Biopsy News and Research

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Biopsy is the removal of cells or tissues for examination by a pathologist. The pathologist may study the tissue under a microscope or perform other tests on the cells or tissue. There are many different types of biopsy procedures. The most common types include: (1) incisional biopsy, in which only a sample of tissue is removed; (2) excisional biopsy, in which an entire lump or suspicious area is removed; and (3) needle biopsy, in which a sample of tissue or fluid is removed with a needle. When a wide needle is used, the procedure is called a core biopsy. When a thin needle is used, the procedure is called a fine-needle aspiration biopsy.

Medgenics second quarter net loss increases to $2.32 million

Medgenics, Inc., the developer of a novel technology for the sustained production and delivery of therapeutic proteins in patients using their own tissue, today reported financial results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2011.

12 Aug 2011

Transaxillary thyroid robotic surgery removes nodules with no visible scar

As the rate of thyroid cancer continues to climb, doctors are urging patients to be more cautious about thyroid nodules, a common disorder that is responsible for a small but growing number of thyroid cancer cases.

10 Aug 2011

First bioengineered anal sphincter for treatment of fecal and urinary incontinence

Researchers have built the first functional anal sphincters in the laboratory, suggesting a potential future treatment for both fecal and urinary incontinence. Made from muscle and nerve cells, the sphincters developed a blood supply and maintained function when implanted in mice.

10 Aug 2011

New study supports DNA-based 'biomarker' blood test for prostate cancer screening

A new study supports the use of a DNA-based "biomarker" blood test as a complement to the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test currently offered to screen men for prostate cancer. University of Cincinnati (UC) researchers report their findings online ahead of print in the British Journal of Cancer.

8 Aug 2011

HPV-related throat cancer cases increase sharply over the past 10 years

Forty-two-year-old Manahawkin, New Jersey resident David Caldarella can recite a long list of dates off the top of his head. The first one starts with the day he found a lump on the right side of his neck while shaving. It was March 23, 2010. Caldarella immediately called his physician.

8 Aug 2011

Head and neck melanoma patients can benefit from sentinel lymph node biopsy

A common technique for determining whether melanoma has spread can be used safely and effectively even in tumors from the head and neck area, according to a new study from the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center.

6 Aug 2011

U.S. physicians spend more time, money for interaction with health plans than Canadian doctors

Physicians in the United States spend nearly four times as much dealing with health insurers and payers compared with doctors in Canada. Most of the difference stems from the fact that Canadian physicians deal with a single payer, in contrast to the multiple payers in the United States.

5 Aug 2011

New urine test can aid in early detection of prostate cancer

A new urine test can help aid early detection of and treatment decisions about prostate cancer, a study from the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center and the Michigan Center for Translational Pathology finds.

4 Aug 2011

Urine test for prostate cancer: Study

Lead researcher Dr. Scott Tomlins, a pathology resident at the University of Michigan Health System said, “This is a tool that men and their physician can use to help them decide whether it's appropriate to get a biopsy now or delay that decision.”

4 Aug 2011

Study finds HIV epidemics emerging in the Middle East and North Africa among gays

HIV epidemics are emerging in several countries in the Middle East and North Africa among men who have sex with men, a term that encompasses gay, non-gay identified homosexual men, and transgendered and bisexual men.

3 Aug 2011

Researchers sample hydrogenotrophic microbes in the healthy human colon

They make up less than one-hundredth of 1 percent of the microbes that live in the colon, but the bacteria and archaea that sop up hydrogen in the gut are fundamental to colon health. In a new study, researchers take a first look at these "hydrogenotrophic" microbes, mapping where they live and how abundant they are in different parts of the lower intestine.

3 Aug 2011

New endoscopic OCT system enables 3-D imaging of esophagus, colon cancers

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have developed a new imaging system that enables high-speed, three-dimensional (3-D) imaging of microscopic pre-cancerous changes in the esophagus or colon.

2 Aug 2011

Positive results from Alnylam's ALN-VSP Phase I trial for liver cancer

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a leading RNAi therapeutics company, announced today that it has completed its Phase I study with ALN-VSP, a systemically delivered RNAi therapeutic for the treatment of advanced solid tumors with liver involvement.

1 Aug 2011

New fluorescent tool can track mysterious workings of cellular RNAs

The ability to tag proteins with a green fluorescent light to watch how they behave inside cells so revolutionized the understanding of protein biology that it earned the scientific teams who developed the technique Nobel Prizes in 2008.

30 Jul 2011

Yaupon seeks FDA marketing approval of mechlorethamine gel for mycosis fungoides

Yaupon Therapeutics, Inc., a privately held specialty pharmaceutical company, announced today the submission of a New Drug Application (NDA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its propriety gel formulation of mechlorethamine hydrochloride (mechlorethamine).

28 Jul 2011

Breast cancer survival and lymph nodes

A large new study has found that a lymph node-sparing test hailed as revolutionary for its conservative approach does not lead to longer survival times for women undergoing lumpectomies whose early-stage breast cancer has spread microscopically.

27 Jul 2011

Women with early-stage breast cancer do not benefit from lymph node removal

A new study shows that removing lymph nodes due to the presence of occult, or microscopic, cancer cells found in the sentinel lymph node - the one closest to the tumor -- has no impact on survival outcomes of women with early-stage breast cancer.

27 Jul 2011

Lipofilling found safe after breast cancer surgery

Preliminary experience suggests that lipofilling—using fat from elsewhere in the patient's body for contouring of the breasts—is a safe procedure for women who have undergone breast cancer surgery, reports a study in the August issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery®, the official medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS).

27 Jul 2011

Enrollment begins in Repligen's RG1068 pilot study to improve detection, staging of pancreatic cancer

Repligen Corporation today announced that the first patient has been enrolled in a pilot study to evaluate the ability of RG1068 to improve detection and characterization of pancreatic cancer in combination with contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography.

22 Jul 2011

Roche signs agreement to acquire mtm laboratories

Ventana Medical Systems, Inc., a member of the Roche Group, announced today that Roche has signed an agreement under which it will acquire 100 percent of mtm laboratories AG (mtm), a privately-held company based in Heidelberg, Germany.

From Roche Sequencing and Life Science 19 Jul 2011