The most comprehensive analysis yet of the epigenetic modifications present in breast cancer has revealed potentially important new ways to detect and treat the disease, Belgian researchers have reported.
Epigenetics is a term used to describe modifications to the DNA molecule that affect way its code is translated into proteins. These changes include methylation, a form of chemical modification.
German researchers have identified an unexpected molecular marker that predicts how sensitive hard-to-treat triple-negative breast cancers are to chemotherapy.
Triple-negative breast cancers --which do not express the genes for estrogen receptor, or progesterone receptor and do not have Her2/neu overexpression or amplification-- are more aggressive than other forms of the disease and cannot be treated with endocrine or Her2 targeted therapies.
Two multi-gene tests designed to predict the risk of disease progression and response to chemotherapy in breast cancer produce broadly similar results for high- and low-risk patients, but do not always agree in their predictions for those at intermediate risk, a new analysis shows.
Measuring the transfer of tiny amounts of energy from one protein to another on breast cancer cells has given scientists a detailed view of molecular interactions that could help predict how breast cancer patients will respond to particular therapies.
At the IMPAKT Breast Cancer Conference in Brussels, Dr Gargi Patel from the Richard Dimbleby Department, King's College London, described cutting-edge research in which she and colleagues captured detailed information about protein interactions on cancer cells, and correlated that with established genetic markers for cancer spread.
The anti-inflammatory drug celecoxib may be a useful additional treatment for people with breast cancer, Dutch researchers report at the IMPAKT Breast Cancer Conference in Brussels.
The results of a randomized trial in 45 patients with primary invasive breast cancer showed that the drug --which is currently used to treat arthritis and other painful conditions-- clearly induced an anti-tumor response at the molecular level.
COLUMBUS, Ohio – In a rare and medically remarkable operation, a multi-disciplinary team of surgeons at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC – James) removed the left leg, hip and pelvis of a cancer patient, and used the healthy, living bones from his amputated leg to completely rebuild the connection between his spine and remaining right pelvis to support a high-tech prosthetic leg.
OAKLAND, Calif., May 5, 2011-- Parental exposure to bisphenol A (BPA) during pregnancy is associated with decreased birth weight of offspring, compared with offspring from families without parental BPA exposure in the workplace, according to Kaiser Permanente researchers.
The observational study is published in the current online issue Reproductive Toxicology.
PHILADELPHIA — Despite expanded Medicare coverage for colorectal cancer screening tests, lower rates still exist among blacks and Hispanics compared to other ethnic groups, according to research published in Cancer, Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.
Cincinnati, OH, May 5, 2011 -- Experts agree that obesity prevention should begin before children enter school. But due to a lack of conclusive data, health care providers often have trouble advising parents about which interventions are the most beneficial. A new study soon to be published in The Journal of Pediatrics suggests that limiting prolonged bottle use in children may be an effective way to help prevent obesity.
The number of children dying a violent death has fallen substantially in England and Wales over the past 30 years, reveals research published ahead of print in Archives of Disease in Childhood.
But the authors warn that, while the figures are encouraging, there is no room for complacency because at least one child or young person still dies every week as a result of assault.
Women who develop cerebral aneurysms are less likely to have taken the oral contraceptive pill or hormone replacement therapy, suggesting taking oestrogen could have a protective effect, reveals research published in the Journal of NeuroInterventional Surgery.
Researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, in collaboration with researchers at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine, have made a critical discovery that may lead scientists to abandon the use of broad conventional ethnic labels—African-American, Hispanic, and Caucasian—to estimate a patient's genetic risk for disease. This first-of-its kind study conducted with diverse patients receiving care at a single urban academic medical center, marks an important step in the clinical application of personalized medicine.
Using age alone to identify those at risk of heart disease or stroke could replace current screening methods without diminishing effectiveness, according to a groundbreaking study published today in the open access journal PLoS ONE.
Existing screening methods which include measuring cholesterol and blood pressure are expensive and time consuming. The authors of the new study from Barts and The London Medical School say that this finding could save thousands of lives by making it easier for more people to have access to preventive treatment.
(May 4, 2011, NEW YORK, USA) Tuberculosis (TB) is widely considered a public health concern and its treatment a public sector responsibility. But according to a study published today in the journal PLoS ONE, the private sector for TB treatment is ignored at our peril. Across 10 high-burden countries, there is as much TB drug volume in the private sector as in the public sector—and at least a third of all private sector dosages of first-line TB drugs fall outside of national and international treatment recommendations.
Over 100 million years ago, the understory of late Mesozoic forests was dominated by a diverse group of plants of the class Equisetopsida. Today, only one genus from this group, Equisetum (also known as horsetail or scouring rush), exists—and it is a prime candidate for being the oldest extant genus of land plant.