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

Colorectal cancer survival advantage in MUTYH-associated polyposis

2010-11-03
(Press-News.org) Survival for colorectal cancer patients with MUTYH-associated polyposis was statistically significantly better than for patients with colorectal cancer from the general population, according to a recent study published online November 2 in The Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

People who inherit a mutation in the MUTYH gene have nearly a 100% risk for developing colon cancer at some point in their lifetimes. But it is unknown whether specific histological and molecular genetic features of cancer associated with this genotype influence tumor behavior and survival.

To determine whether patients with MUTYH-associated polyposis colorectal cancer had different survival rates than control colorectal cancer patients, Maartje Nielsen, M.D., of the Leiden University Medical Center, and colleagues, conducted a multicenter cohort study in Europe that included 147 patients with MUTYH-associated polyposis colorectal cancer and 272 population-based control patients with colorectal cancer. Control and study group patients were matched for country, stage, age and year at diagnosis, and cancer subsite.

The researchers found that survival of patients with MUTYH-associated polyposis colorectal cancer was statistically significantly better than for control patients with colorectal cancer. Their five-year survival rate was 78% compared with 63% for the control group. Survival benefit was higher among patients with stage I and II disease than for those with stage III and IV disease.

The researchers offer a speculation about the better survival rate among the patients with MUTYH-associated polyposis colorectal cancer, compared with the control patients: "A compromised base excision repair system could render MUTYH-associated polyposis colorectal cancer more immunogenic than sporadic colorectal cancers, which are characterized predominantly by chromosomal instability."

In an accompanying editorial, Henry T. Lynch, MD, and Stephen J. Lanspa, MD, of Creighton University, hypothesize that the cancer-causing mutations in MUTYH, as well as in the mismatch repair genes predisposing to Lynch syndrome, are the causal factors for their respective survival advantages. Furthermore, they write, "the ultimate understanding of the pathogenetic pathways elicited by these respective mutations may serve as models for studying both survival and increased virulence of hereditary and sporadic colorectal cancers."

INFORMATION: Contact:

Article: Maartje Nielsen, 01131715266036, M.Nielsen@lumc.nl

Editorial: N. Kathryn Clark, Public Relations Coordinator, Creighton University, 402-280-2864, kathrynclark@creighton.edu


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

NIH researchers identify genetic elements influencing the risk of type 2 diabetes

2010-11-03
A team led by researchers at the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), part of the National Institutes of Health, has captured the most comprehensive snapshot to date of DNA regions that regulate genes in human pancreatic islet cells, a subset of which produces insulin. The study highlights the importance of genome regulatory sequences in human health and disease, particularly type 2 diabetes, which affects more than 20 million people in the United States and 200 million people worldwide. The findings appear Nov. 3 in Cell Metabolism. "This study applies ...

Bees reveal nature-nuture secrets

2010-11-03
The nature-nurture debate is a "giant step" closer to being resolved after scientists studying bees documented how environmental inputs can modify our genetic hardware. The researchers uncovered extensive molecular differences in the brains of worker bees and queen bees which develop along very different paths when put on different diets The research was led by Professor Ryszard Maleszka of The Australian National University's College of Medicine, Biology and Environment, working with colleagues from the German Cancer Institute in Heidelberg, Germany and will be published ...

How some brain cells hook up surprises researchers

2010-11-03
Immune cells known as microglia, long thought to be activated in the brain only when fighting infection or injury, are constantly active and likely play a central role in one of the most basic, central phenomena in the brain – the creation and elimination of synapses. The findings, publishing next week in the online, open access journal PLoS Biology, catapult the humble microglia cell from its well-recognized duty of protecting the brain to direct involvement in creating the cellular networks at the core of brain behavior. Its apparent role as an architect of synapses – ...

Fossil finger records key to ancestors' behavior

2010-11-03
Scientists, in collaboration with researchers at the universities of Southampton and Calgary, used finger ratios from fossilised skeletal remains of early apes and extinct hominins, as indicators of the levels of exposure species had to prenatal androgens – a group of hormones that is important in the development of masculine characteristics such as aggression and promiscuity. It is thought that androgens, such as testosterone, affect finger length during development in the womb. High levels of the hormones increase the length of the fourth finger in comparison to the ...

Parental infertility and cerebral palsy in children born spontaneously or after IVF/ICSI

2010-11-03
Doctors have known for some time that children born after fertility treatments such as in vitro fertilisation (IVF) or intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) are at increased risk of cerebral palsy. However, it was not known whether this risk was due to the treatment itself, the higher frequency of preterm or multiple births, or a mechanism associated with couples' underlying infertility. Now, new research published online in Europe's leading reproductive medicine journal Human Reproduction [1] today (Wednesday 3 November) indicates that underlying infertility is not ...

Global map of the sickle cell gene supports 'malaria hypothesis'

Global map of the sickle cell gene supports malaria hypothesis
2010-11-03
At a global scale, the sickle cell gene is most commonly found in areas with historically high levels of malaria, adding geographical support to the hypothesis that the gene, whilst potentially deadly, avoids disappearing through natural selection by providing protection against malaria. In a study funded by the Wellcome Trust, geographers, biologists and statisticians at the University of Oxford, together with colleagues from the KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Programme in Kenya, have produced the first detailed global map showing the distribution of the sickle cell gene. The ...

Aging with grace: Health care delivery model yields improved outcomes and lower costs

Aging with grace: Health care delivery model yields improved outcomes and lower costs
2010-11-03
INDIANAPOLIS – A model program developed at Indiana University to provide care to low-income older adults in their homes has earned recognition for its effective approach and cost-saving benefits in a leading national medical journal. A paper published in the Nov. 3 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association praises a team approach developed by researchers from Indiana University and the Regenstrief Institute as one of three models with the greatest potential to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the complex primary health care of older adults. "Health-care ...

Black raspberries may prevent colon cancer, study finds

2010-11-03
Black raspberries are highly effective in preventing colorectal tumors in two mouse models of the disease, according to a University of Illinois at Chicago study. The findings are published in the November issue of Cancer Prevention Research. Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer and the second leading cause of cancer-related death in both men and women in the U.S., according to the National Cancer Institute. Building on previous research that found black raspberries have antioxidant, anti-cancer, anti-neurodegenerative and anti-inflammatory properties, ...

Workers hold key to power in nature's oldest societies

Workers hold key to power in natures oldest societies
2010-11-03
A new study analysing how complex, highly-evolved societies are organised in nature has found that it is workers that play a pivotal role in creating well-ordered societies where conflict is minimised. For when it comes to determining who reproduces in ants, University of Leicester biologists have found the humble worker is queenmaker – it is they who choose their queen. This information is key to understanding the evolution of complex interdependent societies - over 100 millions years old - that have evolved mechanisms ensuring stable cohabitation and conflict resolution. What ...

Yale study tracks factors leading to physical decline in older adults

2010-11-03
A study by Yale School of Medicine researchers reveals that the illnesses and injuries that can restrict the activity of older adults or land them in the hospital are linked to worsening functional ability, especially among those who are physically frail. The report appears in JAMA's November 3 theme issue on aging. Thomas M. Gill, M.D., the Humana Foundation Professor of internal medicine (geriatrics), investigative medicine and epidemiology and public health at Yale, will present the findings at a JAMA media briefing at the National Press Club November 2 at 10 a.m. ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Researchers awarded $2.5 million grant to increase lung cancer screenings in underserved communities

New trigger proposed for record-smashing 2022 Tonga eruption

Lupus Research Alliance announces Lupus Research Highlights at ACR Convergence 2024

Satellite imagery may help protect coastal forests from climate change

The secrets of baseball's magic mud

Toddlers understand concept of possibility

Small reductions to meat production in wealthier countries may help fight climate change, new analysis concludes

Scientists determine why some patients don’t respond well to wet macular degeneration treatment, show how new experimental drug can bridge gap

Did the world's best-preserved dinosaurs really die in 'Pompeii-type' events?

Not the usual suspects: Novel genetic basis of pest resistance to biotech crops

Jill Tarter to receive Inaugural Tarter Award for Innovation in the search for life beyond earth

Survey finds continued declines in HIV clinician workforce

Researchers home in on tumor vulnerabilities to improve odds of treating glioblastoma

Awareness of lung cancer screening remains low

Hospital COVID-19 burden and adverse event rates

NSF NOIRLab astronomers discover the fastest-feeding black hole in the early universe

Translational science reviews—a new JAMA review

How the keto diet could one day treat autoimmune disorders

Influence of tool corner radius on chip geometrical characteristics of machining Zr-based bulk metallic glass

Megan Huisingh-Scheetz, MD, MPH, of the University of Chicago recognized with AFAR’s Terrie Fox Wetle Rising Star Award in Health Services and Aging Research

Steven N. Austad, PhD, to receive inaugural George M. Martin Lifetime Achievement in Mentoring Award

Jeremy D. Walston, MD, of Johns Hopkins University to receive AFAR 2024 Irving S. Wright Award of Distinction

SwRI receives $23 million in U.S. Air Force contracts to sustain aging aircraft

Insilico Medicine enters into revolving loan facility of up to US$100 Million with HSBC

Security in quantum computing

Noninvasive choroidal vessel analysis via deep learning: A new approach to choroidal optical coherence tomography angiography

National Multiple Sclerosis Society awards $1M to Case Western Reserve University researchers to study new approach to treat the disease

Virginia Tech researchers find menthol restrictions may drive smokers to healthier alternatives

Japanese study reveals the importance of new overtime restrictions on physician’s mental health

Space: A new frontier for exploring stem cell therapy

[Press-News.org] Colorectal cancer survival advantage in MUTYH-associated polyposis