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Author Interviews, Biomarkers, Prostate Cancer / 20.07.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Adam Weiner MD Urology Resident Feinberg School of Medicine Northwestern University MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?  Response: There has been a lot of controversy over the past decade regarding whether PSA screening for prostate cancer prevents death from prostate cancer. Accordingly, the US preventive services task force (USPSTF) recommended against PSA screening for older men in 2008 and for all men in 2012. This was mainly based on information from a large clinical trial in the US. Recently it was discovered that men in the non-screening part of this trial received even more PSA screens than men in the screening part of the trial, suggesting the results were likely diluted. In a large European trial, PSA screening was shown to reduce both death from prostate cancer and the number of men diagnosed with metastatic prostate cancer, an incurable and deadly form of prostate cancer. (more…)
Annals Internal Medicine, Author Interviews, Breast Cancer, Mammograms / 19.07.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr-Brian-SpragueBrian L. Sprague, PhD Assistant Professor Department of Surgery Assistant Professor Department of Biochemistry University of Vermont MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Having dense breasts makes mammography more difficult to interpret and is also an independent risk factor for developing breast cancer. About half of all U.S. states require that information on the density of a woman's breasts be made available to her after a mammogram, and in some states the report must also inform such women that there are additional tests, such as breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), that may detect breast cancer in women who have dense breasts and normal mammograms. Such laws are controversial because of the large number of women affected (around 40% of women aged 40-74) and due to a lack of consensus in the medical community regarding the benefits and harms of supplemental screening strategies. An additional concern is the subjective nature of breast density assessment, which is based on the Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System (BI-RADS) that provides four possible categories for breast density. (more…)
Author Interviews, Genetic Research, Melanoma / 19.07.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Adam Berger, MD, FACS Vice Chair for Clinical Research Thomas Jefferson University Hospital Philadelphia , PA MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?  Dr. Berger: Perhaps the most important point for consideration in the adoption of a new diagnostic test is: “Will this test impact patient management decisions for the patient that is sitting in front of me?” If the answer is no, then I would not order the test. If this answer is yes, the next question is how does it alter or impact patient management. The DecisionDx-Melanoma test is a 31-gene expression profile test that has been shown to accurately separate or stratify patients with cutaneous melanoma identified to be at high risk of metastasis (“Class 2” test result) from those who are at an extremely low risk of disease progression (“Class 1” test result). In two peer-reviewed publications from 2015 and three studies presented between April and June of this year, the DecisionDx-Melanoma test showed a Negative Predictive Value of 98% or 99% for death from melanoma or disease free-survival in patients with Stage I and II melanoma. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, End of Life Care, JAMA / 16.07.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Robert Gramling, MD, DSc Division of Palliative Medicine, University of Vermont, Burlington Department of Family Medicine Burlington Vermont School of Nursing and Department of Public Health Sciences Center for Communication and Disparities Research, Department of Family Medicine, and Division of Palliative Care, Center for Community Health, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, New York MedicalResearch.com: What should readers take away from your report? Response: Patients with advanced cancer often misunderstand their doctor's expectations about the length of life they have remaining and this misunderstanding is relevant to their preferences for sharing in treatment decisions at end of life. (more…)
Author Interviews, Immunotherapy, Prostate Cancer / 16.07.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Julie Graff, M.D. Oncologist specializing in prostate cancer Knight Cancer Institute Oregon Health & Science University MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Men with metastatic prostate cancer that is not responding to second-line androgen receptor blockade (such as enzalutamide) have a very limited life expectancy. We found that adding immunotherapy to enzalutamide in men whose prostate cancer is no longer responding to enzalutamide could exert a very strong anti-cancer effect. Previous experience with this type of immunotherapy in prostate cancer patients suggested this type immunotherapy does not work in patients with prostate cancer. What we have found will lead to more studies of this agent. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer, Cancer Research, Lung Cancer / 15.07.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Jan Marie Eberth, PhD Assistant Professor, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics Deputy Director, SC Rural Health Research Center Core Faculty, Statewide Cancer Prevention and Control Program Arnold School of Public Health University of South Carolina Columbia, SC 29208 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Large, randomized clinical trials have shown that chest x-rays do not reduce mortality from lung cancer. Low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) screening, however, was shown to reduce lung cancer mortality by 20% in the National Lung Screening Trial. The most significant risk of LDCT screening is the high rate of false-positives (about 25%), which subsequent studies have shown can be reduced by using new nodule management criteria such as Lung-RADS. Less than half of the physicians surveyed in our study reported reduced lung cancer mortality as a benefit of LDCT screening. Many also reported concerns about radiation exposure (50%) and unnecessary follow-up procedures (88%) as risks. Since the majority of family physicians surveyed did not know that organizations such as the US Preventive Services Task Force or National Comprehensive Cancer Network recommend high-risk individuals receive annual LDCT screening, it is not surprising that some family physicians would continue to order a chest x-ray for screening, despite the lack of scientific evidence. Similarly, only 36% of physicians reported that high-risk patients should be screened annually (vs. every 6 months, 2 years, or 3 years). (more…)
Alzheimer's - Dementia, Author Interviews, Chemotherapy, Parkinson's / 13.07.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Charbel Moussa MD. PhD Assistant Professor of Neurology Director- Laboratory for Dementia and Parkinsonism Clinical Research Director- National Parkinson's Foundation Center for Excellence Translational Neurotherapeutics Program Department of Neurology Georgetown University Medical Center Washington DC. MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: We conducted a pilot open label proof-of-concept study to evaluate the safety and tolerability of Nilotinib in participants with advanced Parkinson’s disease (PD) with dementia (PDD) or dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). Our primary objective is to demonstrate that low oral daily doses of 150mg or 300mg Nilotinib (compared to 600-800mg in cancer) are safe and tolerated. Our secondary objectives are that Nilotinib will cross the blood brain barier and may inhibit cerebral spinal fluid Abl. Based on preclinical data we also hypothesized that Nilotinib will increase DA levels. Motor and cognitive functions were also measured as exploratory clinical outcomes. Other exploratory outcomes are that Nilotinib may alter PD-related CSF biomarkers DJ-1 and α-synuclein. As most participants in this study had dementia we also explored the effects of Nilotinib on Alzheimer's Disease-related CSF biomarkers, including Aβ40 and Aβ42, total tau and phosphorylated tau (p-tau). (more…)
Author Interviews, Breast Cancer, CMAJ, Pain Research / 13.07.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Jason Busse PhD Department of Anesthesia Department of Clinical Epidemiology & Biostatistics McMaster University Hamilton, ON MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Persistent pain after breast cancer surgery affects up to 60% of patients. Early identification of those at higher risk could help inform optimal management. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies to explore factors associated with persistent pain among women who have undergone surgery for breast cancer. We found that development of persistent pain after breast cancer surgery was associated with younger age, radiotherapy, axillary lymph node dissection, greater acute postoperative pain and preoperative pain. Axillary lymph node dissection increases the absolute risk of persistent pain by 21%, and provides the only high yield target for a modifiable risk factor to prevent the development of persistent pain after breast cancer surgery. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, Diabetes / 13.07.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Iliana Lega, MD, FRCPC Assistant Professor Department of Medicine and a Clinician Scientist University of Toronto MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Diabetes and cancer share a variety of risk factors that predispose individuals to both conditions. However the exact mechanism of this relationship is unclear. Our study examined differences in cancer diagnosis at different time points around a diagnosis of diabetes. We found two interesting trends. First, people with diabetes have the highest risk for cancer in the first 3 months following a diagnosis of diabetes. Second, we found that people with diabetes are also more likely to have had cancer even prior to being diagnosed with diabetes. (more…)
Author Interviews, Breast Cancer, Genetic Research / 12.07.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Ana I. Vazquez PhD Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics Michigan State University East Lansing, Michigan MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Precise predictions of whether a tumor is likely to spread would help clinicians and patients choose the best course of treatment. But current methods fall short of the precision needed. We tested whether breast cancer survival predictions could be improved by profiling primary tumor samples with genomic technologies. We found that predictions based on clinical information, such as cancer stage and subtype, improve when they incorporate comprehensive data on which genes are active in tumor samples compared to non-cancerous tissues from the same patient. This is also true for genome-wide methylation data, which maps the parts of the DNA that carry molecular "tags" that influence gene activation. If developed for use in the clinic, our approach could spare some patients from unneeded chemotherapy. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, Cost of Health Care, Health Care Systems, JAMA / 11.07.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Laura B. Vater, MPH MD Candidate 2017 Indiana University School of Medicine MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: In the United States, cancer center advertisements are common. Previous research has shown that these ads use emotion-based techniques to influence viewers and omit information about benefits, risks, and costs of cancer treatment. There is a concern that cancer center advertising may increase demand for unnecessary tests and treatments, increase healthcare costs, and provide unrealistic expectations about the benefits of cancer treatment. In this study, we examined cancer center advertising spending from 2005 to 2014, with particular attention to trends within media (television networks, magazines, newspapers, radio stations, billboards, and the Internet) and by target audience (national versus local). (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, Stem Cells / 11.07.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Cédric Blanpain, MD, PhD Professor of Stem Cell and Developmental Biology WELBIO, Interdisciplinary Research Institute (IRIBHM) Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) Belgium MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Many cancers arise from tissues maintained by stem and progenitor cells that ultimately give rise to non-dividing terminally differentiated cells. However, little is known about the contribution of stem cells and progenitors to cancer initiation. During tumor initiation, cells targeted by oncogenic mutations undergo a series of molecular changes leading to their clonal expansion and the acquisition of invasive properties. How exactly oncogenic mutations impact on the rate of stem cell and progenitor division, and change the proportion of divisions that result in symmetric and asymmetric cell fate, allowing clonal expansion and tumor progression is poorly understood. In this new study, we define for the first time the clonal dynamics that lead to skin cancer initiation using the basal cell carcinoma, the most frequent tumor in humans, as a model. (more…)
Author Interviews, Biomarkers, Colon Cancer, Science / 11.07.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Jeanne Tie MBChB, FRACP, MD Division of Systems Biology and Personalised Medicine, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research Department of Medical Oncology, Western Health, St Albans, Victoria, Australia. Department of Medical Oncology, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, University of Melbourne Parkville, Victoria, Australia MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: This study investigated the ability of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) in detecting residual microscopic cancer after surgery with curative intent in patients with stage II colon cancer. Although the majority of patients with stage II colon cancer are cured by surgery alone, our ability to accurately predict the risk of cancer relapse based on current clinical and pathological criteria is imprecise. Population-based study indicated that adjuvant chemotherapy is given to up to 40% of stage II colon cancer patients, meaning that we are over-treating a significant number of patients with cytotoxic therapy. A better indicator of residual disease and recurrence would be very useful clinically. The current study collected tumor and blood samples from 230 patients with stage II colorectal cancer. A personalised assay was then designed to detect patient-specific tumor DNA in the plasma samples collected four to ten weeks after surgery. The presence of ctDNA (positive test) in the post-operative blood sample predicted recurrence in 100% of patients, while the relapse rate is only 10% in those with negative ctDNA test. We have also shown that the ctDNA test is a better predictor of recurrence than the standard clinic-pathological criteria. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer, Cancer Research, UCLA / 11.07.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Karim Chamie MD, MSHS Department of Urology Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center David Geffen School of Medicine University of California at Los Angeles Los Angeles, California MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: With improved cancer outcomes, there are 14 million cancer survivors alive in the United States in 2012. That number is expected to increase to nearly 20 million by 2024. With such a large population, many of these cancer survivors are at risk for developing a second primary malignancy. Multiple primary cancers now account for approximately 17% of all incident cancers reported each year in the United States. Cancer survivors may be especially susceptible to developing second primary malignancies due to a variety of unique factors, including genetic syndromes, common etiologic exposures, and the late effects of chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Given the longer duration of cancer survivorship and the substantial proportion of survivors at risk for developing second primary malignancies, the incidence and mortality from second primary malignancies are likely to increase. (more…)
Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Pancreatic, Weight Research / 10.07.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with; Dr. Rakesh K. Jain, PhD A.W.Cook Professor of Radiation Oncology (Tumor Biology) Director, E.L. Steele Laboratory Department of Radiation Oncology Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital Boston, MA 02114 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is the fourth leading cause of cancer death worldwide, and more than half of patients diagnosed with PDAC are overweight or obese. Among patients with PDAC, obesity more than doubles the already high risk of death, and our work aims to reveal the underlying mechanisms. Specifically, we identified that obesity increases desmoplasia – an accumulation of connective tissue and inflammation – hallmark of Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma and discovered underlying mechanisms. In our report published online in Cancer Discovery, we describe how interactions among fat cells, immune cells and connective tissue cells in obese individuals create a microenvironment that promotes tumor progression while diminishing the response to chemotherapy. We demonstrated the negative impact of obesity on numerous aspects of tumor growth, progression and treatment response in several animal models of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma and confirmed some of our findings in samples from cancer patients. Along with finding that tumors from obese mice or patients exhibited elevated levels of adipocytes or fat cells and of desmoplasia, both of which fuel tumor progression and interfere with treatment response, we identified the underlying causes. The elevated desmoplasia in obese mouse models of PDAC was caused by the activation of pancreatic stellate cells through the angiotensin II type-1 receptor (AT1) signaling pathway. This activation was induced by interleukin-1 beta (IL-1ß) produced by fat cells as well as the immune cells called neutrophils within tumors. Inhibiting AT1 signaling with losartan, which is used clinically to treat hypertension, or the blockade of IL-1ß reduced obesity-associated desmoplasia and tumor growth and increased the response to chemotherapy in the obese mouse model but not in normal weight animals. Analysis of tumors from human PDAC patients revealed increased desmoplasia and fat deposits in samples from obese patients, and data from more than 300 patients showed that excess weight was associated with a reduction in patients. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, CDC, HPV, Vaccine Studies / 09.07.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Laura J. Viens, MD Division of cancer prevention and control CDC MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: We analyzed the most recent available data from 2008–2012 from CDC’s National Program of Cancer Registries (NPCR) and the National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program for HPV-associated cancers.
  • These data cover 99% of the US population.
  • These data represent the official federal statistics on cancer incidence (new cases).
  • Every year between 2008 and 2012, about 39,000 men and women were diagnosed with cancers associated with HPV, an overall increase when compared with the 33,000 cancers associated with HPV between 2004 and 2008.
  • 23,000 (13.5 per 100,000 population) among females and 15,793 (9.7 per 100,000 population) among males.
(more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, Diabetes, NYU, Sleep Disorders / 09.07.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Mr. Lloyd Gyamfi and Azizi Seixas, Ph.D. Post-Doc Fellow Department of Population Health Center for Healthful Behavior Change NYU School of Medicine MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: An association exists between unhealthy sleep duration (short:≤6 hrs. or long sleep: ≥ 9hrs.) and cancer. The specific link between cancer and diabetes is unknown. Evidence suggests that cancer and diabetes may share common risk factors such as age, gender, race, being overweight an alcohol use. Based on the data extracted from the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) dataset (2004-2013) with a sample size of 283,086, it was identified that individuals who had a history of cancer and who reported long sleep duration did not have increased risk of diabetes diagnosis. (more…)
Author Interviews, Colon Cancer, Cost of Health Care, Gastrointestinal Disease, Vanderbilt / 06.07.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Erica R. H. Sutton, MD Assistant Professor Department of Surgery, General Vanderbilt MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Colorectal cancer is one of the most preventable diseases that we face; however, despite the great strides that we have made in the realm of early detection, many people still do not undergo screenings. We sought to increase the availability of screenings to those in our community who are at high risk for colorectal cancer and uninsured by providing free colonoscopies to them and to examine the cost-effectiveness of this intervention. Over a 12-month period, 682 uninsured people underwent screening colonoscopies, and 9 cancers were detected. Compared to the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) registry, our patient population included more early-stage cancers, and our program was found to be cost-neutral. (more…)
Author Interviews, Breast Cancer, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Endocrinology, JAMA / 04.07.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Aditya Bardia, MD, MPH Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center Harvard Medical School Boston, MA  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: While endocrine therapy is the recommended therapy for Estrogen Receptor positive (ER+) breast cancer, the role of endocrine therapy in neoadjuvant (pre-surgical) setting is unclear. We performed this systematic review and meta-analysis to comprehensively evaluate the efficacy of neoadjuvant endocrine therapy, both alone and in combination with other therapies, compared to neoadjuvant chemotherapy for localized ER+ breast cancer. We found no statistically significant differences between the two treatments in regards to clinical response, imaging response, rates of breast conservation therapy, and achievement of pathologic complete response. (more…)
Addiction, Author Interviews, Cancer Research, Pharmacology / 04.07.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr Wai Liu Senior Research Fellow St George's University of London London MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Naltrexone is a drug commonly used to wean addicts off alcohol and heroin, but clinical evidence has shown that when the drug is used at lower doses, patients would exhibit alter immunity. The symptoms that patients with a number of autoimmune diseases and those associated with chronic pain would ease significantly. Additionally, a number of reports showed patients with some forms of cancer would experience therapeutic benefit. Interestingly, the doses of the drug was crucial, and the non-conventional effects of naltrexone was only achieved at doses that were lower that what was conventionally used. We set about to understand why a drug could have such different effects when used at differing doses. Our results show that the genetic profile of the drug is subtly different at the two different doses, which helped us identify novel ways in which the drug could be used to induce an anticancer effect. (more…)
Author Interviews, Ovarian Cancer / 01.07.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Professor Richard Morgan Director, The Institute of Cancer Therapeutics University of Bradford Richmond Road Bradford UK MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Ovarian cancer is the 5th most common cause of cancer-related death in woman and the most deadly gynaecological cancer. One of the reasons for this is its resistance to conventional chemotherapy. Although tumours often respond well at first, showing dramatic shrinkage in the first few months of treatment, they usually grow again and at this point they are no longer sensitive to the drugs. We studied the role of HOX genes in ovarian cancer. The HOX genes play an important role in the early development of the embryo but are usually switched off in adult cells. However, many cancers, including ovarian cancer, turn them back on. Previous work suggested that they might have an important role in promoting the rapid proliferation of cancer cells. (more…)
Author Interviews, Breast Cancer, Mammograms / 01.07.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Rachel Brem, MD Professor of Radiology and Director of Breast Imaging and Intervention George Washington University School of Medicine. MedicalResearch.com Editor’s note: Many states now have laws regarding patient notification of breast density after mammography screening. Dr. Brem discusses the background and implications of the new mandatory notification laws. MedicalResearch.com: What is meant by 'breast density?’ Is breast density a risk factor for breast cancer? Is breast cancer more difficult to detect in dense breasts? Dr. Brem: Breast density is a measure used to describe the proportion of fat versus breast tissue, which includes fibrous and glandular tissue. Dense breasts contain more fibrous and glandular tissue and less fatty tissue. This is important because on a mammogram dense breast tissue is white and breast cancer is white. The lack of contrast can make detecting cancer more difficult. You can only tell if your breasts are dense from the mammogram. You can’t feel dense breast tissue or see it. An estimated 40 percent of women have dense breast tissue that may mask the presence of cancerous tissue in standard mammography. Dense breast tissue decreases with age, but remains important throughout life. Over 75 percent of women in their 40s have dense breast tissue but over a third of women in their 70s have dense breast tissue. As breast density increases, mammography sensitivity decreases. This is significant, but we must consider the increased risk of breast cancer in women with dense breast tissue. Women with dense breast tissue have up to a four-fold increased risk of developing breast cancer. So, breast density is essentially the “perfect storm” where the ability to detect cancer decreases while the risk for breast cancer increases. Therefore, optimal approaches to individualized breast cancer screening are needed. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, Leukemia, NEJM, Stanford / 29.06.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Jason R. Gotlib, MD The Clinical Investigator Pathway Hematology Division Stanford University Medical Center MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: The background is that advanced forms of systemic mastocytosis, which are blood cancers characterized by accumulation of abnormal mast cells in the bone marrow and additional organs, represent a group of orphan diseases with a large unmet need. Approximately 90% of patients harbor the acquired KIT D816V mutation, a mutated receptor tyrosine kinase on the surface of mast cells which a primary driver of disease pathogenesis. Only 1 drug is approved for patients with one form of advanced systemic mastocytosis, termed ‘aggressive systemic mastocytosis, or ‘ASM’. This therapy is imatinib (Gleevec), but it is only approved for patients without the KIT D816V mutation, or with KIT mutation status unknown because the KIT D816V mutation is resistant to imatinib. Therefore, this drug may only be useful for approximately 10% of patients. Other drugs that have been used off-label for systemic mastocytosis (but are not approved for this indication) include interferon-alpha or cladribine, which show some activity, but their evaluation to date has been primarily limited to small case series which are usually retrospective in nature, and include mixed populations of systemic mastocytosis patients who have both early stage disease without organ damage (e.g. indolent systemic mastocytosis) and and advanced stage patients, as included in this trial, who have one or more findings of organ damage. Also, those trials employed differing response criteria and no central adjudication of eligibility and response assessments was undertaken. Midostaurin is a multikinase inhibitor with activity against both wild-type KIT, but most importantly, KIT D816V (in contrast to imatinib). Prior work demonstrated that cell lines transformed with the KIT D816V mutation can be inhibited at relatively low concentrations of midostaurin. These concentrations could also be achieved in vivo (e.g. at concentrations achievable in the blood of patients). Cell lines transformed by KIT D816V could not be inhibited by imatinib. (more…)
Author Interviews, Brain Cancer - Brain Tumors, Pharmacology / 29.06.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr Kieran Breen PhD Director of Research, Brain Tumour Research University of Portsmouth, UK MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: There is evidence that aspirin (acetyl salicylic acid) can be toxic to brain tumour cells. However, its existing preparations cannot readily enter the brain because the drug is a suspension rather than being completely soluble. Furthermore, there can be significant side effects associated with the existing form of the drug including gastric bleeding. The object of this research was to develop a new formulation of aspirin which is truly soluble. When combined with two other compounds, the drug enters the brain and can therefore target the tumour cells. This study also showed that aspirin can kill tumour cells without causing any damage to the normal nerve cells. (more…)
Author Interviews, Dermatology, JAMA, Melanoma / 29.06.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: June K. Robinson, MD Research Professor of Dermatology Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: More than 1 million patients with a history of melanoma live in the US. They are at risk to develop a second melanoma. The risk is elevated for up to 20 years and is 10 times greater than the risk of a first melanoma in the general population. This is the first randomized clinical trial to examine partner- assisted skin self-examination (SSE) . A 30 minute structured training intervention was provided to the melanoma patients and their partners with reinforcement every 4 months . The 494 pairs in the intervention performed significantly more skin self-examination  than those in the control group at 4,12 and 24 months after the education and skills training. The pairs were accurate in finding early melanoma and did not have unnecessary visits to the dermatologists. (more…)
Author Interviews, Biomarkers, Cancer Research, Prostate Cancer / 28.06.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Thomas Kislinger, PhD Senior Scientist at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre University Health Network Associate Professor Department of Medical Biophysics University of Toronto MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: The goal of this study was to develop a non-invasive, prognostic biomarker that can address the worldwide clinical dilemma of over-treating low-risk prostate cancers. To accomplish this we developed highly accurate proteomics assays in urines collected after a digital rectal examination (termed post-DRE urines). (more…)
Author Interviews, Brain Cancer - Brain Tumors, Diabetes / 27.06.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Judith Schwartzbaum PhD Associate professor of epidemiology Ohio State's Comprehensive Cancer Center MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Meningioma is a slow-growing brain tumor that is associated with obesity. To further understand this risk we examined records of blood sugar levels within approximately 15 years before tumor diagnosis comparing blood sugar levels of people who developed meningioma to those in people who did not. MedicalResearch.com:What are the main findings? Response: To our surprise we found that risk of this tumor was lower in people with high levels of blood sugar and diabetes. (more…)
Author Interviews, Colon Cancer, Geriatrics, Kaiser Permanente, NIH / 27.06.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Carrie N. Klabunde, PhD Office of Disease Prevention Office of the Director NIH Rockville MD MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Many studies of colorectal cancer screening focus on adults 50-75 years of age; few specifically look at screening in the elderly. We wanted to examine colorectal cancer screening use, including follow-up diagnostic testing for those with abnormal fecal blood screening tests, in adults 65 years of age and older. We also wanted to assess whether screening use in this population is influenced more by elderly individual’s chronological age, or their health status (called comorbidity in our study). The study was conducted in three large, integrated healthcare systems: Kaiser Permanente in Northern California and Southern California, and Group Health in Washington state and Idaho. We examined data on nearly 850,000 patients aged 65-89. (more…)
Author Interviews, Breast Cancer, Microbiome / 26.06.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Gregor Reid, B.Sc. Hons., Ph.D., MBA, ARM, CCM, Dr. HS, FCAHS Director, Canadian Centre for Human Microbiome and Probiotic Research Lawson Health Research Institute London, Ontario, Canada MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Women who breast feed have reduced risk of breast cancer. Human milk has bacteria passed on to the child. These bacteria reach the breast through the nipple and from the gut via the blood. Lactobacilli and Bifidobacteria, beneficial bacteria, grow well in milk. So, I wondered what if women never lactate or breast feed, could bacteria be there? Could bacteria be in the tissue itself and influence whether you got or did not get cancer. Proving there are bacteria in the actual breast tissue itself was an interesting discovery defying previous beliefs. (more…)
Author Interviews, Breast Cancer, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, MRI, Surgical Research / 24.06.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Eva C. Gombos, MD Assistant Professor, Radiology Harvard Medical School Brigham and Women’s Hospital MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Treatment of early stage breast cancer, breast-conserving therapy (BCT), which consists of lumpectomy followed by whole-breast irradiation, requires re-excision 20 %–40% of patients due to positive margins. Breast MR is the imaging modality with the highest sensitivity to detect breast cancer. However, patients who undergo breast MR imaging have not experienced reduced re-excision or improved survival rates. Our hypothesis is that supine (performed with patient lying on her back) MR imaging within the operating room can be used to plan the extent of resection, to detect residual tumor immediately after the first attempt at definitive surgery, and to provide feedback to the surgeon within the surgical suite. The aim of this study was to use intraoperative supine MR imaging to quantify breast tumor deformation and displacement secondary to the change in patient positioning from imaging (prone performed the patient lying on her stomach) to surgery (supine) and to evaluate the residual tumor immediately after BCT. (more…)