Combination of Everolimus and Exemestane Improves Progression-Free Survival for Women with Metastatic Breast Cancer
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San Antonio, TX - In an international Phase III randomized study, everolimus, when combined with the hormonal therapy exemestane, has been shown to dramatically improve progression-free survival, according to research from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.
The study, known as Breast Cancer Trials of Oral Everolimus (BOLERO-2), was presented today at the 2011 CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium by Gabriel Hortobagyi, M.D., professor and chair of MD Anderson’s Department of Breast Medical Oncology. Earlier findings were simultaneously reported in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Everolimus, an immunosuppressant agent first used to prevent rejection of organ transplants, also has anti-angiogenic properties. It inhibits the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) protein, a central regulator of tumor cell division and blood vessel growth in cancer cells; the mTOR pathway is activated in hormone-resistant breast cancer, explained Hortobagyi. Currently, the oral agent is approved for both the treatment of kidney cancer and pancreatic neuro-endocrine tumors, with MD Anderson’s research leading the way for the latter’s usage approval by the FDA.
Binge drinking by freshman women tied to sexual assault risk, according to new research
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Many young women who steer clear of alcohol while they’re in high school may change their ways once they go off to college. And those who take up binge drinking may be at relatively high risk of sexual assault, according to a University at Buffalo-led study in the January issue of the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.
The college years are famously associated with drinking. But little has been known about how young women change their high school drinking habits once they start college.
So for the new study, the research team followed 437 young women from high school graduation through freshman year of college. They found that of women who had never drank heavily in high school (if at all), nearly half admitted to heavy episodic drinking—commonly called binge drinking - at least once by the end of their first college semester. Young women who were already engaging in binge drinking in high school continued drinking at similar levels in college.
What’s more, binge drinking was linked to students’ risk of sexual victimization - regardless of what their drinking habits had been in high school.
Soy is on top as a high-quality plant protein
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The importance of protein in the human body is undeniable. However, the idea of what makes a protein a “quality protein” has not been as easy to determine. A new study from the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry takes a closer look at the criteria for determining the quality of a protein.
Traditional methods for determining protein quality have shown animal proteins such as milk and eggs to be high in quality. However, those who are interested in a plant-based diet, or diversifying their proteins, have a more difficult time determining which of their choices are high in quality. Testing methods have shown most plant proteins, such as pea protein, are lower in quality than animal-based proteins.
“Accurate methods for determining protein quality are key to helping people plan a healthful diet,” said Glenna Hughes, MS, research scientist at Solae. “Due to the increasing interest in including plant-based proteins in the diet, accurate information on protein quality is needed in scientific literature to help educate consumers and healthcare professionals on this topic.”
Obama raises U.S. goal on fighting AIDS
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President Barack Obama vowed to boost U.S. efforts to fight AIDS with a new target of providing treatment to 6 million people worldwide by 2013, up from an earlier goal of 4 million.
At a celebrity-studded World AIDS Day event on Thursday, Obama also challenged other nations to boost their commitments to fund treatment and called on China to “step up” as a major donor in the effort to expand access to AIDS drugs.
“We can beat this disease. We can win this fight. We just have to keep at it, today, tomorrow, and every day until we get to zero,” Obama said at the forum, where he credited his Republican predecessor, George W. Bush, for his efforts to combat AIDS and HIV.
“As we go forward, we need to keep refining our strategy so that we’re saving as many lives as possible. We need to listen when the scientific community focuses on prevention,” Obama said.
Most insurers met spending limits under law: GAO
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Most U.S. health insurers last year would have satisfied the much-disputed spending rules under President Barack Obama’s healthcare reform, according to a new report by a congressional watchdog agency.
The rules require insurers such as Aetna and UnitedHealth to spend most of customers’ premium payments on medical care, not administrative costs or profit, or risk paying patients a rebate.
Since the requirement went into effect in January, a number of states have sought waivers to get leeway in how fast the rules go into effect, which they say would keep insurers from abandoning the individual insurance market.
