Body

Older and younger patients with renal cancer derive similar benefit from sorafenib therapy and tolerate the drug equally well, according to a study published online October 7 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

Women at elevated risk of breast cancer who had been randomly assigned to tamoxifen treatment and then developed estrogen receptor (ER)–negative breast cancer were diagnosed earlier than women who had been randomly assigned to take a placebo and then developed ER-negative disease, according to a study published online October 7 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

Tamoxifen has been shown to reduce the risk of ER-positive breast cancer in women at high risk of disease. The drug does not alter the risk of ER-negative disease.

A comparison of two diagnostic methods used to detect deep vein thrombosis (DVT; a blood clot in a deep vein in the leg or thigh) of the lower extremities indicates that a simpler method, with wider availability, has rates of DVT detection that are equivalent to a more complex method, according to a study in the October 8 issue of JAMA.

Use of a class of medications for treating an enlarged prostate, known as 5-α reductase inhibitors, are not associated with an increased hip fracture risk, according to a study in the October 8 issue of JAMA.

An analysis of previous research indicates there is a lack of sufficient evidence that circumcision reduces the risk of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection or other sexually transmitted infections among men who have sex with men, according to an article in the October 8 issue of JAMA.

BOSTON--Despite the long-held belief by many doctors that discussing end-of-life issues with patients increases the patients' emotional distress, such conversations can actually lead to improved quality of life -- both for patients and their loved ones, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute researchers and colleagues have found.

HOUSTON - The drug tamoxifen does not prevent or treat estrogen receptor (ER) negative breast cancer, but it can make the disease easier to find, researchers report in the Oct. 1 Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

Women at high-risk for breast cancer who took tamoxifen as a preventive measure in a clinical trial and later developed ER-negative breast cancer had a median time to first diagnosis of 24 months, compared with 36 months for those who received placebo, according to a retrospective statistical analysis.

A critical care specialist at Johns Hopkins who has reviewed recent studies of intensive care unit (ICU) patients and data from The Johns Hopkins Hospital concludes that the routine use of deep sedation and bed rest in ICU patients may be causing unnecessary and long-term physical impairment and poor quality of life after hospital discharge.

Analysis of data from 38 studies that enrolled more than 2.7 million women – the largest of its kind – by researchers at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute, and the University of Santiago de Compostela reveals that regular use of Non Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) is associated with a 12 per cent relative risk reduction in breast cancer compared to non-users.

A separate analysis for Aspirin showed a 13 per cent relative risk reduction in breast cancer and an analysis for Advil showed a 21 per cent relative risk reduction.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Based on results of a landmark study, researchers at Mayo Clinic's Florida campus see a future in which virtual biopsies will eliminate the need to remove colon polyps that are not cancerous or will not morph into the disease.

Currently one-third to one-half of the polyps removed during colonoscopies end up being harmless, but they need to be examined by pathologists, and this increases time, expense and the potential for complications to the beneficial screening.

Oncologists at the Moores Cancer Center at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) in La Jolla are hoping to stave off the relentless march of advanced lung cancer by treating patients with a novel kind of cancer vaccine. While many vaccines attempt to pump up the immune system to fight off a cancer, the new vaccine, Lucanix, is genetically engineered to also trick the cancer into turning off its immune system-suppressing activities.

SALT LAKE CITY – University of Utah researchers have developed a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based method for detecting and quantifying injury to the wall of the heart's left atrium in patients who have undergone a procedure to treat atrial fibrillation. The results of the study are published in the Oct. 7, 2008, issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

Ambitious governments' environmental objectives for the electricity sector are only possible at a high price. This is one of the conclusions of researcher ir. Hans Rödel, who is to receive his PhD at TU Delft on Thursday 9 October. He recommends a combination of different modern generation technologies, CO2 capture and storage, the use of biomass and the recycling of waste heat.

The government wants to achieve a general CO2 reduction of 30 percent and to increase the proportion of sustainable energy sources within the total energy supply to 20 percent by 2020.

A fatty acid found in abundance in olive oil and other "healthy" unsaturated fats has yet another benefit: it helps keep the body satisfied to prolong the time between meals.

By killing off "angry" immune cells that take up residence in obese fat and muscle tissue, researchers have shown that they can rapidly reverse insulin resistance in obese mice. The findings reported in the October Cell Metabolism, a publication of Cell Press, suggest that treatments aimed at specific subsets of the so-called macrophage cells might offer a very effective new antidiabetic therapy, according to the researchers.