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PHILADELPHIA - Tracking brain cancer with a blood test instead of a surgical biopsy may greatly improve quality of life for glioblastoma (GBM) patients and provide critical information for their care, but it is not feasible in all cases.
Scientists at Trinity College Dublin have identified a rare, new cell in the immune system with "Jekyll and Hyde properties". These cells play a key protective role in immunity to infection but - if unregulated - also mediate tissue damage in autoimmune disorders.
The findings should help us design more effective vaccines to prevent infections such as MRSA, and may also assist help us develop of new therapies for autoimmune diseases, such as multiple sclerosis or rheumatoid arthritis.
SCOTTSDALE, Az., February 27, 2020 -- A new phase II trial finds that a combination of radiation therapy and immunotherapy led to encouraging survival outcomes and acceptable toxicity for patients with locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). The combination of radiation and pembrolizumab may offer a new treatment option for patients who are ineligible for cisplatin chemotherapy, part of standard treatment for the disease. Findings will be presented at the 2020 Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Cancers Symposium, taking place February 27-29 in Scottsdale, Arizona.
SCOTTSDALE, Az., February 27, 2020 -- A new clinical trial suggests that immunotherapy given before other treatments for oral cavity cancers can elicit an immune response that shrinks tumors, which could provide long-term benefit for patients. Findings will be presented at the 2020 Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Cancers Symposium, taking place February 27-29 in Scottsdale, Arizona.
A new national survey from the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) finds physician anesthesiologists are being forced out of network as insurance companies terminate their contracts, often with little or no notice.
Initial results find 42% of respondents had contracts terminated in the last six months. Additionally, 43% of respondents experienced dramatic payment cuts from insurers, both mid-contract and at renewal, in some cases by as much as 60%. Some of the impacted contracts were signed less than six months ago.
A team of researchers have discovered a genetic mutation that reduces a patient's ability to exercise efficiently.
In a study published in The New England Journal of Medicine, a team including researchers from King's College London have found a link between a genetic mutation that affects cellular oxygen sensing and a patient's limited exercise capacity.
The team identified a patient who had a reduced rate of growth, persistent low blood sugar, a limited exercise capacity and a very high number of red blood cells.
Boston, MA -- The death of a spouse often means the loss of intimacy, companionship and everyday support for older adults. A new study finds that widowhood can have another profound effect: It may accelerate cognitive decline. Investigators from Brigham and Women's Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital analyzed older, cognitively normal Americans enrolled in the Harvard Aging Brain Study whose marital status and brain β-amyloid levels -- a marker of Alzheimer's disease -- were determined at the beginning of the study.
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a progressive, chronic disorder in which the body's immune system attacks the central nervous system, resulting in multiple adverse effects, from numbness, fatigue and impaired speech to loss of muscle control and vision. There is no cure for MS; treatment focuses upon managing symptoms and slowing progression.
An investigational drug that binds bile acids in the stomach can reduce the severity of heartburn symptoms in patients with treatment-resistant gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) when combined with a proton pump inhibitor (PPI), a new study suggests.
Michael F. Vaezi, MD, PhD, MSc, director of the Center for Swallowing and Esophageal Disorders at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC), is corresponding author of the report published in the journal Gastroenterology. The study was conducted by Cambridge, Mass.-based Ironwood Pharmaceuticals.
PHILADELPHIA (Feb. 26, 2020) - One year into Philadelphia's 1.5-cents-per-ounce "soda tax," new findings show that the law had minimal to no influence on what Philadelphians are drinking. The results were published this month in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health from researchers at Drexel University's Dornsife School of Public Health.
CHICAGO (February 26, 2020): The best approach for surgeons to identify malnourished cancer patients before they have a cancer operation may be specifically related to the type of cancer the patient has, according to researchers who found that common definitions of malnutrition do not apply equally to all cancers in assessment of preoperative risk. The study is published as an "article in press" on the Journal of the American College of Surgeons website ahead of print.
For the first time, a team of scientists at the University of Central Florida has created functional nanomaterials with hollow interiors that can be used to create highly sensitive biosensors for early cancer detection.
Xiaohu Xia, an assistant professor of chemistry with a joint appointment in the NanoScience Technology Center, and his team developed the new method and recently published their work in the journal ACS Nano.
February 26, 2020 - As patients continue to seek non-invasive treatments across the cosmetic spectrum, "liquid rhinoplasty" is emerging as the non-surgical alternative to the traditional nose job. Using dermal fillers to change the appearance of the nose, non-surgical rhinoplasty is gaining in popularity due to its relatively low cost, convenience, and short recovery time.
Results from one of the first studies to determine the effects of pre-surgical, or neoadjuvant, chemotherapy on the breast cancer genome offer up two key insights. One is a before treatment finding that can help predict which patients would most benefit from pre-surgical chemo, and the other an after treatment finding which sheds light on how cancer cells survive chemotherapy. Findings appear in Clinical Cancer Research.
Researchers at the University of Cincinnati have uncovered a potentially more beneficial treatment regimen for patients with metastatic melanoma.
The results, published in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology and Physics, show that radiation before immunotherapy may prolong lives of patients with melanoma that has spread to the brain.