Lungs News and Research

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Cryoablation increases survival rates in ovarian cancer patients

Ovarian cancer, which killed 15,000 American women last year, is one of the deadliest forms of cancer. A team of Wayne State University School of Medicine researchers recently proved that freezing tumors increases survival rates in ovarian cancer patients.

17 Feb 2012

Researchers test nanoscale carbon clusters for cancer chemotherapy

A mixture of current drugs and carbon nanoparticles shows potential to enhance treatment for head-and-neck cancers, especially when combined with radiation therapy, according to new research by Rice University and the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

16 Feb 2012

Helping cancer patients tackle geographic challenges to access clinical trials

As oncologists already know and newly diagnosed lung cancer patients learn, the kind of treatment given to patients is increasingly becoming dependent on the specific gene mutation present in the cancer.

16 Feb 2012

Pyromaker can rapidly sequence cancer-driving mutations

Using precise information about an individual's genetic makeup is becoming increasingly routine for developing tailored treatments for breast, lung, colon and other cancers. But techniques used to identify meaningful gene mutations depend on analyzing sequences of both normal and mutant DNA in tumor samples, a process that can yield ambiguous results. Now, a team of Johns Hopkins researchers says it has developed an easy-to-use online computer software application that can clear up any confusion faster and cheaper than other methods currently used to do the job.

16 Feb 2012

Deep brain stimulation can also affect respiratory function

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) has become a common treatment for patients with chronic pain or movement disorders. Now a unique set of experiments shows that electrical stimulation in some of the same brain areas can also affect respiratory function, according to a study in the February issue of Neurosurgery, official journal of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons.

16 Feb 2012

Combination of therapeutic cancer vaccines and chemotherapy shows promise

Therapeutic cancer vaccines, which stimulate the body's immune system to target and destroy cancer cells, are being used in combination with conventional chemotherapy with growing success, as described in several illuminating articles in Cancer Biotherapy and Radiopharmaceuticals, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.

16 Feb 2012

Cancer cell communication signals may contain pieces of RNA

Researchers have shown that the communication signals sent around the body by cancer cells, which are essential for the cancer to grow, may contain pieces of RNA - these substances, like DNA, are pieces of genetic code that can instruct cells, and ultimately the body, how to form. The same study also found early indications that these genetic instructions can be intercepted and modified by chemotherapy to help prevent cancer cells growing.

16 Feb 2012

Surgeons fix plumbing in the heart of newborn 5 days old

Keyota Cole was born with a bad heart. The 33-year-old from of Bakersfield, Calif., suffers from a congenital heart disease called Ebstein's malformation of the tricuspid valve, and from abnormal pulmonary veins. She has undergone multiple surgeries over her lifetime, including one to repair a hole in her heart, a valve replacement and the implantation of a pacemaker.

15 Feb 2012

Steady increase in Low Molecular Weight Heparin use for blood clots: Study

The use of an injectable, clot-preventing drug known as Low Molecular Weight Heparin to treat patients with advanced cancer complicated by blood clots increased steadily between 2000 and 2007, according to a new study published in The Oncologist, funded by the National Cancer Institute and led by Kaiser Permanente Colorado.

15 Feb 2012

New clinical guidelines for diagnosis and treatment of DVT

A researcher at Intermountain Medical Center in Salt Lake City is part of a select panel of international experts to help develop new evidence-based clinical guidelines used by physicians worldwide for the diagnosis and treatment of blood-clotting disorders, one of the most common cardiovascular diseases in the United States.

15 Feb 2012

Canada organ donation rates plateau

A report released Monday by the Canadian Institute for Health Information reveals that public awareness campaigns and stories of grateful organ recipients have not done much to improve the number of organ donations in Canada. Donor rates have stagnated in the country since 2006 while thousands of Canadians continue to languish on wait lists for organs, the report adds.

14 Feb 2012

Aspirin-like drugs help prevent spread of tumors in the body

Australian scientists have made a breakthrough which could help in the fight against cancer. The team from Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne has found a link between non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as aspirin, and the ability of tumours to spread in the body. They say that doctors have been aware of the benefits of NSAIDs for many years, but did not fully understand the biological processes involved.

14 Feb 2012

Postoperative radiotherapy does not really help elderly lung cancer patients

A controversial radiation treatment for patients who've had lung cancer surgery may not help elderly people live longer, U.S. researchers have found. Postoperative radiotherapy, or PORT, is thought to cut the chances that a tumor will return. But it can damage the heart and lungs, which might cancel out any potential benefits -- particularly in the elderly.

14 Feb 2012

Gene sequencing could identify genetic variants of lung cancer and colorectal cancer

Foundation Medicine Inc., a molecular information company that brings comprehensive cancer gene analysis to routine clinical care, and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have come up with the results from their collaborative next-generation sequencing (NGS) study to assay cancer-relevant genes in 24 non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and 40 colorectal cancer (CRC) cases.

14 Feb 2012

'Targeted' drugs may be effective against lung and colorectal tumors driven by novel gene abnormalities

Novel gene abnormalities discovered in a subpopulation of lung and colorectal tumors could potentially identify patients with a good chance of responding to highly specific "targeted" drugs already in use for treating other cancers, scientists report.

14 Feb 2012

Oxygen deprivation disrupts insulin and glucose regulation in rat pups

Premature infants' immature lungs and frequent dips in blood pressure make them especially vulnerable to a condition called hypoxia in which their tissues don't receive enough oxygen, sometimes leading to permanent brain damage. New animal research suggests that a common practice in caring for these babies might in fact exacerbate this condition, increasing the chances for long-term neurological deficits.

14 Feb 2012

Moderate air pollution increases risk of stroke by 34%

Air pollution, even at levels generally considered safe by federal regulations, increases the risk of stroke by 34 percent, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center researchers have found.

14 Feb 2012

Discovery of novel rearrangements and fusions supports role for NGS in treatment of cancer

Foundation Medicine, Inc., a molecular information company that brings comprehensive cancer gene analysis to routine clinical care, and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute today announced the Nature Medicine publication of results from their collaborative next-generation sequencing (NGS) study to assay cancer-relevant genes in 24 non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and 40 colorectal cancer (CRC) cases.

13 Feb 2012

Radiation therapy may not benefit many older lung cancer patients

A new study has found that many older lung cancer patients get treatments that may not help them live longer. Published early online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, the findings suggest that physicians should not routinely use radiation after surgery to treat lung cancer that is advanced but has not widely spread, at least in older patients.

13 Feb 2012

PORT may not prolong life in older people with NSCLC

Researchers from Mount Sinai School of Medicine have found that post-operative radiation therapy (PORT), a controversial yet frequently administered treatment for lung cancer, may not prolong life in older people with locally advanced disease.

13 Feb 2012