Author Interviews, Cancer Research, Lancet, Thromboembolism / 08.10.2014

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Prof Martin H Prins MD Maastricht University Medical Centre, Maastricht, Netherlands Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Prins: Patients with active cancer, i.e. a cancer that was diagnosed or treated within 6 months before the episode, that was recurrent or metastatic, or that was diagnosed during treatment, who had a symptomatic episode of venous thromboembolism, were included in this pooled subgroup analysis of the Einstein DVT and PE studies. The incidence of recurrent venous thromboembolism was similar between groups. It occurred in 16 (5%) of 354 patients allocated to rivaroxaban and 20 (7%) of 301 patients allocated to enoxaparin and vitamin K antagonist (hazard ratio [HR] 0•67, 95% CI 0•35 to 1•30). Clinically relevant bleeding was also similar and occurred in 48 (14%) of 353 patients receiving rivaroxaban and in 49 (16%) of 298 patients receiving standard therapy (HR 0•80, 95% CI 0•54 to1•20). However, major bleeding was less frequent among rivaroxaban recipients and occurred in eight (2%) of 353 patients receiving rivaroxaban and in 15 (5%) of 298 patients receiving standard therapy (HR 0•42, 95% CI 0•18 to 0•99). Mortality was also similar.
Author Interviews, Breast Cancer / 07.10.2014

Professor Xiaodong Zhang Professor of Macromolecular Structure and Function Department of Medicine Imperial College, London, UKMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Professor Xiaodong Zhang Professor of Macromolecular Structure and Function Department of Medicine Imperial College, London, UK Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Prof. Zhang: Since its discovery 20 years ago, the BRCA2 gene and its protein product, BRCA2, have been under intensive investigations. The importance of the BRCA2 protein lies in the central roles it plays in the most faithful DNA damage repair pathway. Mutations in BRCA2 thus can cause defects in this repair pathway, making the repair inefficient or forcing cells to use alternative repair methods that are prone to mistakes, all of which contribute to mutations in the genomic DNA, thus increase the risk of cancer development. Our study aims to understand how BRCA2 works through studying its 3-dimensional structures and its interactions with other key partners in the repair pathway. Our study provides first 3-dimensional views of BRCA2 and BRCA2-RAD51 and reveals that BRCA2 molecules exist as pairs and a BRCA2 pair recruit two sets of RAD51 molecules arranged in opposite orientations. Our study also shows a single stranded DNA binds across the BRCA2 dimer and that BRCA2 increases the frequency of RAD51 filament formation events, presumably to increase the efficiency of establishing a longer filament required for searching for matching strands of DNA in intact sister chromatin. Our results thus not only define the precise roles of BRCA2 in helping RAD51 filament formation, but how it helps RAD51 loading onto single stranded DNA.
Author Interviews, Prostate Cancer, Testosterone / 07.10.2014

Maarten C. Bosland, DVSc, PhD Professor of Pathology Department of Pathology, College of Medicine University of Illinois at Chicago Chicago, IL 60612MedicalResearch.com Interview with:  Maarten C. Bosland, DVSc, PhD Professor of Pathology Department of Pathology, College of Medicine University of Illinois at Chicago Chicago, IL 60612 Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Bosland: The two main findings are : (1) that long-term, low-dose testosterone treatment induces prostate cancer in rats (none occurred in control rats) and increases the number of rats with malignant tumors at any site in the body compared to control rats, and (2) that in rats treated long-term with testosterone after a single prostate-targeted chemical carcinogen treatment a high incidence of prostate cancer is induced, even at a very low testosterone dose.
Author Interviews, Melanoma, NYU/NYMC / 06.10.2014

David Polsky, MD, PhD Alfred W. Kopf, MD, professor of Dermatologic Oncology Ronald O. Perelman Department of Dermatology NYU Langone Medical CenterMedicalResearch.com Interview with: David Polsky, MD, PhD Alfred W. Kopf, MD, professor of Dermatologic Oncology Ronald O. Perelman Department of Dermatology NYU Langone Medical Center Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Polsky: We utilized a multi-disciplinary approach including an analysis of socioeconomic factors to elucidate the evolution of attitudes and behaviors maximizing personal ultraviolet light exposure during the 20th century in the United States.  We then compared melanoma incidence rates from national cancer registries to estimated skin exposure and found that they rose in parallel. Though causation cannot be made in an analysis such as this one, this paper describes a historical context for the changing attitudes promoting increased UV exposure, and the rising incidence of melanoma throughout the past century.  It also provides a framework in which to consider public health and education measures that may ultimately help reverse melanoma incidence trends.
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, JNCI, Lung Cancer, UT Southwestern / 02.10.2014

Dr. David Gerber MD Associate Professor of Internal Medicine Division of Hematology and Oncology Harold C. Simmons Cancer Center at UT Southwestern Medical CenterMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. David Gerber MD Associate Professor of Internal Medicine Division of Hematology and Oncology Harold C. Simmons Cancer Center at UT Southwestern Medical Center Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Gerber: Fewer than 3% of adult cancer patients in the United States are enrolled in clinical trials.  Increasingly numerous and stringent eligibility criteria are a major factor limiting participation in clinical trials.  We examined the longstanding and widespread practice of excluding patients with prior cancer from oncology clinical trials.  This policy presumably reflects concerns that a prior cancer would interfere with the conduct, outcomes, or interpretation of a clinical trial, although there is no clear evidence supporting that assumption. We examined more than 50 National Cancer Institute (NCI)-sponsored lung cancer clinical trials.  We found that 80% excluded patients with prior cancers.  This exclusion criterion was applied broadly, including to more than two-thirds of trials with non-survival endpoints.  We then examined national Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER)-Medicare linked data to estimate the proportion of patients who would be excluded from these trials due to prior cancer.  We found that up to 18% of potential patients are excluded for this reason alone.  In large phase 3 clinical trials, that corresponds to more than 200 patients.
Author Interviews, Breast Cancer, Cancer Research / 02.10.2014

Gary Ulaner, MD, PhD Assistant Attending Radiologist Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Assistant Professor of Radiology, Weill Cornell Medical School Chair, Radiology Research CommitteeMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Gary Ulaner, MD, PhD Assistant Attending Radiologist Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Assistant Professor of Radiology, Weill Cornell Medical School Chair, Radiology Research Committee Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Ulaner: FDG PET/CT revealed distant metastases in 17% of asymptomatic stage IIB breast cancer patients below 40 years of age.   Although NCCN guidelines recommend against systemic staging in patients with stage II disease, our data suggests that PET/CT might be valuable in younger patients at earlier stages of disease than previously expected.
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, HPV, Vaccine Studies / 01.10.2014

Elmar A. Joura, MD Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics Medical University of Vienna, Comprehensive Cancer Center Vienna, AustriaMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Elmar A. Joura, MD Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics Medical University of Vienna, Comprehensive Cancer Center Vienna, Austria Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Joura: The upcoming ninevalent vaccine has the potential to prevent 85% of the cervical precancers and surgeries such as LEEP (conization)
Author Interviews, Esophageal, JAMA, University of Michigan / 01.10.2014

Megan A. Adams, MD Gastroenterology Fellow University of MichiganMedicalResearch.com Interview with Megan A. Adams, MD Gastroenterology Fellow University of Michigan   Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Adams: Surveys of doctors indicate that their fear of a malpractice lawsuit for missing a diagnosis of esophageal cancer might drive the overuse of tests called upper endoscopies in patients who are at low risk for the cancer. To examine whether this perception of medical liability risk accurately reflects the real likelihood of a malpractice claim, we looked at a national database of malpractice claims, and compared the rate of claims for delay in diagnosis of esophageal cancer in patients without alarm symptoms (weight loss, dysphagia, iron deficiency anemia), with the rate of claims alleging performance of an upper endoscopy without a good reason for performing the procedure. The database contained 278,220 claims filed against physicians in 1985-2012. The incidence of reported medical liability claims for failure to screen for esophageal cancer in patients without alarm features was quite low (19 claims in 11 years, 4 paid). In contrast, there were 17 claims in 28 years for complications of upper endoscopies with questionable indication (8 paid).
Author Interviews, Melanoma, NEJM / 30.09.2014

Georgina Long BSc PhD MBBS FRACP Associate Professor of Melanoma Biology and Translational Research Melanoma Institute Australia and the University of Sydney MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Georgina Long BSc PhD MBBS FRACP Associate Professor of Melanoma Biology and Translational Research Melanoma Institute Australia and the University of Sydney Medical Research: Could you provide some background on this project? Why did you decide to do this research project? What prior work led up to this latest paper? Dr. Long: Pre-clinically, we had data that showed that the combination of BRAF inhibitor + MEK inhibitor
  • Decreased skin proliferative toxicity seen with BRAF inhibitors alone (seen as hyperproliferative lesions in rats)
  • and delayed the emergence of resistance I.e. The tumours in the mice reduced in size more, and stayed reduced for longer.We then confirmed this concept in a randomised phase 2 study, although it was not powered for a definitive progression free survival (PFS_ difference like a phase 3 trial is, we saw a strong difference in response rate and in PFS, yet there were only 54 patients per arm.
Chemotherapy / 29.09.2014

Giuseppe Curigliano M.D. Ph.D. Medico Direttore, Director Divisione Sviluppo Nuovi Farmaci per Terapie Innovative Early Drug Development for Innovative Therapies Division Via Ripamonti, MilanoMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Giuseppe Curigliano M.D. Ph.D. Medico Direttore, Director Divisione Sviluppo Nuovi Farmaci per Terapie Innovative Early Drug Development for Innovative Therapies Division Via Ripamonti,  Milano Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Curigliano: In the CLEOPATRA study, 808 patients from 25 countries with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer were randomised to receive first-line placebo/trastuzumab/docetaxel or pertuzumab/trastuzumab/docetaxel. Randomisation was stratified by geographic region and neo/adjuvant chemotherapy. At ESMO 2014 the CLEOPATRA researchers reported results of a final prespecified OS analysis (February 2014). This overall survival (OS) analysis was planned when ≥385 deaths were reported. The log-rank test, stratified by prior treatment status and geographic region, was used to compare OS between arms, applying the threshold of p ≤ 0.0456. Subgroup analyses of OS were performed for stratification factors and other key baseline characteristics.At median follow-up of 50 months (range 0 to 70 months), the statistically significant improvement in OS in favour of pertuzumab/trastuzumab/docetaxel arm was maintained (HR = 0.68, p = 0.0002). Median OS was 40.8 months in the placebo arm and 56.5 months in the pertuzumab arm, with difference of 15.7 months. The PFS in pertuzumab arm was 18.7 vs 12.4 months in placebo arm, HR 0.68 (p < 0.0001).
Author Interviews, BMJ, Breast Cancer, Weight Research / 29.09.2014

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Professor Usha Menon,  Evangelia-Ourania Fourkala PhD and Matthew Burrell PhD Gynaecological Cancer Research Centre, Women's Cancer, UCL EGA Institute for Women's Health, University College London, UK Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Response: Our study has shown that skirt size is a good proxy for central obesity. Each unit increase in UK skirt size every ten years between the age of 20 and 60 was associated with a 33% increase in postmenopausal breast cancer in our cohort.
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, Esophageal, Gastrointestinal Disease / 28.09.2014

Dr. Aaron P. Thrift PhD Public Health Sciences Division Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center Seattle, WA.MedicalResearch.com: Interview with: Dr. Aaron P. Thrift PhD Public Health Sciences Division Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center Seattle, WA. Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Thrift: We conclude that height is inversely associated with risk of esophageal adenocarcinoma, both in men and women. The association is not due to confounding from known risk factors or bias.
Author Interviews, Melanoma / 21.09.2014

Mario Mandalà, MD Unit of Clinical Research Department of Oncology and Haematology Papa Giovanni XXIII Hospital Piazza OMS 1, 24100, Bergamo, ItalyMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Mario Mandalà, MD Unit of Clinical Research Department of Oncology and Haematology Papa Giovanni XXIII Hospital Piazza OMS 1, 24100, Bergamo, Italy Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Mandalà: We evaluated PD-L1 expression by IHC in 81 consecutive metastatic melanoma patients, with well-defined demographic and clinical characteristics. Protein expression levels were correlated with clinical outcome. PD-L1+ and PD-L1- subsets of the A375 cell line were stabilized in vitro and compared using gene expression profiling and functional assays. Results were confirmed using xenograft models. In our study PD-L1 membrane positivity was an independent negative prognostic marker. Furthermore PD-L1 expression defined a subset of the BRAF-mutated A375 cell line characterized by a highly invasive phenotype and by enhanced ability to grow in xenograft models. If confirmed, our clinical and experimental data suggest that PD-L1+ melanomas should be considered a disease subset with distinct genetic and morpho-phenotypic features, leading to enhanced aggressiveness and invasiveness.
Author Interviews, Pancreatic / 19.09.2014

MedicalResearch.com: Interview Bashir A. Lwaleed PhD, FRCPath, CBiol FSB, FIBMS Senior Lecturer Faculty of Health Sciences University of Southampton Southampton General Hospital Southampton United Kingdom Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Lwaleed: That constituent(s) of Chokeberries has a supra-additive cytotoxic effect in combination with the drug gemcitabine, which is used clinically for this condition, when applied to a pancreatic carcinoma cell line in vitro.
Author Interviews, Genetic Research, Nature, Prostate Cancer / 18.09.2014

Dr. Jyotsna Batra QUT Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation's Queensland University of Technology Queensland, AustraliaMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Jyotsna Batra QUT Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation's Queensland University of Technology Queensland, Australia   Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Dr Batra: Prostate cancer is a disease with upto 40% genetic component. Previous Genome-wide association studies have identified 77 risk loci associated with prostate cancer. This study is further extension of previous GWASs and also involved meta-analysis of multi-ethnic populations. Through this large study involving approximately 90,0000 individuals, 23 new susceptibility loci were identified to be associated with prostate cancer, 15 variants were identified among men of European ancestry, 7 were identified in multi-ancestry analyses and 1 was associated with early-onset prostate cancer.
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, Lancet / 17.09.2014

Judith Trotman MBChB, FRACP, FRCPA Associate Professor Concord Hospital University of Sydney, AustraliaMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Judith Trotman MBChB, FRACP, FRCPA Associate Professor Concord Hospital University of Sydney, Australia Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Trotman: That PET-CT (applying the cut-off of ≥4 on the now internationally recommended 5 Point Scale) is a more powerful predictor of both Progression Free and Overall Survival than conventional CT in patients responding to first line immunochemotherapy for advanced follicular lymphoma.  It is also a much stronger predictor than the pre-treatment prognostic indices FLIPI and FLIP2. Patients who achieve PET-negative status have a median PFS over 6 years compared to only 17 months in those who remain PET-positive.
Author Interviews, Breast Cancer / 17.09.2014

Blake Cady MD Professor Emeritus of Surgery Brown UniversityMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Blake Cady MD Professor of Surgery (emeritus) at Harvard Medical School Partners HealthCare, Harvard Medical School institutions, Boston Medical Research: What are the main findings of this study? Dr. Cady:  Our findings support mammography screening, and our data is consistent with the randomized trials. Breast cancer screening with mammography is the most extensively researched screening method ever studied. Only one  “randomized" trial failed to show reduced mortality, (Canadian NCSS studies),  and there were major flaws in its design and execution that negate their results, as noted in multiple critical publications (volunteers, not geographic assignment, palpable masses detected at examination assigned to “screening” arm, large contamination bias (control group got screened anyway), and very poor quality of mammography). Yet it is this NCSS study that is cited by critics and the press.  “Failure Analyses” look backward from death, rather than forward from assignment in randomized trials. The concept of failure studies is well established as noted in recent reports of air-bag failures in cars, and many industrial studies. Seat belt prevention of deaths was discovered by police recording injuries and deaths in crashes after the fact - a failure analysis - not by randomized clinical trials. In breast cancer, failure analyses have advantages of little cost, early results, simplicity, and convenience, compared to randomized trials. Since our results support findings from randomized clinical trials (RCT), they can be accepted as reliable and accurate. Our findings show that about 71% of deaths from breast cancer occur in the  approximately 20% of our patients not in regular screening programs, while only 29% of deaths occur in the 80% of women who were regularly screened by mammography. By extrapolation, women regularly screened have only about a 5% breast cancer mortality, but women not screened have close to a 50% mortality. (This is my extrapolation from our data, not direct data from our “Failure Analysis”)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, CDC, Pediatrics / 16.09.2014

Dr. Jun Li, MD, PhD, MPH Epidemiology and Applied Research Branch Division of Cancer Prevention and Control National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health PromotionMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Jun Li, MD, PhD, MPH Epidemiology and Applied Research Branch Division of Cancer Prevention and Control National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Li: Using the 2001 to 2009 National Program of Cancer Registries (NPCR) and Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) data, which represent 94.2% of the US population, we identified 120,137 pediatric cancer cases with an incidence rate of 171 cases per million children and adolescents. Overall cancer incidence rates were stable from 2001-2009. However, we found rates were increasing significantly at 1.3% per year in African American children and adolescents.  This increase might be partially attributed to the rise among renal tumors and thyroid cancer. We also found rising incidence in thyroid cancer and renal carcinoma among children and adolescents. As has been previously established, pediatric cancer is more common in males, in white, in adolescents, and in the Northeast. Leukemia is the most common pediatric cancer, followed by central nervous system (CNS) neoplasms, and then lymphomas.
Breast Cancer / 15.09.2014

Nienke de Glas, MD PhD-student Leiden University Medical Center Department of Surgery Leiden The NetherlandsMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Nienke de Glas, MD PhD-student Leiden University Medical Center Department of Surgery Leiden The Netherlands Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. de Glas: It remains unclear whether mass breast cancer screening has a beneficial effect in older women. In the Netherlands, the upper age limit of the breast cancer screening program was extended from 69 to 75 years in 1998. If a screening program is effective, it can be expected that the incidence of early stage tumours increases, while the incidence of advanced stage tumours decreases. The aim of this study was to assess the incidence of early stage and advanced stage breast cancer before and after the implementation of mass screening in women aged 70-75 years in the Netherlands. We showed that the extension of the upper age limit to 75 years has only led to a small decrease of advanced stage breast cancer, while the incidence of early stage tumours has strongly increased. For every advanced stage tumour that was prevented, 20 “extra” and early stage tumours were diagnosed.
Author Interviews, Lancet, Lung Cancer, Radiation Therapy / 15.09.2014

Prof. dr. B.J. Slotman VU University Medical Center Cancer Center Amsterdam NetherlandsMedicalResearch.com Interview wth: Prof. dr. B.J. Slotman VU University Medical Center Cancer Center Amsterdam Netherlands Medical Research: What are the main findings of this study? Prof. Slotman: This randomized trial showed that the use of thoracic radiotherapy in patients with extensive stage small cell lung cancer reduces the risk of intrathoracic progression by about 50% and improves 2 years survival from 3 to 13%.
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, NEJM / 12.09.2014

[caption id="attachment_7562" align="alignleft" width="125"]Department of Pathology St. Jude Children's Research Hospital Memphis, TN 38105 St. Jude Children's Research Hospital[/caption] MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Charles Mullighan, M.D., MBBS(Hons), MSc Department of Pathology St. Jude Children's Research Hospital Memphis, TN 38105 MedicalResearch: What are the most important take home points from this study for practicing clinicians and their patients? Dr. Mullighan: Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) remains a leading cause of cancer death in children, and the prognosis worsens with increasing age. Current therapies are inadequate for many patients. This study has defined the genetic basis of a recently described subtype of Acute lymphoblastic leukemia called Ph-like ALL. We show that the prevalence increases with rising age, and that in both children and young adults the disease is driven by a diverse range of genetic changes that activate kinase signaling, which fuels the growth of leukemia cells. Ph-like Acute lymphoblastic leukemia currently has a poor outcome. The activated kinases may be inhibited by currently approved tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs). We have shown efficacy of these inhibitors in cell lines and experimental models, and in a series of patients with Ph-like Acute lymphoblastic leukemia treated with TKIs.
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, Dartmouth, Melanoma, Nature / 12.09.2014

Dr. Constance Brinckerhoff Professor of Medicine Professor of Biochemistry Geisel School of Medicine at DartmouthMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Constance Brinckerhoff Professor of Medicine Professor of Biochemistry Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Brinckerhoff: The genetic mutation BRAFV600E , frequently found in metastatic melanoma, not only secretes a protein that promotes the growth of melanoma tumor cells, but can also modify the network of normal cells around the tumor to support the disease’s progression. Targeting this mutation with Vemurafenib reduces this interaction, and suggests possible new treatment options for melanoma therapy.
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, Genetic Research, University of Pennsylvania / 12.09.2014

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Renata Afi Rawlings-Goss, Ph.D. Postdoctoral Fellow Tishkoff Lab, University of Pennsylvania Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Rawlings-Goss: We found genetic mutations in key gene regulators that have been linked to ethnic disparities in cancer. Our investigation identified more than 30 previously undescribed mutations in important regulatory molecules called microRNAs. Individual microRNA molecules can regulate large numbers of genes in some cases over 6000 genes at once. Therefore, mutations in these genes have been linked to numerous diseases. By and large, however, microRNA mutations have not been studied in people of diverse ethnic backgrounds.
Biomarkers, Lung Cancer / 10.09.2014

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Giulia Scioscia Coauthor of this study with the Prof. Carpagnano University of Foggia. Medical Research: What are the main findings of this study? Dr. Scioscia: The principal and newest findings of our study are:
  • Airways inflammation and neoangionesis are critical component of the lung cancer pathogenesis and they contribute to the regulation of airways temperature. They cause a regional hyperthermia in the lung lesion.
  • The exhaled Breath temperature has been proven to be the expression of the airways temperature and for this reason of their inflammation and neoangionesis.
  • For the first time we have measured this hyperthermia in lung cancer patients with the xhalo. The patient with diagnosis of tumor shows an higher temperature than in healthy ones and this values correlate with cigarette smoking and tumor progression.
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, Diabetes, Diabetologia / 09.09.2014

Professor Yuli Huang The First People's Hospital of Shunde, Daliang Town, China, and colleaguesMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Professor Yuli Huang The First People's Hospital of Shunde, Daliang Town, China, and colleagues Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Professor Huang: In this meta-analysis of 16 prospective cohort studies comprising more than 890,000 individuals, we found that the presence of prediabetes at baseline associated with a 15% increased risk of cancer overall. The results were consistent across cancer endpoint, age, duration of follow-up and ethnicity. There was no significant difference for the risk of cancer with different definitions of prediabetes (impaired fasting glucose [IFG] and/or impaired glucose tolerance [IGT]).
Author Interviews, Cancer, Cancer Research, End of Life Care / 09.09.2014

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Karin Jors MA Department of Palliative Care, Comprehensive Cancer Center, University Medical Center Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Answer: The findings of our study shed light on the current circumstances for dying in cancer centers. Physicians and nurses in our study reported that they rarely have enough time to care for dying patients. In addition, only a minority of staff members felt that they had been well-prepared during their training to care for dying patients and their families. Overall, only 56% of participants indicated that it is usually possible for patients to die in dignity on their ward. This is likely the result of various factors such as: inadequate rooms for dying patients and their families (i.e. shared rooms), poor communication with patients regarding burdensome treatments, an overuse of life-prolonging measures, etc. Striking differences were found between the responses of palliative care staff and staff from other wards (e.g. general care, oncology, intensive care). For example, palliative care staff reported that they usually have enough time to care for dying patients. In addition, 95% of palliative care staff indicated that it is usually possible for patients to die in dignity on their ward. Overall, nurses perceived the situation for dying patients more negatively than physicians. Whereas 72% of physicians reported that patients can usually die a dignified death on their ward, only 52% of nurses shared this opinion. Although only slightly more than half of participants believed that patients can usually die in dignity on their ward, this is a considerable improvement to the situation 25 years ago. In a similar study published in 1989, researchers found that 72% of physicians and nurses experienced the situation for patients dying on their hospital ward as undignified.
Author Interviews, Breast Cancer, JCEM / 06.09.2014

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Lu Chen, MPH Researcher in the Public Health Sciences Division Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center Doctoral student in the Department of Epidemiology University of Washington School of Public Health Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Chen: We found no evidence that wearing a bra is associated with breast cancer risk. Further, breast cancer risk was not impacted by bra wearing frequency, wearing a bra with an underwire, or starting to wear a bra at a young age.
Breast Cancer, MD Anderson, Surgical Research / 05.09.2014

sabelle Bedrosian, M.D., F.A.C.S. Associate Professor, Department of Surgical Oncology, Division of Surgery Medical Director, Nellie B. Connelly Breast Center The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TXMedicalResearch.com: Interview with: Isabelle Bedrosian, M.D., F.A.C.S. Associate Professor, Department of Surgical Oncology, Division of Surgery Medical Director, Nellie B. Connelly Breast Center The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Bedrosian: •       National BCT (breast conserving therapy) rates have increased during the last two decades. •       Disparities based on age, geographic facility location and type of cancer treatment facility have lessened over time. •       Insurance type and travel distance remain persistently associated with underutilization of breast conserving therapy. •       Annual income of less than $35K may be emerging as a new association with underutilization of breast conserving therapy.
Author Interviews, Colon Cancer / 05.09.2014

Paula Berstad, PhD, postdoc Telemark Hospital c/o Cancer Registry of Norway Oslo, NorwayMedicalResearch.com Interview Invitation Paula Berstad, PhD, postdoc Telemark Hospital c/o Cancer Registry of Norway Oslo, Norway   Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Berstad: In general population of age 50-55 years, both those invited to bowel cancer screening in year 2001 by flexible sigmoidoscopy and those not invited improved their lifestyle from year 2001 to 2012. Lifestyle was measured as adherence to public health guidelines; non-smoking, daily physical exercise, healthy diet and normal body weight. However, the 11-year improvement was smaller in those who were screened for bowel cancer compared to those not screened. Further, among those who attended the screening, the improvement was smaller in those with findings at screening (positive screening result) compared to those without findings (negative screening result). Our interpretation of the findings is that bowel cancer screening may have a small unwanted effect on lifestyle. Particularly, attention should be given to lifestyle among those testing positive at screening.