Information for your health

Mayo Clinic researchers say they have moved closer to their goal of providing personalized care for a common blood cell cancer. They have found that the use of predictive biomarkers along with two targeted treatments significantly delays the need for conventional chemotherapy in patients with early-stage, but high-risk, chronic lymphoid leukemia (CLL).

Breast cancer stem cells are known to be involved in therapy resistance and the recurrence of cancerous tumors. A new study appearing in Clinical and Translational Science shows the mechanisms governing stem cell expansion in breast cancer (called Notch activity), and finds that therapy targeting a protein called cyclin D1 may block the expansion of cancerous stem cells.

Even though some combinations of gender, race and/or marital status can factor into the overall survival of nonoperative non-small cell lung cancer patients, gender is the most significant factor impacting overall survival, according to a study presented at the 2008 Chicago Multidisciplinary Symposium in Thoracic Oncology, sponsored by ASTRO, ASCO, IASLC and the University of Chicago.

According to the National Cancer Institute, in 2008 approximately 215,020 new cases of lung cancer will be diagnosed in the United States and 161,840 people will die from the disease.

Taking calcium and vitamin D supplements does not reduce breast cancer incidence in postmenopausal women, according to data from a randomized, doubled-blind, placebo-controlled trial published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

Several observational and preclinical studies have suggested that vitamin D supplements may reduce breast cancer risk, but results have been inconsistent.

African-American women under the age of 40 have a higher risk of breast cancer than do white women of a similar age. White women aged 40 and older, however, have a higher incidence than black women aged 40 and older.

The incidence of postmenopausal breast cancer is associated with screening and hormone therapy. The mechanisms that influence the incidence of breast cancer in premenopausal women are less well understood.

The Overexpressed in Lung Cancer 1 (OLC1) gene is expressed at high levels in the majority of lung cancers, more often in samples from smokers than nonsmokers, and its expression is increased in cells treated with cigarette smoke.

Do the biological underpinnings of heart failure share more in common with cancerous tumors than other cardiovascular diseases? Research presented at American Heart Association meeting may show why heart failure treatments fail.

A team of Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) researchers and cardiologists are presenting a number of studies at the American Heart Association conference that point toward new treatments for heart failure patients.

Radiology and cardiovascular researchers from the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, S.C., today presented new data that shows the risk of cancer from exposure to radiation during computed tomography for cardiovascular disease has been overstated and that new estimates are several times lower than previously published conclusions.

The MUSC researchers presented their findings at the American Heart Association's meeting in New Orleans.

he neck arteries of obese children and teens look more like those of 45-year-olds, according to research presented at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2008.

Patients whose nose has been destroyed by a tumor or injury carry a severe psychological and social burden. Esthetic reconstruction ranges among the most challenging tasks in plastic surgery. Helmut Fischer and Wolfgang Gubisch present the different options for nasal reconstruction surgery.*

The authors present the case of a woman who had had a tumor removed from the tip of her nose 12 years previously. The tumor recurred and destroyed the woman’s nose almost completely over the following 7 years.