim, M.D., M.H.S., of the Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut, is the corresponding author.
To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/
(doi:10.1001/jamahealthforum.2021.1323)
Lugano, Switzerland, 2 July 2021 - Obese patients with colorectal cancer receive lower cumulative doses of adjuvant chemotherapy, relative to their body surface area (BSA), than non-obese patients, show results from a large meta-analysis reported at the ESMO World Congress on Gastrointestinal Cancer 2021 (1). Further findings showed that cumulative relative chemotherapy dose was associated with survival so may explain the poorer survival that has been seen in obese patients receiving adjuvant chemotherapy for colorectal cancer. (2)
Lugano, Switzerland, 2 July 2021 - Doctors and patients are being advised to reduce unnecessary antibiotic use following new data suggesting that these medicines may increase the risk of cancer of the large intestine (colon), especially in people under 50 years. (1) The results, presented at the ESMO World Congress on Gastrointestinal Cancer (30 June-3 July) raise fresh concerns about the impact of the estimated 65% increase in global antibiotic consumption reported between 2000 and 2015, despite not showing a direct cause and effect. (2)
Several cancer tumors grow through immunosuppression; that is, they manipulate biological systems in their microenvironments and signal to a specific set of immune cells--those that clear out aberrant cells--to stop acting. It is no wonder that immunotherapy designed to re-establish anti-tumor immunity is rapidly becoming the treatment of choice for these cancers.
In an Australian world-first, researchers have successfully repurposed two existing medications to reduce the severity of sleep apnoea in people by at least 30 per cent.
Affecting millions around the world, sleep apnoea is a condition where the upper airway from the back of the nose to the throat closes repetitively during sleep, restricting oxygen intake and causing people to wake as often as 100 times or more per hour.
Researchers at the Francis Crick Institute and University of Dundee have screened thousands of drug and chemical molecules and identified a range of potential antivirals that could be developed into new treatments for COVID-19 or in preparation for future coronavirus outbreaks.
Hitherto, the development of valvular heart disease in patients with chronic heart failure has been underestimated and rarely treated. This is the finding of a study conducted at the Division of Cardiology within the Department of Medicine II at Vienna General Hospital and MedUni Vienna and published in the prestigious British Medical Journal (BMJ). Mitral regurgitation was often previously interpreted as part of the progression of heart failure rather than a treatable disease in its own right.
Early 2020 saw the world break into what has been described as a "war-like situation": a pandemic, caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the likes of which majority of the living generations across most of the planet have not ever seen. This pandemic has downed economies and resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths. At the dawn of 2021, vaccines have been deployed, but before populations can be sufficiently vaccinated, effective treatments remain the need of the hour.