Dabrafenib Shows Promise For Melanoma Patients
6/25/2012
Results of the 'BREAK3 trial, a Phase III study of dabrafenib to treat patients with BRAF mutation-positive melanoma, i.e. a type of advanced skin cancer that works by inhibiting a key signaling protein, has demonstrated that these patients have better results with dabrafenib than with chemotherapy. The study has been published Online First in The Lancet...
Keeping Fit May Reduce Breast Cancer Risk
6/25/2012
Women who keep fit with regular exercise, even mild physical activity, may reduce their risk of developing breast cancer, even after the menopause, but not if they also put on a lot of weight, according to a new study from the US...
Examining The Biology Of Tumor-Derived Microvesicles
6/25/2012
A new paper by Crislyn D'Souza-Schorey, professor of biological sciences at the University of Notre Dame, discusses the biology of tumor-derived microvesicles and their clinical application as circulating biomarkers. Microvesicles are membrane-bound sacs released by tumor cells and can be detected in the body fluids of cancer patients...
Stopping And Starting Cancer Cell Cycle Weakens And Defeats Multiple Myeloma
6/25/2012
Weill Cornell Medical College researchers have devised an innovative boxer-like strategy, based on the serial use of two anti-cancer drugs, to deliver a one-two punch to first weaken the defenses of multiple myeloma and then deliver the final knock-out punch to win the fight...
New Lung Cancer Screening Guidelines
6/25/2012
A lung screening and surveillance task force, established by the American Association for Thoracic Surgery (AATS) and led by medical professionals from Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH), is strongly recommending new guidelines for lung cancer screening. The guidelines were published in the online edition of the Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery (JTCVS)...
Using Human Stem Cells To Create Blood-Brain Barrier Building Blocks
6/25/2012
The blood-brain barrier - the filter that governs what can and cannot come into contact with the mammalian brain - is a marvel of nature. It effectively separates circulating blood from the fluid that bathes the brain, and it keeps out bacteria, viruses and other agents that could damage it...
Boosting Blood System Protein Complex Protects Against Radiation Toxicity
6/25/2012
New research in Nature Medicine shows that boosting a protein pathway in the body's blood making system protects mice from otherwise fatal radiation poisoning...
Cancers With Disorganized 'Traffic Systems' More Difficult To Treat
6/25/2012
Medical researchers at the University of Alberta reviewed test results from thousands of patients with various types of cancer and discovered that "disorganized" cancers were more difficult to treat and consistently resulted in lower survival rates...
Myelodysplastic Syndrome Patients Treated With Deferasirox Show Beneficial Iron Reduction
6/25/2012
Researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center and colleagues at six other institutions have recently tested a treatment for patients with myelodysplastic syndrome, or MDS, a blood-related malignancy that involves the ineffective production of blood cells, leaving patients anemic and in need of frequent blood transfusions...
A new study shows that natural language processing programs can "read" dictated reports and provide information to allow measurement of colonoscopy quality in an inexpensive, automated and efficient manner. The quality variation observed in the study within a single academic hospital system reinforces the need for routine quality measurement...