Health News

In MISSION Trial Sorafenib Not Found To Extend Overall Survival As Third Or Fourth Line Therapy In Lung Cancer

Date: Oct-02-2012
Phase III MISSION trial - EGFR status may help select patients who will benefit most Treatment with the drug sorafenib as a third or fourth line therapy does not result in improved overall survival among patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), according to findings released at the ESMO 2012 Congress of the European Society for Medical Oncology in Vienna. However, a post-hoc biomarker analysis of the trial data that was also presented suggests that patients with EGFR-mutant tumors may benefit...

Drug Trials Seek Combinations Effective For Melanoma

Date: Oct-02-2012
Promising new data from trials aimed at delaying resistance to BRAF inhibitors Promising new data on drug combinations to treat metastatic melanoma were presented at the ESMO 2012 Congress of the European Society for Medical Oncology in Vienna. The phase I and II trials focus on combining drugs to slow the development of resistance to drugs that inhibit BRAF, a gene that is mutated in about half of melanomas. Earlier trials with drugs that target BRAF generated excitement for their ability to quickly shrink melanoma tumors in suitable patients...

Use Of Interstitial Fluid Pressure Via Noninvasive Measurement, A Potential Biomarker For Tumor Aggressiveness

Date: Oct-02-2012
Researchers validated a method of noninvasive imaging that provides valuable information about interstitial fluid pressure of solid tumors and may aid in the identification of aggressive tumors, according to the results of a study published in Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. Many malignant solid tumors generally develop a higher interstitial fluid pressure (IFP) than normal tissue. High IFP in tumors may cause a reduced uptake of chemotherapeutic agents and resistance to radiation therapy...

Observation Units In Hospitals Could Result In Significant Cost Savings For Both The Hospital And The Healthcare System

Date: Oct-02-2012
Previous research has shown that observation units in a hospital can be an efficient way to care for certain patients, but only about one-third of hospitals in the United States have such units. Now, researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) estimate that maximizing the potential of an observation unit in a hospital could result in $4.6 million in savings annually for the hospital and $3.1 billion in overall savings for the health care system in the United States. These findings are published online by Health Affairs and will also appear in the journal's October issue...

Microbes Identified In Healthy Lungs Sheds Light On Cystic Fibrosis

Date: Oct-02-2012
Healthy people's lungs are home to a diverse community of microbes that differs markedly from the bacteria found in the lungs of cystic fibrosis patients. That's the result of new research from Stanford University and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital, which has wide implications for treatment of cystic fibrosis and other lung diseases. "The lung is not a sterile organ," said David Cornfield, MD, an author of the new study, which was published in Science Translational Medicine...

Multiple Similarities Discovered Between Cancer Cells And Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells

Date: Oct-02-2012
UC Davis investigators have found new evidence that a promising type of stem cell now being considered for a variety of disease therapies is very similar to the type of cells that give rise to cancer. The findings suggest that although the cells -- known as induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) -- show substantial promise as a source of replacement cells and tissues to treat injuries, disease and chronic conditions, scientists and physicians must move cautiously with any clinical use because iPSCs could also cause malignant cancer...

Phone Therapy Is Effective, Increases Access And Potentially Decreases Costs

Date: Oct-02-2012
A new study reveals that cognitive therapy over the phone is just as effective as meeting face-to-face. The research was published in the journal PLoS ONE. Researchers at the University of Cambridge together with the National Institute for Health Research Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research & Care (NIHR CLAHRC) and NHS Midlands & East also found that providing talking therapy over the phone increases access to psychological therapies for people with common mental disorders and potentially saves the NHS money...

Risk Of Choanal Atresia, A Rare Congenital Abnormality, Likely Increased By Exposure To Herbicide

Date: Oct-02-2012
A common herbicide used in the United States may be linked to an increased risk of a congenital abnormality of the nasal cavity known as choanal atresia, say researchers at Baylor College of Medicine and other Texas institutions. The study by Dr. Philip Lupo, assistant professor of pediatrics - hematology/oncology at BCM and Texas Children's Cancer Center, is scheduled for publication in The Journal of Pediatrics. Choanal atresia is a disorder where the back of the nasal passage is blocked by tissue formed during fetal development...

Bioengineers Introduce 'Bi-Fi' -- The Biological Internet

Date: Oct-02-2012
If you were a bacterium, the virus M13 might seem innocuous enough. It insinuates more than it invades, setting up shop like a freeloading houseguest, not a killer. Once inside it makes itself at home, eating your food, texting indiscriminately. Recently, however, bioengineers at Stanford University have given M13 a bit of a makeover...

PTSD Symptoms Developed By One-Fifth Of Spine Surgery Patients

Date: Oct-02-2012
Nearly 20 percent of people who underwent low back fusion surgery developed post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms associated with that surgery, according to a recent Oregon Health & Science University study published in the journal Spine. Past studies have noted PTSD symptoms in some trauma, cancer and organ transplant patients. But this is the first study, its authors believe, to monitor for PTSD symptoms in patients undergoing an elective medical procedure...