Women undergoing mastectomy for breast cancer experience improved postsurgical pain relief and reduced opioid consumption when given a pectoralis nerve plane (PECS) block prior to surgery, suggests research presented at the ANESTHESIOLOGY® 2018 annual meeting. The PECS block is a newer regional anesthesia technique that works by injecting long-acting anesthetics, guided by ultrasound, to numb the front of the chest wall before surgical incision. “Physician anesthesiologists are reassessing pain management strategies due
A new study by University of Kentucky Markey Cancer Center researchers suggests that targeting a protein known as collagen XIII could be key for suppressing breast cancer metastasis. Breast cancers begin in the epithelial cells, which are the cells that line organs and tissues in the body. Generally, most epithelial cells will die after detaching from their substrata, known as the extracellular matrix – this type of programmed cell death is called
Phase I clinical trial will combine standard chemotherapy with cirmtuzumab, a drug that has shown promise against a variety of cancer types Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine have launched a phase Ib clinical trial to assess the safety and tolerability of cirmtuzumab, in combination with standard chemotherapy, to treat metastatic or locally advanced breast cancer that cannot be surgically removed. Cirmtuzumab is a novel monoclonal antibody
The Cancer Center of Kansas (CCK) has been added as a new clinical trial site and will be part of an ongoing, multicenter, Phase IIa study of Bria-IMT™ (listed in ClinicalTrials.gov as NCT03066947) in advanced breast cancer, as well as the rollover combination study of BriaCell Therapeutic's Bria-IMT™ with pembrolizumab or ipilimumab (listed in ClinicalTrials.gov as NCT03328026). Dr. Shaker R. Dakhil, Board certified in Medical Oncology and Internal Medicine, will
A new study from the Stanford Cancer Institute finds that young women who are treated with chemotherapy for breast cancer but have residual tumor in either the breast or lymph nodes have higher chances of recurrence compared to those with no evidence of any residual invasive tumor (pathologic complete response). The findings were published in the July issue of JNCCN – Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network. The research
By focusing on younger women with breast cancer, researchers were able to shed new light on the risks presented by residual disease for this population, regardless of affected site. A new study from the Stanford Cancer Institutefinds that young women who are treated with chemotherapy for breast cancer but have residual tumor in either the breast or lymph nodes have higher chances of recurrence compared to those with no evidence of any residual
A new multi-institutional clinical trial compared outcomes of women with multiple ipsilateral breast cancer, or more than one site of disease in the same breast, who underwent breast-conserving surgery, with outcomes of those who converted to mastectomy. Out of 198 eligible women in the trial, 184 (92.9%) successfully completed breast-conserving surgery, 134 of those with a single operation. These findings have just been published online first in Annals of Surgical
Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have discovered that a protein called Munc13-4 helps cancer cells secrete large numbers of exosomes—tiny, membrane-bound packages containing proteins and RNAs that stimulate tumor progression. The study, which will be published June 21 in the Journal of Cell Biology, could lead to new therapies that stop tumor growth and metastasis by halting exosome production. Cancer cells produce large numbers of exosomes, which contribute to tumor progression
Researchers at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre in Toronto have discovered that epigenetic proteins promote the proliferation of mammary gland stem cells in response to the sex hormone progesterone. The study, which will be published June 19 in the Journal of Cell Biology, suggests that inhibiting these proteins with drugs could prevent the development of breast cancer in women at high risk of the disease. Mammary glands contain two types of
Early Detection Using Real-Time Symptom Reports May Help with Timely Treatment Machine learning using real-time symptom reports can accurately detect lymphedema, a distressing side effect of breast cancer treatment that is more easily treated when identified early, finds a new study led by NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing and published in the journal mHealth. “Using a well-trained classification algorithm to detect lymphedema based on real-time symptom reports is a highly
A 21-gene test performed on tumors could enable most patients with the most common type of early breast cancer to safely forgo chemotherapy, according to a landmark study published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Loyola Medicine oncologist Kathy Albain, MD, is among the main co-authors of the study and a member of the clinical trial's steering committee. First author is Joseph Sparano, MD, of Montefiore Medical Center in Bronx,
Cancer is crafty. To survive and thrive, tumors find a way of thwarting our body’s natural systems. By looking at these systems, researchers at the University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center have discovered that tumor cells reprogram metabolic pathways to gain control over a type of immune cell that allows cancer growth. Myeloid-derived suppressor cells live in the tumor microenvironment and work to block cancer immunity. They also encourage a stem cell-like
The research team at BriaCell Therapeutics Corp., an immuno-oncology focused biotechnology company with a proprietary targeted immunotherapy technology, published a paper that sheds light on the potentially unique mechanism of action of BriaCell’s lead product candidate, Bria-IMT™, in the journal of Frontiers in Immunology, the 5th most cited journal in Immunology. The paper titled, SV-BR-1-GM, a Clinically Effective GM-CSF-Secreting Breast Cancer Cell Line, Expresses an Immune Signature and Directly Activates
Researchers in China have discovered that an enzyme called UGT8 drives the progression of basal-like breast cancer, an aggressive form of the disease that is largely untreatable. But the study, which will be published May 4 in the Journal of Experimental Medicine, reveals that the widely used osteoporosis drug zoledronic acid inhibits UGT8 and prevents the spread of basal-like breast cancer in mice, suggesting that this drug could also be
Sandia National Laboratories materials chemist Dale Huber has been working on the challenge of making iron-based nanoparticles the exact same size for 15 years. Now, he and his long-term collaborators at Imagion Biosystems will use these magnetic nanoparticles for their first breast cancer clinical trial later this year. The nanoparticles stick to breast cancer cells, allowing the detection and removal of even small metastases. Imagion Biosystems and Huber have been working together
An international team of researchers led by Lucio Miele, MD, PhD, Professor and Chair of Genetics at LSU Health New Orleans School of Medicine, and Justin Stebbing, BM BCh MA, PhD, Professor of Cancer Medicine and Medical Oncology at Imperial College of Medicine in London, has found new genetic mutations that promote the survival of cancer cells. The research also provided a clearer understanding of how some cancer cells are
New cutting edge technology can be used to grade cancer tumors, eradicating human subjectivity and ensuring patients get the right treatment. A new imaging technology to grade tumor biopsies has been developed by a team of scientists led by the Department of Physics and the Department of Surgery and Cancer at Imperial College London. Publishing their results today in the journal Convergent Science Physical Oncology, they describe how their new
Engineering researchers at the University of Arkansas have moved closer to developing an alternative method of detecting and possibly treating breast cancer. The researchers, led by Magda El-Shenawee, professor of electrical engineering, work with pulsed, terahertz imaging, a type of electromagnetic radiation technology previously used to find land mines. They adapted the technology to detect tumors and provide highly specific images of them. Standard breast cancer imaging techniques do not
Patients who were treated for breast cancer or lymphoma are more than three times at risk for developing congestive heart failure, compared with patients who did not have cancer. Congestive heart failure is when the heart muscle does not pump blood as well as it should. This research is being presented at the American College of Cardiology’s 67th Annual Scientific Session. The risk of increased heart failure occurred as early as one
Patients with Huntington's disease, a fatal genetic illness that causes the breakdown of nerve cells in the brain, have up to 80 percent less cancer than the general population. Northwestern Medicine scientists have discovered why Huntington's is so toxic to cancer cells and harnessed it for a novel approach to treat cancer, a new study reports. Huntington's is caused by an over abundance of a certain type of repeating RNA
