Body

SAN ANTONIO -- Among patients with HER2-positive, metastatic breast cancer that had progressed despite treatment with two or more forms of HER2-targeted therapy (trastuzumab [Herceptin] and lapatinib [Tykerb]), median overall survival was increased for those treated with trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1 [Kadcyla]) compared with those who received treatment of physician's choice, according to results from the phase III TH3RESA clinical trial presented at the 2015 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, held Dec. 8-12.

Many of the previous studies on global species diversity are inaccurate. These are the conclusions of an international research group, led by Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) in collaboration with the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research Halle - Jena - Leipzig (iDiv), which carried out a long-term study on biodiversity in the subtropical forests of China. The study shows that there might be an under- or overestimation of global biodiversity by up to 50 per cent when the survey is based on only a few taxa.

Scientists headed by Raúl Méndez, ICREA research professor at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona), and Mercedes Fernández, at IDIBAPS in Barcelona, reveal that the inhibition of CPEB4 protein may prevent the development of the abnormal blood vessels associated with cirrhosis. Pathological angiogenesis is one of the most serious complications in patients with cirrhosis and a key factor in the development and worsening of the disease. Consequently, many research efforts focus on identifying treatments for this condition.

A new way of growing fallopian tube cells in culture is expected to give a boost to our understanding and prevention of female gynecological diseases, such as infertility, inflammatory disease, and ovarian cancer. The tubes, which connect the ovaries with the uterus, are the site of fertilization but they are now also believed to be the site from which high-grade serous ovarian carcinoma originates - the deadliest form of gynecological cancer.

Approximately one-quarter of inter-birth intervals in low- and middle-income countries are less than 24 months in length, exposing infants to risks of prematurity, low birthweight, and death. Increased evidence of these health risks has emerged in the past few decades and, after a period of neglect, interest in postpartum family planning has followed, supported by organizations like WHO and USAID.

The politicization and commercialization of health issues in today's Western culture have led to growing healthism -- a peremptory idea of self-preserving behaviour. This approach criticizes everything that fails to fit into the glamorous standards of a beautiful, young and slim body. In extreme forms, healthism is close to eugenics, which selects a 'correct' heredity.

After a decade-long $3 billion international effort, scientists heralded the 2001 completion of the human genome as a moon landing achievement for biology and the key to finally solving intractable diseases like cancer.

Nothing could be simpler: a drop of blood is placed on a special carrier substance; after a wait of a few minutes, the slide is placed on a device that emits polarised light thanks to an inexpensive polarisation filter. It is covered with a lid containing a second polarisation filter, which blocks the light from all materials except crystalline or materials with directional properties.

SAN ANTONIO -- Among patients with HER2-positive, metastatic breast cancer that had progressed despite treatment with two or more forms of HER2-targeted therapy (trastuzumab [Herceptin] and lapatinib [Tykerb]), median overall survival was increased for those treated with trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1 [Kadcyla]) compared with those who received treatment of physician's choice, according to results from the phase III TH3RESA clinical trial presented at the 2015 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, held Dec. 8-12.

SAN ANTONIO -- Postmenopausal women with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) had similar outcomes with disease recurrence whether they took tamoxifen or the aromatase inhibitor anastrozole for five years after surgery, but women in the two groups had different side effects, according to results from the phase III IBIS-II DCIS clinical trial presented at the 2015 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, held Dec. 8-12.

This study is being published simultaneously in The Lancet.

SAN ANTONIO -- Analysis of patient-reported outcomes (PRO), a secondary endpoint of the phase III, NSABP B-35 clinical trial, in which anastrazole and tamoxifen were compared in postmenopausal women with ductal carcinoma in-situ (DCIS) who underwent lumpectomy plus radiotherapy, found that there were no differences in outcomes related to quality of life (QOL) but some differences in outcomes related to symptoms in the two treatment groups, according to data presented at the 2015 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, held Dec. 8-12.

The drug anastrozole is effective in treating an early form of breast cancer, according to a clinical trial led by Queen Mary University of London (QMUL). The results of the IBIS-II DCIS trial show that anastrozole is as effective as tamoxifen for this type of breast cancer and could offer a new treatment option for post-menopausal women.

Bacteriophages are viruses that infect and kill bacteria. The name originates from the Greek 'phagos' which means 'to devour'.

Bacteriophages were discovered 100 years ago because of their ability to replicate in a pathogenic bacterium, kill it and thereby cure the patient. As a small spaceship landing on the moon, the microscopic particles land on the surface of the bacteria where they inject their deadly genetic material.

Researchers in Japan have discovered that how effectively we clean our teeth and how satisfied we are with the brushing job we do depends a lot on the sound of the bristles scrubbing against the enamel. In trials with volunteer teeth cleaners, the team has used a tiny microphone in a modified toothbrush to 'sample' the sound being made in the mouth during brushing and to modulate it and then feed that sound back to the volunteer via headphones to see what effect it would have on cleaning efficacy and satisfaction.

ATLANTA - December 11, 2015- A new report calls attention to cancer in people with mental illness, suggesting that healthcare system and societal factors are just as critical as individual lifestyle factors-- linked to smoking and obesity--that lead to health disparities among this group.