Women's Health: Mothers-to-be, babies benefit from group prenatal care, ♦ Low zinc levels may suggest potential breastfeeding problems

Low zinc levels may suggest potential breastfeeding problems Zinc levels in breast milk may be able to serve as an indicator of breast function during lactation, according to health researchers who suggest that by identifying women with abnormally low levels of zinc in breast milk, they may be able to more quickly recognize mothers who might have trouble breast-feeding

Metformin has the potential to prevent and treat preeclampsia A commonly used drug for the treatment of diabetes, metformin, may have the potential to prevent and treat preeclampsia. Metformin has long been used to treat diabetes in both nonpregnant and pregnant patients, and is considered safe during pregnancy.

Mothers-to-be, babies benefit from group prenatal care, Group prenatal care can substantially improve health outcomes for both mothers and their infants. Women who received group -- rather than individual -- prenatal care were 33% less likely to have infants who were small for gestational age, had reduced risk for preterm delivery and low birthweight, and babies born to these women also spent fewer days in the neonatal intensive care unit.

Long-term outcomes of preventing premature menopause during chemotherapy Compared with receiving chemotherapy alone, women with breast cancer who also received the hormonal drug triptorelin to achieve ovarian suppression had a higher long-term probability of ovarian function recovery, without a statistically significant difference in pregnancy rate or disease-free survival,

Cancer Research:'Metal' drugs to fight cancer ♦ Prostate cancer discovery may make it easier to kill cancer cells ♦ Tumors hijack export pathway to resist chemotherapy

Scientists study single 'transformer' proteins with role in cancer A new study shows how a protein involved in cancer twists and morphs into different structures. This protein when mutated, has been shown to interfere with cells' suppressing ability

Tumors hijack export pathway to resist chemotherapy A novel strategy that aggressive sarcomas use to promote drug resistance and cancer's spread has been uncovered by researchers. They've discovered evidence of how to reverse the process.

'Metal' drugs to fight cancer. The mechanism of action of metal-based chemotherapy drugs (the most widely used for treating common cancers like testicular or ovarian cancer

More than one-third of patients with metastatic cancer continue to work A new analysis indicates that many patients continue working after being diagnosed with metastatic cancer, but a heavy burden of symptoms may prevent them.. The study illustrates the need to treat difficult symptoms so that patients can maintain their employment

Prostate cancer discovery may make it easier to kill cancer cells A newly discovered connection between two common prostate cancer treatments may soon make prostate cancer cells easier to destroy. Drugs that could capitalize on the discovery are already in the pipeline

Cancer Research: Guided ultrasound plus nanoparticle chemotherapy cures tumors in mice ♦ Price of cancer drugs varies by up to 388% between European countries

Guided ultrasound plus nanoparticle chemotherapy cures tumors in mice Thermal ablation with magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound surgery (MRgFUS) is a noninvasive technique for treating fibroids and cancer.Combining the technique with chemotherapy can allow complete destruction of tumors in mice.

Gene pair plays crucial role in colon cancer Two related genes in the Musashi family are required for colon cancer to develop, researchers have discovered, adding that they may be useful targets for effective treatment.

Price of cancer drugs varies by up to 388% between European countries, Australia, and New Zealand  The price of new cancer drugs varies widely (from 28% to 388%) between high-income countries in Europe, Australia, and New Zealand, new research has found. The UK and Mediterranean countries such as Greece, Spain, and Portugal pay the lowest average unit manufacturer prices for a group of 31 originator cancer drugs (new drugs under patent), whereas Sweden, Switzerland, and Germany pay the highest prices.

Researchers identify biomarker of early lung cancer that may increase survival Researchers have identified a biomarker that detects the most common lung cancer in its earliest stage. The discovery could one day change how long lung cancer patients live

Brain Research: Brain's immune system could be harnessed to fight Alzheimer's ♦ Spot on for brain research: Controlling nerve cells with light

Chemotherapy-induced hearing loss affects neurocognition in pediatric brain tumor survivors Platinum-based chemotherapy may not only impact hearing, but that the hearing loss may then contribute to long-term neurocognitive deficits.

Spot on for brain research: Controlling nerve cells with light Gero Miesenböck was the first to insert a light-controlled on/off switch into brain cells. His pioneering method allows scientists to switch nerve cells on and off selectively and observe how the behavior of, for example, fruit flies or mice changes as a result. In this way, researchers can learn in a step-by-step process what behavior the studied brain circuits control and what goes awry in disease

Brain imaging reveals possible depression signature in traumatic brain injury Individuals with depression in addition to traumatic brain injury (TBI) are prone to poorer recovery, reductions in cognitive performance, greater functional disability, increased suicide attempts and other social and sexual difficulties. Since depression symptoms vary greatly, teasing apart a diagnosis in the context TBI is often difficult. However, researchers have identified a potential brain-based biomarker for depressive symptoms that could simplify the process

Brain's immune system could be harnessed to fight Alzheimer's The brain's immune system could potentially be harnessed to help clear the amyloid plaques that are a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease, new research suggests. The findings are the culmination of years of investigation after a surprising discovery while studying mouse models of Alzheimer's disease. Researchers observed that amyloid beta plaques -- which scientists believe play a major role in the disease -- were being cleared in animals with chronic brain inflammation

Bacteria Research: Bacterium capable of aquifer decontamination characterized ♦ Study reveals a key role your gut bacteria play in body's self-defense ♦ Developing tools to find new generation antibiotics

Developing tools to find new generation antibiotics Scientists have taken an important step in the search to find new antibiotics that are effective against resistant bacteria. The work, scientists say, will provide new tools for creating stable genetically engineered strains which could lead to improvements to existing antibiotics and the development of new ones.

Study quantifies threat of rising antibiotic resistance on surgery, chemotherapy Researchers report the strongest evidence yet that rising antibiotic resistance could have disastrous consequences for patients undergoing surgery or cancer chemotherapy. New estimates suggest that up to half of infections after surgery and over a quarter of infections after chemotherapy are caused by organisms already resistant to standard prophylactic antibiotics in the USA.

Bacterium capable of aquifer decontamination characterized, cultivated for first time in Europe Researchers have identified in the Besòs river estuary (Barcelona, Spain) a bacterium of the genus Dehalogenimonas, which has the capacity to transform toxic organochlorine compounds into others that are harmless. These experts have succeeded in characterizing and cultivating these bacteria for the first time in Europe, which opens the door to their production and application to contaminated aquifers.

Study reveals a key role your gut bacteria play in body's self-defense Human intestinal flora regulates the levels of the body's main antioxidant, glutathione, which fights a host of diseases, new research confirms. The findings could lead to new probiotic-delivering foods, and a better understanding of the metabolic processes behind diseases such as type 2 diabetes.

Cancer Research:Multi-gene test enables some breast cancer patients to safely avoid chemotherapy ♦ Significant genetic differences between breast cancers that relapse and those that do not:

Primary surgery is linked with survival benefit in patients with advanced throat cancer

Patients with cancers of the mid- and lower throat may have higher survival rates if their initial treatment includes surgery..

Cabozantinib improves survival in patients with advanced kidney cancer Patients with advanced kidney cancer live for nearly twice as long without their disease progressing if they are treated with cabozantinib, a drug that inhibits the action of tyrosine kinases -- enzymes that function as an 'on' or 'off' switch in many cellular processes, including cancer.

Significant genetic differences between breast cancers that relapse and those that do not: Researchers have taken an important step towards understanding why some primary breast cancers return while others do not. The European Cancer Congress will hear that genetic factors driving the cancers that recur are different from those found in the cancers that do not. This discovery could enable doctors to identify patients at high risk of their cancer returning and to target the genes responsible for recurrence when the cancer is first diagnosed in order to prevent its return.

Attacking acute myeloid leukemia A team of researchers has demonstrated that a molecule isolated from sea sponges and later synthesized in the lab, can halt the growth of acute myeloid leukemia cells and could open the door to a new treatment for leukemia.

Multi-gene test enables some breast cancer patients to safely avoid chemotherapy The best evidence to date has been provided that suggests that a 21-gene test done on the tumor can identify breast cancer patients who can safely avoid chemotherapy.

Pulmonary Research: Immunotherapy superior to chemotherapy for lung cancer ♦ Rapid testing for TB aims to reduce drug resistance ♦ Algorithm interprets breathing difficulties

Algorithm interprets breathing difficulties to aid in medical care Researchers have developed an efficient algorithm that can interpret the wheezing of patients with breathing difficulties to give medical providers information about what's happening in the lungs. The work is part of a larger, ongoing project to develop wearable smart medical sensors for monitoring, collecting and interpreting personal health data.

Drug for fungal infections in lung transplant recipients increases risk for cancer, death Voriconazole, a prescription drug commonly used to treat fungal infections in lung transplant recipients, significantly increases the risk for skin cancer and even death.

Rapid testing for TB aims to reduce drug resistance, lower mortality rate Researchers have documented the accuracies of three new tests for more rapidly diagnosing drug-resistant forms of tuberculosis (TB), which are much harder and more expensive to treat and which represent a major threat to global public health.

First UK Biobank genetic study reveals new links between lung disease and smoking behavior Smokers who survive their habit into old age may hold the key to better lung health for all. The new discoveries may one day help scientists develop better treatments for diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a life-threatening condition that affects millions of people.

Immunotherapy superior to chemotherapy for lung cancer in international trial "Game-changing results” have been announced by a team of scientists using the immunotherapy drug nivolumab to treat certain lung cancers that failed to respond to first-line therapies

Cancer Research:Aspirin could hold key to supercharged cancer immunotherapy ♦ Variations in cell programs control cancer ♦Low-risk prostate cancer not likely to succumb to the disease

Some with low-risk prostate cancer not likely to succumb to the disease Men with relatively unaggressive prostate tumors and whose disease is carefully monitored by urologists are unlikely to develop metastatic prostate cancer or die of their cancers, according to results of a study that analyzed survival statistics up to 15 years.

Researchers develop a likely new combo treatment for the deadliest form of brain cancer Scientists have developed a potentially promising new combination therapy for glioblastoma, the deadliest form of brain cancer. Glioblastoma, also known as grade IV glioma, is the most aggressive primary brain tumor in humans. Approximately 23,000 people in the U.S. are diagnosed with glioblastoma (GBM) every year.

Targeting newly discovered pathway sensitizes tumors to radiation and chemotherapy In some patients, aggressive cancers can become resistant to chemotherapy and radiation treatments. In a new paper, researchers identified a pathway that causes the resistance and a new therapeutic drug that targets this pathway

Aspirin could hold key to supercharged cancer immunotherapy Giving cancer patients aspirin at the same time as immunotherapy could dramatically boost the effectiveness of the treatment, according to new research. Aspirin is part of a group of molecules called COX inhibitors, which stop the production of PGE2 and help reawaken the immune system. Combining immunotherapy with aspirin or other COX inhibitors substantially slowed bowel and melanoma skin cancer growth in mice, compared to immunotherapy alone, authors say.

Variations in cell programs control cancer and normal stem cells In the breast, cancer stem cells and normal stem cells can arise from different cell types and tap into distinct yet related stem cell programs, according to researchers. The differences between these stem cell programs may be significant enough to be exploited by future therapeutics.

Cancer Research: Hybrid cells cause chaos around cancers ♦ New technique for precise light-activated chemotherapy drugs ♦ Super graphene can help treat cancer

Hybrid cells cause chaos around cancers Like all cells, those in tumors need access to the body's fine network of blood vessels to bring them oxygen and carry away waste. Tumors have learned to game the process called angiogenesis in which new vessels sprout from existing ones, like branches from a tree. Now, researchers have built a simulation to understand how cancerous tumors manipulate blood-vessel growth

Multiple myeloma hides in bones like a wolf in sheep's clothing Multiple myeloma uses a trick akin to a wolf in sheep’s clothing to grow in and spread to new bone sites. By overexpressing Runx2, a gene that normally is a master regulator of bone formation, the cells of this largely incurable cancer produce proteins that mimic the normal bone-resident cells.

New technique for precise light-activated chemotherapy drugs A new technique that uses light to activate chemotherapy drugs in specific cells shows promise as a way to improve the effectiveness of cancer therapies while preventing severe side effects, according to a study. The approach could be used to treat a range of tumors with unprecedented precision by making existing cancer drugs sensitive to light

Super graphene can help treat cancer Silver is often used as a coating on medical equipment used for chemotherapy. The problem is that this silver coating can break down drugs. Now, researchers have found a graphene coating that will help boost chemotherapy's effects.

Cell structure discovery advances understanding of cancer development A cell structure has been discovered that could help scientists understand why some cancers develop. For the first time, a structure called 'the mesh' has been identified which helps to hold together cells. This discovery changes our understanding of the cell's internal scaffolding.

Cancer Research:Combined chemotherapy and immunotherapy for advanced prostate cancers ♦ Gene implicated in cancer growth ♦ Discovery may change cancer treatment

Uncovering new functions of a gene implicated in cancer growth opens new therapeutic possibilities A gene previously implicated in blood vessel formation during embryonic development and tumor growth also induces immune suppression during tumor development. This finding opens the door for new therapeutic approaches and vaccine development in treating patients with melanoma and other advanced-staged cancers.

Combined chemotherapy and immunotherapy shows promise for advanced prostate cancers Blocking or removing immune-suppressing cells allows a special type of chemotherapy — and the immune cells it activates — to destroy prostate tumors, researchers report. This novel combination therapy, termed chemoimmunotherapy, achieved near complete remission in mouse models of advanced prostate cancer

Discovery may change cancer treatment A discovery has been made that may change the principles for treating certain types of cancer. The discovery relates to the so-called telomeres that constitute the ends of human chromosomes. Short telomeres are related to unhealthy lifestyles, old age and the male gender -- all of which are risk factors in terms of high mortality. The challenge for researchers worldwide has therefore been to find out whether or not the short telomeres were indeed a signifier or an indirect cause of increased mortality

Five-year survivors of esophageal cancer still face low but constant risks According to the American Cancer Society, in 2015 about 17,000 new cases of esophageal cancer will be diagnosed, and about 15,600 people will die from the disease. While the 5-year survival rate in the 1960s and 1970s was only about 5%, improvements in diagnosis, treatment, and management have led to improved survival. However, information is lacking about what happens to long-term survivors of esophageal cancer. New research shows that while five-year survival is up to 39%, these patients still face many health risks and should be monitored for 10 years or more.

Women's Health: Could a tampon one day help predict endometrial cancer? ♦ Women with ovarian cancer ♦ Ozone air pollution could harm women's fertility

Could a tampon one day help predict endometrial cancer? It is possible to detect endometrial cancer using tumor DNA picked up by ordinary tampons, researchers say. The new approach specifically examines DNA samples from vaginal secretions for the presence of chemical “off” switches — known as methylation — that can disable genes that normally keep cancer in check.

Immunotherapy delays recurrence for stage III and IV ovarian cancers  Personalized medicine is getting closer to reality for women with late-stage ovarian cancer. An experimental immunotherapy is in the works that can target an individual woman’s tumor and extend the time period between initial treatment and the cancer’s return.

Women with ovarian cancer gain extra months with addition of drug to standard chemotherapy Overall survival for women who received standard chemotherapy treatment plus bevacizumab was a median five months longer than for women who received the standard chemotherapy treatment alone.

Ozone air pollution could harm women's fertility Many urban and suburban areas have high levels of ground-level ozone, an air pollutant that can adversely affect lung and heart health. New research in mice suggests breathing high levels of ozone could also affect women’s ability to conceive.

History of depression puts women at risk for diabetes during pregnancy, study finds  A history of depression may put women at risk for developing diabetes during pregnancy, according to research. This study also pointed to how common depression is during pregnancy and the need for screening and education

Cancer Research: Less-toxic cancer drug may work as well as chemotherapy ♦ To stop cancer: Block its messages ♦ Cancer-targeting mechanism under development

Panel predicts whether rare leukemia will respond to treatment Patients with chronic myelomonocytic leukemia have limited treatment options, and those that exist are effective only in fewer than half of patients. Now, a new study identifies a panel of genetic markers that predicted which tumor samples would likely respond to treatment

Cancer-targeting mechanism under development Researchers are developing molecules that bind to more than 60 types of cancer. Several are being tested in early-stage clinical trials, including one for brain cancer. These custom-made molecules can carry either a "flag" that shines brightly in standard medical scanners or a bit of radiation to kill the targeted cancer cells.

Fasting and less-toxic cancer drug may work as well as chemotherapy Fasting in combination with chemotherapy has already been shown to kill cancer cells, but a pair of new studies in mice suggests that a less-toxic class of drugs combined with fasting may kill breast, colorectal and lung cancer cells equally wel

To stop cancer: Block its messages A potential drug molecule has been discovered that stops cancer cells, but not healthy ones, from getting their 'mail.' The average living cell needs communication skills: It must transmit a constant stream of messages quickly and efficiently from its outer walls to the inner nucleus, where most of the day-to-day decisions are made. But this rapid, long-distance communication system leaves itself open to mutations that can give rise to a "spam attack" that promotes cancer, the researchers say.

11/1/14 Health News: Antifreeze added to food and drink ♦ Improving breast cancer chemo ♦ Breathe easier: Get your vitamin D ♦ Polyunsaturated fat lowers risk of heart disease

How often is 'antifreeze' added to food and drink?

31 October 2014 Last updated at 15:33 By Magazine Monitor A collection of cultural artefacts Bottles of a flavoured whisky brand have been removed from shops for containing high levels of an antifreeze ingredient. How often is propylene glycol used in food and drink, asks Chris Stokel-Walker. Fireball Cinnamon Whisky "tastes like heaven… burns like hell", its … Continue Reading

Improving breast cancer chemo by testing patient's tumors in a dish

A technique that monitors the response of 3D chunks of a patient's tumor has been developed to determine how effective different anti-cancer drugs will be before starting chemotherapy. In a new article, the engineers describe applying the technique to the three major forms of breast cancer. They report that the test can detect significant drops in the metabolic activity levels of all three types of tumors within 72 hours when exposed to an effective drug whereas tumors that were resistant to a drug show no change Continue Reading

Breathe easier: Get your vitamin D

Asthma, which inflames and narrows the airways, has become more common in recent years. While there is no known cure, asthma can be managed with medication and by avoiding allergens and other triggers. A new study points to a convenient, free way to manage acute asthmatic episodes -- catching some rays outside Continue Reading

Replacing saturated fat with polyunsaturated fat linked with lower risk of heart disease

People who swap 5 percent of the calories they consume from saturated fat sources such as red meat and butter with foods containing linoleic acid -- the main polyunsaturated fat found in vegetable oil, nuts, and seeds -- lowered their risk of coronary heart disease events by 9 percent and their risk of death from CHD by 13 percent, according to a new study. Continue Reading

Adding Chemotherapy Following Radiation Treatment Improves Survival for Adults

Adding chemotherapy following radiation treatment improves survival for adults with low-grade gliomas, a slow-growing type of brain tumor

Adults with low-grade gliomas, a form of brain tumor, who received a chemotherapy regimen following completion of radiation therapy, lived longer than patients who received radiation therapy alone, according to long-term follow-up results from a National Institutes of Health-supported randomized controlled clinical trial.

Since all three chemotherapy drugs in the regimen are commercially available, the treatment used in the clinical trial is available for use now. However, this form of chemotherapy is associated with some toxicities, such as reduced white blood cell counts leading to increased infection risk, and trial investigators recommend that it should be utilized only by physicians experienced with managing the side-effects that may occur.

Low-grade gliomas grow more slowly and have a better outcome than the more common type of brain tumor in adults, which is classified as glioblastoma.

The Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG), a clinical trials organization funded by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of NIH, and NCI are making the results public today because a long-term follow-up analysis showed significantly longer survival for those people on the trial who received chemotherapy. Full details from this analysis are to be presented at a scientific meeting in 2014 and in a peer-reviewed publication.

The study, RTOG 9802, enrolled 251 patients with low-grade gliomas between October 1998 and June 2002 to address the role of chemotherapy following radiation treatment. Patients enrolled were at high risk compared to other low-grade glioma patients because they were 40 years of age or older or had a less than complete surgical removal of their tumor if they were under 40 years of age.

All patients started treatment with surgery followed by radiation therapy. By random assignment, half of patients stopped treatment after radiation therapy and the other half received six cycles of chemotherapy after completing radiation therapy. Patients receiving chemotherapy got three drugs: procarbazine (P); CCNU (C), which generically is known as lomustine; and vincristine (V). This chemotherapy, termed PCV, was given over 21 days and repeated every eight weeks for a total of six cycles.

A significant improvement in overall survival was noted for study participants who received PCV chemotherapy plus radiation therapy (13. 3 years median survival time) compared to those receiving radiation therapy alone (7.8 years median survival time), which is a difference of 5.5 years. Median follow-up after initial enrollment has been almost 12 years.

Analysis of how patients are doing based upon the molecular and genetic characteristics of their tumors is ongoing. These studies will be important since molecular characteristics of related brain tumors have been able to identify patients most likely to benefit from chemotherapy.

“The results of this study are practice-changing,” said co-lead investigator Jan Buckner, M.D., professor of oncology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. “Additionally, ongoing analysis of patient tumor samples should allow us to further identify the patients who will, and who will not, benefit from chemotherapy, taking yet another step toward individualized therapy.”

It is estimated that over 23,000 people will be diagnosed with primary brain tumors in the United States in 2014 and that 10 percent to 15 percent will have low-grade gliomas.