Author Interviews, Biomarkers, Cancer Research, Gastrointestinal Disease, JAMA / 10.08.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Wei Zhang, Ph.D. Hanes and Willis Family Professor in Cancer Director Cancer Genomics and Precision Oncology Wake Forest Baptist Comprehensive Cancer Center Winston-Salem, NC  27157-1082 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Gastric cancer is a leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. Infection by the Helicobacter pylori is the major cause of gastric cancer, which accounts for more than 60% of cases. Despite progress in helicobacter pylori eradication and early cancer diagnosis, the five-year survival rate of gastric cancer remains less than 30%. Gastric cancer is one of the most common cancer types in Asia but the incidence for gastric cancer has seen a steadily increase in the United States in recent years. Immunotherapy treatment has shown remarkable benefit for some cancer patients whereas others experience toxicities. It is important to identify markers that help oncologists decide which patient would benefit from this promising new treatment strategy. It has been suggested that gastric cancer that is positive for Epstein-Barr Virus is likely more responsive to immunotherapy but only about 10% of gastric cancer patients belong to this category. More potential markers are urgently needed for clinical practice. There is accumulating evidence that high tumor mutation load, which means there are high numbers of gene mutations in the tumor, can provide a signal to activate immune response systems thus rendering tumors more sensitive to immunotherapy. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, Gastrointestinal Disease, HIV, JAMA / 05.08.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Shan Rajendra MBBCh, MSc , MD, FRCP, FRACP Professor of Medicine University of New South Wales Director of Medicine & Clinical Executive Director Bankstown-Lidcombe Hospital Director Gastro-Intestinal Viral Oncology Group Ingham Institute for Applied Medical Research Sydney  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?   Response: High-risk human papillomavirus(HPV)  infection has been strongly associated with a subset of Barrett’s dysplasia and oesophageal adenocarcinoma. The research question was; Does HPV status of Barrett’s high-grade dysplasia and esophageal adenocarcinoma influence survival as in viral positive head and neck cancers? We therefore sought to determine the prognostic significance of esophageal tumor HPV status and associated viral transcriptional markers (E6/E7 mRNA and p16INK4A) and TP53. (more…)
Author Interviews, Lung Cancer, Race/Ethnic Diversity, Social Issues / 02.08.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Mary Pasquinelli, MS, APRN Doctor of Nursing Practice Candidate (2018) Lung Cancer Screening Program Director Advanced Practice Nurse Pulmonary and Medical Oncology Department of Medicine Chicago, Il 60612  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?  Response: We performed a retrospective analysis of our lung cancer-screening program. Our program included individuals from a predominantly minority inner city population including Federal Qualified Health Centers. The main findings were that our screening program found a higher rate of positive screens and lung cancer in our initial screens than that compared to the National Lung Screening Trial. (more…)
AACR, Author Interviews, Breast Cancer, Cancer Research, Lung Cancer / 01.08.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: “smoking” by shira gal is licensed under CC BY 2.0Dr. Jose M. Martín-Sánchez IP of this study Grupo de Evaluación de Determinantes de Salud y Políticas Sanitarias Universitat Internacional de Catalunya Sant Cugat del Vallès Spain MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Breast cancer has been the first cause of death from cancer among women. However, the mortality rates of breast cancer have been decreased in the last years. This downward trend can be attributed to treatment and screening programs. On the other hand, smoking has been increased among women during the last century and the main cause of lung cancer is smoking behavior. Based on this data, we hypothesized that the lung cancer mortality could outweigh the breast cancer mortality in the next years and the main purpose of this study was to project the mortality rates of lung cancer and breast cancer in women worldwide, based in previous data and using Bayesian methods, in order to identify potential strategies of public health to reduce the impact of lung cancer. Moreover, previous works described the lung and breast cancer mortality or projected one of them in a single country. For example, we have published two articles with data of Spain one of them with the description of lung cancer mortality trend in men and women and other with the projection of lung and breast cancer among women. The information of this study provides an overall point view around the word of this problem of public health. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, Cannabis, Pancreatic / 01.08.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Prof Marco Falasca Head Metabolic Signalling Group School of Pharmacy & Biomedical Sciences Faculty of Health Sciences Curtin University Western University MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?  Response: Each year around 9,800 people in the UK are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. The disease is particularly aggressive and has one of the lowest survival rates of all cancers. Indeed, the life expectancy for pancreatic cancer patients has barely changed in the last 40 years because there are very few, and mostly only palliative care, treatments available. Given the five-year survival rate for people with pancreatic cancer is less than seven per cent, the discovery of new treatments and therapeutic strategies is urgently needed. In this study, we decided to concentrate on a protein, named GPR55, found in high levels in pancreatic cancer. Our results show that GPR55 promotes pancreatic cancer progression. Consequently, we decided to use its inhibitor cannabidiol, a naturally occurring constituent of medicinal cannabis, as a pharmacological strategy to block GPR55 activity. Strikingly, mice with pancreatic cancer that were treated with cannabidiol alongside chemotherapy, survived almost three times longer than those treated with chemotherapy alone, our study reports.  (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, JAMA, Leukemia, Transplantation / 30.07.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Smita Bhatia, MD, MPH Gay and Bew White Endowed Chair in Pediatric Oncology Professor, Pediatric Oncology Vice Chair for Outcomes Research, Dept of Pediatrics Director, Institute for Cancer Outcomes and Survivorship School of Medicine University of Alabama at Birmingham Associate Director for Outcomes Research UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?  Response: Allogeneic bone marrow transplantation BMT is used with a curative intent for life-threatening malignant and non-malignant diseases of childhood. In this observational study, we describe the late mortality experienced by children undergoing BMT over the past 3 decades. Our cohort included 1388 BMT recipients who had undergone allogeneic BMT between 1974 and 2010 and survived 2 or more years. We found that, conditional on surviving the first 2 years after bone marrow transplantation, the probability of surviving an additional 20 years approached 80%. Risk of dying from non-relapse-related causes exceeded the risk of dying from relapse-related causes. The leading non-relapse-related causes of death were infection (with or without graft vs. host disease) and new cancers. Overall, the cohort was at a 14-fold greater risk of dying as compared with the general population (of similar age and sex). Further, this excess risk remained elevated even among those who had survived 25 years. On a positive note, the risk of late mortality has continued to decline over the past 3 decades.  (more…)
Author Interviews, Breast Cancer, Cost of Health Care, Mammograms, Medical Imaging / 29.07.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Michal Horný PhD Assistant Professor Emory University School of Medicine, Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences Emory University Rollins School of Public Health Department of Health Policy and Management Atlanta, GA 30322 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Increased breast tissue density is a common finding at screening mammography. Approximately 30-50% of women have so-called “dense breasts” but many of them are not aware of it. The problem is that the increased tissue density can potentially mask early cancers. In other words, if there is cancer hiding in dense breast tissue, it could be difficult to spot it. To improve the awareness of breast tissue density, a patient group called Are You Dense Advocacy, Inc., started lobbying state and federal policymakers to pass laws mandating health care providers to notify women about their breast density assessments. As a result, 31 states have already enacted some form of legislation regarding dense breast tissue. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, Cost of Health Care, JAMA / 27.07.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Manali Patel MD MPH Assistant Professor of Medicine, Oncology Stanford Palo Alto Veterans Affairs Health Care System   MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?  Response: In prior work, many patients with advanced stages of cancer report a lack of understanding of their prognosis and receipt of care that differs from their preferences. These gaps in care delivery along with the unsustainable rise in healthcare spending at the end-of-life and professional healthcare provider shortages led our team to consider new ways to deliver cancer care for patients.  Based on input from focus groups with patients, caregivers, oncology care providers and healthcare payers, we designed a novel model of cancer care to address these gaps in care delivery.  The intervention consisted of a well-trained lay health worker to assist patients with understanding and communicating their goals of care with their oncology providers and caregivers. We found that patients who received the six-month intervention reported greater satisfaction with the care they received and their decision-making, had higher rates of hospice use, lower acute care use, and 95% lower total healthcare expenditures in the last month of life.  The intervention resulted in nearly $3 million dollars in healthcare savings. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, JAMA, Prostate Cancer / 26.07.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Alison L. Allan, PhD Department of Oncology, Western University London Regional Cancer Program, London Health Sciences Centre London, Ontario, Canada  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?  Response: This was an international collaborative study between Lawson Health Research Institute (London, ON), Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (New York), the Royal Marsden (London, UK) and molecular diagnostics company Epic Sciences (San Diego, CA). The study used a liquid biopsy test developed by Epic Sciences that examines circulating tumour cells (CTCs) in blood samples from patients with advanced prostate cancer who are deciding whether to switch from hormone-targeting therapy to chemotherapy. CTCs are cancer cells that leave a tumour, enter the blood stream and invade other parts of the body, causing the spread of cancer. The test identifies whether or not a patient’s CTCs contain a protein in the nucleus called AR-V7. The research team set out to determine whether the presence of this protein predicted which treatment would best prolong a patient’s life. They found that patients who tested positive for the protein responded best to taxane-based chemotherapy while those who tested negative for the protein responded best to hormone-targeting therapy with drugs called androgen-receptor signaling (ARS) inhibitors. These are the two most widely used drug classes to treat advanced prostate cancer. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, ENT, HPV / 25.07.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Eric Adjei PhD, MA Saint Louis University Center for Health Outcomes Research (SLUCOR) St. Louis, Missouri  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Survivors of head and neck cancer (HNC) develop second primary cancers (SPCs) at a higher rate than most common cancers. This is concerning because the number of HNC survivors are increasing due to advancements in treatment and technology. Patients whose head and neck cancer was caused by smoking and alcohol are different than those whose HNC were caused by human papillomavirus (HPV). We therefore used data from 2000-2014 National Cancer Institute Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) 18 database to examine if the incidence and the type of SPC that patients with smoking-related HNC develop were different from those from HPV-related head and neck cancer. First, independent of group of HNC (HPV-related or not), we found that SPCs among survivors of head and neck cancer were high, with about 1-in-8 patients developing an SPC. Additionally, irrespective of whether the index . head and neck cancer was from smoking-related or HPV-related, the majority of SPCs were second malignancies in head and neck region (e.g. tongue, gum, mouth floor etc), lung and esophagus. However, we observed different incidence rates between the two groups. Patients with smoking-related head and neck cancer developed SPCs at a higher rate (14%) than those with HPV-related HNC (10%). (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, JAMA / 24.07.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: James Yu, MD, MHS Director of Yale Medicine's Prostate & Genitourinary Cancer Radiotherapy Program MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: We previously investigated alternative medicine (therapy used instead of conventional medicine) and showed its use (vs. non-use) was associated with an increased risk of death, but we did not investigate complementary medicine (non-medical therapy used in addition to conventional medicine).  Approximately two-thirds of cancer patients believe CM will prolong life and one-third expect it to cure their disease despite lack of evidence to support this. (more…)
Author Interviews, Biomarkers, Cancer Research, Genetic Research, Prostate Cancer / 23.07.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Gong-Hong Wei, PhD Professor, Academy Research Fellow Faculty of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, Biocenter Oulu University of Oulu, Finland MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer and the fifth leading cause of cancer-related death in men, with more than 1,100,000 new cases diagnosed and 300,000 deaths yearly around the globe. Among the risk factors for prostate cancer development, the genetic heritability of prostate cancer has been reported near 60%. Over the past decade, genome-wide association studies have identified more than 150 independent single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with prostate cancer risk. However, we know very little mechanisms accounting for these associations. SNP rs11672691 at the chromosome 19q13 locus has been found not only associated with prostate cancer risk but also aggressiveness, a form of prostate cancer often with worse prognosis and eventually progression to incurable stage. However, how this genomic variant accounts for prostate cancer severity remains totally unknown. Here we found the association of rs11672691 with additional clinical features of aggressive prostate cancer in an independent cohort of patients with prostate cancer, and discovered a rs11672691-mediated gene regulatory network including several novel genes, HOXA2, CEACAM21 and PCAT19, likely causing prostate cancer progression to incurable stage. In particular, the risk G (guanine) allele of rs11672691 was associated with higher RNA levels of PCAT19 and CEACAM21, and poor prognosis in prostate cancer patients. Rs11672691 G allele enhances chromatin binding of HOXA2 to regulate the expression of CEACAM21 and PCAT19. Using the CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing method, we revealed that rs11672691 genotype directly influence HOXA2 in regulating PCAT19 and CEACAM21 expression, and prostate cancer cellular phenotype. (more…)
Author Interviews, Breast Cancer, Cancer Research, Genetic Research, Nature / 23.07.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Luca Magnani, Ph.D CRUK Fellow/Senior Research Fellow Department of Surgery and Cancer Imperial Centre for Translational and Experimental Medicine Room 140 1st floor ICTEM building Imperial College Hammersmith London, UK MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Would you briefly explain what is meant by the Yin Yang1 molecule? Response: This study was designed to investigate the evidence of non-genetic mechanisms that could contribute to breast cancer biology. Specifically, we developed a map of regulatory regions from luminal breast cancer patients. Regulatory regions are pieces of DNA that are not transcribed into protein-coding genes but they provide information about where and how much each gene should be activated. It is worth highlighting that cancer is not only the consequence of gene mutations but also the result of the wrong genes expressed at the wrong time.  To catalogue regulatory regions we looked for specific modifications that are strongly associated with their activity (epigenetic modifications). Doing so we developed the first extensive catalogue  of non-coding DNA regions that might play an essential role in regulating how breast cancer cell behaves. Regulatory regions do their job by interacting with specific molecules called transcription factors. These molecules can read the information stored in these regulatory regions and contribute to regulate gene expression. Yin Yang 1 is one of such molecules and was previously thought as a ambiguous player capable of activating or repressing gene activity.   (more…)
Author Interviews, Biomarkers, Brain Cancer - Brain Tumors, Cancer Research, Genetic Research / 21.07.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Arnab Chakravarti MD Professor and Chair of Radiation Oncology Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?   Response: Historically, the treatment for grade two gliomas has been a black box without really a standard-of-care therapy. In the past, it was really dealer’s choice, where it was based upon physician and patient preference. Either radiation alone, radiation plus chemotherapy, or chemotherapy alone, there wasn't really any data to guide therapeutic decision-making. Then about three years ago the landmark study RTOG 9802 was published, which demonstrated a survival benefit with the addition of chemotherapy to radiation versus radiation alone. That became the standard of care for the treatment of grade two gliomas. One of the tricky issues with regards to these tumors is that there's a wide range of outcomes. There are patients that succumb to disease within months, others that live decades. It's very important to personalize care for the individual patient and that's why biomarkers, prognostic and predictive biomarkers are so important. The 9802 study showed us for the general population of patients that the addition of chemotherapy to radiation improved outcomes versus radiation alone. The patient population that was selected for our study were the high-risk low-grade glioma patients. Patients who are generally over the age of 40, tumor sizes that exceeded 6 cm in terms of maximum dimension, tumors that invaded the corpus callosum, astrocytic histology of patients with neurological symptoms. These are typically the patients that were included in the study. Really the main objective of this study was to determine the efficacy of treatment compared to historical controls. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, Testosterone / 19.07.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Traver Wright, Ph.D. Research Assistant Professor Department of Health and Kinesiology Texas A&M University College Station, TX MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?   Response: Many cancer patients suffer from a loss of body mass known as cachexia which results in not only a loss of fat, but a debilitating loss of muscle mass and function. This cachexia negatively impacts patient mobility and quality of life, and can also reduce their eligibility to undergo treatments such as radiation and chemotherapy.  Despite the profound negative consequences of cachexia, there are no established therapies to directly address this debilitating loss of body mass during treatment. In this National Cancer Institute funded double-blind, placebo-controlled study we examined the effectiveness of 7 weeks of treatment with the muscle-building hormone testosterone to preserve the body condition of men and women with cervical or head and neck cancer.  Twenty-one patients received weekly injections of either placebo or testosterone.  Over the 7 weeks of treatment, patients were monitored for changes in body composition, activity level, physical ability, and questionnaires regarding quality of life and well-being. (more…)
Author Interviews, Dermatology, Environmental Risks, JAMA, Melanoma / 19.07.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: “Sunscreen” by Tom Newby is licensed under CC BY 2.0Dr Caroline Watts  PhD Post-doctoral Researcher The University of Sydney. MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?  Response: The study analysed data collected from nearly 1700 young Australians who participated in the Australian Melanoma Family Study, a population-based case-control-family study that focused on people who had a melanoma under 40 years of age and compared them with people the same age who did not have a melanoma. We examined sunscreen use during childhood and adulthood and its association with melanoma risk and found that compared to people who did not use sunscreen, regular sunscreen use during childhood reduced melanoma risk by 30-40 per cent.  (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, Circadian Rhythm, Nutrition / 19.07.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: “Christmas Roast and Ham Dinner. Had Tamales for Christmas Eve and Christmas morning. #Roast #Ham #ChristmasDinner #Christmas #Champagne #Dinner #Foodstagram” by Yvonne Esperanza is licensed under CC BY 2.0Manolis Kogevinas, MD, PhD Research Professor NCDs & Environment Group Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) - Campus MAR Barcelona Biomedical Research Park (PRBB) (office 194) Barcelona, Spain MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: We did the study for two main reasons. (i) breast and to a less extent prostate cancer are the cancers that have been associated with night shift work and resulting circadian disruption (disruption of the natural day-light cycle); (ii) experimental studies in animals indicate that timing of diet is important. For example, giving an hypercaloric diet to mice during the day results in obesity, while giving the same diet during the night does not. Mice are nocturnal animals and this means that there normal eating time is the night when they can metabolise what they eat. So, would something similar affect humans? When we eat in late hours at a time when “normally” (normally in the sense of evolution) we would be resting. In this study we show that adherence to a more diurnal eating pattern and specifically an early supper and a long interval between last meal and sleep are associated with a lower breast and prostate cancer risk. Specifically having super before 9pm and having an interval of 2 hours between the last big meal and sleep, were both associated with an approximately 20% prevention of breast and prostate cancer) compared to those who have supper after 10pm or those who eat and then sleep very close after supper. Also, the strongest protection was found in “morning types” as compared to “evening types”. Morning types are expected to function worse than evening types in late evening so late suppers may have more adverse effects on them. (more…)
Abuse and Neglect, Author Interviews, Dermatology, Environmental Risks, Melanoma, Occupational Health / 18.07.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: “Brad at Santa Monica Pier on Ferris Wheel” by Brad Cerenzia is licensed under CC BY 2.0Sonia Duffy, PhD, RN, FAAN Professor, College of Nursing The Ohio State University MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Prior to conducting a tobacco cessation study with Operating Engineers, I conducted a survey of 498 Operating engineer and found that many of them were at risk for sun burning, which can lead to skin cancer.  So as a follow up study, I conducted a study to prevent sun burning, which randomized 357 Operating Engineers to were randomized to four interventions: education only; education and text message reminders; education and mailed sunscreen; and education, text message reminders, and mailed sunscreen. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, Lancet / 10.07.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Paul Lyon DPhil, MRCS Academic Clinical Fellow in Radiology Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust Oxford, UK MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Delivering therapeutic doses of systemic chemotherapy to solid tumours, whilst ensuring side effects remain tolerable, has a presented a long-standing and unsolved challenge in oncology. With the advent of smart nanomedicines for clinical use, such as Lyso-Thermosensitive Liposomal Doxorubicin (LTLD, ThermoDox®, Celsion, USA), which has been formulated to release its doxorubicin content at 2.5°C above body temperature, there is now opportunity for targeted tumour therapy in combination with therapeutic devices. Much like a magnifying glass can focus energy from the sun to burn a hole in paper, ultrasound can be focused deep within the body to induce therapeutic effects in tumours, including ablation, hyperthermia and other bioeffects. Since its inception in the 1940s, focused (or therapeutic) ultrasound has evolved and is now FDA-approved for a variety of indications including ablation of several tumour types, virtue of being safe, non-invasive and non-ionising. Building on decades of preclinical research efforts worldwide, the TARDOX study is the first clinical trial to attempt triggered drug delivery to a target tumour non-invasively using an external focused ultrasound device. This phase 1 study which ran between March 2015-March 2017 in Oxford, UK, treated 10 patients with inoperable primary or secondary liver tumours which were either stable or refractory to previous chemotherapies. In each patient, a single intervention under general anaesthetic was performed during which a selected liver tumour was targeted and gently heated with focused ultrasound following an intravenous infusion of LTLD. Biopsies were used to determine the quantity of intratumoral doxorubicin before and after the ultrasound exposure.  (more…)
Author Interviews, Colon Cancer, JNCI, NIH, Vitamin D / 09.07.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Stephanie J. Weinstein, M.S., Ph.D.  Metabolic Epidemiology Branch, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics National Cancer Institute, NIH   MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?   Response: Vitamin D, known for its role in maintaining bone health, is hypothesized to lower colorectal cancer risk via several pathways related to cell growth and regulation. Previous prospective studies have reported inconsistent results for whether higher concentrations of circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D, the accepted measure of vitamin D status, are linked to lower risk of colorectal cancer. The few randomized clinical trials of vitamin D supplementation and colorectal cancer completed thus far have not shown an effect; but study size, relatively short supplementation duration, and only moderate compliance may have contributed to their null findings. To address inconsistencies in prior studies on vitamin D, and to investigate associations in population subgroups, we harmonized and analyzed participant-level data from over 5,700 colorectal cancer cases who had blood collected before colorectal cancer diagnosis, and 7,100 matched cancer-free controls. Study participants were drawn from 17 prospective cohorts from the United States, Europe, and Asia and were followed for an average of 5.5 years (range: 1 – 25 years). We used a single, widely accepted assay and laboratory for new vitamin D measurements and calibrated existing vitamin D measurements. In the past, substantial differences between assays made it difficult to integrate vitamin D data from different studies. Our novel calibration approach enabled us to explore risk systematically over the broad range of vitamin D levels seen internationally.  (more…)
Author Interviews, Prostate, Prostate Cancer, Urology / 06.07.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Prof. Hashim Ahmed Professor and Chair of Urology Imperial College London MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Men with localised clinically significant prostate cancer currently undergo radical (whole gland) surgery or radiotherapy. These treatments are effective but can cause urine leakage in 5-30% and erectile dysfunction in 30-60%. Radiotherapy can cause rectal problems in 5%. So, although there is benefit in treating the cancer in these men, the side effects significantly affect the quality of life.  (more…)
Author Interviews, Breast Cancer, Cancer Research, Cost of Health Care, JAMA / 06.07.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Dr Nora Pashayan PhD

Clinical Reader in Applied Health Research

University College London

Dept of Applied Health Research

London 

MedicalResearch.com:  What is the background for this study?

Response: Not all women have the same risk of developing breast cancer and not all women have the same potential to benefit from screening.

 

If the screening programme takes into account the individual variation in risk, then evidence from different studies indicate that this could improve the efficiency of the screening programme. However, questions remain on what is the best risk-stratified screening strategy, does risk-stratified screening add value for money, and what are benefit and harm trade-offs.

(more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, JAMA, OBGYNE / 04.07.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Gina Ogilvie | MD MSc FCFP DrPH Professor | Faculty of Medicine | University of British Columbia Canada Research Chair | Global control of HPV related disease and cancer Senior Public Health Scientist | BC Centre for Disease Control Senior Research Advisor | BC Women's Hospital and Health Centre BC Women's Hospital and Health Centre Vancouver, BC MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: HPV is known to be the cause of 99% of cervcial cancers. In this study, we compared the routine screening test for cervical cancer, Pap test, to HPV testing. We found that by using HPV testing, women were significantly more likely to have cervical pre-cancers detected earlier. In addition, women with negative HPV tests were significantly less likely to have pre-cancers 48 months later. (more…)
AACR, Author Interviews, Cancer Research, Pancreatic / 02.07.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Michael J. Pishvaian, MD, PhD Phase I Program Director Assistant Professor Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center Washington, DC 20007 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?  Response: Pancreatic cancer is a deadly disease and will soon be the second leading cause of cancer-related death. We have made some progress in the last few years....but despite this, patients with advanced, inoperable pancreatic cancer (which represents about 80% of pancreatic cancer patients) still only live 12 months, on average. We desperately need new therapies, AND to think "outside the box" for the treatment of pancreatic cancer. In that context, we have been learning that there are subgroups of patients with cancer whose tumors are particularly susceptible to certain therapies - either new therapies, or in some cases, approved therapies that would have not normally been used for that disease.  These specific patient subgroups with "actionable" findings have been identified through extensive genetic and molecular characterization of a patient's tumor. In the past there was a cynical perspective that pancreatic cancer did not harbor any "actionable" molecular abnormalities. We have now demonstrated that: 1) There are clearly and undeniably patients with pancreatic cancer whose tumors do indeed harbor "actionable" findings.  This represents at least 27% of pancreatic cancer patients, but may represent up to 50% as new therapies evolve.  These percentages are also highly consistent with similar publications in the pancreatic cancer field over the last few years; and 2) Importantly, we have been following our patients longitudinally for outcomes, and while it is still early, there is a statistically significant improvement in progression-free survival when a patient with a specific actionable molecular abnormality is treated with the appropriately "targeted" therapy.  This finding is also consistent with findings that have been observed in other cancer types.   (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, Endocrinology, JAMA, Pediatrics / 02.07.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: “Cancer awareness” by Susan Roberts is licensed under CC BY 2.0Mette Vestergaard Jensen, MD Danish Cancer Society Research Center MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Cancer survival rates have improved and it is necessary to explore the long-term consequences of cancer treatment. Adolescents and young adults with cancer are at risk for several therapy-related late effects; however, these have not been studied extensively. We investigatet the lifetime risks of endocrine late effects of cancer and cancer treatment in adolescent and young adult cancer s (more…)
Annals Internal Medicine, Author Interviews, Cancer Research, Kidney Disease, Radiology, Surgical Research / 30.06.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Adam Talenfeld, M.D Assistant Professor of Radiology Weill Cornell Medical College Assistant Attending Radiologist New York-Presbyterian Hospital. MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: We know that renal function decreases as we age, and we know that decreased renal function is independently associated with increased mortality. This is why medical society guidelines recommend partial nephrectomy, which preserves kidney tissue and function, over radical nephrectomy for the treatment of the smallest kidney cancers, stage T1a tumors, which are under 4 cm diameter. Paradoxically, though, we know older patients are more likely than younger patients to receive radical nephrectomy for these smallest tumors, probably because it’s a simpler surgery than partial nephrectomy. Percutaneous ablation, focal tissue destruction using heat or cold emanating from the tip of a needle, is a newer, image-guided, minimally-invasive, tissue-sparing treatment for solid organ tumors. We wanted to test how well percutaneous ablation would compare to partial nephrectomy and radical nephrectomy for these smallest kidney cancers. We found that percutaneous ablation was associated with similar 5-year overall and cancer-specific survival compared to radical nephrectomy. At the same time, ablation was associated with significantly lower rates of new-onset chronic renal insufficiency and one-fifth as many serious non-urological complications than radical nephrectomy within 30 days of treatment. These were complications, such as deep venous thrombosis or pneumonia, that resulted in emergency department visits or new hospital admissions. The outcomes of percutaneous ablation compared with partial nephrectomy were somewhat less clear, though ablation was again associated with fewer perioperative complications. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, Nutrition / 29.06.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Ulrich Pfeffer, PhD Head of the Functional Genomics lab IRCCS AOU San Martino - IST Istituto Nazionale per la Ricerca sul Cancro Genova, Italy  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Curcumin is well known as a dietary integrator and in alternative medicine. Many previous studies showed its anti-cancer and many other beneficial activities. We and others had shown that these activities rely on its ability to reduce inflammation, which is an important factor in cancer development. This activity had also been described in much detail. It appears that curcumin inhibits the master regulator of the inflammatory program, the so called Nuclear factor kappa B, NFκB. In the present study, we asked whether Curcumin also affects tumor cell metabolism and if so, how. We show that curcumin inhibits a central enzyme of the cell metabolism, the ATP-Synthase, that stands at the end of the chain that burns sugar and produces energy. In tumor cells, this also leads to the production of reactive oxygen species, ROS, that kill the cancer cell. (more…)
Author Interviews, Melanoma / 26.06.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Eugene R. Semenov, MD, MA Washington University School of Medicine MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Melanoma is an aggressive type of skin cancer which has traditionally carried a poor prognosis. Over the past decade, many new therapies have become available that have improved long-term survival rates in patients with metastatic melanoma. However, these drugs have been associated with serious side effects, such as pancreatitis and hepatitis. Our goal was to study how melanoma diagnosis, disease stage, and treatment status impact patient quality of life (QoL). (more…)