Body

ORLANDO, Fla. — A panel of biomarkers appears to be able to identify the presence of lung cancer in the blood samples of people who have never smoked, according to data presented at the AACR 102nd Annual Meeting 2011, held here April 2-6.

While lung cancer has long been linked to smoking, approximately one-fourth of patients with lung cancer have never smoked. Researchers are working on ways to identify the presence of lung cancer in these patients.

ORLANDO, Fla. — Researchers investigating a novel biomarker test believe it is the most accurate yet in detecting proteins secreted from tumors caused by exposure to asbestos. Study results of this aptamer proteomic technology were presented at the AACR 102nd Annual Meeting 2011, held April 2-6.

ORLANDO, Fla. — Breast cancer risk can be assessed by examining the epithelial cells found in breast milk, according to preliminary study results presented at the AACR 102nd Annual Meeting 2011, held April 2-6.

This screening method has the potential to provide a personalized assessment of breast cancer risk, said lead researcher Kathleen F. Arcaro, Ph.D., associate professor of veterinary and animal sciences at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Given that roughly 80 percent of women give birth, this screen would also cover a large percentage of the female population.

Researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center have investigated a novel protein test to detect early-stage, asbestos-related pulmonary cancer. The test can accurately identify proteins secreted from cancerous tumors caused by asbestos exposure. The study was presented at the American Association for Cancer Research 102nd Annual Meeting 2011 on April 4th.

Orlando, Fla. -- In mice models of breast cancer, researchers at the Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, a part of Georgetown University Medical Center, found that vitamin D significantly reduced development of estrogen receptor-positive (ER+) breast cancer both in lean and obese mice, but had no beneficial effect in estrogen receptor-negative (ER-) cancer. In fact, obese mice destined to develop ER- breast cancer were clearly worse off than lean ER- mice if they were given vitamin D in their diet.

ORLANDO, Fla. — Nicotine at doses similar to those found in most nicotine replacements therapies did not increase lung cancer tumor incidence, frequency or size, according to results of a mouse study presented at the AACR 102nd Annual Meeting 2011, held here April 2-6.

ORLANDO, Fla. — The use of aspirin at least once per month is associated with a significant decrease in pancreatic cancer risk, according to results of a large case-control study presented at the AACR 102nd Annual Meeting 2011, held here April 2-6.

Xiang-Lin Tan, Ph.D., M.D., a research fellow at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., said the findings from this large collaborative study are preliminary and do not encourage widespread use of aspirin for this purpose.

ORLANDO, Fla. — Researchers with the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) have found that people with lung cancer were significantly more likely to have several high-risk forms of human papillomavirus (HPV) antibodies compared to those who did not have lung cancer. These results, which were presented at the AACR 102nd Annual Meeting 2011, held April 2-6, indicate that HPV antibodies are substantially increased in people with lung cancer.

ORLANDO, FL (April 4, 2011) – Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related death among American men. Yet population-wide screening programs have not reduced the number of deaths from the disease. By focusing screening programs on the men who are at greatest risk for aggressive disease or diagnosis at a young age, researchers think they could improve mortality rates and personalize the screening approach. For that reason, scientists have been looking for genetic markers to help them identify exactly which men are at high risk and require regular screening.

Reston, VA (March 29, 2011) — Medicare coverage and nationwide utilization of computed tomographic colonography (CTC), commonly referred to as virtual colonoscopy, has tripled in recent years, according to a study in the April issue of the Journal of the American College of Radiology (www.jacr.org). CTC employs virtual reality technology to produce a three-dimensional visualization that permits a thorough and minimally invasive evaluation of the entire colon and rectum.

ORLANDO, Fla. — Results of the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study revealed that diabetes is associated with lower risk of prostate cancer in men but with higher risk of other cancers in both men and women. The data, to be presented at the AACR 102nd Annual Meeting 2011, held here April 2-6, also showed an association between diabetes and higher cancer mortality rates.

A new way of understanding the structure of proteins, polymers, minerals, and engineered materials will be published in the May 2011 issue of the journal Nature Materials. The discovery by two Penn State University researchers is a new type of symmetry in the structure of materials, which the researchers say greatly expands the possibilities for discovering or designing materials with desired properties.

LA JOLLA, CA – April 3, 2011 – In the constantly morphing field of protein structure, scientists at The Scripps Research Institute offer yet another surprise: a common "chaperone" protein in cells thought to help other proteins fold has been shown instead to loosen them.

The study was published in the April 3 issue of Nature Structural & Molecular Biology.

CHICAGO — In the largest study of its kind, researchers from a consortium of 44 universities and research institutions in the United States, including Rush University Medical Center, identified four new genes linked to Alzheimer's disease.

Each gene individually adds to the risk of having this common form of dementia later in life.

The findings, published in the April issue of Nature Genetics, offer new insight into the underlying causes of Alzheimer's disease.

PHILADELPHIA – In the largest study of its kind, researchers from a consortium led by the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, the University of Miami, and the Boston University School of Medicine, identified four new genes linked to Alzheimer's disease. Each gene individually adds to the risk of having this common form of dementia later in life. These new genes offer a portal into what causes Alzheimer's disease and is a major advance in the field.