Author Interviews, Breast Cancer, Cancer Research, JAMA, MRSA, Radiation Therapy / 06.05.2023

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Beth McLellan, M.D. Chief, Division of Dermatology Montefiore Medical Center Albert Einstein College of Medicine MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? How is the decolonization initiated and maintained? Response: We were interested in exploring whether bacteria on the skin plays a role in radiation dermatitis like it does in other skin diseases that cause a breakdown in the skin barrier. We used a bacterial decolonization regimen that includes chlorhexidine 2% cleanser for the body and mupirocin 2% ointment to the inside of the nose for 5 consecutive days before starting radiation therapy and repeated for an additional 5 days every other week for the duration of radiation. (more…)
Lung Cancer, Race/Ethnic Diversity / 02.05.2023

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Andres Kohan MD MHSc. in Translational Research Joint Department of Medical Imaging University Health Network Mount Sinai Hospital and Women's College Hospital University of Toronto Toronto, Canada   MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Inequalities in access to healthcare for oncologic patients and its impact on quality of life and survival have been previously described. However, there also exists reports pointing out that when factors contributing to socioeconomic inequality are accounted for differences in outcome between races remain identifiable. In this context, we sought to evaluate the presence of disparities in imaging in a selected population of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) within AACRs Project GENIE Biopharma Consortium (BPC) dataset v 1.1. This database is the largest in existence that has not only the patients’ imaging and clinical staging/follow-up, but also the genetic profile of the patients’ tumors. (more…)
Author Interviews, Dermatology, Melanoma, USPSTF / 27.04.2023

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: John M. Ruiz, Ph.D Associate Professor of Clinical Psychology Department of Psychology University of Arizona Dr. Ruiz is the incoming editor-in-chief of the American Psychological Association (APA) journal, Health Psychology Dr. Ruiz joined the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force in January 2022     MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Skin cancer is the most common type of cancer in the United States, but it often does not cause serious complications or death. The Task Force’s recommendation on screening for skin cancer focuses on the effectiveness of visual skin exams for children and adults who do not have any symptoms. When reviewing the latest research, we found that there is currently not enough evidence to tell us whether or not screening people without signs or symptoms is beneficial. This is an I statement. (more…)
Author Interviews, Breast Cancer, JAMA, Race/Ethnic Diversity / 25.04.2023

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Mahdi Fallah, MD, PhD Study and Group Leader Risk Adapted Prevention (RAD) Group Division of Preventive Oncology National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT) German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) Heidelberg, Germany   MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Breast cancer is a significant public health problem, being the most commonly diagnosed cancer and the second leading cause of cancer death in women in the US. Breast cancer screening from age 50 has been associated with a reduction in mortality and is recommended by the US Preventive Services Task Force. However, there is a significant disparity in mortality rates between Black and White individuals, with Black women having a higher death rate, especially before age 50. The current one-size-fits-all policy for breast cancer screening may not be equitable or optimal, and risk-adapted starting ages of screening based on known risk factors, such as race and ethnicity, may be recommended to optimize the benefit of screening. Our study aimed to provide evidence for a risk-adapted starting age of screening by race and ethnicity. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, JAMA, NCI, Ovarian Cancer / 21.04.2023

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Lauren Hurwitz, PhD Postdoctoral Fellow Division of Cancer Epidemiology & Genetics National Cancer Institute MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Prior studies have demonstrated that frequent (i.e., daily or near daily) use of aspirin is associated with a lower risk of developing ovarian cancer. We sought to determine if this risk reduction is also observed for individuals with greater genetic susceptibility to ovarian cancer, who may benefit more from preventive interventions. Our study found that individuals who took aspirin frequently had a lower risk of ovarian cancer, regardless of whether they had higher or lower genetic susceptibility to ovarian cancer. (more…)
AACR, Author Interviews, Cancer Research / 18.04.2023

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Matthew H. Taylor, MD Earle A. Chiles Research Institute Providence Cancer Institute Portland, OR MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What is the importance of ILT4 or LILRB2 in tumor growth?
  1. ILT4, also known as LILRB2, is expressed on myeloid cells, including monocytes, DCs, macrophages and neutrophils. LILRB2 expressing myeloid cells promote tumor immune evasion and contribute to anti-PD1 resistance, making this a promising target to reverse myeloid-mediated immune suppression in the TME.
  2. IO-108 is a fully human IgG4 therapeutic antibody that binds to LILRB2 with high affinity and specificity, and blocks binding of LILRB2 to multiple cancer-relevant ligands. This blockade causes re-programming of immune suppressive myeloid cells to pro-inflammatory in the tumor microenvironment leading to the activation of T cells.
  3. This first-in-human, open-label Phase 1 study of IO-108 as monotherapy or in combination with pembrolizumab was designed to learn about safety, tolerability and preliminary efficacy of IO-108 as monotherapy or in combination with a PD-1 inhibitor in patients with advanced, metastatic solid tumors. The study was also designed to find a dose of IO-108 that is safe and efficacious to be tested in patients with various solid tumors.
(more…)
Author Interviews, Prostate Cancer / 05.04.2023

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Freddie C. Hamdy FRCS, FMedSci Nuffield Professor of Surgery, University of Oxford Jenny L. Donovan PhD, FMedSci Professor of Social Medicine, University of Bristol     MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response:  Prostate cancer is a common malignancy in men. Prostate cancer diagnosis is made largely through opportunistic screening with a PSA (Prostate Specific Antigen) blood test, followed by prostate biopsies. The ProtecT study, funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research in the UK, is the largest randomised trial of treatment in screen-detected localised prostate cancer. The study began by testing 82,429 men between the ages of 50 and 69 years, across nine UK centres with a PSA blood test, followed by biopsies of the prostate if the PSA level was elevated. 2,664 men with clinically localised prostate cancer were found. From these, 1,643 (62%) agreed to be randomised to Surgery (radical prostatectomy to remove the prostate gland), Radiotherapy (external beam with a period of hormone treatment beforehand), or Active Monitoring (where men received regular checks and further investigations, with change to radical treatment as necessary). The men were carefully followed up for an average of 15 years. In parallel, the side-effects of treatments and quality of life of these men was investigated using patient-reported outcomes included in an annual study questionnaire completed for at least 12 years. (more…)
Author Interviews, Biomarkers, Cancer Research, Genetic Research / 27.03.2023

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Florence Le Calvez-Kelm, Ph.D. Genomic Epidemiology Branch International Agency for Research on Cancer Lyon, France and Trevor Levin Ph.D. Founder and CEO of Convergent Genomics that produces the Uroamp assay San Francisco, CA     MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Bladder cancer is one of the most expensive and challenging to diagnose and treat. Therefore, identifying cost-effective urine bladder cancer biomarkers to complement or replace the gold-standard invasive and costly cystoscopy for the early detection and monitoring of this highly recurrent disease is crucial. At the international Agency for research on Cancer (IARC-WHO), we have developed a simple urine-based assay TERT promoter mutations, the most common mutations in bladder cancer, and showed that the urine biomarker could detect bladder cancer patients at diagnosis but many years prior to clinical diagnosis. However, in this study, we wanted to see whether a more comprehensive genomic profiling of urine samples collected years prior to clinical diagnosis of bladder cancer could identify even more patients before they develop any symptoms. The study was based on the UroAmp test, a general urine test that identifies mutations in 60 genes, developed by the Oregon Health Science University spin out company, Convergent Genomics. Drawing on previous research to identify genetic mutations linked to bladder cancer, the research team narrowed the new test down to focus on mutations within just ten genes. Working with colleagues from the Tehran University of Medical Sciences in Iran, they trialled the potential new test using samples from the Golestan Cohort Study, which has tracked the health of more than 50,000 participants over ten years, all of whom provided urine samples at recruitment. Forty people within the study developed bladder cancer during that decade, and the team were able to test urine samples from twenty-nine of them, along with samples from 98 other similar participants as controls. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, Immunotherapy, Melanoma, Science, UT Southwestern / 22.03.2023

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Andrew Y. Koh, M.D. Associate Professor, Pediatrics and Microbiology University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center Director of Pediatric Cellular and ImmunoTherapeutics Program University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and Children's Health MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: We asked the basic question how does a bacteria in your gut help your immune system fight a cancer outside the gut (extraintestinal tumor).  Based on work that our group and others have published in the infectious diseases, microbiology, and inflammation fields, we knew that certain conditions (e.g. inflammation, infection) promote gut microbiota to move from the gut to the mesenteric lymph nodes.  So we hypothesized that immune checkpoint therapy (which essentially induces inflammation to promote tumor killing) might induce gut microbiota translocation to the mesenteric lymph nodes and that this might be the first step by which gut bacteria can engage with host immune cells.  (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, Genetic Research, JAMA, Personalized Medicine, Vanderbilt / 18.03.2023

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Jonathan Mosley, MD, PhD Associate Professor Division of Clinical Pharmacology Departments of Internal Medicine and Biomedical Informatics Vanderbilt University Medical Center MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Prostate cancer is an important source of morbidity and mortality among men. Earlier detection of disease is essential to reduce these adverse outcomes. Prostate cancer is heritable, and many single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with disease risk have been identified. Thus, there is considerable interest in using tools such as polygenic risk scores, which measure the burden of genetic risk variants an individual carries, to identify men at elevated risk of disease. (more…)
Allergies, Author Interviews, Cancer Research, Dermatology, Melanoma / 17.03.2023

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Jenni Komulainen University of Eastern Finland | UEF MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: The background for this study comes from the earlier findings that the skin cancer risk and atopic status have some connection, but the results have been inconsistent. The connection between atopy and skin cancers may be related to the stimulation of protective immune response or the predisposition to carcinogenesis through chronic inflammation. The aim of this study was to investigate if atopic disorders associate with skin cancers. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, Nature, NYU, Pancreatic / 17.03.2023

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Aristotelis Tsirigos, Ph.D. Professor of Medicine and Pathology Co-director, Precision Medicine Director, Applied Bioinformatics LaboratoriesNew York University School of Medicine MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Pancreatic cancer is one of the most lethal types of cancer with only 12% of patients surviving more than 5 years after diagnosis. One of the main reasons behind the dismal prognosis is the complexity of the tumor. Pancreatic cancer cells are very heterogenous and interact with different types of non-malignant cells in what is known as the tumor microenvironment. (more…)
Author Interviews, Breast Cancer, Cancer Research, JAMA, Race/Ethnic Diversity / 09.03.2023

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Hyuna Sung, PHDHyuna Sung, PHD Senior Principal Scientist, Cancer Surveillance Research American Cancer Society Kennesaw, GA 30144
  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) accounts for 10% to 20% of all breast cancer diagnoses in the US. This subtype of breast cancer tends to spread faster and has fewer treatment options. In the US, Black women are about two-fold more likely than White women to develop TNBC. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, Dermatology, Melanoma, Vitamin C / 10.01.2023

MedicalResearch.com Editors' note:  Please consult your health care provider before initiating any vitamin supplementation, including Vitamin D as potentially serious side effects are possible. MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Prof. Ilkka T Harvima Department of Dermatology University of Eastern Finland and Kuopio University Hospital Kuopio, Finland MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: The North Savo Skin Cancer Program in Eastern Finland was launched in 2017, and it aims at reducing the incidence, morbidity and mortality caused by skin cancers, such as basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma and melanoma. A part of this program constituted a follow-up project of patients with an assessed risk of skin cancer. There are also several other parts, such as analysis of skin cancer material reposited in the Biobank of Eastern Finland (see the enclosed BMC Cancer 2021 reference), public information, education of general physicians and medical students etc. In 2021, we published the article in BMC Cancer (enclosed), where we attempted to clarify the reasons for the relatively high melanoma mortality in relation to its incidence in this region (North Savo) of the country. By using the biobank material we also published an article in 2022 showing that melanoma and melanoma in situ associate with keratinocytic premalignant lesions and keratinocyte skin carcinomas (Suhonen V, Siiskonen H, Suni M, Rummukainen J, Mannermaa A, Harvima IT. Malignant and in situ subtypes of melanoma are associated with basal and squamous cell carcinoma and its precancerous lesions. Eur J Dermatol 2022 Apr 1;32(2):187-194. doi: 10.1684/ejd.2022.4221.). The follow-up study of about 500 subjects is ongoing (COVID-19 caused pretty much trouble for the recruitment). This is focused on finding risk factors and biomarkers for skin cancers and carcinogenesis. The first study on these follow-up patients was published in 2021 (Komulainen J, Siiskonen H, Harvima IT. Association of elevated serum tryptase with cutaneous photodamage and skin cancers. Int Arch Allergy Immunol 2021;182(11):1135-1142. doi: 10.1159/000517287.). The article on vitamin D just recently published in Melanoma Research on Dec 28, 2022, is the second one. The third work in pipeline deals with the association of atopic disorders with skin cancers, and the manuscript is under revision. So, these provide with some background for the article in Melanoma Research. Actually, we thought that vitamin D use might associate with skin photoaging, actinic keratoses and carcinogenesis, but the only, though very important, finding was its association with melanoma. We have not focused our research just on vitamin D only, but it looks like we need to go further. (more…)
Author Interviews, Breast Cancer, Mammograms / 07.12.2022

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Wendie Berg, MD, PhD, FACR Professor of Radiology University of Pittsburgh MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Mammography misses many cancers in women with a personal history of breast cancer (PHBC). MRI improves early detection of cancer in women with PHBC and the American College of Radiology recommends adding MRI every year for women with PHBC and dense breasts or diagnosis by age 50 but not every woman can tolerate MRI. Contrast-enhanced mammography (CEM) appears to be a good alternative to MRI.  Our study examined performance of CEM after tomosynthesis in women with PHBC.  We first trained our radiologists in CEM (Berg WA et al JBI 2021) and two radiologists interpreted both tomosynthesis and CEM on every participant. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, Duke, Heart Disease, Pediatrics / 06.12.2022

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Amy Berkman, MD Department of Pediatrics Duke University School of Medicine MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Cancer incidence in adolescents and young adults (AYAs, aged 15-39 years at diagnosis) is increasing, with approximately 90,000 new diagnoses annually in the US. Improvements in 5-year survival have led to a growing population of survivors of AYA cancer, currently estimated at >600,000 survivors. Survivors are at increased risk of treatment related chronic conditions including cardiovascular disease (CVD). We wanted to determine whether certain sociodemographic and medical history factors further increase the risk of CVD in AYA cancer survivors and also compare risk of CVD between AYA cancer survivors and the general population. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, COVID -19 Coronavirus / 17.11.2022

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Amy S. Lee, Ph.D.Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular MedicineUSC/Norris Cancer CenterLos Angeles, CA 90033 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Trying to find stable host cell targets to combat SARS-CoV-2 instead of chasing after the ever-mutating virus.    MedicalResearch.com: What should readers take away from your report? Response: When SARS-CoV-2 infects the host cell, it creates stress leading to higher production of GRP78. Blocking GRP78 reduces the ability of the virus to multiple and infect other cells.    (more…)
Author Interviews, Immunotherapy, JAMA, Melanoma / 03.11.2022

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Olivier van Not Scientific Bureau, Dutch Institute for Clinical Auditing Leiden, the Netherlands Department of Medical Oncology University Medical Centre Utrecht Utrecht, the Netherlands MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: The introduction of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) has significantly improved the survival of advanced melanoma patients. Treatment with these ICIs can lead to immune-related adverse events, also known as toxicity. This toxicity is graded from 1 (mild) to 5 (fatal) and examples of these toxicities are hepatitis and colitis. Since these toxicities can be life threatening and become chronic, they require treatment with immunosuppressants such as corticosteroids or anti-TNF. In a previous study of melanoma patients treated with different types of immune checkpoint inhibitors [Verheijden et al, Clin Cancer Research 2020] we found survival to be better for patients experiencing immune-related toxicity, which is in line with many other studies in several cancer types and a recent meta-analysis. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, Colon Cancer, Genetic Research, Nature / 18.10.2022

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Royce Zhou, MD/PhD Candidate Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: The background of this story is to see whether things outside of the cancer cell, such as the tumor microenvironment, can lead to epigenetic changes within the cancer cell. These changes are largely believed to be due to factors inside the cell, not outside. Super-enhancers are the top 1-2% of enhancers in the genome. They control cell identity genes and oncogenes in cancer. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, Dermatology, Race/Ethnic Diversity / 18.10.2022

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Alexandra J. White, PhD, MSPH Stadtman Investigator Epidemiology Branch National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences National Institutes of Health Research Triangle Park, NC MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What is the chemical primarily used in hair straighteners? Response: Hair products such as dye and chemical straighteners contain several different chemicals that may act as carcinogens or endocrine disruptors and thus may be important for cancer risk. Straighteners in particular have been found to include chemicals such as phthalates, parabens, cyclosiloxanes and metals and may release formaldehyde when heated. Previous research has suggested that hair dye and chemical straighteners are related to other hormone-sensitive cancers such as breast and ovarian cancer, but no previous study has considered how they are related to uterine cancer risk. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, Dermatology, Melanoma / 22.09.2022

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: “Prof. Ronit Satchi-Fainaro, the Director of the Cancer Biology Research Center led this study with an outstanding PhD student, Sabina Pozzi” Prof. Ronit Satchi-Fainaro, Ph.D. Head, Cancer Research and Nanomedicine Laboratory Kurt and Herman Lion Chair in Nanosciences and Nanotechnologies Director, Cancer Biology Research Center Department of Physiology and Pharmacology Sackler Faculty of Medicine Sagol School of Neuroscience Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Cutaneous melanoma is the deadliest of all skin cancers, especially due to its tendency to invade and develop metastases with an incidence of brain metastasis development of 40% to 50% in patients with melanoma stage IV (although the incidence post mortem is 70–90%). We know that the brain microenvironment represents the first line of reaction in favor or against the tumor due to its dual ability to generate an immune-stimulatory or immunosuppressive niche, which will ultimately determine the establishment and growth of melanoma brain metastasis. Among the brain-resident cells, astrocytes are responsible for the maintenance of the brain homeostasis, and subsequent to melanoma brain colonization, they sustain and foster the growth of melanoma cells (more…)
Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Cancer Research, JAMA, Lancet, Lung Cancer, Medical Imaging, Technology / 07.09.2022

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Raymond H. Mak, MD Radiation Oncology Disease Center Leader for Thoracic Oncology Director of Patient Safety and QualityDirector of Clinical Innovation Associate Professor, Harvard Medical School Cancer - Radiation Oncology, Radiation Oncology Department of Radiation Oncology Brigham and Women's Hospital MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What is the algorithm detecting? Response: Lung cancer, the most common cancer worldwide is highly lethal, but can be treated and cured in some cases with radiation therapy.  Nearly half of lung cancer patients will eventually require some form of radiation therapy, but the planning for a course of radiation therapy currently entails manual, time-consuming, and resource-intensive work by highly trained physicians to segment (target) the cancerous tumors in the lungs and adjacent lymph nodes on three-dimensional images (CT scans). Prior studies have shown substantial variation in how expert clinicians delineate these targets, which can negatively impact outcomes and there is a projected shortage of skilled medical staff to perform these tasks worldwide as cancer rates increase. To address this critical gap, our team developed deep learning algorithms that can automatically target lung cancer in the lungs and adjacent lymph nodes from CT scans that are used for radiation therapy planning, and can be deployed in seconds. We trained these artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms using expert-segmented targets from over 700 cases and validated the performance in over 1300 patients in external datasets (including publicly available data from a national trial), benchmarked its performance against expert clinicians, and then further validated the clinical usefulness of the algorithm in human-AI collaboration experiments that measured accuracy, task speed, and end-user satisfaction. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, JAMA / 06.09.2022

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Samir Parekh, MBBS Hematology-Oncology, Cancer Director of Translational Research in Myeloma and Co-leader of the Cancer Clinical Investigation program The Tisch Cancer Institute Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Clinical outcomes for myeloma patients patients have improved significantly over the past decade with the introduction and success of newer immunomodulatory treatments such as CART cell therapy and bispecific antibodies. Strategies are needed to determine the best treatment options for patients relapsing or unresponsive to initial courses of these types of therapies. We analyzed the outcomes of patients relapsing after bispecific antibody therapy for myeloma. Our data shows that sequencing of bispecific antibodies or CART after initial bispecific failure can effectively salvage patients and lead to excellent outcomes in myeloma. This provides the foundation for future studies combining this new class of immunotherapy with CART or additional bispecific antibodies to improve outcomes in myeloma. (more…)
Author Interviews, Colon Cancer, PLoS / 21.08.2022

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Professor Stephen Duffy Director of the Policy Research Unit in Cancer Awareness, Screening and Early Diagnosis Centre Lead, Centre for Prevention, Detection and Diagnosis Queen Mary University of London MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: The NHS Bowel Cancer Screening Programme provides 2 yearly screening to men and women aged 60-74, and it is in the process of reducing the starting age to 50 years. The screening method is faecal immunochemical testing (FIT), in which the screenee places a small sample of faeces in a container and mails this back to the lab, which tests the sample for haemoglobin, as bleeding can be a sign of cancer. The screenee is invited for colonoscopy if the level of haemoglobin is higher than 120 micrograms per gram. The system is under considerable pressure as there are limited colonoscopy resources, the programme is working towards a lower age at starting screening and we are still dealing with the backlog caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, and there may be a need to reduce the intensity of screening in order that the colonoscopy services can cope. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research / 09.08.2022

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Sarah S. Jackson PhD Infections and Immunoepidemiology Branch Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics National Cancer Institute Bethesda, MD 20892 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: There are many cancers that both men and women can develop, specifically those that do not affect the reproductive tract. Men have higher rates of these nonreproductive cancers than women. There are only two nonreproductive cancer types that are more common in women: thyroid and gallbladder. Historically, we have thought this is because women are less likely to smoke or drink and are more likely to eat well and exercise than men. This study sought to examine the sex bias in cancer incidence after controlling for those lifestyle factors to see if this explained the male predominance in cancer. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, Nutrition / 26.07.2022

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Prof. John C. Mathers PhD Director, Human Nutrition Research Centre Director, Centre for Healthier Lives Population Health Sciences Institute Newcastle University Newcastle on Tyne UK MedicalResearch.com:  What is the background for this study?   Response: My colleagues and I have had a long-term interest in carrying out studies in people with hereditary cancer as a model for cancer in the general population. Here we studied people with Lynch syndrome who have an inherited defect in one of the genes encoding the DNA mismatch repair system. Because of this, they accumulate DNA damage faster than the general population and are prone to early cancers at several sites around the body. In the CAPP2 Study, we randomised almost 1000 people with Lynch syndrome to either resistant starch or to an ordinary corn-starch placebo. (more…)
Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Heart Disease, JAMA, Lung Cancer, Supplements, USPSTF / 30.06.2022

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Michael J. Barry, M.D Director of the Informed Medical Decisions Program Health Decision Sciences Center Massachusetts General Hospital. Professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School Dr. Barry was appointed as Vice Chair of USPSTF in March 2021. He previously served as a member from January 2017 through December 2020.   MedicalResearch.com:  What is the background for this study?  What are the main findings? Response: The Task Force looked at the use of vitamin and mineral supplementation specifically for the prevention of heart disease, stroke, and cancer. We found that there is not enough evidence to recommend for or against taking multivitamin supplements, nor the use of single or paired nutrient supplements, to prevent these conditions. However, we do know that you should not take vitamin E or beta-carotene for this purpose. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, COVID -19 Coronavirus, Lung Cancer, Surgical Research / 21.06.2022

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Emanuela Taioli, MD, PhD Director, Institute for Translational Epidemiology Professor, Population Health Science and Policy Professor, Thoracic Surgery Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai New York, NY MedicalResearch.com:  What is the background for this study?  Response: NYC experienced a halt on all elective care from March 22 to June 8, 2020, provoking reduced cancer screening rates, and delayed cancer care and treatment. We wanted to quantify the effect of the “pause” on cancer stage at diagnosis using lung cancer as an example of a condition where early diagnosis can dramatically modify survival. (more…)