Health News

Differences seen in HPV positive, negative in squamous cell head, neck cancer

Date: Mar-21-2014
Neck mass and sore throat appear to be the initial symptoms in patients with oropharyngeal (mouth and throat) squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC), and the symptoms appear to be associated with the human papillomavirus (HPV) status of the tumors. The incidence of OPSCC has been on the rise, unlike other head and neck cancers that have been on the decline. The trend has been associated with an increased incidence of HPV-positive OPSCC (which comprised 40.5 percent of OPSCC cases before 2000 and up to 70 percent of cases since 2009).

New study shows endochoice fuse system detects significantly more pre-cancerous polyps

Date: Mar-21-2014
EndoChoice® has announced that positive results of a pivotal comparison study of standard forward-viewing colonoscopy (SFV) and EndoChoice's Full Spectrum Endoscopy™ System (Fuse™) were published in The Lancet Oncology. The study determined that standard forward-viewing colonoscopes missed 41% of adenomas (pre-cancerous polyps). The study showed that the Fuse™ Endoscopy System, equipped with multiple imagers that create a near-panoramic view, detected an additional 69% more pre-cancerous polyps than the standard forward-viewing colonoscopes.

Regular physical activity reduces breast cancer risk irrespective of age

Date: Mar-21-2014
Practising sport for more than an hour a day reduces the risk of contracting breast cancer, and this applies to women of any age and any weight, and also unaffected by geographical location, according to research presented to the 9th European Breast Cancer Conference (EBCC-9). Compared with the least active women, those with the highest level of physical activity reduced their risk of breast cancer by 12%, researchers say.

Miscarriage risk increases for women who respond poorly to IVF ovarian stimulation

Date: Mar-21-2014
Women who respond to IVF treatment with low numbers of eggs are at increased risk of miscarriage, a study co-authored by University of Birmingham researchers has found.The researchers, who looked at almost 125,000 IVF pregnancies for the study, say that their findings could help to improve counselling for couples undergoing IVF treatment through increased awareness of the risk of miscarriage for women with poor ovarian response.

Inflammation mobilizes tumor cells

Date: Mar-21-2014
Researchers of Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet (LMU) in Munich have discovered a novel feedback mechanism that provides a mechanistic link between chronic inflammation and carcinogenesis.Malignant tumors pose a major threat to survival largely because they shed mobile cells that can form secondary tumors in other tissues.

UC Davis faculty drive efforts to improve CT safety

Date: Mar-21-2014
UC Davis clinicians and physicists have recommended new strategies to make computed tomography (CT) safer, including adoption of a new metric for dose measurement, ways to manage exposure protocols that differ by CT brand and specific approaches to reduce exposure during needle biopsies. The recommendations are detailed in papers published in the Journal of the American College of Radiology (JACR). In response to concerns about the radiation dose in CT, JACR devoted the entire issue to CT safety.

FDA approves Impavido to treat tropical disease leishmaniasis

Date: Mar-21-2014
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Impavido (miltefosine) to treat a tropical disease called leishmaniasis.Leishmaniasis is a disease caused by Leishmania, a parasite which is transmitted to humans through sand fly bites. The disease occurs primarily in people who live in the tropics and subtropics. Most U.S. patients acquire leishmaniasis overseas.

Annexation of Crimea will cut off 14,000 drug users from critical medical services

Date: Mar-21-2014
The International HIV/AIDS Alliance has expressed alarm at the future of more than 14,000 people in Crimea who inject drugs following its annexation by Russia. Some 800 patients in the region are currently receiving opioid substitution therapy (OST). This treatment is prohibited in Russia and current stocks of methadone and buprenorphine on the Crimean peninsula will only last for another few weeks at most.

Deaths from breast cancer fall in Europe, but unexplained differences between countries remain

Date: Mar-21-2014
Improvements in treatment, as well as enhanced access to care, underlie the sustained decreases in breast cancer mortality seen in 30 European countries [1] from 1989 to 2010. But there are notable variations between different countries that cannot be explained simply by the resources devoted to cancer care, and these differences need to be studied further, according to research to be presented to the 9th European Breast Cancer Conference (EBCC-9).

Low levels of oxgen, nitric oxide worsen sickle cell disease

Date: Mar-21-2014
Low levels of both oxygen and the powerful blood vessel dilator nitric oxide appear to have an unfortunate synergy for patients with sickle cell disease, researchers report. Their studies indicate that the two conditions common in sickle cell disease, dramatically increase red blood cells' adhesion to the lining of blood vessels walls and the debilitating pain crises that can result. The good news is that restoring normal levels of nitric oxide can substantially reduce red blood cell adhesion, said Dr.