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Shanghai (April 11, 2016)-- Positron Emission Tomography (PET) is used commonly in the diagnosis of suspected lung cancer. Computed bioconductance (CB) being investigated as a non-invasive way to predict whether an suspicious abnormality in the lung is benign or malignant. In this study, researches found that CB combined with PET before biopsy of suspicious lesions could improve diagnostic effectiveness of potentially cancerous lesions detected by CT scan.

Shanghai (April 11, 2016)-- E-cigarette smoking is increasingly promoted as a safer alternative to cigarette smoking, but a growing body of evidence points to its potential dangers. Adding to the evidence, researchers will report at CHEST World Congress this month on a study of e-cigarettes and the immediate effects on pulmonary function in healthy and mild asthmatic young smokers.

Maryland's 2011 increase in the alcohol sales tax appears to have led to fewer purchases of beer, wine and liquor in the state, suggesting reduced alcohol use, new Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health research indicates.

Specifically, sales of spirits (commonly referred to as "liquor") were 5.1 percent lower, beer sales were 3.2 percent lower, and wine sales were 2.5 percent lower. Alcohol sales are widely accepted as a proxy for alcohol consumption.

DENVER - Molecular analysis of a tumor biopsy from a proto-oncogene 1 receptor tyrosine kinase positive (ROS1+) patient with acquired crizotinib resistance revealed a novel mutation in the v-kit Hardy Zuckerman 4 feline sarcoma viral oncogene homolog receptor tyrosine kinase (KIT) that can potentially be targeted by KIT inhibitors.

April 11, 2016, NEW YORK - A team of researchers, led by Ludwig Cancer Research scientist Paul Mischel and James Heath of the California Institute of Technology, has probed biochemical signaling cascades within individual cancer cells to capture a previously poorly understood but clinically significant mechanism of cancer drug resistance. Published in the current issue of Cancer Cell, their paper shows that cells of the invariably lethal brain cancer glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) begin adapting to resist therapy within as little as three days of its initiation.

As part of a global collaboration, scientists from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and Sage Bionetworks conducted the largest genome study to date and reported the first systematic search across hundreds of Mendelian disorders in hundreds of thousands of individuals apparently not afflicted with any of these disorders to identify those carrying disease protective factors.

Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) have identified a type of immune cell that appears to block the progress of melanoma and other cancers in animal models. These subcapsular sinus (SCS) macrophages form a protective coating around lymph nodes, preventing the entry of tiny structures that transport bits of tumor tissue and help the cancer to grow and spread. However, the SCS macrophage barrier appears to be temporary, as it breaks down as the tumor progresses and in response to some cancer treatment drugs.

When a freeway shuts down because of an accident or construction, drivers find another road to take them where they're going. Likewise, when a targeted therapy blocks a pathway that enables tumors to grow, the cells usually manage to get around that obstacle. The result is drug resistance. Researchers have now found a way to map those alternate routes by studying individual cancer cells, suggesting approaches for developing more effective combination therapies. The results are published April 11 in Cancer Cell.

Scientists are pushing to restore human health in Western countries by changing our diet to restore the microbial species lost over the evolution of Western diet. In a Commentary published April 11 in Trends in Endocrinology & Metabolism, researchers at the University of Alberta advocate for strategically increasing dietary fiber intake as one path forward in regaining microbial biodiversity.

More boys than expected are born to Indian-born women living in Ontario, Canada, who already have two daughters, according to a large study in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). The likelihood of male births increases if women had had an induced abortion before the male birth.

The natural odds of having a boy are in the range of 103 to 107 boys for every 100 girls.

TORONTO, April 11, 2016--More male babies than expected are born to Indian-born women living in Canada who already have two or more children, according to a study published today in the journal CMAJ Open.

This gender imbalance has existed for at least two decades and can be seen across Canada, said lead author Dr. Marcelo Urquia of St. Michael's Hospital.

BOSTON - Testing experimental cancer drugs in mouse models with patient-derived tumors could reduce the high failure rate of drugs in early clinical trials, according to a report from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute scientists performed in collaboration with investigators at multiple other centers.

Scientists from Blood Systems Research Institute in San Francisco, California, and Canadian Blood Services' Centre for Innovation lab in Edmonton, Alberta, report for the first time that specific red blood cell manufacturing methods may be less damaging to cells than others. This finding could help reduce adverse reactions in transfusion recipients and may impact the future of how blood is collected in North America and around the world.

WASHINGTON - It is possible to end the transmission of hepatitis B and C and prevent further sickness and deaths from the diseases, but time, considerable resources, and attention to various barriers will be required, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. However, controlling the diseases by reducing the number of new and overall cases in the U.S. is more feasible in the short term.

Washington, April 11, 2016 - Despite having policies in place to prevent infections, staff at outpatient care facilities fail to follow recommendations for hand hygiene 37 percent of the time, and for safe injection practices 33 percent of the time, according to a study published in the April issue of the American Journal of Infection Control, the official publication of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC).