Researchers use immunocytochemistry to determine ALK status

Test continue trend in personalized medicine for lung cancer patients

2013-07-02

(Press-News.org) DENVER – Personalized medicine in lung cancer relies on the identification and characterization of cancer biomarkers and the availability of accurate detection systems and therapies for those biomarkers. The standard procedure for detection of predictive anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)-rearrangements is fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), but FISH is both expensive and often challenging to interpret. Lung cancer is often diagnosed by cytology necessitating predictive molecular marker analyses on cytological specimens. Now research published in the August issue of the Journal of Thoracic Oncology (JTO), says ALK immunocytochemistry is highly accurate for detecting ALK-rearranged non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) on cytological specimens. Researchers retrospectively analyzed 41 specimens with available ALK FISH results with the 5A4 monoclonal antibody on a fully automated slide stained. The study population was enriched for consecutive ALK FISH-positive NSCLCs. Eighteen consecutive ALK FISH-negative NSCLCs with EGFR and KRAS wild-type were included as negative controls. Because ALK rearrangements are practically mutually exclusive to other known driver mutations, nine consecutive NSCLCs with EGFR mutations were also analyzed by ALK FISH and included as negative controls. The sensitivity, specificity and positive and negative predictive values for ALK immunocytochemistry compared to ALK FISH were 93.3 percent, 96 percent, 93.3 percent and 96 percent, respectively. The researchers conclude that, cytological NSCLC specimens are well suited for ALK rearrangement testing. ALK ICC with the 5A4 mAb is feasible and highly accurate for the detection of ALK-rearranged NSCLC on conventional cytological specimens and cellblock preparations and can be used for prescreening NSCLCs.

### About the IASLC: The International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) is the only global organization dedicated to the study of lung cancer. Founded in 1974, the association's membership includes more than 3,500 lung cancer specialists in 80 countries. To learn more about IASLC please visit http://www.iaslc.org. END

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Researchers find 2 new methods to determine ALK status

2013-07-02

DENVER – The implementation of personalized health care in cancer relies on the identification and characterization of cancer biomarkers and the availability of accurate detection systems and therapies for those biomarkers. Anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK), a tyrosine kinase, is a more recently characterized cancer biomarker in non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). To identify NSCLC patients with ALK gene rearrangement in clinical trials, researchers have used the methods known as fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) or immunohistochemistry (IHC). While IHC is a less ...

Study shows SBRT for stage I NSCLC safe and effective

2013-07-02

DENVER – Stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) is considered the treatment of choice for early-stage non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) if patients are inoperable because of additional medical conditions. This is based on several prospective phase II trials, which reported consistently high rates of local tumor control. However, these studies only included small number of patients, the methodology of SBRT varied between the studies and SBRT was mainly practiced in specialized centers. Therefore, safety and efficacy of SBRT practiced in routine clinical practice outside ...

Silver Fire, New Mexico

2013-07-02

The Silver Fire in southern New Mexico continues to generate a lot of smoke, as seen recently on imagery from NASA's Terra satellite. The Silver Fire is burning in the Gila National Forest. As of July 1, the fire had consumed 133,625 acres. It began on June 7 from a lightning strike near Kingston, New Mexico. According to the multi-agency Incident Information System called Inciweb, the fire was 50 percent contained on July 1. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument aboard NASA's Terra satellite has infrared capabilities that can detect ...

Pregnancy as window to future health

2013-07-02

Physicians with the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine released a paper today that provides significant insight into future health conditions that women are likely to experience, and that can be detected early based on information relating to the course of pregnancy. The paper, Pregnancy as a Window to Future Health: The development of complications in pregnancy provides a new window of opportunity for early heart disease risk screening and intervention for women, acknowledges that, for most women, the demands of pregnancy on the cardiovascular and metabolic systems are ...

NASA sees heavy rainfall as Typhoon Rumbia heads for landfall in China

2013-07-02

Typhoon Rumbia developed from a low pressure area east of the Philippines and crossed the country from east to west before moving into the South China Sea. NASA's TRMM satellite flew over Rumbia as it nears southeastern China and identified areas of heavy rainfall in the southern quadrant of the storm. On Sunday, June 30, NASA infrared satellite imagery revealed tightly curved bands of thunderstorms over the southern quadrant of the storm were wrapping into the northern quadrant of the low-level center. However, in the northwestern quadrant, the quadrant that will make ...

Researchers pinpoint sources of fibrosis-promoting cells that ravage organs

2013-07-02

HOUSTON – Scientists have tracked down and quantified the diverse origins of cells that drive fibrosis, the incurable, runaway wound-healing that scars and ultimately destroys organs such as the lungs, liver and kidneys. Findings from research conducted at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston and continued at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center are reported in an advance online publication at Nature Medicine on June 30. "Answering a fundamental question about the origin of these ...

Surprise superconductor

2013-07-02

Washington, D.C.—Superconductivity is a rare physical state in which matter is able to conduct electricity—maintain a flow of electrons—without any resistance. This phenomenon can only be found in certain materials under specific low-temperature and high-pressure conditions. Research to create superconductors at higher temperatures has been ongoing for two decades with the promise of significant impact on electrical transmission. New research from a team led by Choong-Shik Yoo at Washington State University—and including Carnegie's Viktor Struzhkin, Takaki Muramatsu, ...

Altitude sickness may hinder ethnic integration in the world's highest places

2013-07-02

Ethnic segregation in nations straddling the world's steepest terrains may be reinforced by the biological tolerance different peoples have to altitude, according to one of the first studies to examine the effect of elevation on ethnic demographics. Research from Princeton University published in the journal Applied Geography suggests that people native to low-lying areas can be naturally barred from regions such as the Tibetan Plateau, the Andes or the Himalayas by altitude sickness, which is caused by low oxygen concentration in the air and can be life-threatening. ...

Doctor-patient communication about dietary supplements could use a vitamin boost

2013-07-02

Vitamins, minerals, herbs and other dietary supplements are widely available in supermarkets and drug stores across the nation without a prescription, so it's no surprise that nearly half of all Americans take them. But they do carry risks, including potentially adverse interactions with prescription drugs, and some people may even use them in place of conventional medications. So it's important that primary care physicians communicate the pros and cons of supplements with their patients. In fact, both the Food and Drug Administration and the National Institutes of ...

New American Chemical Society video focuses on ancient secrets of alchemy

2013-07-02

The pursuit that obsessed some of the world's greatest geniuses for centuries — alchemy and its quest for the "Philosopher's Stone" that would transform lead and other base metals into gold — is the topic of a new episode in the American Chemical Society Bytesize Science video series. The video, from the world's largest scientific society, is at http://www.BytesizeScience.com. It features Laurence Principe, Ph.D., a noted historian of science and expert on alchemy, which, far from being solely a misguided pseudoscience, helped set the stage for the emergence of modern ...

Older age, chronic kidney disease and cerebrovascular disease linked with increased risk for paralysis and death after West Nile virus infection

Liquid metal modified hexagonal boron nitride flakes for efficient electromagnetic wave absorption and thermal management

Failure mechanisms in PEM water electrolyzers

Study captures how cancer cells hide from brain immune cells, shows that removing their “don’t eat me” signals stops their escape

Persistent antibiotic resistance of cholera-causing bacteria in Africa revealed from a multinational workshop for strengthening disease surveillance

SwRI, Trinity University to synthesize novel compound to mitigate effects of stroke, heart attack

Novel endocrine therapy giredestrant improves disease-free survival over standard of care for patients with early-stage breast cancer in phase III lidERA trial

Gen Z views world as "scary place" with growing cynicism about ability to create change

[Press-News.org] Researchers use immunocytochemistry to determine ALK status
Test continue trend in personalized medicine for lung cancer patients

Researchers use immunocytochemistry to determine ALK status

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES: