Study sheds light on factors that may contribute to pancreatic cancer
2014-10-14
(Press-News.org) New research that provides a better understanding of pancreatic cancer may help identify individuals at increased risk. The findings are published early online in Cancer, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society.
Pancreatic cancer is a stealthy cancer that is usually detected at very late stages and has a 5-year survival rate of less than 5 percent. Strategies that might help identify which individuals have an increased risk of developing the disease are sorely needed. Some cases seem to run in families, but the genes that are responsible for such inherited predisposition remain largely unknown.
To get a better understanding of the clinical features of inherited and non-inherited forms of the disease, Andrew Biankin, MBBS, PhD, of the University of Glasgow, in Scotland, and his colleagues studied 766 patients who had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Patients were thought to have an inherited predisposition if they had one or more affected first-degree relatives. Otherwise, their cancer was considered sporadic.
Nearly 9 percent of patients who were diagnosed with pancreatic cancer had at least one parent or sibling who was also diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. When Dr. Biankin and his team examined the pancreas tissue adjacent to the cancer in all study participants, they found more pre-cancerous tissue in those whose first-degree relatives also had pancreatic cancer. They also found that members of these families appeared to be at higher risk of developing other cancers including melanoma and endometrial cancer. Importantly, active smoking was associated with a significantly younger age at diagnosis in all patients.
"These findings are important because they suggest that the genes we inherit from our parents likely play a significant role in our lifetime risk of developing pancreatic cancer," said Dr. Biankin. "Secondly, they emphasize that when assessing someone's individual risk of developing pancreatic cancer, it may be important to assess not just family history of pancreatic cancer but other malignancies too. Finally, our data emphasize the importance of smoking abstinence."
INFORMATION:
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
2014-10-14
A standardized slow enteral feeding (SSEF) protocol significantly reduces the incidence of necrotizing enterocoltis (NEC), or death of intestinal tissue, and death in infants with extremely low birth weight, according to a new study.
The study, published today in the OnlineFirst version of the Journal of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (JPEN), the research journal of the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (A.S.P.E.N.), found the use of SSEF resulted in a significant reduction in NEC and accompanying death in infants with a birth weight below 750 grams ...
2014-10-14
Childbirth is physically intense and, for many women, it is the most painful experience they will have. And yet, new research shows that the amount of time a woman spends in labor doesn't seem to impact how she remembers her labor pain afterwards. The research, published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, reveals that the peak and end levels of pain women experienced, and whether they received an epidural, impacted their recall of labor pain afterward.
"This phenomenon – called duration neglect – is particularly ...
2014-10-14
The house fly might be a worldwide pest, but its genome will provide information that could improve our lives. From insights into pathogen immunity, to pest control and decomposing waste, the 691 Mb genome has been sequenced and analyzed by a global consortium of scientists, and is published in the open access journal Genome Biology.
The genome highlights detoxification and immune system genes that are unique to the insect, and could be subjects of further study to help humans deal with toxic and disease causing environments.
The house fly (Musca domestica) lives on ...
2014-10-14
Scientists at the IRCM and the University of Montreal discovered a mechanism that promotes the progression of medulloblastoma, the most common brain tumour found in children. The team, led by Frédéric Charron, PhD, found that a protein known as Sonic Hedgehog induces DNA damage, which causes the cancer to develop. This important breakthrough will be published in the October 13 issue of the prestigious scientific journal Developmental Cell. The editors also selected the article to be featured on the journal's cover.
Sonic Hedgehog belongs to a family of proteins ...
2014-10-14
Childhood overweight and obesity rates have plateaued in primary school aged children in the Republic of Ireland, reveals research published today in the open access journal BMC Public Health. The study found that although obesity rates remain high, there is evidence that they have stabilised and may be beginning to fall.
During the last three decades of the 20th century, a two to three fold increase in overweight and obesity prevalence in school age children was reported across regions in North America and Western Europe. It was estimated that by the year 2000, 25-33% ...
2014-10-14
Using stents to keep neck arteries open is just as effective as invasive neck surgery for long-term prevention of fatal and disabling strokes, reports an international trial led by UCL (University College London) funded by the Medical Research Council and Stroke Association.
The research paper, published today in the Lancet, was authored by researchers from UCL, Basel University, Switzerland, the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, the University Medical Center Utrecht, Netherlands, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, and Newcastle University.
The ...
2014-10-14
Poor oral health affecting athletes' general health and performance shows 'no signs of improvement' and must be remedied, say a group of UCL-led health experts and sporting bodies.
In a consensus statement published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, the authors call for action to tackle poor oral health among athletes. They say that simple measures such as encouraging better brushing and flossing could provide the same marginal performance gains as expensive physical therapies.
The statement came out of the April 2014 Oral Health and Performance in Sport collaboration ...
2014-10-14
But diet is not the only culprit, says the Statement. There is little in the way of education or encouragement to help athletes appreciate the importance of good dental health on their training and performance, it says.
The Consensus Statement, which draws on a comprehensive review of the published evidence and a recent symposium on the lessons of the London 2012 Olympic Games, is intended as a call to action.
The UK and North American authors, all experts in dental health and sport and exercise medicine, point out that dental consultations accounted for almost a third ...
2014-10-14
The findings suggest that family doctors may not be picking up the signs of lung cancer and investigating them as appropriately as they might, or promptly enough, say the researchers.
The UK lags behind other countries in survival rates for lung cancer, a gap that has largely been attributed to late diagnosis of the disease.
In a bid to find out more about the factors in primary care associated with these figures, the researchers analysed family doctors' (GPs') investigation of lung cancer between 2000 and 2013.
They used data from The Health Improvement Network (THIN), ...
2014-10-14
SAN FRANCISCO – Four urban sections of the San Andreas Fault system in Northern California have stored enough energy to produce major earthquakes, according to a new study that measures fault creep. Three fault sections – Hayward, Rodgers Creek and Green Valley – are nearing or past their average recurrence interval, according to the study published in the Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (BSSA).
The earthquake cycle reflects the accumulation of strain on a fault, its release as slip, and its re-accumulation and re-release. Fault creep ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
[Press-News.org] Study sheds light on factors that may contribute to pancreatic cancer
