Biomarker News and Research

RSS

A biomarker is a biological molecule found in blood, other body fluids, or tissues that is a sign of a normal or abnormal process, or of a condition or disease. A biomarker may be used to see how well the body responds to a treatment for a disease or condition. Also called molecular marker and signature molecule.

Drug given to stop miscarriages doubles breast cancer risk for daughters

Scientists in the U.S. have found that the daughters of women who took a common anti-miscarriage drug during pregnancy may be facing twice the the normal risk of developing breast cancer.

8 Aug 2006

Diethylstilbestrol-exposed women at greater risk of developing breast cancer

So-called "DES daughters," born to mothers who used the anti-miscarriage drug diethylstilbestrol during pregnancy, are at a substantially greater risk of developing breast cancer compared to women who were not exposed to the drug in utero.

7 Aug 2006

Structural alterations in breast stromal and epithelial DNA

Researchers have uncovered a pattern of DNA damage in connective tissues in the human breast that could shed light on the early stages of breast cancer.

3 Aug 2006

Variation in the CHEK2 gene may triple a woman's risk of developing breast cancer

Study shows that women in the general population who carry a specific CHEK2 mutation are three times as likely as women without the mutation to develop breast cancer.

2 Aug 2006

Human hair follicles found to be a new source of adult stem cells

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have isolated a new source of adult stem cells that appear to have the potential to differentiate into several cell types.

12 Jul 2006

Women who harbor multiple HPV type infections are at higher risk for cervical lesions

The risk for developing the tissue abnormalities, or lesions, that typically precede cervical cancer is much higher for women infected with multiple genotypes of the human papillomavirus (HPV) than previously reported.

10 Jul 2006

Pomegranate juice helps fight prostate cancer

Drinking an eight ounce glass of pomegranate juice daily increased by nearly four times the period during which PSA levels in men treated for prostate cancer remained stable, a three-year UCLA study has found.

4 Jul 2006

Body measures and colon cancer risk

Men and women with a large waist circumference and a large waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) have an increased risk of developing colon cancer. In contrast, only in men is a high body mass index (BMI) clearly associated with a higher colon cancer risk.

4 Jul 2006

Multiple cancer biomarkers detected simultaneously

Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technology revolutionized diagnostic medicine and basic research through its ability to amplify and detect minute amounts of specific DNA sequences.

3 Jul 2006

Probable cause for Parkinson's found

Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, Lou Gehrig's disease and other brain disorders are among a growing list of maladies attributed to oxidative stress, the cell damage caused during metabolism when the oxygen in the body assumes ever more chemically reactive forms.

28 Jun 2006

"Lab on a chip" test for diabetes and cardiovascular disease

A Colorado State University chemistry professor has developed a way to rapidly test blood for signs of diabetes and cardiovascular disease - methods that could save patients and physicians significant time and money.

27 Jun 2006

First analysis of the genes of a community of human microbes

Researchers have completed the first analysis of the genes of a community of human microbes, an accomplishment that has far-reaching implications for clinical diagnosis and treatment of many human diseases.

7 Jun 2006

Trials funded by for-profit organizations more likely to report positive findings

Cardiovascular clinical trials published between 2000 and 2005 were significantly more likely to report positive findings if they were funded by for-profit organizations than those funded by not-for-profit organizations

5 Jun 2006

New data show Enzastaurin's activity across multiple cancer cell lines

Eli Lilly and Company's enzastaurin, an investigational, multi-targeted therapy that is currently the focus of two global Phase III clinical trials, one for the treatment of glioblastoma and one in non-Hodgkin's lymphoma

5 Jun 2006

New diagnostic approaches for early identification of patients at high risk of rapid loss of kidney function

Doctor Harry Holthvfer, M.D., Ph.D, at the University of Helsinki, Finland, coordinates a new EU-funded project, which aims to develop new diagnostic approaches for early identification of patients at high risk of rapid loss of kidney function.

31 May 2006

Clinical trials funded by for-profit organizations more likely to report positive

23 May 2006

Sulforaphane shown to inhibit the occurrence of hereditary colon cancer

Need another reason to eat vegetables? A new study at Rutgers shows that certain vegetables - broccoli and cauliflower, in particular - have natural ingredients that may reduce the risk of developing hereditary cancers.

17 May 2006

First animal model that mimics human head and neck cancer

An Oregon Health & Science University Cancer Institute research laboratory has developed a novel mouse model designed specifically to study the often devastating head and neck squamous cell cancers.

16 May 2006

Cancer-causing chemicals associated with tobacco smoke found in the urine of nearly half the babies of smoking parents

When mum or dad puffs on a cigarette, their infants may inhale the resulting second-hand smoke. Now, scientists have detected cancer-causing chemicals associated with tobacco smoke in the urine of nearly half the babies of smoking parents.

12 May 2006

Gene amplification could guide treatment for high-risk breast cancer

A new study shows that breast cancer patients with an "amplification," or greater number of copies, of the TOP2A gene are 45% more likely than women who do not have this amplification to benefit from a longer course of anthracycline-based adjuvant chemotherapy.

11 May 2006