Author Interviews, Cancer Research, Genetic Research, Journal Clinical Oncology / 20.04.2014

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Allison W. Kurian, M.D., M.Sc. Assistant Professor of Medicine and of Health Research and Policy Divisions of Oncology and Epidemiology Allison W. Kurian, M.D., M.Sc. Assistant Professor of Medicine and of Health Research and Policy Divisions of Oncology and Epidemiology and James M. Ford, MD Associate Professor of Medicine Pediatrics and Genetics, Division of Oncology, Stanford University School of MedicineJames M. Ford, MD Associate Professor of Medicine Pediatrics and Genetics, Division of Oncology, Stanford University School of Medicine MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Answer: We found that 11% of women who met standard clinical criteria for BRCA1 and BRCA2 (BRCA1/2) mutation testing, yet had tested negative, actually carried an actionable mutation in another cancer-related gene.  We found that patients were highly motivated to learn about their genetic test results and new recommendations for cancer risk reduction.  Over a short follow-up period, colonoscopy screening resulted in early detection of a tubular adenoma in a patient found to have a high-risk MLH1 mutation, and thus the multiple-gene testing in our study has likely prevented at least one cancer to date.  We conclude that multiple-gene sequencing can benefit appropriately selected patients. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, MD Anderson, Race/Ethnic Diversity / 18.04.2014

Dr. Lorraine R. Reitzel Ph.D Associate Professor in the Health Program of the Department of Educational Psychology College of Education, University of Houston in Houston, Texas.MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Lorraine R. Reitzel Ph.D Associate Professor in the Health Program of the Department of Educational Psychology College of Education, University of Houston in Houston, Texas. MedicalResearch.com: Please tell us about your study. Dr. Reitzel: The current study represented a secondary analysis of data that were collected by Dr. Lorna McNeill and colleagues at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. The parent study was focused on better understanding factors associated with cancer risk among African American adults, and several faculty members including myself contributed ideas about the variables we thought might play a role. The current study represents one of several studies emerging from these data. The current study was led by Ms. Pragati S. Advani, a graduate student on my research team, who was interested in better understanding the associations between financial strain and modifiable behavioral risk factors for cancer among African American adults. Financial strain represents an unfavorable income to needs ratio and was assessed using a questionnaire that tapped into current difficulty affording things that represent pretty basic components of life, including suitable food, clothing, and housing for the respondent and their family. The modifiable behavioral risk factors for cancer examined included smoking cigarettes, at-risk alcohol use, being overweight/obese, getting insufficient physical activity, and having inadequate fruit and vegetable intake. We also included a tally of the total number of these factors (0 to 5) as an outcome variable of interest. (more…)
Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Cancer Research, Medical Research Centers, Outcomes & Safety / 18.03.2014

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Atul Shinagare MD Department of Radiology and Center for Evidence-Based Imaging, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 75 Francis St, Boston, MA 02115Dr. Atul Shinagare MD Department of Radiology and Center for Evidence-Based Imaging, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 75 Francis St, Boston, MA 02115 MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Answer: We evaluated 100 randomly selected patients from a cohort of 1771 patients evaluated for asymptomatic hematuria in 2004 at our institution in order to assess physician adherence to the 2001 American Urological Association (AUA) guidelines for evaluating patients and its impact on the diagnosis of urologic cancer. We found that most (64%) patients were not evaluated according to the guidelines, that there was substantial variation in the evaluation, and that the evaluation depended largely on the type of hematuria and physician specialty. Only 5% of patients were found to have urologic cancer, and all of them were evaluated according to the guidelines. No additional urologic cancers were diagnosed in patients in whom guidelines were not followed; however, since not all patients were tested thoroughly, occult malignancies may have been present. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, Journal Clinical Oncology, Pain Research / 01.02.2014

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Fengmin Zhao, MS,PhD Biostatistician Department of Biostatistics & Computational Biology Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Boston, MA 02215 MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Zhao: We analyzed 2,761 patients in this study. We found that at initial assessment, 53.0% of patients had no pain, 23.5% had mild pain, 10.3% had moderate pain, and 13.2% had severe pain. Overall, one third of patients with initial pain had pain reduction within 1 month of follow-up, and one fifth had an increase. Inadequate pain management was significantly associated with pain deterioration in these patients, as were lower baseline pain level, younger age, and poor health status. Of the patients without pain at initial assessment, 28.4% reported pain at the follow-up assessment (8.9% of them were moderate to severe pain), and more than half of them received inadequate pain management. (more…)
Author Interviews, Mayo Clinic, Menopause, Sugar / 06.12.2013

Maki Inoue-Choi, PhD, MS, RD Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, NIH Rockville, MD 20850MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Maki Inoue-Choi, PhD, MS, RD Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, NIH Rockville, MD 20850 MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Answer: In our study, postmenopausal women who reported higher consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages were more likely to develop estrogen-dependent type I endometrial cancer, the most common type of this cancer. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, OBGYNE, Pediatrics / 09.11.2013

Alastair Sutcliffe M.D., Ph.D. From the Institute of Child Health University College LondonMedicalResearch.com  Interview with: Alastair Sutcliffe M.D., Ph.D. From the Institute of Child Health University College London   MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study?   Dr. Sutcliffe: Good NEWS for couples who need assisted conception. All the births (106,000) from Great Britain over 18 years were linked to the National Childhood Cancer Registry from the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (which has recorded all births sine 1991 by law.)Those children who showed up on both registries, had IVF conception and childhood cancer. We predicted the number we would expect from the known national childhood cancer rates. We found ALMOST IDENTICAL rates 108 in our group and 109 predicted. NO INCREASED RISK OF CANCER AFTER IVF CONCEPTION IN OFFSPRING. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, Heart Disease, Radiology / 16.10.2013

Prof. Dr. Gunnar Brix Division of Medical and Occupational Radiation Protection Federal Office for Radiation Protection Institut für Med. Strahlenhygiene 85764 NeuherbergMedicalResearch.com: Prof. Dr. Gunnar Brix Division of Medical and Occupational Radiation Protection Federal Office for Radiation Protection Institut für Med. Strahlenhygiene 85764 Neuherberg MedicalResearch.com:  What are the main findings of the study? Answer: We investigated the cumulative radiation exposure and cancer risk of more than 1200 patients with ischemic heart diseases (IHD) from diagnostic and therapeutic imaging procedures performed 3 month before and 12 month after the date of diagnosis. The major findings were:
  • ­    87% of patient exposure resulted from heart catheter procedures.
  • ­    The average cumulative effective dose was 13.3 mSv in males and 10.3 mSv in females. The highest dose was nearly 100 mSv.
  • ­    The estimated average attributable life-time risk of male and female patients to develop a radiation-induced cancer in their remaining life was 0.09 % and  0.07 %, respectively. This correspond to 1 excess cancer in about 1100 male and 1400 female IHD patients. The highest risk was 0.9 %.
  • ­ The effective dose is inadequate to characterize individual radiation risks, since neither the age nor the sex of the patient is taken into account. According to our results, cancer risks can vary by a factor of more than 10 for comparable values of the effective dose. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, Mental Health Research, Pediatrics, Social Issues / 09.10.2013

Dr. Elisabeth Jeppesen MPH, PhD-fellow National Resource Center for Late Effects after Cancer Treatment, Department of Oncology, Oslo University, Hospital, The Norwegian Radiumhospitalet, OslMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Elisabeth Jeppesen MPH, PhD-fellow National Resource Center for Late Effects after Cancer Treatment, Department of Oncology, Oslo University, Hospital, The Norwegian Radiumhospitalet, Oslo, Norway mobil +47 951 05271 
Wisit: Ullernchaussen 70 (Radiumhospitalet) www.oslo-universitetssykehus.no MedicalResearch.com: What is the background of this study? Answer: Each year a considerable number of parents with children younger than 18 years of age are affected by cancer in a parent. Cancer in one of the parents might represent a potentially traumatic event and thereby may be a risk factor for psychosocial problems in the offspring. So far, teenagers’ psychosocial responses to parental cancer have only been studied to a limited extent in controlled trials. Using a trauma theory perspective many studies have shown significant direct associations between parental cancer and psychosocial problems in teenagers. However, the literature also indicates that most children and teenagers have normal stress reactions to such events. In order to identify the need for eventual prevention and intervention among teenagers exposed to such a stressor, we need more empirical knowledge of their psychosocial situation. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, Diabetes, NYU, Weight Research / 26.09.2013

Niyati Parekh, PhD, RD Assistant Professor of Nutrition and Public Health, Director of Doctoral Program in Clinical Nutrition, Department of Nutrition, Food Studies and Public Health, Steinhardt School and Department of Population Health, NYU Langone School of Medicine, New York University 411 Lafayette Street NY. NY-10003.MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Niyati Parekh, PhD, RD Assistant Professor of Nutrition and Public Health, Director of Doctoral Program in Clinical Nutrition, Department of Nutrition, Food Studies and Public Health, Steinhardt School and Department of Population Health, NYU Langone School of Medicine, New York University 411 Lafayette Street NY. NY-10003. MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Parekh: The objective of the study was to investigate disturbances in blood glucose levels in relation to risk of obesity-related cancers. We observed an increased risk of obesity-related cancers, specifically colon cancer among persons with abnormal glucose values. These findings were stronger among persons who had this abnormality for longer duration (>10years). (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, Case Western, Cleveland Clinic, Mental Health Research / 25.04.2013

MedicalResearch.com: eInterview with Siran M. Koroukian, Ph.D. Population Health and Outcomes Research Core, Clinical & Translational Science Collaborative Associate Professor Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics School of Medicine Case Western Reserve University Cleveland, OH 44106-7281 MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Koroukian: Among individuals who died of cancer, those with mental illness (MI) died an average of 10 years earlier than those without MI. Overall, there was excess mortality from cancer associated with having mental illness in all the race/sex strata: SMR, 2.16 (95% CI, 1.85-2.50) for black men; 2.63 (2.31-2.98) for black women; 3.89 (3.61-4.19) for nonblack men; and 3.34 (3.13-3.57) for nonblack women. We note statistically significant higher SMRs for every anatomic cancer site in nonblack men and women and for most cancer sites in black men and women. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, PNAS / 02.04.2013

MedicalResearch.com Author Interview: Prof. Eytan Domany Department of Physics of Complex Systems and Department of Biological Regulation, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, 76100, IsraelDepartment of Physics of Complex Systems and Department of Biological Regulation, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, 76100, Israel MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Prof. Domany: The findings are two-fold: methodological and clinical.  A novel method was introduced for personalized analysis of cancer, and was applied on large colon cancer and glioblastoma datasets. The method uses high throughput (gene expression) data to infer a pathway deregulation score (PDS) for individual tumors, for hundreds of pathways and biological processes. The method is knowledge-based in that it uses well known information about the assignment of genes to biologically relevant pathways. No detailed knowledge of the underlying networks of interactions and activations is necessary. Each tumor is represented by a few hundred of these PDSs, and further analysis uses this representation. (more…)
Cancer Research / 30.03.2013

Janet S. de Moor, PhD, MPH Program Director, Office of Cancer Survivorship Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences National Cancer Institute/National Institutes of Health Bethesda, MD 20891-8336MedicalResearch.com Interview with Janet S. de Moor, PhD, MPH Program Director, Office of Cancer Survivorship Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences National Cancer Institute/National Institutes of Health Bethesda, MD 20891-8336 MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study?  Dr. de Moor: The number of people who have been diagnosed with cancer during their lifetime has been steadily increasing.  As of January 1, 2012, approximately 13.7 million cancer survivors were living in the United States with projected prevalence to approach 18 million by 2022.  Women with breast cancer and men with prostate cancer represent the two largest groups of cancer survivors, accounting for 22% and 20% of the population respectively.  Sixty-four percent of cancer survivors have survived 5 years or more; 40% have survived 10 years or more; and 15% have survived 20 years or more after diagnosis.  Over the next decade, the number of people who have lived 5 years or more after their cancer diagnosis is projected to increase approximately 37% to 11.9 million. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, Cost of Health Care, JNCI / 15.03.2013

Gabriel Brooks MD Fellow, Medical Oncology Dana-Farber Cancer InstituteMedicalResearch.com Interview with Gabriel Brooks MD Fellow, Medical Oncology Dana-Farber Cancer Institute MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Brooks: First, we found that there is substantial regional variation in Medicare spending for patients with advanced cancer.  For patients with a new diagnosis of advanced stage cancer, spending in the six months following diagnosis varied by 32% between regions in the highest and lowest quintiles of spending.  And for patients who died from cancer, spending in the last six months of life varied by 41% between the highest and lowest spending regions. Second, we tested the association between area-level spending and survival from the time of advanced cancer diagnosis.  We found that there was no consistent association between increasing spending and survival for any of the five cancer sites included in our study (non-small cell lung cancer, colorectal cancer, pancreas cancer, breast cancer and prostate cancer). (more…)