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Gene named ATBF1 may contribute to the development of prostate cancer

A gene named ATBF1 may contribute to the development of prostate cancer through acquired mutations and/or loss of expression, according to research at Emory University School of Medicine and its Winship Cancer Institute.

23 Mar 2005

Asian Flu threat underestimated

Dr. Keiji Fukuda an expert at the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention is warning that the incident of the particularly lethal variation of influenza in Southeast Asia is probably far greater than has been reported so far.

21 Mar 2005

Intervention with once-daily budesonide reduces long-term risk and frequency of severe asthma-related events

New data indicated that earlier intervention with once-daily budesonide, an inhaled corticosteroid delivered by dry powder inhaler to children with mild persistent asthma, significantly reduced the long-term risk and frequency of severe asthma-related events as well as the need for other inhaled medication.

21 Mar 2005

Why respiratory viral infections are often more severe in people with asthma

Lung cells from asthma sufferers fail to invoke critical anti-viral defenses when infected with the common cold virus, according to a study in the March 21 issue of The Journal of Experimental Medicine. These results could help explain why respiratory viral infections are often more severe in people with asthma and how infection can trigger asthma attacks.

21 Mar 2005

Scientists find microRNA regulates Ras cancer gene

Research in the laboratory of Assistant Professor Frank J. Slack at Yale University has identified a new way that a familiar gene is regulated in lung cancer, presenting new possibilities for diagnosis and treatment. The work is reported in March issues of the journals Cell and Developmental Cell.

21 Mar 2005

$3.2 million for two shock-related studies

A Virginia Commonwealth University research group has been awarded $3.2 million in federal grants for two shock-related studies, one with battlefield implications and the other for emergency medicine.

21 Mar 2005

Being physically active in middle age helps people maintain higher physical function later in life

“Participation in a physically active lifestyle appears to be critical to preserving high physical function in relatively fit, healthy, middle-aged men and women,” according to Dr. Melvyn Hillsdon of University College London and colleagues.

21 Mar 2005

Mountaineering doctors hike medicine to new heights with Xtreme Everest

Doctors working at the edge of extreme are set to climb the world’s tallest mountain to look death in the face – and take its pulse. The medical research team will make the first ever measurements of blood oxygen in the ‘death zone’, at altitudes above 8,000 metres where the human body has struggled - and frequently failed - to survive.

16 Mar 2005

Uncertainty about the need for prostate cancer

Initial results from an ongoing study evaluating the benefit of prostate cancer screening practices demonstrate that the combined use of both standard tests - the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test and the digital rectal exam (DRE) - is optimal for detecting cancer.

16 Mar 2005

Drug combo gives lung cancer patients longer life

Preliminary results from a large randomized clinical trial, sponsored by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), by a network of researchers led by the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group. Genentech, Inc., have shown that patients with previously untreated advanced non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer who received bevacizumab (Avastin) in combination with standard chemotherapy lived longer than patients who received the same chemotherapy without bevacizumab.

15 Mar 2005

Antiretroviral therapy may prevent some cancers in people with HIV

In people infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) may prevent most excess cases of Kaposi sarcoma and non-Hodgkin lymphoma, according to a new study in the March 16 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

15 Mar 2005

Patients can now swallow pill-sized, disposable cameras to help diagnose diseases of the esophagus

Patients can now swallow pill-sized, disposable cameras to help gastroenterologists diagnose and evaluate diseases of the esophagus, or swallowing tube. This new diagnostic tool is a further modification of capsule endoscopy, which has been used clinically since late 2001 to examine the small intestines.

15 Mar 2005

Process behind cellular export of iron may help to explain human hemochromatosis

The first direct evidence that a single protein is critical in the cellular export of iron may help to explain human hemochromatosis, researchers report in the March issue of Cell Metabolism.

15 Mar 2005

Bevacizumab (Avastin) in combination with standard chemotherapy helps advanced lung cancer sufferers

Preliminary results from a large, randomized clinical trial for patients with previously untreated advanced non-squamous, non-small cell lung cancer show that those patients who received bevacizumab (AvastinTM) in combination with standard chemotherapy lived longer than patients who received the same chemotherapy without bevacizumab.

15 Mar 2005

Good results in new lung cancer treatment

Interim analysis of a Phase III study of Avastin (bevacizumab) with paclitaxel and carboplatin chemotherapies in first-line non-squamous, non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) met its primary goal of improving overall survival, or a reduction in the risk of death, compared to chemotherapy alone.

15 Mar 2005

Tattoo industry needs closer monitoring

The increased popularity of tattoos is causing a noticable rise in the number of complaints of adverse side effects associated with both their application and removal.

14 Mar 2005

£800,000 to boost research into fighting viruses

A team of University of Glasgow scientists have received a grant of £800,000 from the Wellcome Trust to research a mechanism that blocks a critical step in the replication cycle of retroviruses. In the long term, the research could lead to the design of new therapeutic strategies or drugs against retroviruses, which cause diseases such as AIDS and certain leukemias.

14 Mar 2005

Molecule called DJ-1 is likely to be involved in the generation of human tumors

Scientists have discovered that a molecule called DJ-1 is likely to be involved in the generation of human tumors through negative regulation of the well-known tumor suppressor, PTEN. The research, published in the March issue of Cancer Cell, has important implications for determining the prognosis of some human cancers, and may prove to be a suitable target for cancer therapy.

14 Mar 2005

Association between prolonged residential radon exposure and lung cancer risk

Two University of Iowa researchers were part of a large multi-center study that provides compelling direct evidence of an association between prolonged residential radon exposure and lung cancer risk.

14 Mar 2005

Health problems with the unknown compositions of tattoo inks

A new study concludes that the unavailability of health insurance prior to Medicaid enrollment may contribute to poor outcomes in the Medicaid-insured cancer population.

14 Mar 2005