A new tool to identify patients who would benefit from early palliative care will be presented at the ESMO 2017 Congress in Madrid. (1) The so-called “Triggers” tool, developed by the London Cancer Alliance to help clinicians in the UK recognise patients who need an early referral to specialist palliative care, has been successfully piloted at...
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Zinc Transporter Key to Fighting Pancreatic Cancer And More
EAST LANSING, Mich. – When trace elements rise to toxic levels, bad things happen. Patients suffering from Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease harbor significantly higher levels of zinc and iron in their brains than healthy patients. Those with pancreatic cancer have an unusually high amount of a specific zinc transporter. So, controlling those levels could be...
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New study finds improved vaccine that protects against nine types of HPV is highly effective
Electron micrograph of a negatively stained human papilloma virus (HPV) which occurs in human warts. Cervical cancer is the second most common cause of cancer-related death worldwide, with almost 300,000 deaths occurring each year. More than 80 percent of these deaths occur in developing nations. The advent of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines has significantly...
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Inactivated vaccinia virus effective against advanced cancers alone or combined with immune checkpoint inhibitors
Modified vaccinia virus Ankara (MVA), a poxvirus, was found to be safe when administered in an inactivated form in mice, and delivering it into the tumor in addition to systemic delivery of an immune checkpoint inhibitor yielded synergistic antitumor effects in mice with large tumors and those with multiple tumors, according to data presented at...
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Zika virus could be used to treat brain cancer patients, study suggests
Recent outbreaks of Zika virus have revealed that the virus causes brain defects in unborn children. But in a study to be published September 5 in The Journal of Experimental Medicine, researchers from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the University of California, San Diego report that the virus could eventually be used...
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What are Stem Cells, Exactly? [Fact Sheet]
tem cells can multiply (self-renew) and differentiate into every cell within the human body, giving them enormous potential for use in regenerative medicine. In a developing embryo, stem cells can differentiate into all of the specialized embryonic tissues. In adult humans, stem and progenitor cells act as a repair system for the body, replenishing specialized...
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Starbucks latte ‘almost sent diabetic mother-of-one, 46, into a coma’ thanks to the 18 GRAMS of sugar it contained
Liz Adams, a mother-of-one, had stopped for a Starbucks latte at service station However after having a ‘grande’ latte she began to feel dizzy and got a headache She found her blood sugar level had gone from 6.5mmol/L to 26.9mmol/L She believes her life was put at risk and is calling on Starbucks to make...
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Nine signs children may need an eye exam
Back-to-school shopping lists might include school supplies, new clothes, and even a haircut, but does it include an eye exam? Physicians in the University of Alabama at Birmingham Department of Ophthalmology think it should. “More often than not, vision problems go unnoticed until children begin school,” said Associate Professor of Ophthalmology Marcela Frazier, O.D.. “Children grow up...
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Researchers identify potential biomarkers of age-related macular degeneration
Picture of the back of the eye showing intermediate age-related macular degeneration. Patients with any stage of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) carry signs of the disease in their blood that may be found through special laboratory tests, according to a new study led by AMD researchers based at Massachusetts Eye and Ear. The study,...
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‘Game-changing’ urine test called UroMark could spare invasive procedure for bladder cancer patients and save NHS millions
UroMark can detect bladder cancer in 98% of cases, according to experts At present, people suspected of having bladder cancer undergo a cystoscopy Scientists responsible for the test believe that it could save the NHS about £25m A simple urine test designed to detect bladder cancer could spare patients an invasive procedure while also saving...