Surgery News and Research

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New drug target for treatment-resistant prostate cancer

Scientists at Jefferson's Kimmel Cancer Center in Philadelphia have found that a signaling protein that is key to prostate cancer cell growth is turned on in nearly all recurrent prostate cancers that are resistant to hormone therapy.

2 Jan 2008

Gene variation increases risk of liver tumor in patients with cirrhosis

A particular gene variation appears to significantly increase the risk that individuals with cirrhosis of the liver will go on to develop hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), a liver tumor that is the third leading cause of cancer death.

2 Jan 2008

Ensuring heart safety of non-heart drugs

Current regulatory policies should be strengthened to ensure acceptable cardiovascular safety of drugs developed primarily for non-cardiovascular medical problems, according to a recent presentation made by Dr. Jeffrey Borer, an authority in cardiovascular medicine and surgery at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York City.

2 Jan 2008

Breast cancer cells have to learn to walk before they can run

Early-stage breast cancer that has not yet invaded the surrounding tissues may already contain highly motile cells, bringing the tumor one step closer to metastasis, report researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies.

2 Jan 2008

BIDMC surgeons to be tested on laparoscopic motor skills

Attending general surgeons at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) will be required to prove basic motor skills outside an operating room before performing laparoscopic surgery on patients.

2 Jan 2008

Mouthwash test an easy way to screen for head and neck cancers

Scientists at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center in Baltimore say a simple mouth rinse may provide a new and easy way to screen for head and neck cancers in people who are at high risk for such diseases.

2 Jan 2008

Big toe injuries

With the Fall sports season winding down and the indoor sport season now underway, the importance of understanding and preventing foot injuries is top of mind for thousands of athletes around the country.

28 Dec 2007

Reconstruction surgery rarely discussed with breast cancer patients

A new study finds that most general surgeons do not discuss reconstruction with patients before surgical breast cancer treatment.

28 Dec 2007

Patient with AIDS finds heart-assit device is an option when transplant is not

Josh Bristow was in the late stages of heart failure when he came to the Emergency Department at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center on Aug. 25, 2007.

28 Dec 2007

FDA approves Voluven for blood loss post surgery

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Voluven, an intravenous solution that prevents and treats a dangerous loss of blood volume, a condition that sometimes occurs during and after surgery.

28 Dec 2007

Cardiac stem cell therapy research

Since the year 2000, much has been learned about the potential for using transplanted cells in therapeutic efforts to treat varieties of cardiac disorders.

28 Dec 2007

Anthracyclines improve survival in HER2-positive breast cancer patients

Treatment with the class of chemotherapy drugs called anthracyclines improves survival in women with HER2-positive breast cancer who have previously had surgery, but it may not offer any benefit for women with HER2-negative tumors, according to a study published online December 25 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

28 Dec 2007

Cancer stem cells may be at the root of brain tumors

Stem cells -- popularly known as a source of biological rejuvenation -- may play harmful roles in the body, specifically in the growth and spread of cancer. Amongst the wildly dividing cells of a tumor, scientists have located cancer stem cells.

27 Dec 2007

Researchers prevent muscle weakness caused by myasthenia gravis

Severe muscle weakness caused by myasthenia gravis - a highly debilitating autoimmune disorder - can be prevented or reversed by blocking a key step in the immune response that brings on the disease, researchers at the Saint Louis University School of Medicine have found.

20 Dec 2007

Advanced melanoma - new treatment

University of Illinois at Chicago researchers are participating in a multi-center research trial to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of Allovectin-7, an investigational treatment for advanced melanoma.

20 Dec 2007

Study finds outcomes of high-risk cancer operations in 80-year-olds worse than reported

New research published in the December issue of The Journal of the American College of Surgeons shows that outcomes of high-risk cancer operations in 80-year-olds are considerably worse than reported in case studies and published survival statistics, which may lead to unrealistic expectations about the safety of these operations in the elderly.

20 Dec 2007

Robotic-assisted visceral arterial aneurysm surgery

Surgeons at the University of Illinois Medical Center at Chicago have performed a landmark robotic-assisted minimally invasive surgery to remove a renal arterial aneurysm and reconstruct the artery using a graft from a vein in the patient's leg.

20 Dec 2007

Laser procedure may treat vasa previa

A University of South Florida fetal surgeon at Tampa General Hospital successfully treated in utero a rare but potentially devastating condition in which placental blood vessels block the birth canal and can rupture during labor, leaving the baby without vital blood and oxygen.

20 Dec 2007

Brains respond differently to thirst depending upon age

Twelve healthy subjects in their 60s and 70s showed a different pattern of brain activations during thirst and satiation than did 10 healthy subjects in their 20s who drank the same amounts and underwent imaging with positron-emission tomography (PET).

20 Dec 2007

BMI criteria for obesity surgery should be lowered

UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have found that the existing body mass index criteria for obesity surgery often excludes a group of obese patients at risk of cardiovascular disease.

20 Dec 2007