Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Sunday, February 24, 2013
press release: Scientists find surprising new influence on cancer genes
Scripps Research Institute team shows how DNA sequences long considered 'junk' are involved in gene regulation
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But now, a new study led by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) shows how pseudogenes can regulate the activity of a cancer-related gene called PTEN. The study also shows that pseudogenes can be targeted to control PTEN's activity........
......Morris noted, however, there are many practical issues with controlling pseudogenes. Designing a drug targeting pseudogenes directly would be difficult to administer with current technology, as these drugs would need to be delivered into the exact cells where they are needed without spreading to other, healthy tissues where they could be toxic.
Saturday, February 23, 2013
End-of-Life Care of Women With Gynecologic Malignancies: A Pilot Study
Abstract
OBJECTIVE:
There are limited data regarding the end-of-life care for women with gynecologic malignancies. We set out to generate pilot data describing the care that women with gynecologic malignancies received in the last 6 months of life. Patient demographics, patterns of care, and utilization of palliative medicine consultation services were evaluated.Upcoming Events - Educational Webinar: Strategies for Managing Recurrent Ovarian Cancer, by Dr. Sarah Adams
Strategies for Managing Recurrent Ovarian Cancer, presented by Sarah Adams, M.D.
When:
Thursday, February 28, 2013
6:00 p.m. EST
Register here:
Reproductive, lifestyle and anthropometric risk factors for cancer in elderly women
Abstract
Background:
With an increasing elderly
population, the United States will experience an increased cancer
burden in the coming years. We evaluated associations between
anthropometric, lifestyle and reproductive factors
and risk of breast, ovarian, and colorectal cancer in a prospective
study
of postmenopausal women with a focus on diagnoses occurring among very elderly women
(≥75 years).
Methods:
For each cancer type, we estimated
associations with relevant exposures in two age bands (< vs. ≥75
years of age).
During 22 years of follow-up, 322 ovarian, 1,311
colon, 315 rectal, and 2,664 breast cancers occurred among 37,459
postmenopausal
women
(mean age at baseline 62 years, range 55-71 years).
Results:
For ovarian cancer, we identified few
significant associations in either age band. Colon cancer cases had a
higher
body mass index and were less likely to report
estrogen or aspirin use than non-cases, yet these associations were
consistent
in both age bands. Few risk factors were identified
for rectal cancer in women
≥75 years of age. For breast cancer, notably different patterns were
revealed, with alcohol consumption associated with risk
in the younger group and previous hysterectomy
associated with risk only in the older group.
Conclusions:
These analyses suggest some important
differences in risk factors for cancer depending on age at diagnosis.
Impact:
This study suggests that etiologic differences may
exist in cancers occurring in the very elderly. The ongoing demographic shift in the United States provides a strong rationale for studies evaluating cancer etiology in
the elderly.
Friday, February 22, 2013
Do Canadian Researchers and the Lay Public Prioritize Biomedical Research Outcomes Equally? A Choice Experiment
Abstract
PURPOSE:
To quantify and compare the preferences of researchers and laypeople in Canada regarding the outcomes of basic biomedical research.METHOD:
In autumn 2010, the authors conducted a cross-sectional, national survey of basic biomedical researchers funded by Canada's national health research agency and a representative sample of Canadian citizens to assess preferences for research outcomes across five attributes using a discrete choice experiment. Attributes included advancing scientific knowledge (assessed by published papers); building research capacity (assessed by trainees); informing decisions in the health products industry (assessed by patents); targeting economic, health, or scientific priorities; and cost. The authors reduced a fractional factorial design (18 pairwise choices plus an opt-out option) to three blocks of six. They also computed part worth utilities, differences in predicted probabilities, and willingness-to-pay values using nested logit models.RESULTS:
Of 3,260 potential researchers, 1,749 (53.65% response rate) completed the questionnaire, along with 1,002 citizens.(response rate of citizens?) Researchers and citizens prioritized high-quality scientific outcomes (papers, trainees) over other attributes. Both groups disvalued research targeted at economic priorities relative to health priorities. Researchers granted a premium to proposals targeting scientific priorities.CONCLUSIONS:
Citizens and researchers fundamentally prioritized the same outcomes for basic biomedical research. Notably, they prioritized traditional scientific outcomes and disvalued the pursuit of economic returns. These findings have implications for how academic medicine assigns incentives and value to basic health research and how biomedical researchers and the public may jointly contribute to setting the future research agenda.Histologic Evaluation of Prophylactic Hysterectomy and Oophorectomy in Lynch Syndrome
Women with Lynch syndrome (LS) are at increased risk for
endometrial (EC) and ovarian carcinoma (OC). Current surveillance
recommendations for detection of EC and OC in LS patients are not
effective. Small studies have shown that prophylactic hysterectomy and
bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy (P-TH-BSO) are the most effective and
least expensive preventive measures in these patients. Data regarding
histologic findings in prophylactic specimens in these patients are
lacking. All LS patients who underwent P-TH-BSO at the Memorial
Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center from 2000 to 2011 were identified. Slides
were evaluated for the presence of endometrial hyperplasia (EH), EC, OC,
or any other recurrent histologic findings. Twenty-five patients were
identified, with an age range of 36 to 61 years. Fifteen patients had a
synchronous or prior colorectal carcinoma, and 2 patients had a history
of sebaceous carcinoma. Focal FIGO grade 1 endometrioid ECs were
detected in 2 patients; 1 was 54 years of age (MSH2 mutation;
superficially invasive), and the other was 56 years of age (MLH1
mutation; noninvasive). Focal complex atypical hyperplasia, unassociated
with carcinoma, was seen in 3 patients, ages 35 and 45 (MLH1 mutations)
and 53 years (MSH2 mutation). One patient (44 y, with MSH2 mutation)
was found to have a mixed endometrioid/clear cell OC and simple EH
without atypia. The OC was adherent to the colon but did not show
distant metastasis. In our study, P-TH-BSOs performed because of the
presence of LS revealed incidental EC and/or EH in 24% of cases and OC
in 4%. The ECs were low grade, confined to the endometrium, and seen in
patients older than 50 years. Prophylactic hysterectomy allows detection
of early lesions in LS; these lesions appear to be small and focal.
This small series of prophylactic hysterectomies may provide some clues
about LS-associated endometrial carcinogenesis.
Patient Advocate Foundation, Aetna Offer Program To Help Members... -- HARTFORD, Conn. and HAMPTON, Va., Feb. 22, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --
Patient Advocate Foundation, Aetna Offer Program To Help Members... -- HARTFORD, Conn. and HAMPTON, Va., Feb. 22, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --
"We
are pleased to help Aetna members when potential barriers to the health
care system can't be overcome through a health plan alone," said Beth Patterson , PAF's president of Mission Delivery.
Aetna
and PAF began working together last year. Their relationship has
benefitted members by making health care easier to understand, access
and navigate.
"Aetna
members now have another dedicated support team for clinically complex
issues. They will appreciate the attention, expertise and guidance of
PAF," said PAF Founder and CEO Nancy Davenport-Ennis .
PR Newswire (http://s.tt/1A6hh)Author Insights: An Analysis Excluding Trials by Researcher Under Fire for Misconduct Finds Product Used for Critically Ill Patients Is Harmful « news@JAMA
Author Insights: An Analysis Excluding Trials by Researcher Under Fire for Misconduct Finds Product Used for Critically Ill Patients Is Harmful « news@JAMA
A new analysis has found that hydroxyethyl starch (HES), a fluid product used to help resuscitate critically ill patients, does not improve patient survival and may cause harm, according to results published in JAMA today. The results suggest that alleged scientific misconduct by a German scientist may have skewed previous meta-analyses of studies......
Caring Bridge: Kelli Auletta
 |
A nonprofit offering many ways to care for each other |
A new journal entry titled Can it be seven years? was posted on Kelli's CaringBridge site.
Read it here: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/kelliauletta
Preliminary Session Information | ASCO Annual Meeting
Preliminary Session Information | ASCO Annual Meeting
Preliminary session information* provides an outline of the Annual Meeting Program and is organized by day. Session information includes:
- Session titles
- Session dates and times
- Education program faculty
Friday, May 31, 2013
Saturday, June 1, 2013
Sunday, June 2, 2013
Monday, June 3, 2013
Tuesday, June 4, 2013
* Information is up to date as of January 28, 2013.
May 15 at 6:00 PM (EDT) Abstracts released on ASCO.org
(Sat)
Ovarian Cancer: Old Subtypes, New Approaches
- David Marc Gershenson, MD
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center - Michael Seiden, MD, PhD—Chair
Fox Chase Cancer Center - Gillian Thomas, MD
Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre
- Ovarian Cancer Risk Reduction for High-Risk Patients: Current Standards of Care (M02)
- Elizabeth M. Swisher, MD
University of Washington School of Medicine
- Elizabeth M. Swisher, MD
Treatment and Trials: Ovarian Cancer in Women Older than 65
- William P. Tew, MD
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center - Gilles Freyer, MD, PhD—Chair
Oncologie Médicale, Centre Hospitalier Lyon-Sud - Kathleen N. Moore, MD
University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center
Ovarian Germ Cell Tumors in Young and Slightly Older Patients
- A. Lindsay Frazier, MD, ScM—Chair
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute - Jubilee Brown, MD
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center - Daniela Matei, MD
Indiana University Simon Cancer Center
- Robert L. Coleman, MD
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
The Added Role of MR Imaging in Treatment Stratification of Patients with Gynecologic Malignancies: What the Radiologist Needs to Know
Abstract
Many treatment options are available to patients with endometrial, cervical, or ovarian cancer. Magnetic resonance (MR) imaging plays an important role in the patient journey from the initial evaluation of the extent of the disease to appropriate treatment selection and follow-up. The purpose of this review is to highlight the added role of MR imaging in the treatment stratification and overall care of patients with endometrial, cervical, or ovarian cancer. Several MR imaging techniques used in evaluation of patients with gynecologic malignancies are described, including both anatomic MR imaging sequences (T1- and T2-weighted sequences) and pulse sequences that characterize tissue on the basis of physiologic features (diffusion-weighted MR imaging), dynamic contrast agent–enhanced MR imaging, and MR spectroscopy. MR imaging findings corresponding to the 2009 revised International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics staging of gynecologic malignancies are also described in detail, highlighting possible pearls and pitfalls of staging. With the growing role of the radiologist as a core member of the multidisciplinary treatment planning team, it is crucial for imagers to recognize that MR imaging has become central in tailoring treatment options and therapy in patients with gynecologic malignancies.
open access: When Less Is More for Patients in Laboratory Testing
American Journal of Clinical Pathology
When Less Is More for Patients in Laboratory Testing
- Lee H. Hilborne, MD, MPH, FASCP, DLM (ASCP)CM
+ Author Affiliations
In the quest to improve quality health care
and reduce unnecessary and wasteful costs, pathologists and laboratory
professionals
must always consider patients first. In the
laboratory, diagnostic tests are one of our crucial links to patients.
Although
the analytic quality of a test is important, there
must also be a medical reason to justify why a particular test is being
ordered and how the results will contribute to
effectively guiding patient management. Why is this test necessary for
this
patient? Are there equal or better alternatives to
consider?........
EGEN-001 in Treating Patients With Persistent or Recurrent Ovarian Epithelial Cancer, Fallopian Tube Cancer, or Primary Peritoneal Cancer - Full Text View - ClinicalTrials.gov
This study is ongoing, but not recruiting participants.
EGEN-001 in Treating Patients With Persistent or Recurrent Ovarian Epithelial Cancer, Fallopian Tube Cancer, or Primary Peritoneal Cancer - Full Text View - ClinicalTrials.gov
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Birth rates among female cancer survivors - Cancer
Abstract
BACKGROUND:
More
women of fertile age are long-term survivors of cancer. However,
population-based data on birth rates of female cancer survivors are
rare.
METHODS:
A
total of 42,691 women ≤ 45 years with a history of cancer were
identified from the Swedish Multi-Generation Register and the Swedish
Cancer Register, for whom relative birth rates were calculated as
compared to the background population, ie, standardized birth ratios
(SBRs). Independent factors associated with reduced birth rates among
cancer survivors were estimated using Poisson modeling.
RESULTS:
Compared
to the background population, cancer survivors were 27% less likely to
give birth (SBR = 0.73, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.72-0.75). Large
difference in SBRs existed by cancer site, with high SBRs for survivors
of melanoma skin, thoracic, head and neck, and thyroid cancers, and low
SBRs for reproductive, breast, brain and eye, and hematopoietic cancer
survivors. Parity status at diagnosis affected fertility: women who
already had a child at the time of diagnosis were less likely to give
birth (SBR = 0.50, 95% CI = 0.48-0.53) than were nulliparous women (SBR =
0.87, 95% CI = 0.85-0.90). Multivariate analysis showed that cancer
site (reproductive organs), age at onset of cancer (< 12 years), and
parity status were all significant and independent predictors of a
reduced probability of giving birth after diagnosis.
CONCLUSIONS:
Cancer survivors are less likely to give birth compared with the background population. Large variations in the likelihood to give birth after diagnosis were seen according to age at onset, cancer site, and parity status at diagnosis.Food Chemistry - A review of the dietary flavonoid, kaempferol on human health and cancer chemoprevention
Abstract
Kaempferol
is a polyphenol antioxidant found in fruits and vegetables. Many
studies have described the beneficial effects of dietary kaempferol in
reducing the risk of chronic diseases, especially cancer.
Epidemiological studies have shown an inverse relationship between
kaempferol intake and cancer. Kaempferol may help by augmenting the
body’s antioxidant defence against free radicals, which promote the
development of cancer. At the molecular level, kaempferol has been
reported to modulate a number of key elements in cellular signal
transduction pathways linked to apoptosis, angiogenesis, inflammation,
and metastasis. Significantly, kaempferol inhibits cancer cell growth
and angiogenesis and induces cancer cell apoptosis, but on the other
hand, kaempferol appears to preserve normal cell viability, in some
cases exerting a protective effect. The aim of this review is to
synthesize information concerning the extraction of kaempferol, as well
as to provide insights into the molecular basis of its potential
chemo-preventative activities, with an emphasis on its ability to
control intracellular signaling cascades that regulate the
aforementioned processes. Chemoprevention using nanotechnology to
improve the bioavailability of kaempferol is also discussed.
Highlights
►
Kaempferol reduces the risk of chronic diseases, especially cancer.
► Kaempferol augments human body’s antioxidant defence against free radicals.
► Kaempferol modulates apoptosis, angiogenesis, inflammation, and metastasis.
► Nanotechnology can improve the bioavailability of kaempferol.
► Kaempferol augments human body’s antioxidant defence against free radicals.
► Kaempferol modulates apoptosis, angiogenesis, inflammation, and metastasis.
► Nanotechnology can improve the bioavailability of kaempferol.
NCI: Questions Submitted Online — Provocative Questions
Provocative Questions" and the Broader Community
The collaborative process of formulating the provocative questions should engage the NCI’s scientific community in serious debate and energize the NCI’s many constituencies (advocacy groups, health professionals, Members of Congress, and others) about the prospects for improving the welfare of cancer patients through research. These other constituencies are encouraged to take part in the "Provocative Questions" enterprise through discussions and activities on this Web site.
1) main page website: http://provocativequestions.nci.nih.gov/
2) 2012 RFA Links and Provocative Questions
Experts issue guidelines for gene tests in kids | Reuters
Experts issue guidelines for gene tests in kids | Reuters
(Reuters Health) - Groups representing pediatricians and geneticists issued new recommendations on Thursday to provide doctors with guidance about when to test a child's DNA for genetic conditions......
press release: Rutgers neuroscientist sheds light on cause for 'chemo brain'
Blogger's Note: study in rats
Rutgers neuroscientist sheds light on cause for 'chemo brain'
"It's not unusual for cancer patients being treated with chemotherapy to complain about not being able to think clearly, connect thoughts or concentrate on daily tasks. The complaint – often referred to as chemo-brain – is common. The scientific cause, however, has been difficult to pinpoint.......medically known as chemotherapy-induced cognitive impairment....
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