Doctors have created a first-ever computer tool to predict the risk of breast cancer returning in the same breast over a 10-year period in women who have had breast conserving surgery to remove only the cancer (lumpectomy), according to a study presented November 6, 2006, at the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology’s 48th Annual Meeting in Philadelphia.
To reduce the risk of influenza infection and in accordance with the Government’s Influenza Vaccination Programme for 2006-07, the General Out-Patient Clinics (GOPCs) and Specialist Out-Patient Clinics of the Hospital Authority will start providing influenza vaccination to eligible people from today (November 6) until the end of December.
Negative perceptions about radiation therapy can strongly influence a prostate cancer patient’s choice to avoid external beam radiation therapy, even though studies have proven the treatment to be as safe and effective as other treatments for the disease, including surgery, according to a study presented November 5, 2006, at the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology’s 48th Annual Meeting in Philadelphia.
Prostate cancer patients treated with either radiation or surgery who use hormone therapy for longer than six months do not survive any longer than patients who use the treatment for a shorter amount of time, according to a study presented November 5, 2006, at the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology’s 48th Annual Meeting in Philadelphia.
Scientists at the University of Michigan Medical School have discovered a previously unknown cause for a severe, early-onset form of kidney disease and renal failure in children: recessive mutations in a gene called phospholipase C epsilon or PLCE1.
New research findings show men have fewer long-term gastrointestinal side effects with intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) than with three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy (3D CRT) for prostate cancer treatment, despite the higher doses of radiation used in the IMRT group. These and other data, including long-term genitourinary side effects, were presented today at the 48th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology in Philadelphia.
Bringing hope to hundreds of children in one of the countries hardest hit by HIV/AIDS, the Abbott Fund, Baylor College of Medicine and the Government of Malawi have joined forces to build the country’s first pediatric HIV clinic. The First Lady of Malawi, Madame Ethel Zvauya Mutharika and other dignitaries at Kamuzu Central Hospital officially opened the new clinic today in the city of Lilongwe.
There is new hope for some of the most seriously ill colon cancer patients today, following the release of a consensus statement by 72 leading oncology surgeons from 14 countries, including the United States. The Peritoneal Surface Malignancy Group (PSMG) has concluded that surgery, followed by heated chemotherapy delivered through the lower abdomen of the patient before leaving the operating room, may significantly increase the life expectancy for patients with Stage IV colorectal cancer.
A pediatric oncologist at Brenner Children’s Hospital is evaluating whether a drug typically used to treat Alzheimer’s patients will help brain cancer survivors avoid the learning and memory problems that are common after radiation therapy.
A protein with the ironic name “Srcasm” can counteract the effects of tumor-promoting molecules in skin cells, according to new research by investigators at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. Using animal models, the researchers discovered that Srcasm acts like a brake in epithelial cells, preventing uncontrolled cell growth caused by a family of proteins called Src kinases. This finding, published online in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, suggests a target for future gene therapy to treat skin, head, neck, colon, and breast cancers.