A gene thought to be essential in helping chemotherapy kill cancer cells, may actually help them thrive. In a new study of chemo patients, scientists at the Georgia Institute of Technology and the Ovarian Cancer Institute found that 70 percent of subjects whose tumors had mutations in the gene p53 were still alive after five years. Patients with normal p53 displayed only a 30 percent survival rate.
A Web-based program that provides prostate cancer patients with information about different treatment approaches may make deciding which path to follow a little easier, Medical College of Georgia researchers say.
When singer/songwriter/guitarist Doug Fieger, lead singer of The Knack, found out last year that he had two brain tumors, he was concerned that either the tumors or the side effects of surgery would leave him unable to pursue his livelihood.
Baylor College of Medicine surgeons in the trauma center at Ben Taub General Hospital hope to determine if lowering blood pressure in patients undergoing operations to repair serious injuries to the chest and abdomen can reduce their risk of dying.
Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE: BSX) commented on data released on May 9th at the American Association for Thoracic Surgery (AATS) conference in Washington, D.C. Dudley A. Hudspeth, M.D., of Desert Cardiothoracic Surgeons in Mesa, Arizona, reported positive results from his single-center clinical investigation of 79 patients treated with the FLEX 10? and FLEX 10? XE Microwave Ablation Probes.
Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Pharmacy have received a $1.7 million five-year federal grant to develop a new approach to treat brain tumors.
A 53-year-old Richmond grandfather underwent heart valve replacement and by-pass surgery at Methodist Sugar Land Hospital last week, becoming the first patient to undergo open heart surgery in Fort Bend County.
Coronary artery bypass surgery has been the preferred treatment for patients with a blockage in the left main coronary artery, the conduit that supplies blood to about two-thirds of the heart. However, in recent years this has been challenged by stent placement in this critical artery.
While drug-eluting stents are effective in keeping open diseased heart arteries, they should not be used for patients who need to have noncardiac surgery a short time after an interventional heart procedure. A presentation at the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions in Orlando by cardiologists at Jefferson Medical College indicates that for these patients, bare metal stents provide a safer choice.
As part of a continuing effort to ensure the American public has the most accurate and truthful information available when making critical healthcare decisions, the American Academy of Otolaryngology ? Head and Neck Surgery (AAO-HNS) strongly supports H.R. 2260, the Healthcare Truth and Transparency Act of 2007.