MDNews - Austin

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++ +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ THAT'SNEWS The Metabolic Answer to Chemotherapy Resistance RESEARCHERS AT THE Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson have, in studying the metabolic basis of cancer cell resistance, discovered a successful combination of two chemotherapy drugs to treat hormone refractory breast cancer. While 70% of all breast cancers are characterized as estrogen receptor positive, up to 35% initially present hormone resistance or will develop an immunity over the course of treatment, specifi cally to the widely used drug tamoxifen. However, when tamoxifen was paired with dasatinib, a chemotherapy agent used to treat leukemia, the researchers observed an increase in cancer cell death of 80%. The study, published in Cell Cycle, detailed its fi ndings related to the metabolic process of both chemotherapy resistance and how the double dose broke the cancer cell growth. Through oxidative stress, cancer cells trigger fi broblasts to supply the nutrients needed for rapid proliferation. Neither dasatinib nor tamoxifen demonstrated effectiveness when used alone, but when coupled, the drugs regularized fi broblasts' glucose intake, thus decelerating the oxidative stress process and interrupting the cancer cells' fuel. s Expanding the Range of Microscopic IMAGING BUILDING ON THE success in the field of ophthalmology at monitoring glaucoma, endoscopic optical coherence tomography (OCT) is finding application in imaging the pre-cancerous changes of esophagus and colon cancer cases. The OCT technology eclipses standard The Fiber Route to a Lowered Breast Cancer Risk FOR WOMEN IN the United States, where one in eight women develops breast cancer in her lifetime, the key to prevention may lie in the dietary consumption of fiber. A recently study published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition demonstrated an 11% lower risk of breast cancer in women who incorporate the highest amounts of fiber into their diets as compared to those women whose diets include the least amount of fiber. The study, conducted by Soochow University in Suzhou, China, took stock of the data from 10 previous studies, specifi cally seeking out data from studies that concen- trated on women's diets and the participants' cancer risk for at least seven years and up to 18 years. The 712,195 women in the collected investigations, 16,848 — 2.4% — developed breast cancer during the observed period. The data demonstrated that women who developed breast cancer represented the bottom fifth of the total group for fiber consumption, while women in the top fi fth segment were 11% less likely to receive a breast cancer diagnosis. The study concluded that the link in a decreased risk was less a connection solely between fi ber and breast cancer, but more so a link between overall healthy habits, such as eating fi ber, and a lowered risk of breast cancer. s endoscope imaging in its ability to see tissue both structurally and pathologically at a microscopic level — as small as a few millionths of a meter — three dimensionally. Its speed also recommends the technology for esophagus and colon cancer: OCT images at 980 frames per second, which equals 480,000 axial scans in real time. Rather than employing sound waves to create a picture of the body's anatomy, the technology utilizes a system of directing a light beam at a tissue structure and tracking the intensity and echo time-delay of the light as it is backscattered. Developers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology say the device must be reduced in size for insertion in the colon or throat before being introduced for general use. s ADVERTISERS' INDEX Austin Cancer Centers .................... Inside Front Cover Brown McCarroll ........................................11 Clinical Pathology Laboratories ...........9 Comerica Bank .......... Inside Back Cover Padgett Stratemann.................................11 Texas Health Steps ...............Back Cover Time Warner Cable Media .....................9

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