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Child cancer survival rate progress threatened by lack of new drug development

Remarkable improvements in survival from childhood cancer have taken place in high- income countries over the past 50 years, but further progress is being threatened by increasingly strict research regulations and insufficient development of new drugs, according to a major new Lancet Oncology Series on improving cancer care for children and young people.

20 Feb 2013

Blood type, blood protein mutations influence thromboembolism risk

Findings from two Danish studies have shown that ABO blood type, both alone and in combination with the presence of factor V and prothrombin mutations, is associated with increases in risk for venous thromboembolism.

20 Feb 2013

Physiotherapy aids defecation in constipated children

Physiotherapy may be an effective complementary therapy to laxatives for treating constipation in children, research indicates.

20 Feb 2013

Immunotherapy could be answer to treating novel coronavirus

Investigation into the mechanism of action of the novelcoronavirus HCoV-EMC, which recently emerged in the Middle East, has revealed that although human bronchial epithelia are very susceptible to infection with the virus, interferon I and III were both able to significantly reduce its replication in cell culture.

20 Feb 2013

Dress to impress in the ICU

Dressing in “traditional” medical attire may help physicians in the intensive care unit to get relationships with their patients’ families off to a good start, research suggests.

20 Feb 2013

Gene mutation findings classify renal cell carcinoma

Researchers have identified mutation-defined subtypes of clear cell renal cell carcinoma that have distinct clinical outcomes.

20 Feb 2013

Consortium database model compares favorably for RCC prognosis

The International Metastatic Renal-Cell Carcinoma Database has been externally validated and is now ready for application, researchers report.

20 Feb 2013

COX-2 inhibitor extends sunitinib activity in renal cell carcinoma

The effectiveness of sunitinib for the treatment of renal cell carcinoma could be enhanced with the addition of a cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitor, study findings show.

20 Feb 2013

Metastatic tumors best for sunitinib response evaluation in mRCC

When evaluating treatment response in non-nephrectomized patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma, the primary lesion does not have to be selected as the target lesion, researchers report.

20 Feb 2013

Possible alternative to biopsy discovered for renal cancer diagnosis

Combining positron emission tomography scanning with iodine-124 (124I)–girentuximab may offer an effective noninvasive method of diagnosing clear cell renal cell carcinoma in patients who present with a renal mass, US study results suggest.

20 Feb 2013

Air pollution exposure raises cardiac death rate

Long-term exposure to high levels of particulate matter with a diameter of 2.5 mm or below increases a person’s chance for dying following a heart attack, show results from a large UK study.

20 Feb 2013

Modifiable risk factors found for violence in schizophrenia

Researchers have identified modifiable risk factors for increased violence in people with psychosis that could prove important for risk assessment and management.

20 Feb 2013

Perinatal episodes prevalent in women with mood disorders

Perinatal mood episodes are highly prevalent in women with bipolar disorder and recurrent major depression, UK research shows.

20 Feb 2013

Dog owners concerned about daily living with osteoarthritis

Carprofen for the treatment of dogs with osteoarthiritis significantly improves owner-assessed chronic pain as well as lameness compared with placebo, show US study results.

20 Feb 2013

Growth in opioid use prompts safety concerns

Prescriptions for opioid drugs have increased significantly in Germany over the past decade, a survey of insurance data has found.

20 Feb 2013

AMD risk alleles fail to predict treatment response

The major risk alleles that influence the development of age-related macular degeneration do not predict response to therapy for the condition, a substudy of the CATT trial indicates.

20 Feb 2013

Symptom severity, hospice patient distress not necessarily linked

End-stage heart failure patients being treated in hospices have multiple symptoms with potential to cause distress, indicate US study findings.

20 Feb 2013

Misconduct biased fluid resuscitation studies

There are “serious safety concerns” associated with the use of hydroxyethyl starch for fluid resuscitation in critically ill patients, say the authors of a meta-analysis in JAMA.

20 Feb 2013

Predictive value of prostate cancer gene 3 validated

Researchers have confirmed that the prostate cancer gene 3 is a valid predictor for current cancer and future biopsy outcomes.

20 Feb 2013

‘Liver first’ approach first choice for metastatic rectal cancer

Using the “liver first” approach to treat locally advanced rectal cancer and synchronous liver metastases allows nearly three-quarters of patients to receive optimal neoadjuvant therapy and resection for both their primary tumor and metastases, researchers report.

20 Feb 2013