Clinical Oncology Week articles from October 2008

Clinical Oncology Week archives from October 2008

Cancer-causing gut bacteria exposed.
October 6, 2008... Normal gut bacteria are thought to be involved in colon cancer but the exact mechanisms have remained unknown. Now, scientists from the USA have discovered that a molecule produced by a common gut bacterium activates signalling pathways that...

Physicians often miss opportunities to show empathy.
October 6, 2008... In consultations with patients with lung cancer, physicians rarely responded empathically to the concerns of the patients about mortality, symptoms or treatment options, according to a study led by a University of Rochester Medical Center...

A promising possibility for the treatment of the esophageal carcinoma.
October 6, 2008... Recent work demonstrates that GSK-3 beta is involved in the process of tumorigenesis, and inhibition of the expression and activity of GSK-3 beta attenuates cell proliferation and causes apoptosis in colorectal, pancreatic and ovarian cancer...

Intraperitoneal metastasis after spontaneous rupture of hepatocellular carcinoma.
October 6, 2008... Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common malignancies in the world. It is usually manifested in the 6th and 7th decade of life. Extrahepatic metastases are seen in 64% of patients with HCC. The most frequent sites of...

Is electrocautery shovel a safe and feasible tool in laparoscopic operation?
October 6, 2008... Since the successful introduction of laparoscopic colectomy by Jacobs et al, laparoscopic surgery, especially laparoscopic rectal surgery has been developed considerably. Compared with open operation, the laparoscopic operation has many...

Bladder cancer detected via amplified gene in cells found in urine.
October 6, 2008... Counting the copies of a specific gene in cells gathered from a urine sample may provide a simple, noninvasive way to detect bladder cancer, a team led by researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center reports in the...

Nitrate concentrations of ground water increasing in many areas of the United States.
October 13, 2008... Nitrate is the most common chemical contaminant in the world's ground water, including in aquifers used for drinking-water supply. Nitrate in drinking water of the United States is regulated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA)...

Most adults under 50 unlikely need colorectal screening.(Report)
October 13, 2008... Young adults without a family history of bowel disease are unlikely to develop adenomas, the colorectal polyps most likely to lead to cancer, according to new research directed by scientists at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center. The...

How does ellagic acid exert anti-cancer effect on pancreatic cancer cells?
October 13, 2008... Ellagic acid was previousely shown to have anticarcinogenic, antioxidant and antifibrosis properties. The anticarcinogenic effect of ellagic acid was shown in several types of cancers including skin, esophageal, and colon cancers. However the...

Is CA19-9 a good marker of pancreatic cancer?
October 13, 2008... The prognosis of pancreatic cancer is extremely poor and early diagnosis is difficult. At the time of diagnosis, local vascular involvement, nodal and distant metastases are frequently present. Currently, the best way of preoperative staging of...

Potential biologic markers of cholangiocarcinoma.(Report)
October 13, 2008... Dr. Hong-Yang Wang and his colleagues confirmed that reduced or absent expressions of E-cadherin and P120 were shown to be associated with the tumor histological grade. And their expression significantly associated with tumor pTNM stage,...

News from Cancer: Disparities in head and neck cancer patients.
October 20, 2008... A new analysis finds considerable disparities in survival related to race and socio-economic status among patients with head and neck cancer. Published in the November 15, 2008 issue of CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer...

New study examines effectiveness of colorectal cancer screening tests.
October 20, 2008... New findings from a Decision Analysis for the US Preventative Services Task Force (USPSTF) suggest that routine colorectal cancer screenings can be stopped in patients over the age of 75. The results are based on patients who began screenings...

Surface tension drives segregation within cell mixtures.
October 20, 2008... What does a mixture of two different kinds of cells have in common with a mixture of oil and water? The same basic force causes both mixtures to separate into two distinct regions (see also Vanderbilt University). That is the conclusion of...

Census Bureau Releases Comprehensive Health Insurance Coverage Estimates by County.
October 20, 2008... Embargoed until: 12:01 a.m. ET Oct. 9. The U.S. Census Bureau released the most extensive estimates it has ever published on county-level demographic characteristics of people with and without health insurance coverage (see also U.S. Census...

Huaqiao University, Institute of Molecular Medicine describes research in cancer gene therapy.
October 20, 2008... Fresh data on cancer gene therapy are presented in the report 'Cytoglobin: a novel potential gene medicine for fibrosis and cancer therapy.' According to recent research from People's Republic of China, "Attempts have been made by conventional...

New findings may improve treatment of inherited breast cancer.
October 27, 2008... Scientists have identified some of the elusive downstream molecules that play a critical role in the development and progression of familial breast cancer. The research, published by Cell Press in the October 10th issue of the journal Molecular...

US culture derails girl math whizzes.
October 27, 2008... A culture of neglect and, at some age levels, outright social ostracism, is derailing a generation of students, especially girls, deemed the very best in mathematics, according to a new study (see also University of Wisconsin-Madison). In...

How to differentiate macro-regenerative nodules from hepato-carcinoma?
October 27, 2008... BA, the congenital absence or destruction of intra- or extra-hepatic biliary system, affects about 5 - 10/100 000 live births. End stage liver cirrhosis developed in some BA patients later in life. As a result of liver cirrhosis, regenerative...

Is CT-colonoscopy a valuable tool to detect colorectal cancer?
October 27, 2008... CTC (virtual colonoscopy) is a thin slice CT scan of the abdomen after adequate bowel preparation and colon insufflation in which data are reconstructed providing axial, multiplanar, and endoluminal views, in order to visualize internal colonic...

Is endocan a novel marker of colorectal cancer?
October 27, 2008... Endocan, previously called endothelial cell specific molecule-1 (ESM-1), is over expressed in human tumors, and its serum levels are elevated in late-stage lung cancer and experimental tumor, as measured by enzyme-linked immunoassay or by...

New insight into Bloom's syndrome.
October 27, 2008... Two independent papers in the October 15th issue of G&D detail the discovery of a previously unidentified fourth component of the Bloom's syndrome complex (see also Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory). Bloom's syndrome is an inherited cancer...