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Author Interviews, Brain Cancer - Brain Tumors, Dermatology, JAMA / 27.01.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Alexander Egeberg, MD PhD National Allergy Research Centre, Departments of Dermato-Allergology and Cardiology Herlev and Gentofte University Hospital University of Copenhagen Hellerup, Denmark   Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Egeberg: There appears to be an overlap in the pathogenesis of rosacea and glioma, focused around matrix metalloproteinases. Rosacea may be associated with an increased risk of glioma, however, it is important to note that the absolute risk is still low. Whether this is a causal link is not known. (more…)
Author Interviews, JAMA, Melanoma / 27.01.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: DeAnn Lazovich, Ph.D. Associate Professor Division of Epidemiology and Community Health University of Minnesota Minneapolis, MN 55454 Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Lazovich: In Minnesota, as well as nationally, melanoma rates have been increasing more steeply in women than men younger than age 50 years since about the mid-1990s.  Some have speculated that this could be due to women's indoor tanning use, as women use indoor tanning much more than men do.  We had data on indoor tanning for men and women according to their age from a case-control study on indoor tanning and melanoma that was published in 2010.  In that 2010 report, we examined the association for individuals regardless of sex, all ages combined.  In this analysis, we restricted the study to individuals under age 50 years, and looked at the association between indoor tanning and melanoma according to three age groups (less than 30 years, 30-39 years and 40-49 years) for men and women separately. (more…)
Annals Internal Medicine, Author Interviews, Biomarkers, Colon Cancer, Kaiser Permanente / 27.01.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Douglas A. Corley, MD, PhD Gastroenterologist and Research Scientist III Division of Research Kaiser Permanente Oakland, CA  Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Corley: Colorectal cancer is a leading cause of cancer death in the United States, so understanding how cancer screening tests for this cancer are used and if they are effective is extremely important. There are two commonly used tests for colorectal cancer screening in the United States: colonoscopy and fecal immunochemical tests (also known as "FIT"). Colonoscopy requires a bowel preparation to clean you out and is invasive but, if normal, it is done infrequently (every ten years). FIT is simple to do at home but, to be most effective, needs to be done every year. This has the advantage of potentially picking up cancers that grow between tests. There are few studies that have looked at how well FIT picks up cancers when used year after year. If a test picks up most cancers, it is said to be very "sensitive" for picking up cancer. Most studies only looked at 1 or 2 years of use for how well FITdetected cancers. It is possible that the first year of use may "clear out" most of the easily detectable cancers and that FIT might not work as well in subsequent years. This very large study over several years at Kaisier Permanente, where we use both colonoscopy and FIT for colorectal cancer screening, looked at whether FIT worked as well at detecting cancer in years 3 and 4 as it did the first time someone used it. We found that the sensitivity was highest in the first year, likely from clearing out cancers that were there for a while and easily detected, but that in subsequent years the sensitivity, though 5-10% lower, remained high. Also, most people who started with FIT continued doing it, suggesting that it is both feasible and effective for colorectal cancer screening. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, Infections / 27.01.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Yvonne Kapila, DDS, PhD Professor, Division of Periodontics Department of Periodontics and Oral Medicine University of Michigan School of Dentistry Ann Arbor, MI   Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Kapila: Our research showed that the preservative nisin induces cancer cell death. When tested on normal control cells to see if they were affected, the control cells were not affected. Thus, the most recent project began in order to find out more details as to why this occurred. We used a cancer mouse model (head and neck cancer) to show that nisin can retard tumor growth and extent the life of these mice. Another thing that we published about the preservative is nisin’s role on biofilms. Biofilms are communities of bacteria that can cause diseases. Nisin has been tested in bacterial biofilms that contain bacteria that cause gum disease and dental decay and nisin has been found to be effective in this setting as well. In laboratory settings, nisin is also cytotoxic to superbugs, including the most resistant bugs found in hospitals, and therefore nisin holds promise for several therapeutic applications. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research / 27.01.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Anne Burtey, PhD Department of Biosciences University of Oslo Oslo, Norway Medical Research: What is the background for this study? Dr. Burtey: At the site of tumors, cancer cells communicate with normal cells present in the microenvironment. This communication deeply modifies these cells that become “devoted” to tumors, helping the latter in growing, in becoming more invasive. Drugs blocking this communication - or taking advantage of it to spread better within tumors and towards “tumor-helper” cells - may represent a new generation of drugs with increased anti-cancer properties. To develop such drugs, we first need to understand the communication processes at stake between cancer and normal cells. Previous reports suggested that cells communicate by trading entire subsets of components by contact- or secretion-dependent mechanisms. Whereas the latter is rather well studied, the former remains largely unclear. In 2004, our group identified tunneling nanotubes (TNTs) as a cellular feature for contact-dependent communication (Rustom et al., Science 2004). They are thin membranous bridges established between cells that facilitate the cell-to-cell transport of ions, proteins, RNAs, mitochondria and even viruses. That TNTs were observed in a variety of cells including cancer cells suggests that they may represent a general route of communication and play a role in cancer. (more…)
AACR, Author Interviews, Melanoma, NYU, Personalized Medicine / 25.01.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Tomas Kirchhoff, PhD Assistant Professor, Departments of Population Health and Environmental Medicine NYU Langone Medical Center Member, Laura and Isaac Perlmutter Cancer Center NYU Langone  Medical Research: What is the background for this study? Dr. Kirchhoff: Melanoma is the deadliest form of skin cancer, and the cause of approximately 80% of all skin cancer patients annually. One factor that can help reverse this negative trend is efficient prediction of which patients at early melanoma stage will likely progress to more advanced metastatic disease. Current clinical predictors of patient survival, based on tumor characteristics, are important, but are relatively non-specific to inform melanoma prognosis to an individual patient level. It is critical to identify other factors that can serve as more personalized markers of predicting the course of melanoma. Medical Research: What are the main findings? Dr. Kirchhoff: In our study, we found that inherited genetic markers that impact activity of certain immune genes correlate with melanoma survival. More specifically, our findings show that patients with more frequent forms of these genetic markers (genotypes) have, on average, a five-year shorter survival than patients with less common genotypes. We suggest that these genetic markers are independent of the current tumor surrogates and, as such, can serve as novel personalized markers of melanoma prognosis. (more…)
Author Interviews, BMJ, Cancer Research, Heart Disease, Pharmacology / 24.01.2016

More on Heart Disease on MedicalResearch.com MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Professor Ian C K Wong Fellow of Royal Pharmaceutical Society Fellow of Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (Honorary) Fellow of the Higher Education Academy Chair in Pharmacy Practice Head of Research Department of Practice and Policy UCL School of Pharmacy London  Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Wong: Previous studies had showed an increased cardiovascular risk associated with clarithromycin (a widely used antibiotic) but the duration of effect remained unclear. Therefore, we conducted this study to investigate the duration of cardiovascular adverse effect provided that the risk exists after patients receiving clarithromycin in Hong Kong. We used three study designs to examine the  association (temporal relationship) between clarithromycin and cardiovascular adverse outcomes such as myocardial infarction, arrhythmia, stroke, cardiac mortality at different time points.

We found that there was an increased short-term risk of myocardial infarction, arrhythmia and cardiac mortality associated with clarithromycin in all study designs. However, no long-term risk was observed. In every 1000 patients, there was 1.90 extra myocardial infarction events in current use of CLARITHROMYCIN when compared with the use of amoxicillin.

(more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, Genetic Research, Personalized Medicine, UCLA / 24.01.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Chirag Patil, MD American Board Certified Neurosurgeon Brain & Spine Tumor Program Lead Investigator, Precision Medicine Initiative Against Brain Cancer Program Director, Neurosurgical Residence training program Director, Center for Neurosurgical Outcomes Research Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, California MedicalResearch.com Editor’s note: Dr. Patil’s research is focused on developing a method of personalized cancer treatment through the harnessing of genome wide mutational analysis of a specific patient’s cancer. MedicalResearch.com: Would you tell us a little about yourself and your research interests? Dr. Patil: I am a Stanford-trained, Board Certified Neurosurgeon and cancer researcher at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California. I primarily focus on the care of patients with malignant brain tumors, particularly glioblastomas. I received my undergraduate degree from Cornell, followed by a medical degree from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), where I was a Regent’s scholar. I completed a residency in neurosurgery and a fellowship in stereotactic radiology at Stanford University. I also have a master’s degree in epidemiology with a focus on clinical trial design and mathematical modeling from Stanford. MedicalResearch.com: Can you tell us about some of your research interests? Dr. Patil: I am keenly interested in and focused on developing precision science-powered novel brain tumor therapies, immuno-therapies, and patient-centered “big data” outcomes research. I lead the recently-funded Cedars-Sinai Precision Medicine Initiative Against Brain Cancer, which utilizes tumor genomics to build a mathematical computer model, i.e., a virtual cancer cell of each patient’s unique tumor. The White House and several other stakeholders have taken keep interest in this research initiative as an example of a leading precision medicine program. (more…)
Author Interviews, Breast Cancer, Cancer Research, JAMA, Prostate Cancer / 23.01.2016

More on Cancer Research on MedicalResearch.com MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Firas Abdollah, M.D., F.E.B.U. (Fellow of European Board of Urology) Urology Fellow with the Center for Outcomes Research, Analytics and Evaluation Vattikuti Urology Institute at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit  MedicalResearch: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Abdollah: Cancer screening aims to detect tumors early, before they become symptomatic. Evidence suggests that detection and treatment of early-stage tumors may reduce cancer mortality among screened individuals. Despite this potential benefit, screening programs may also cause harm. Notably, screening may identify low-risk indolent tumors that would never become clinically evident in the absence of screening (overdiagnosis), subjecting patients to the harms of unnecessary treatment. Such considerations are central to screening for prostate and breast cancers, the most prevalent solid tumors in men and women, respectively. These tumors are often slow growing, and guidelines recommend against screening (non-recommended screening) for these tumors in individuals with limited life expectancy, i.e. those with a life expectancy less than 10 years. Unfortunately, our study found that this practice is not uncommon in the US. Using a nationwide representative survey conducted in 2012, we found that among 149,514 individuals 65 years or older, 76,419 (51.1%) received any prostate/breast screening. Among these, 23,532 (30.8%) individuals had a life expectancy of less than 10 years. These numbers imply that among the screened population over 65 years old, almost one in three individuals received a non-recommended screening. This corresponds to an overall rate of non-recommended screening of 15.7% (23,532 of 149,514 individuals). Another important finding of our study was that there were important variations in the rate of non-recommended screening from state to state; i.e. the chance of an individual older than 65 to receive a non-recommended screening varies based on his/her geographical location in United States. Finally, on a state-by-state level, there was a correlation (40%) between non-recommended screening for prostate and breast cancer, i.e. states that are more likely to offer non-recommended screening for prostate cancer are also more likely to offer non-recommended screening for breast cancer, and vice versa. (more…)
Author Interviews, OBGYNE, Ovarian Cancer, Radiology / 22.01.2016

More on Ovarian Cancer on MedicalResearch.com MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dirk Timmerman, MD PhD Department of Development and Regeneration Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology University Hospitals Leuven Leuven, Belgium Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Timmerman: Ovarian cancer is the most aggressive and lethal gynecological malignant neoplasm. The prognosis of ovarian cancer is poor, with only about 40% of patients still alive five years after being diagnosed. The preoperative characterization of an adnexal tumor is fundamental for selecting the optimal management strategy. An accurate differentiation between benign and malignant masses can lead to optimal referral of patients with malignant diseases to gynecological oncology centers for further diagnostics and treatment, which positively influences the prognosis. On the other hand, it may help in safely selecting patients with benign ovarian masses for minimally invasive or fertility sparing surgery, and in some cases maybe even conservative follow-up. The International Ovarian Tumor Analysis (IOTA) study is the largest diagnostic accuracy study of its kind. Transvaginal ultrasound is a cheap and very accessible imaging technique. Using ultrasound features, which are easy to assess by a trained examiner, we proposed a model to define the individual risk of malignancy for each patient presenting with an adnexal tumor. This could considerably impact on the morbidity and mortality associated with adnexal pathology. (more…)
Author Interviews, Melanoma, Race/Ethnic Diversity / 21.01.2016

More on Dermatology on MedicalResearch.com MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Jennifer A. Stein MD PhD Associate Professor Department of Ronald O. Perelman Department of Dermatology NYU Langone Medical Center Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Stein: Although acral melanoma is not a common cancer, it is the most common form of melanoma in African Americans. There is low awareness about acral melanoma, and it tends to get detected later and is more often fatal than other types of melanoma. Our study looked at awareness of and the prevalence of pigmented lesions on the hands and feet. People with darker skin were more likely to have a pigmented lesion on their soles or palms than people with lighter skin. We found that more than half of the people in the study were not aware that they had a pigmented lesion on their feet. Our study found that most pigmented lesions on the hands and feet are benign, and that an imaging technique called dermsocopy can be used to distinguish benign from malignant acral lesions. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, PNAS / 21.01.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Elizabeth Murchison Menzies Institute for Medical Research University of Tasmania Save the Tasmanian Devil Program Tasmanian Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and the Environment Hobart Australia Department of Veterinary Medicine University of Cambridge, Cambridge UK Medical Research: What is the background for this study? Dr. Murchison: Transmissible cancers are cancers that can be transmitted between individuals by the transfer of living cancer cells. Transmissible cancers emerge only very rarely in nature, and until now only three examples were known. One of the three known naturally occurring transmissible cancers affects Tasmanian devils, the world’s largest carnivorous marsupial. This disease, which causes disfiguring facial tumours, was first observed in the late 1990s, and since then the disease has spread widely through the Tasmanian devil population. This transmissible cancer first emerged as a cancer in a single individual Tasmanian devil that probably lived about 30 years ago; this devil’s cancer cells have continued to survive by transmitting between hosts by biting. Medical Research: What are the main findings? Dr. Murchison: In late 2014, routine monitoring of the Tasmanian devil population led to the discovery of a male devil with facial tumours that resembled the known Tasmanian devil transmissible facial cancer. However, genetic analysis of this tumour indicated that the tumour in this devil was derived from a second transmissible cancer that was genetically unrelated to the first transmissible cancer in this species. Indeed, the genetic profile of this second cancer indicated that it had originally emerged from a male animal. This second cancer has subsequently been found in nine additional devils in the same part of Tasmania. (more…)
Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Dermatology, JAMA, Melanoma, Transplantation / 20.01.2016

More on Dermatology from MedicalResearch.com  MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Pritesh S. Karia, MPH Manager-Dermatologic Oncology Research Program Mohs and Dermatologic Surgery Center Brigham and Women's Hospital Boston, MA 02130  Medical Research: What is the background for this study? Response: Several recent studies have shown a reduced incidence of skin cancer in organ transplant recipients (OTR) treated with sirolimus as first-time therapy and those converted from calcineurin inhibitors to sirolimus. Although cancer formation is one of the main reasons for conversion to sirolimus, studies examining the effect of sirolimus on the risk of subsequent cancer formation in organ transplant recipients who have already been diagnosed with a post-transplant cancer are limited. (more…)
Author Interviews, Dermatology, Melanoma / 20.01.2016

More on Dermatology on MedicalResearch.com MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Myra Sendelweck M.Eng M.D. Candidate 2018 and Robert Dellavalle, MD, PhD, MSPH Chief, Dermatology Service Denver VA Medical Center Denver, CO University of Colorado School of Medicine MedicalResearch: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Indoor tanning has increasingly been recognized amongst providers as a public health concern. Recent literature suggests an association between indoor tanning and other risky health behaviors in adolescents. We were intrigued by this association. We analyzed a survey of Colorado high school students and found that those who tanned were also more likely to use various substances, such as steroids, alcohol, marijuana, and illicit drugs. Tanners were over five times as likely to report steroid use! (more…)
ASCO, Author Interviews, Cancer Research, Lymphoma / 18.01.2016

More Cancer Research on MedicalResearch.com MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Erin E. Hahn, PhD, MPH Research Scientist Southern California Permanente Medical Group Kaiser Permanente Research Department of Research & Evaluation Pasadena, CA 91101 Medical Research: What is the background for this study? Dr. Hahn:  Adolescent and young adults, or AYAs, who are diagnosed and treated for Hodgkin lymphoma have very high overall survival rates. However, these patients are at high risk for short and long term health issues related to their cancer treatment, including cancer recurrence, cardiac and pulmonary problems, and developing new primary cancers. Some of these issues arise during treatment and persist over time, called long-term effects, and some develop years later, called late effects. Evidence and consensus based guidelines are available from organizations like the National Comprehensive Cancer Network and the Children’s Oncology Group to help manage the post treatment care of  Adolescent and young adults Hodgkin lymphoma survivors. Examining adherence to guidelines is an important part of high quality care, and can help us find and address gaps in care. Guideline recommended care for these patients includes: oncology visits, imaging and labs, preventive care, counseling and education, risk based screening for late effects. Risk-based screening is based on a patient’s treatment. The type of health screening a patient needs is determined by the treatment exposure they had, such as certain types of chemotherapy or high-dose radiation that have known late effects  Medical Research: What are the main findings? Dr. Hahn: For this pilot study, I was interested to see if post-treatment  Adolescent and young adults Hodgkin lymphoma patients in an integrated health care system received recommended short and long term care. The study setting is Kaiser Permanente Southern California (KPSC). KPSC provides care for almost 4 million members with 14 medical centers, and they have a long-standing electronic medical record. For our population, we included AYA patients diagnosed with classical Hodgkin lymphoma between 15 and 39 years of age, diagnosed between 2000 and 2010. We wanted to find patients who were diagnosed, treated, and followed for at least 2 years within this single system. We have a sample of 354 patients, which is great. It has been traditionally difficult to find and follow these patients/obtain accurate medical information that isn’t only self-report data. We were able to extract chemotherapy, radiation, and other care details from the electronic medical record. We first looked at receipt of short term recommended care, within the first year after treatment had ended. We looked specifically at oncology visits, use of recommended CT scan and lab tests, and preventive care, such as the flu vaccine. The great majority of patients had the recommended oncology visits, CT scan, and lab tests. However, receipt of the flu vaccine was lower, at 20%. When we looked at a composite measure of all 4 recommended services, only about half of the patients received all four recommended services within the first year after treatment. We also looked at use of a longer term recommended service for cardiac issues. Cardiac screening is recommended for patients who are 10 years out from their treatment and who received high-dose anthracyclines, plus radiation to the chest. This is the highest risk group for cardiac damage. Almost everyone received annual blood pressure screening, but only about 30% received screening with an electrocardiogram, echocardiogram, or MUGA scan. (more…)
Author Interviews, Breast Cancer, Genetic Research, NYU / 16.01.2016

More on Breast Cancer Research on MedicalResearch.com MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Benjamin Neel MD PhD Professor, Department of Medicine Director Perlmutter Cancer Center NYU Langone Medical Center Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Neel:  Over the past 10 years, there have been major advances in cancer genomics--i.e., defining what changes in genes are found in different types of cancer cells.  Sometimes, such studies have resulted in the identification of new drug targets, such as EGF receptor mutations or EML-ALK translocations in lung cancer, RAF mutations in melanoma and hairy cell leukemia, and KIT or PDGFR mutations in GIST.  More often, though, either the genetic changes that genomic studies reveal are difficult to target by conventional small molecule drugs or we dont know which of the many mutations found in a given tumor are critical to its proliferation/survival. "Functional genomics" is a parallel approach to tumor genomics, that aims to use large scale screening technology to identify which genes are essential to cancer cell survival/proliferation.  This approach can reveal which genetic changes in cancer cells "drive" the cancer--but it also can find genes on which the cancer becomes dependent because of the other "driver" genes.  One major approach to functional genomics uses short hairpin RNAs (a type of RNAinterference/RNAi) to "knock down" the expression of each gene in a cell.  Scientists can generate a "library" of designer virus particles, each of which expresses a different hairpin that can "knockdown" a different gene.  A large population of tumor cells is then infected with the virus, and scientists use gene sequencing or array based approaches to see which shRNAs become depleted from the starting population of shRNAs; this type of screen is called a "dropout screen". Earlier studies, including by our group, performed dropout screens on smaller numbers of cancer cell lines.  Yet because these screens involved only a few cell lines, they could not represent the large number of sub-types knownt to occur in, for example, breast cancer.  Our study, by using 77 breast cancer lines, has adequate power to survey the landscape of breast cancer. Furthermore, by obtaining parallel genomic information, as well as some information on the breast cancer cell "proteome" (the proteins in these cells), we can couple genomic analysis with functional genomics. In addition, we had drug response information for a large number of these lines, and so were able to make some predictions for drugs that might prove additive for breast cancer therapy. The result is a large number of potential new targets linked to genetic information, as well as new insights into how the different sub-types of breast cancer "rewire" their respective signaling diagrams compared with normal cells. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, Technology / 15.01.2016

More on Cancer Research on MedicalResearch.com MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Elena V. Batrakova, Ph.D. Associate Professor Center for Nanotechnology in Drug Delivery Division of Molecular Pharmaceutics Eshelman School of Pharmacy University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, NC  Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Batrakova: Deep down I was always was fascinated by the ability of biological systems to deliver various compounds to the disease sites. I believe, we have a lot to learn from living things. For example, immune cells, macrophages can feel inflammation and travel to this sited to deal with the problem, for example, kill bacteria, virus, or regenerate and support dying cells. So, when I realized that specific and targeted transport of therapeutics to cancer cells is very difficult task, I turned to nature. Exosomes are naturally occurring vesicles (bubbles) that offer distinct advantages that uniquely position them as highly effective drug carriers. They consist of cellular membranes with multiple sticky proteins on their surface. Exosomes by nature specialize in cell-cell communication and provide an approach for the delivery drugs to target disease sites. Plus, exosomes released by patient’s white blood cells are not immunogenic, because they are part of the immune system, so these tiny bubbles can be used for very precise and effective delivery of anticancer drugs to treat metastases, as well as primary tumors. (more…)
Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Pancreatic, Pharmacology, PLoS / 15.01.2016

More on Pancreatic Cancer on MedicalResearch.com MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dai Fukumura, M.D., Ph.D. Joao Incio, M.D. and Rakesh K. Jain, Ph.D Edwin L. Steele Laboratory Department of Radiation Oncology Massachusetts General Hospital Harvard Medical School Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Fukumura: This study focused on pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, the most common form of pancreatic cancer, which accounts for almost 40,000 cancer death in the U.S. ever year. Half of those diagnosed with this form of pancreatic cancer are overweight or obese, and up to 80 percent have type 2 diabetes or are insulin resistant. Diabetic patients taking metformin – a commonly used generic medication for type 2 diabetes – are known to have a reduced risk of developing pancreatic cancer; and among patients who develop the tumor, those taking the drug may have a reduced risk of death. But prior to the current study the mechanism of metformin’s action against pancreatic cancer was unclear, and no potential biomarkers of response to metformin had been reported. We have uncovered a novel mechanism behind the ability of the diabetes drug metformin to inhibit the progression of pancreatic cancer. Metformin decreases the inflammation and fibrosis characteristic of the most common form of pancreatic cancer. We found that metformin alleviates desmoplasia – an accumulation of dense connective tissue and tumor-associated immune cells that is a hallmark of pancreatic cancer – by inhibiting the activation of the pancreatic stellate cells that produce the extracellular matrix and by reprogramming immune cells to reduce inflammation. Our findings in cellular and animal models and in patient tumor samples also indicate that this beneficial effect may be most prevalent in overweight and obese patients, who appear to have tumors with increased fibrosis. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research / 14.01.2016

More on Protein Kinases on MedicalResearch.com MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr Angus Cameron Kinase Biology Laboratory Barts Cancer Institute at Queen Mary University of London and Professor Peter Parker Protein Phosphorylation Laboratory The Francis Crick Institute Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: A particular family of candidate targets for cancer therapies (the three members of the protein kinase, or PKN, family) have been largely overlooked in terms of our understanding of their roles in normal biology and also in disease. Since any programme to develop new treatments is well informed by understanding the normal roles of the drug targets in non-tumour settings, our research teams ‘knocked-out’ these genes in a model mammalian system, in mice, and observed the effect. A key finding is that whilst two of the protein kinases, PKN1 and PKN3, are not necessary for mammalian development or adulthood, for PKN2 there is an absolute requirement in embryo development, but evidence of little requirement in adulthood. Our teams then analysed in some detail the genetics and pathology of the developmental defects for PKN2 knock-outs. This established the importance of PKN2 in mesenchymal cell survival and proliferation during development. Mesenchymal cells are dynamic contractile cells which provide structure and shape to the developing embryo. This finding has profound effects on multiple developmental events. Mesenchymal cells are also important in many connective tissue conditions, including fibrosis of the lungs, and in cancer where mesenchymal cells can support invasion of cancer cells into tissues. (more…)
Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Colon Cancer, Dermatology, Nature, Testosterone / 14.01.2016

More on Colon Cancer on MedicalResearch.com MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Nana Keum, PhD Department of Nutrition Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health Boston, MA Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Keum: Male pattern baldness, the most common type of hair loss in men, is positively associated with androgens as well as IGF-1 and insulin, all of which are implicated in pathogenesis of colorectal neoplasia.  Therefore, it is biologically plausible that male pattern baldness, as a marker of underlying aberration in the regulation of the aforementioned hormones, may be associated with colorectal neoplasia.  In our study that examined the relationship between five male hair pattern at age 45 years (no-baldness, frontal-only-baldness, frontal-plus-mild-vertex-baldness, frontal-plus-moderate-vertex-baldness, and frontal-plus-severe-vertex-baldness) and the risk of colorectal adenoma and cancer, we found that frontal-only-baldness and frontal-plus-mild-vertex-baldness were associated with approximately 30% increased risk of colon cancer relative to no-baldness.  Frontal-only-baldness was also positively associated with colorectal adenoma. (more…)
Author Interviews, Breast Cancer, Nature, University Texas / 13.01.2016

Click Here for More Articles Related To Breast Cancer on MedicalResearch.com. MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Chunru Lin PhD Assistant Professor, Department of Molecular and Cellular Oncology, Division of Basic Science Research and Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX MedicalResearch: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Lin: Triple-Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC) continues to be a serious healthcare problem despite improvements in early detection and treatment; lncRNAs are one of the emerging elements that make the process of understanding breast cancer development and progression so complex yet thorough. Thus, it is imperative to include an examination of lncRNAs when studying breast cancer, especially when researching challenging questions related to relapses and recurrences of breast cancer that occur after targeted therapeutic treatments. A perspective that incorporates lncRNAs into the discussion of breast cancer biology could be the conceptual advance that is necessary to encourage further breakthroughs. Our research reveals the biological functional roles of cytoplasmic lncRNAs as signaling pathway mediators and catalysts that serve as indispensable components of signal transduction cascades and gene networks. This understanding could transform the prevailing dogma of the field of signal transduction. This study has identified a previously unknown mechanism for HIF stabilization and signal transduction, which is triggered by the HB-EGF bound EGFR/GPNMB heterodimer and is mediated by LINK-A-dependent recruitment of two kinases, BRK and LRRK2, to phosphorylate HIF1α at two new sites, leading to HIF1α stabilization and interaction with p300 for transcriptional activation; this further results in cancer glycolytic reprogramming under normoxic conditions. LINK-A is the first demonstrated lncRNA that acts as a key mediator of biological signaling pathways, which suggests the potential for the involvement of other lncRNAs as mediators of numerous signaling pathways. Importantly, expression of LINK-A and activation of the LINK-A mediated signaling pathway are both correlated with TNBC. Targeting LINK-A with LNAs (Locked Nucleic Acids) serves as an encouraging strategy to block reprogramming of glucose metabolism in TNBC with therapeutic potential.  (more…)
Author Interviews, Lung Cancer, Pharmacology / 12.01.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Glen Weiss, MD, MBA Director of Clinical Research & Medical Oncologist and Dr. Zoltan Lohinai MD National Koranyi Institute of Pulmonology Budapest, Hungary Western Regional Medical Center Cancer Treatment Centers of America Goodyear, Arizona MedicalResearch: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: With nearly 1.4 million deaths each year, lung cancer is the world’s leading cause of cancer-related mortality. In the U.S., more than 162,000 die annually of this disease. One subtype of this cancer, small cell lung cancer (SCLC), is one of the most progressive tumor types. No new class of systemic treatment has been adopted as a new benchmark for standard therapy against SCLC for nearly three decades. Lung cancer researchers focus on SCLC not only because of its scientific challenge, but also because of their great desire to help patients suffering from this aggressive tumor. Drug repurposing bioinformatical analysis, a new research direction, has found that FDA-approved drugs in non-malignant diseases may have antitumor effects. Our study attempted to evaluate the recent laboratory findings in a clinical setting. Statins are a class of drugs primarily used to lower cholesterol in patients at risk for heart disease. They have been hypothesized by preclinical data to affect tumor cells through the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) pathway, which regulates many cellular functions. Our study of 876 metastatic-stage  small cell lung cancer patients, published Jan. 6, 2015, in the peer-reviewed scientific journal PLOS ONE, showed that statins appeared to provide an increase in overall survival for those cancer patients who were prescribed those medications. Patients prescribed other classes of drugs, including aspirin, antidepressants, and blood pressure-lowering agents, have reportedly shown anti-SCLC activity in previous preclinical studies. However, our study found no such survival benefits. All in all, our study is a good example of how to evaluate drug repurposing in oncology, and that statins might have clinical relevance in the treatment of SCLC. (more…)
Author Interviews, Biomarkers, Mayo Clinic, Prostate, Prostate Cancer, Urology / 12.01.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: R. Jeffrey Karnes MD Department of Urology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN 55905   MedicalResearch: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Karnes: Cancer recurrence following radical prostatectomy is a concern for men undergoing definitive surgical treatment for prostate cancer. Approximately 20-35% of patients develop a rising prostate specific antigen following radical prostatectomy for clinically localized prostate cancer. PSA monitoring is an important tool for cancer surveillance; however, a standard PSA cutpoint to indicate biochemical recurrence has yet to be established. Over 60 different definitions have been described in literature. This variation creates confusion for the patients and clinicians. By studying a large group of patients who underwent radical prostatectomy at Mayo Clinic, we found that a PSA cutpoint of 0.4 ng/mL is the optimal definition for biochemical recurrence. (more…)
Annals Internal Medicine, Author Interviews, Breast Cancer, Mammograms / 12.01.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Susan K. Boolbol, MD, FACS Chief, Division of Breast Surgery Chief, Appel-Venet Comprehensive Breast Service Co-Director, Breast Surgery Fellowship Mount Sinai Beth Israel Associate Professor of Surgery Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai New York, NY 10003 Medical Research: What is the background for these new recommendations? Dr. Boolbol: To make this final recommendation, the Task Force conducted a comprehensive review of the science since its 2009 recommendation and considered the public comments it received on its 2015 draft recommendation statement. Based on all of this, the task force issued their recommendations. Medical Research: What are the main changes from current guidelines? Dr. Boolbol: Presently, there are several different guidelines and recommendations regarding screening mammography. Depending on the group issuing the guidelines, the recommendations vary from annual mammography beginning at 40 years old to biennial mammograms from 50 to 74 years old. The Task Force continues to find that the benefit of mammography increases with age, and recommends biennial screening in women ages 50 to 74. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, JAMA, Transplantation / 11.01.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Sergio A. Acuna, MD Graduate Student at St. Michael's Hospital and IHPME University of Toronto Medical Research: What is the background for this study? Dr. Acuna: Solid organ transplant recipients are known to be at greater risk of developing cancers compared to the general population; however, because they are also at high increased risk of mortality from non-cancer causes, the risk of cancer morality in this population is unclear. As previous studies on this topic have reported disparate findings, the cancer mortality risk in this population remained uncertain. Medical Research: What are the main findings? Dr. Acuna: Our study provides conclusive evidence that solid organ transplant recipients are at increased risk of cancer mortality. Our findings demonstrate that solid organ transplant recipients are at increased risk of cancer death compared to the general population regardless of age, transplanted organ, and year of transplantation, and indicate cancer is a substantial cause of death in this population. (more…)
Author Interviews, Dermatology, JAMA, Melanoma, Technology / 08.01.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Marc Haspeslagh, MD Dermpat, Ardooie, Belgium Department of Dermatology University Hospital, Ghent, Belgium Medical Research: What is the background for this study? Dr. Haspeslagh: In daily practice, most pathology laboratories process skin biopsy specimens without access to the clinical and /or dermoscopic images. In pigmented skin tumors, this information can be crucial to process and diagnose the lesion correctly. With increasingly smaller diameter lesions undergoing biopsy, these focal changes are only visible with dermoscopy; therefore, communication of this dermoscopic information to the pathologist is important. In many dermatopathology laboratories, this communication is often insufficient or totally absent, and one can presume that these suspicious areas are often missed with the standard random sectioning technique that examines less than 2% of the tissue. To overcome this diagnostic limitation we developed in 2013 a new method for processing skin biopsies, were we routinely take an ex vivo dermoscopic image of most tumoral skin lesions. In combination with marking specific and suspected areas seen on the ex vivo dermoscopy (EVD) with nail varnish, EVD with derm dotting is a simple and easy method that brings this crucial information to the pathologist and in the slides to be examined (Am J Dermatopathol 2013; 35(8),867-869). (more…)
Author Interviews, Breast Cancer, Geriatrics, Mammograms / 07.01.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Professor Charles Hennekens MD Dr.P.H Sir Richard Doll Professor Senior Academic Advisor to the Dean Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine Florida Atlantic University 777 Glades Road Boca Raton, FL 33431 Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Prof. Hennekens: Randomized evidence indicates clear benefits of mammography in middle age and, at present, most guidelines recommend regular mammography for women up to age 74.  In collaboration with colleagues at Baylor Medical College and Meharry Medical School we were able to link the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) data to the Medicare administrative claims data.  We found that, up to 84 years, screening was more common among whites than blacks and women receiving regular annual screening mammography had lower risks of mortality from breast cancer. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, Heart Disease, Pediatrics / 07.01.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Daniel A. Mulrooney, MD, MS Cancer Survivorship Jude Children's Research Hospital TN 38105-3678 Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?  Dr. Mulrooney:  This is a cross-sectional analysis performed in the St. Jude Lifetime Cohort Study (SJLIFE), an ongoing study designed to facilitate longitudinal evaluation of health outcomes among adults previously treated for childhood cancer.  Following patients over the life spectrum can be challenging making it difficult to understand the long-term health effects of childhood cancer therapy.  Previous studies have relied on self-report, registry, or death certificate data.  Our study is novel because we clinically evaluated cancer survivors on the St. Jude campus and identified substantial, asymptomatic cardiac disease (cardiomyopathy, coronary artery disease, valvular disease, and conduction/rhythm disorders).
  • Cardiomyopathy was present in 7.4% of survivors and newly identified by screening in 4.7%.
  • Coronary artery disease was present in 3.8% of survivors and newly identified by screening in 2.2%.
  • Valvular disease (regurgitation or stenosis) was present in 28% of survivors and newly identified by screening in 24.8%.
  • Conduction or rhythm abnormalities were present in 4.4% of survivors and newly identified by screening in 1.4%.
The prevalence of these cardiac findings might be expected in an older population but not necessarily in this young adult (median age at time of study 31 years, range: 18-60) population.    (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, Genetic Research, Personalized Medicine, Technology / 06.01.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr Bissan Al-Lazikani Team leader in computational biology The Institute of Cancer Research London Medical Research: What is the background for the canSAR database? What are the main uses for the tool? Dr. Al-Lazikani: Drug discovery is a difficult, time consuming and expensive venture that frequently ends in late stage drug failures - especially in oncology. As with any complex venture, decisions throughout the drug discovery pipeline can be empowered by having access to the right information at the right time. But for drug discovery this means bringing together billions of experimental data from very diverse areas of science spanning genomics, proteomics, chemistry and more. We developed canSAR to help guide our own drug discovery efforts by integrating these huge, diverse data and by analysing the data and deriving hidden links and knowledge from them. This means that we can answer questions in minutes that would have taken weeks using previously available public resources. But, more importantly, canSAR analyses and links these data in a way that allows us  to derive knowledge that was hidden before. For example, one of the main ways canSAR is used is to help select the best druggable targets for drug discovery. Using canSAR we were able to uncover many druggable cancer proteins that were previously overlooked, and we are delighted to see that several of these proteins are now the subjects of drug discovery and development projects both by us and by others. We took the decision to make canSAR publicly and freely available because we believe that cancer drug discovery is a vast challenge that requires openness and data sharing worldwide. It has been embraced by the community is being used by tens of thousands of cancer scientists worldwide, both in academia and industry, to generate hypotheses for experiments and select targets for drug discovery. (more…)
Author Interviews, Dermatology, Melanoma, Surgical Research / 05.01.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Jason B. Lee MD Professor , Clinical Vice Chair Department of Dermatology and Cutaneous Biology Director, Jefferson Dermatopathology Center Thomas Jefferson University Philadelphia, Pennsylvania  Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Lee: When initially described, Clark et al. suggested that dysplastic nevi were intermediate lesions that lie biologically on a spectrum between benign and malignant. As such, they were to be histologically graded as mild, moderate, and severe (or a combination thereof), with mild presumably closer to benign and severe closer to malignant. In this paradigm, adopted by most dermatologists, these nevi are routinely excised based on histologic grading and margin status. Recent outcomes of follow-up and excision studies of dysplastic nevi suggest that they are over treated as there have been very low rates of melanoma on re-excision. An alternative approach considers dysplastic or eponymously Clark nevi as common acquired nevi, typically in fair skin individuals, and rejects the entire notion that they are intermediate lesions as there exists no formal proof of their intermediate status. This approach omits grading and margin status entirely, providing the clinician an explicit recommendation for excision only for those cases of diagnostic uncertainty. In this study, excision recommendation rate of dysplastic/Clark nevi was determined along with analysis of excision outcomes in a laboratory where non-grading histologic diagnostic approach to these nevi has been adopted. The excision recommendation rate, representing the diagnostic uncertainty rate, was 11.1%. Out of 80% of the cases returned for excision, only 2.0% of the cases were interpreted as melanoma on excision; all were in situ or thin melanomas. This excision rate is much lower than in prior reports, which vary from 22-52%, while still capturing melanomas within this subset of lesions. (more…)