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.

Prostate Cancer Risk Calculator offers men ‘individual risk assessment’

Men worried about prostate cancer have a new online resource, freely available, to help them assess their risk. The multi-step Prostate Cancer Risk Calculator, www.prostatecancer-riskcalculator.com*, has been created by the founders of the European Randomized Study of Screening for Prostate Cancer (ERSPC).

18 May 2012

Researchers identify novel base modification in RNA

Over the past decade, research in the field of epigenetics has revealed that chemically modified bases are abundant components of the human genome and has forced us to abandon the notion we've had since high school genetics that DNA consists of only four bases.

18 May 2012

Medgenics’ EPODURE receives FDA clearance to proceed into clinical trials

Medgenics, Inc., developer of the novel Biopump technology for the sustained production and delivery of therapeutic proteins in patients using their own tissue, today announced receipt of clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to proceed with a Phase IIb clinical trial of EPODURE for the treatment of anemia in patients undergoing renal dialysis.

18 May 2012

TJU researchers to investigate Cu-64 imaging agent for prostate cancer

Jefferson's Kimmel Cancer Center and the Department of Radiology at Thomas Jefferson University received a five-year, $2.6 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to investigate a potentially revolutionary method that can stage prostate cancers and detect recurrent disease so accurately, it would significantly reduce the number of confirmation biopsies. Such biopsies can be invasive, costly, and often lead to false-positive readings.

17 May 2012

Colonic tissue may help predict Parkinson's disease

Two studies by neurological researchers at Rush University Medical Center suggest that, in the future, colonic tissue obtained during either colonoscopy or flexible sigmoidoscopy may be used to predict who will develop Parkinson's disease, a neurodegenerative disorder of aging that that leads to progressive deterioration of motor function due to loss of neurons in the brain that produce dopamine, a neurotransmitter essential to executing movement.

16 May 2012

BI-RADS useful in predicting malignant breast lesions detected with MRI

A large, multicenter study found that the Breast Imaging and Reporting Data Systems (BI-RADS) terminology used by radiologists to classify breast imaging results is useful in predicting malignancy in breast lesions detected with MRI. Results of the study are published online in the journal Radiology.

15 May 2012

Paediatric brain tumours preserve specific characteristics of normal cells from which they originate

Paediatric brain tumours preserve specific characteristics of the normal cells from which they originate - a previously unknown circumstance with ramifications for how tumour cells respond to treatment.

15 May 2012

Genetic test can accurately predict spread of eye cancer

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have developed a genetic test that can accurately predict whether the most common form of eye cancer will spread to other parts of the body, particularly the liver.

15 May 2012

Researchers identify new biomarker and therapeutic target for pancreatic cancer

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and Moores Cancer Center have identified a new biomarker and therapeutic target for pancreatic cancer, an often-fatal disease for which there is currently no reliable method for early detection or therapeutic intervention. The paper will be published May 15 in Cancer Research.

15 May 2012

Interim results from Seattle Genetics’ ADCETRIS phase II trial on CTCL

Seattle Genetics, Inc. today announced that interim results from an investigator-sponsored phase II clinical trial of ADCETRIS (brentuximab vedotin) in patients with relapsed cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) were presented at the Society for Investigative Dermatology annual meeting being held May 9-12, 2012 in Raleigh, NC.

11 May 2012

IGABT effective at controlling return and spread of cervical cancer

Delivering radiotherapy directly to cancer of the cervix using 3-D imaging techniques is effective at controlling the return and spread of the disease and, in most cases, avoids the need for hysterectomies, according to research presented at the World Congress of Brachytherapy today.

11 May 2012

Hologic features minimally invasive technologies at ACOG annual clinical meeting

Hologic, Inc., a leading developer, manufacturer and supplier of premium diagnostics products, medical imaging systems and surgical products dedicated to serving the healthcare needs of women, is featuring minimally invasive technologies in surgical, diagnostic and skeletal health at The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) annual clinical meeting.

From Hologic, Inc. 7 May 2012

Monteris secures financing to commercialize NeuroBlate System

Monteris Medical Inc., a privately held medical device company dedicated to the development of innovative MRI guided, laser-based cancer treatments announced today it has secured $9 million in financing to support the continued commercialization of the company's NeuroBlate System (formerly AutoLITT) within the North American neurosurgery market.

7 May 2012

ACR names WDI as Breast Imaging Center of Excellence

Women's Digital Imaging of Ridgewood (WDI) has been named a Breast Imaging Center of Excellence by the American College of Radiology (ACR). The Center of Excellence designation is awarded to facilities that meet the highest standards set by the ACR through peer-review evaluations conducted in each breast imaging modality by board-certified physicians and medical physicists.

5 May 2012

LRI applauds ACR colleagues for new lupus nephritis guidelines

The Lupus Research Institute (LRI) applauds our colleagues at the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) for issuing new guidelines to help healthcare professionals screen, diagnose and treat lupus nephritis, a type of kidney disease associated with lupus. Available on the ACR website, the new guidelines are just published in the April 2012 issue of Arthritis Care & Research.

5 May 2012

Improved lung-cancer screening by combining blood test with CT imaging

National Jewish Health is seeking to refine and improve lung-cancer screening by combining a blood test with CT imaging to detect disease earlier and more effectively. The trial combines a CT chest scan and the EarlyCDT-Lung blood test to screen for cancer, and seeks to build on recent research demonstrating that CT screening alone can reduce lung-cancer mortality.

4 May 2012