(Press-News.org) A study involving researchers at Karolinska Institutet and Gothenburg University in Sweden has found that low levels of a protein called PDGFRb are associated with particularly good results of radiotherapy in women with early-stage breast cancer. The study, which is published in the journal Clinical Cancer Research, also suggests that the efficacy of radiotherapy can be improved with drugs that block this protein.
Some 900 women in Sweden are diagnosed with DCIS (ductalcarcinoma in situ), the earliest possible form of invasive breast cancer. Standard treatment is surgery and subsequent radiotherapy. Although the prognosis is generally good, some ten per cent of patients suffer a recurrence within ten years of diagnosis.
"It is well-known that the benefits of radiotherapy are individual, so we need to find predictive markers that can be used to avoid unnecessary or ineffective radiotherapy," says the study's co-last author Fredrik Wärnberg, professor at the Department of Clinical Sciences at Gothenburg University's Sahlgrenska Academy.
While previous studies have focused mainly on markers in the tumour cells themselves, recent findings show that supporting tissue around the tumour cells can affect the therapeutic effect of DCIS. Studies in cell and animal models have demonstrated that the efficacy of radiotherapy can be influenced by fibroblasts, which are a type of supporting cell in the breast cancer tissue.
Arne Östman's research group at Karolinska Institutet and Professor Wärnberg's group have now analysed a large tissue collection from a randomised radiotherapy study (SweDCIS). Their analyses showed that low levels of a particular fibroblast protein, PDGFRb, are associated with especially high radiotherapeutic efficacy for women with DCIS.
Several new studies have been launched, one a collaboration with the US company PreludeDx on breast cancer diagnostics.
"The treatment guidelines of DCIS might need to be changed if these studies confirm our original findings," says the study's first author Carina Strell, researcher at the Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, and the Department of Oncology-Pathology, Karolinska Institutet.
The results of this newly published study also indicate that the efficacy of radiotherapy can be improved if combined with the blocking of PDGFRb. The researchers now plan to interrogate this further in experimental cell and animal models before any studies on patients can begin.
INFORMATION:
The study was financed by the Swedish Cancer Society, BRECT, the Swedish Research Council, STARGET the Linné grant scheme, the Cancer Research Funds of Radiumhemmet, the EU Caffein ITN network, BRECT at Karolinska Institutet, Region Stockholm and the Research Council of Norway.
Arne Östman receives research grants from Eli Lilly and IPSEN. Co-authors Erik Holmberg and Per Karlsson have a research contract with PFS Genomics. Jonas Bergh receives research grants from Amgen, AstraZeneca, Bayer, Merck, Roche, Pfizer and Sanofi Aventis, all with Karolinska Institutet and/or Karolinska University Hospital as recipient. Fredrik Wärnberg has received financing from PreludeDx for tumour collection with Uppsala University Hospital (Akademiska sjukhuset) as recipient. Troy Bremer is employed and has proprietary interests (including patents) in PreludeDx, receives commercial research grants on behalf of the company from the National Cancer Institute, and is the co-inventor of one or more patents/patent applications licensed to or owned by PreludeDx.
Publication: "High PDGFRb expression predicts resistance to radiotherapy in DCIS within the SweDCIS randomized trial". Carina Strell, Dick Folkvaljon, Erik Holmberg, Aglaia Schiza, Viktoria Thurfjell, Per Karlsson, Jonas Bergh, Troy Bremer, Lars A. Akslen, Fredrik Wärnberg, Arne Östman. Clinical Cancer Research, online 5 May 2021, doi: 10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-20-4300.
MINNEAPOLIS - Chronic kidney disease is when a person's kidneys progressively lose their ability to filter waste from the blood and eliminate fluids. Now a new study has found that people with reduced kidney function may have an increased risk of developing dementia. The study is published in the May 5, 2021, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Chronic kidney disease affects approximately 15% of adults in the United States and it is more common as people age. However, since many people don't experience ...
CLEVELAND, Ohio (May 5, 2021)--Vitamin D is a critical part of a healthy diet. Among other benefits, it has been shown to protect against bone disease and maintain soft tissue health. A new study suggests that it may also play a role in the degree of postoperative pain postmenopausal women experience after undergoing total knee replacement. Study results are published online today in Menopause, the journal of The North American Menopause Society (NAMS).
Vitamin D deficiency is a major issue globally. It is estimated that 60% of adults have insufficient levels of the bone-building vitamin. Estrogen deficiency in perimenopausal women has been associated with decreased levels of vitamin D. A sedentary lifestyle and lack of sun exposure have also been shown to contribute to vitamin D ...
A new study published in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology ¬provides insights on how common hospitalized patients develop liver injury from taking different medications.
When investigators analyzed the records of 156,570 hospitalized patients, they found 499 cases of drug-induced liver injury (DILI), for an incidence of 0.32%. Anti-infective agents, cancer medications, and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs were the major categories of drugs causing DILI, and the highest incidence was due to voriconazole (an antifungal medication). Patients with high cholesterol, cardiovascular disease, ...
A new study published in Arthritis Care & Research indicates that few individuals with the autoimmune disease lupus who were publicly insured through Medicaid received recommended vaccines in 2000-2010. Also, those who were unvaccinated needed more acute care for vaccine-preventable illnesses.
From 2000-2010, there were 1,290 patients who visited the emergency department or were hospitalized for vaccine-preventable illness, and 93% of these visits occurred in patients without billing codes for related vaccinations. Patients who were Black had a 22% higher risk of needing such care than those who were white.
"These episodes represent missed opportunities to deliver essential ...
Untreated mental health disorders can be a serious problem for women and their children during pregnancy and after giving birth, during the postpartum period. A recent analysis funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and published in Psychiatric Research & Clinical Practice notes that few studies have examined the benefits of medications for mental health disorders in pregnant and postpartum women. And while many studies have reported on potential harms, the large majority could not separate the effect of medications from the effect of the underlying disorder. As a result, it ...
Investigators found similarities in the bacterial composition of the mouth among patients with early rheumatoid arthritis and those at risk of developing the disease, compared with healthy individuals who were not at risk. The findings come from a study published in Arthritis & Rheumatology.
Patients and at-risk individuals had an increased relative abundance of potentially pro- inflammatory bacteria in the mouth, suggesting a possible link between oral microbes and rheumatoid arthritis.
"Prevotella and Veillonella--both gram-negative anaerobes--were at higher relative abundance in saliva, and ...
Erythropoietin (EPO) is a medication used to stimulate the production of new red blood cells, which is impaired in individuals with kidney failure. Unfortunately, however, the treatment may increase the risk of hip fractures.
In an analysis published in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research that examined 1997-2013 records from two large U.S. databases, investigators found that EPO doses administered to patients with kidney failure on hemodialysis fluctuated widely over time, and hip fracture rates closely tracked the average dose of EPO doses used in patients.
"Patients with renal failure can benefit from EPO treatment; however, as with all medications, ...
Virtual care provided through telephone or videoconference has been broadly implemented in recent months because of the COVID-19 pandemic. A new analysis of published studies has examined the accuracy and reliability of virtual compared with in-person cognitive assessments for diagnosing dementia or mild cognitive impairment.
The analysis, which is published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, included 121 studies. Three studies comparing videoconference with in-person cognitive assessments demonstrated good reliability and accuracy of virtual cognitive assessments in diagnosing dementia. Investigators ...
An analysis of published studies indicates that Twitter may be a useful learning tool in dental education.
The analysis, which is published in the Journal of Dental Education, included 7 studies. Studies indicated that the real-time question and answer sessions using Twitter work well in an educational setting. Also, the semi-anonymous interactions on Twitter can be beneficial for students unwilling to speak in front of their peers. Twitter can also make lectures more engaging, and it can be used to ask questions that assess student comprehension.
The ...
A new study provides a profile of teachers around the world who provide English Medium Instruction (EMI) in higher education, in which the English language is used to teach academic subjects (other than English itself) in countries where the first language is not English.
The study, which is published in the END ...
