Body

SAN DIEGO, CA (October 31, 2010)—Treating paranasal sinus cancer with three-dimensional radiation that conforms to the shape of the tumor—a technique that minimizes side effects such as severe dry mouth and vision problems—is safe and effective, research at Fox Chase Cancer Center shows. Aruna Turaka, M.D., radiation oncologist at Fox Chase, will present the results on November 2nd at the annual meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology.

SAN DIEGO, CA (October 31, 2010)—When treating prostate cancer with radiation therapy, side effects such as urinary problems and rectal pain and bleeding are a concern, as is impact on the patient's overall quality of life. So when new, more efficient treatment methods are developed, one important question is whether better treatment comes at the cost of increased side effects and decreased quality of life.

Scientists from the UK and Australia have seen the human immune system's assassin, a protein called perforin, in action for the first time. The UK team, funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and the Wellcome Trust, is based at Birkbeck College where they used powerful electron microscopes to study the mechanism that perforin uses to punch holes in rogue cells. The research is published today (1800hrs, 31 October) in Nature.

DETROIT – The race of liver donors may affect recurrent hepatitis C in patients after liver transplant, according to a study by Henry Ford Hospital.

Men with prostate cancer treated with a specialized type of radiation called intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) have fewer gastrointestinal complications compared to patients treated with conventional three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3D-CRT), according to a study presented November 1, 2010, at the 52nd Annual Meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO).

Black raspberries are highly effective in preventing colorectal tumors in two mouse models of the disease, according to a University of Illinois at Chicago study.

The findings are published in the November issue of Cancer Prevention Research.

Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer and the second leading cause of cancer-related death in both men and women in the U.S., according to the National Cancer Institute.

A team led by researchers at the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), part of the National Institutes of Health, has captured the most comprehensive snapshot to date of DNA regions that regulate genes in human pancreatic islet cells, a subset of which produces insulin.

The study highlights the importance of genome regulatory sequences in human health and disease, particularly type 2 diabetes, which affects more than 20 million people in the United States and 200 million people worldwide. The findings appear Nov. 3 in Cell Metabolism.

At a global scale, the sickle cell gene is most commonly found in areas with historically high levels of malaria, adding geographical support to the hypothesis that the gene, whilst potentially deadly, avoids disappearing through natural selection by providing protection against malaria.

Amsterdam, 2 November, 2010 - An investigation conducted in the context of the Swiss National Research Programme (NRP50), Endocrine Disrupters: Relevance to Humans, Animals and Ecosystems, demonstrates for the first time that internal exposure of humans to cosmetic UV filters is widespread.

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have discovered that a multi-tasking protein called FoxO1 has another important but previously unknown function: It directly interacts with macrophages, promoting an inflammatory response that can lead to insulin resistance and diabetes. Contrarily, it also generates a negative feedback loop that can limit damage from excessive inflammation.

WHAT:Secondary infections with bacteria such as Streptococcus pneumoniae, which causes pneumonia, were a major cause of death during the 1918 flu pandemic and may be important in modern pandemics as well, according to a new article in the Journal of Infectious Diseases co-authored by David M. Morens, M.D., senior advisor to the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health.

TORONTO, Ont., Nov. 2, 2010-Severely injured patients should be transported directly from the scene of an accident to a trauma center, even if it means bypassing a closer hospital, according to new research that shows this results in a nearly 25 per cent lower death rate.

However, even though 80 to 85 per cent of people in North America live within a one-hour drive or flight of a trauma center, 30 to 60 per cent of severely injured patients are still taken to the nearest hospital.

Ann Arbor, Mich. — Value-Based Insurance Design — a concept created at the University of Michigan and incorporated in the nation's new health care reform law — is the focus of an upcoming national policy journal.