Prostate cancer less likely to spread when treated with higher dose of radiation
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New research suggests that men with prostate cancer who choose radiation therapy should seek treatment centers that will offer high-dose radiation. A new study from Fox Chase Cancer Center finds that higher doses of 74 to 82 Gray (Gy) greatly reduce the risk that the cancer will spread later—even 8-10 years after treatment. The results of the study were presented today at the 48th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology in Philadelphia.
“There is a comprehensive body of evidence demonstrating that prostate cancer treated with higher doses of radiation is less likely to grow back in the prostate or cause a rising PSA, and now, we know it is also less likely to spread later to other parts of the body,” explained Peter Morgan, M.D., a resident in the Radiation Oncology Department at Fox Chase Cancer Center.
Additional hormone therapy use after radiation for some prostate cancers extends survival
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The largest study examining the benefits of long-term use of hormone therapy after radiation treatment for prostate cancer shows men with aggressive locally advanced disease live longer if hormones are used for an additional 24 months. Research also showed other significant benefits for those with less aggressive cancers who receive hormones. The study results were presented today at the 48th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology in Philadelphia.
The study, sponsored by the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG 92-02), reports more than 10 years of data involving the use of androgen deprivation after radiation therapy in a phase III, multi-center study led by Gerald E. Hanks, M.D., who served as chairman of radiation oncology at Fox Chase Cancer Center from 1985 to 2001. (Hanks is a 2006 ASTRO Fellow).
Eye-opening research provides important diagnostic tool for major childhood killer
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The eye can provide a very reliable way of diagnosing cerebral malaria, researchers in Malawi have shown. By looking at the changes to the retina, doctors are able to determine whether an unconscious child is suffering from this severe form of malaria or another, unrelated illness, leading to the most appropriate treatment.
Because malaria is so common in Africa, children may have an incidental malaria infection whilst actually having another life-threatening illness. This can confuse the diagnosis in an unconscious child. Doctors hope that widespread use of eye examination could greatly reduce the number of children dying from this major childhood killer.
Study Examines Effects of Aricept in Pediatric Brain Cancer Survivors
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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.
The drug, called Aricept™, will be given daily for six months to brain cancer survivors who have received cranial radiation. Sharon Castellino, M.D., will follow these patients for six months to see if the drug can help prevent a decline in their cognitive abilities.
Salaries for chemists rise, but jobs outlook little improved
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New chemistry graduating class considerably more diverse than chemical workforce.
While chemical scientists and engineers who have not changed jobs continue to post gains in salary of close to 5 percent per year, unemployment figures for the past year only dropped modestly, according to the November 6 Employment Outlook section in Chemical & Engineering News. C&EN is the weekly newsmagazine of the American Chemical Society (ACS), the world’s largest scientific society.
Dopamine Used to Prompt Nerve Tissue to Grow
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When Yadong Wang, a chemist by training, first ventured into nerve regeneration two years ago, he didn’t know that his peers would have considered him crazy.
His idea was simple: Because neural circuits use electrical signals often conducted by neurotransmitters (chemical messengers) to communicate between the brain and the rest of the body, he could build neurotransmitters into the material used to repair a broken circuit. The neurotransmitters could coax the neurons in the damaged nerves to regrow and reconnect with their target organ.
Pain drugs may raise risk of kidney failure
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The use of nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (“NSAID”), which include pain relievers like ibuprofen (Motrin, Advil) may increase the risk of kidney failure, according to a report in the American Journal of Epidemiology.
“NSAIDs are associated not uncommonly with renal failure,” Dr. James M. Brophy from McGill University in Montreal told Reuters Health. “This rate of renal failure is approximately twice that observed for (heart attack). Clinicians should, therefore, be concerned not only about cardiac but also renal adverse effects and, therefore, restrict NSAID use only for those situations where the benefit is expected to outweigh the risks.”
Ex-surgeon generals say US needs sexual literacy
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U.S. efforts to promote abstinence as a cornerstone of sexual education have not lowered levels of sexually transmitted diseases, two former U.S. surgeon generals said on Thursday.
Drs. Joycelyn Elders and David Satcher told a news conference in San Francisco that a broad effort is needed to promote the “sexual literacy” of Americans to counter unacceptable levels of sexually transmitted diseases and unplanned pregnancies, especially among teens and young adults.
Flavoured condom ad in bad taste, say Indian censors
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Indian authorities want to stop the daytime airing of a television advertisement promoting flavoured condoms saying it is obscene and in bad taste, a newspaper reported on Friday.
The advert promotes DKT’s “XXX” strawberry, chocolate and banana flavoured condoms with the catch-phrase “What is your flavour of the night?”
But the Advertising Standards Council of India and the Censor Board have asked the government to bar the advert from being broadcast during the day, especially during the popular Champions Trophy international cricket tournament.
Social factors preclude condom use by teens
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Social and cultural factors, not just unavailability or ignorance, influence why young people do not use condoms, researchers said on Friday.
Some sexually active under 25s associate condoms with a lack of trust, while others believe carrying them could imply sexual experience, which might be a plus for men but not necessarily for women.
Blocking stomach acid doesn’t raise cancer risk
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Overall, the use of drugs that reduce stomach acid, such as H2 blockers and proton pump inhibitors, do not increase the risk of cancer of the esophagus or stomach, according to a study reported in the journal Gut.
Common H2 blockers are ranitidine (Zantac) and cimetidine (Tagamet); and a common proton pump inhibitor is omeprazole (Prilosec).
“There have been concerns regarding the safety of long-time gastric acid suppression,” senior investigator Dr. Mats Lindblad told Reuters Health. “I think our large study clearly suggests that long-time gastric acid suppression does not increase the risk” of cancer of the esophagus or stomach.
Teens who read poorly have higher suicide risk
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Teenagers who have significant problems reading appear to be much more likely than their peers to contemplate or attempt suicide, researchers reported Wednesday.
In a 3-year study of 188 high school students, researchers found that those with poor reading abilities were nearly four times more likely than average readers to think about or attempt suicide.
Twenty-five percent of teens with reading disabilities said they thought about killing themselves or made a suicide attempt, while these thoughts and behaviors were reported by 9 percent of students with average reading skills, the study authors report in the Journal of Learning Disabilities.
Depression can be beaten, but it takes time
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Depression can be beaten in more than two thirds of patients, but it takes time and trying several combinations of treatments, U.S. researchers reported on Tuesday.
The “real-world” study of 3,671 patients with major depression showed that no one drug or class of drugs works any better, the researchers said. The right combination must be found for each individual patient.
“The good news is that two thirds of people can be relieved of their depression if they can hang in there for up to four treatment steps. That’s pretty significant for a tough illness,” said Dr. A. John Rush, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, who led the study.
CDC plans to subsidize cervical cancer vaccine
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U.S. health authorities added Merck & Co. Inc.‘s new vaccine for cervical cancer to a government-subsidized vaccine program for schoolchildren, helping to expand its availability, the company said on Wednesday.
The vaccine Gardasil prevents cervical cancer by protecting against the sexually transmitted human papilloma virus (HPV), which can trigger the disease, one of the most common cancers in women.
Merck said the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention included Gardasil in its Vaccines for Children program, under which the government buys vaccines for uninsured or poor schoolchildren.
PSA changes predict prostate cancer outcome
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Watching changes in men’s PSA blood tests may be the best way of predicting which men have life-threatening prostate cancer, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday.
The study, published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, strengthens the argument that men should have their prostate specific antigen (PSA) levels tested when they are young, so doctors have a point of reference, or “baseline,” for studying future changes.
“We have found that the rate at which a man’s PSA rises may be more important than any absolute level for identifying men who will develop life-threatening cancer while their disease is still curable,” said Dr. H. Ballentine Carter of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore.
