PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

African-Americans experience longer delays between diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer

2013-05-28
(Press-News.org) Among men with prostate cancer, African Americans experience longer treatment delays after being diagnosed than Caucasians. That is the finding of an analysis published early online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society. The study suggests that efforts are needed to reduce racial disparities in prostate cancer care in order to provide earlier treatment for African Americans.

To see if there is a difference in the time from cancer diagnosis to initiation of treatment for African American men compared with Caucasian men with prostate cancer, Ronald Chen, MD, MPH, of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and his colleagues analyzed data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER)-Medicare registry, which links cancer diagnosis data to a master file of Medicare records. Their analysis included 2,506 African American and 21,454 Caucasian patients diagnosed with early (non-metastatic) prostate cancer from 2004 to 2007 and treated within 12 months of diagnosis.

On average, the time from prostate cancer diagnosis to initiation of treatment was seven days longer overall for African American patients compared with Caucasian patients. In the group of patients with aggressive, or high risk, prostate cancer, the average number of days from diagnosis to surgery or radiation treatment was 96 days for Caucasian patients, and 105 days for African American patients.

"This study contributes to a growing body of studies demonstrating the disparities in care and outcomes among African American and Caucasian prostate cancer patients in this country. African American patients are less likely than Caucasian patients to undergo prostate cancer screening, more likely to be diagnosed with advanced cancer, have longer delays from diagnosis to treatment, as demonstrated by this study, and are less likely to receive aggressive treatment," said Dr. Chen. "All of these factors together can contribute to an increased rate of dying from prostate cancer in African American compared to Caucasian prostate cancer patients."

Dr. Chen added that additional studies are needed to assess what personal or institutional factors may delay treatment for African American patients and to determine if any interventions can help eliminate this disparity.

### END


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Findings may help overcome hurdle to successful bone marrow transplantation

2013-05-28
Blood diseases such as leukemia, multiple myeloma, and myelodysplasia can develop from abnormal bone marrow cells and a dysfunctional bone marrow microenvironment that surrounds these cells. Until now, researchers have been unable to replace the cells that make up the bone marrow microenvironment. Researchers reporting in the May 28 issue of the Cell Press journal Developmental Cell have found that eliminating a gene in the cells found in this microenvironment causes them to die, therefore enabling donor cells to replace them. In addition to providing a better understanding ...

Engineered stem cell advance points toward treatment for ALS

2013-05-28
MADISON, Wis. — Transplantation of human stem cells in an experiment conducted at the University of Wisconsin-Madison improved survival and muscle function in rats used to model ALS, a nerve disease that destroys nerve control of muscles, causing death by respiratory failure. ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) is sometimes called "Lou Gehrig's disease." According to the ALS Association, the condition strikes about 5,600 Americans each year. Only about half of patients are alive three years after diagnosis. In work recently completed at the UW School of Veterinary ...

Dealing with 'crap' to improve water quality

2013-05-28
RIVERSIDE, Calif. (http://www.ucr.edu) — To better understand how bacteria impact the environment a former University of California, Riverside graduate student spent nearly a year building a system that replicates a human colon, septic tank and groundwater and "fed" the colon three times a day during weeklong experiments to simulate human eating. Ian Marcus, who recently earned his Ph.D. from the UC Riverside Bourns College of Engineering, said discussion of the research often left people a bit perplexed. "People would give a kind-of-interested-but-definitely-don't-talk-about-it-during-dinner ...

White Mountains hikers often underprepared

2013-05-28
PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Hikers in New Hampshire's White Mountain National Forest often hit the trail less prepared than they should be, according to a study that gauged readiness by how many of 10 essential items the hikers brought along. Young and inexperienced hikers were most likely to lack multiple items recommended by the State of New Hampshire's HikeSafe program, according to a paper in press at the journal Wilderness & Environmental Medicine. Hikers were also less likely to prepare fully if they were planning a short hike, even though those can quickly ...

Cold climate wind energy showing huge potential

2013-05-28
Wind energy capacity is growing rapidly in the cold climates of the world. According to the latest forecasts, between 45 and 50 gigawatts of wind energy will be built in cold climates by 2017, which would mean an increase of as much as 72 per cent since the end of 2012 and investments amounting to approximately EUR 75 billion. "This is a huge opportunity," says Research Scientist Tomas Wallenius from VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland. "There has been a lot of talk about the potential of offshore wind power, but the market for cold climate wind energy is more than ...

The analysis of medical images is improved to facilitate the study of psychotic disorders

2013-05-28
A team of researchers from the UPNA/NUP-Public University of Navarre has developed new superresolution and segmentation methods for magnetic resonance images so that they can be applied to the structural study of psychosis. The aim is to be able to identify the differences that are produced in specific parts of the brain in psychotic patients with respect to their healthy relatives or other people. The project, run in coordination with doctors in the Psychiatry and Radiology Service of the ComplejoHospitalarioof Navarre, is based on the study of medical images obtained ...

Decoding the genome of the camel

2013-05-28
Camels are divided into two species, the one-humped dromedary and the two-humped Bactrian camel. Whether equipped with one or two humps, camels are precious in desert regions throughout the world. Their ability to carry heavy loads over long distances makes them ideally suited for transportation. In addition, camels are able to survive for weeks in hostile environments without food and water. Despite the extremely arid conditions, camels still provide enough milk for human consumption and also have an important role as a source of meat. Camels are specialists when it comes ...

Aspirin triggered resolvin protects against cognitive decline after surgery

2013-05-28
Resolvins are molecules naturally produced by the body from omega-3 fatty acids – a process that can be jumpstarted by common aspirin. In a new study, published in The FASEB Journal, researchers at Karolinska Institutet describe how resolvins could protect against the cognitive impairment that often affects recovery of surgical and critically ill patients. The study adds new knowledge on how peripheral surgery affects the brain and neuronal function contributing to the processes of cognitive decline. Hospitalization for surgery or critical illness can lead to cognitive ...

Study explores atmospheric impact of declining Arctic sea ice

2013-05-28
There is growing recognition that reductions in Arctic sea ice levels will influence patterns of atmospheric circulation both within and beyond the Arctic. New research in the International Journal of Climatology explores the impact of 2007 ice conditions, the second lowest Arctic sea ice extent in the satellite era, on atmospheric circulation and surface temperatures. Two 30-year simulations, one using the sea ice levels of 2007 and another using sea ice levels at the end of the 20th century, were used to access the impact of ice free seas. The results showed a significant ...

Colorado's new alga may be a source of biofuel production

2013-05-28
A new strain of yellow-green algae, heterococcus sp. DN1, which may prove to be an efficient source for biodiesel, has been discovered in the snow fields of the Rocky Mountains. Research examining this new alga, published in Biotechnology Progress, reveals that H. sp. DN1 was found to grow at temperatures approaching freezing and to accumulate large intracellular stores of lipids. H. sp. DN1 produces the highest quantity of lipids when grown undisturbed with high light in low temperatures. Algae that can grow in extreme conditions and accumulate lipids are of great interest ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

New strategies to enhance chiral optical signals unveiled

Cambridge research uncovers powerful virtual reality treatment for speech anxiety

2025 Gut Microbiota for Health World Summit to spotlight groundbreaking research

International survey finds that support for climate interventions is tied to being hopeful and worried about climate change

Cambridge scientist launches free VR platform that eliminates the fear of public speaking

Open-Source AI matches top proprietary model in solving tough medical cases

Good fences make good neighbors (with carnivores)

NRG Oncology trial supports radiotherapy alone following radical hysterectomy should remain the standard of care for early-stage, intermediate-risk cervical cancer

Introducing our new cohort of AGA Future Leaders

Sharks are dying at alarming rates, mostly due to fishing. Retention bans may help

Engineering excellence: Engineers with ONR ties elected to renowned scientific academy

New CRISPR-based diagnostic test detects pathogens in blood without amplification

Immunotherapy may boost KRAS-targeted therapy in pancreatic cancer

Growing solar: Optimizing agrivoltaic systems for crops and clean energy

Scientists discover how to reactivate cancer’s molecular “kill switch”

YouTube influencers: gaming’s best friend or worst enemy?

uOttawa scientists use light to unlock secret of atoms

NJIT mathematician to help map Earth's last frontier with Navy grant

NASA atmospheric wave-studying mission releases data from first 3,000 orbits

‘Microlightning’ in water droplets may have sparked life on Earth

Smoke from wildland-urban interface fires more deadly than remote wildfires

What’s your body really worth? New AI model reveals your true biological age from 5 drops of blood

Protein accidentally lassos itself, helping explain unusual refolding behavior

With bird flu in raw milk, many in U.S. still do not know risks of consuming it

University of Minnesota research team awarded $3.8 million grant to develop cell therapy to combat Alzheimer’s disease

UConn uncovers new clue on what is leading to neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and ALS

Resuscitation in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest – it’s how quickly it is done, rather than who does it

A closer look at biomolecular ‘silly putty’

Oxytocin system of breastfeeding affected in mothers with postnatal depression

Liquid metal-enabled synergetic cooling and charging: a leap forward for electric vehicles

[Press-News.org] African-Americans experience longer delays between diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer