Small uveal melanomas 'not always harmless', ground breaking study finds
2021-05-19
(Press-News.org) A new article from Liverpool ocular researchers demonstrates that small uveal (intraocular) melanomas are not always harmless, as the current paradigm suggests.
Instead, a reasonable proportion of them have molecular genetic alterations, which categorises them as highly metastatic tumours. The article recommends that they should not be observed but rather treated immediately, to improve patients' chances of survival.
The paper shows that uveal melanoma patients with small tumours, when treated within a certain time frame in Liverpool, do indeed have improved outcomes.
The study was undertaken by researchers at Liverpool Ocular Oncology Centre based at Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, the Liverpool Ocular Oncology Research Group (LOORG) at the University of Liverpool and with Professor Bertil Damato, formerly of Liverpool and now based at the Ocular Oncology Service at Moorfields Eye Hospital, London.
First author Dr Rumana Hussain, of Liverpool Ocular Oncology Centre, said: "Uveal melanoma is a potentially lethal disease, with a 50% mortality rate from metastatic disease. However, traditionally, small lesions have been monitored rather than treated as it was considered that these are less likely to cause metastatic spread and that local treatment does not influence outcome.
"Liverpool is one of the only ocular oncology centres in the world that offers prognostic biopsies to all of its melanoma patients, and we have therefore collected a large molecular genetic cohort of small tumours. This is the first study to show that over a quarter of these smaller uveal melanomas have lethal genetic mutations, and suggests that we may be able to influence patient survival and mortality outcomes with earlier treatment of these small melanomas. This will cause a massive shift in the approach to such patients, both in terms of management of their primary tumour, but also in terms of the consideration of prognostic biopsies in small ocular cancers."
The Liverpool Ocular Oncology Research Group's mission is to conduct high quality basic, translational and clinical research into the pathogenesis and treatment of adult ocular tumours that will improve patient care and survival.
Together with Dr Helen Kalirai, Professor Sarah Coupland leads the basic science and translational research portfolio, in addition to being a diagnostic Consultant Pathologist at the Liverpool University Hospitals Foundation Trust. Sarah leads one of the four NHSE supra-regional Ophthalmic Pathology services, and has led the molecular oncology prognostication service for around 10 years. Professor Heinrich Heimann leads the clinical research portfolio of the LOORG and heads the Liverpool Ocular Oncology Centre.
Professor Sarah Coupland said: "Since the early 1990s it was clear that uveal melanomas could be divided into differing genetic prognostic groups. This has become even more definitive through studies such as The Cancer Genome Atlas Uveal Melanoma study, to which LOORG significantly contributed. These past analyses, however, were based mainly on large tumours, and very few genetic investigations have been undertaken on small uveal melanomas, which erroneously have all been labelled as 'safe'. Our study using a unique collection of tiny intraocular biopsies of small uveal melanomas with follow-up clinical data, shows that they too can be broken down into 'good' and 'bad' tumours. Instead of watching the latter, they can be treated earlier and thereby increase significantly the chance of cure for these patients".
INFORMATION:
The Ophthalmic Pathology Service and the Liverpool Ocular Oncology Service are funded by NHSE.
The full article, Small High-Risk Uveal Melanomas Have a Lower Mortality Rate, can be found here: https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6694/13/9/2267
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
2021-05-19
Invasions by alien insect and animal species have much in common with outbreaks of infectious diseases and could tell us a great deal about how pandemics spread, according to a research paper published today.
Biological invasions, where animals, insects, plants and microorganisms are transported around the globe by humans, are becoming more common and have a global annual cost of at least £118billion.
An investigation by an international team of scientists, including the University of Leeds' School of Biology, says the emergence of human diseases share many of the same challenges as species invasions and that studying them together could provide solutions.
Co-author of the report, Dr Alison M. Dunn, a Professor of Ecology in the School of Biology, ...
2021-05-19
Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt has launched a study to determine the impact of a predictive model for identifying pediatric patients at risk for developing blood clots or venous thromboembolisms (VTEs).
The study uses advanced predictive analytics to inform medical teams of patients at risk for blood clots before they happen.
"Hospital-associated blood clots are an increasing cause of morbidity in pediatrics," said the study's principal investigator, Shannon Walker, MD, clinical fellow of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology at Children's Hospital.
While these events are more rare among children than they are among adults, Walker noticed that blood clot development was on the rise.
"The reason children get blood clots is very different ...
2021-05-19
The cover for issue 7 of Oncotarget features Figure 5, "SUM149-MA cells surviving a 6-MP treatment are sensitive to chemotherapeutic drugs," published in "Inhibition of resistant triple-negative breast cancer cells with low-dose 6-mercaptopurine and 5-azacitidine" by Singh, et al. which reported that the authors have reported that a lengthy treatment with low-dose 6-mercaptopurine, a clinically useful anti-inflammatory drug, inhibits such resistant cells.
They found that a lengthy treatment with 1 μM 5-azacitidine, without a significant effect on cell proliferation, sensitized cancer cells to the inhibitory effects of ...
2021-05-19
No matter one's age, race, gender, socioeconomic status or political party, COVID-19 has impacted everyone at some level. That impact has been especially palpable for the approximately 1.3 million elderly Americans who reside in the country's 15,600 nursing homes.
Inside these facilities, the forced isolation caused by COVID-19 disrupted daily routines and left many of the residents with higher-then-normal levels of stress, anxiety and depression. Because many of these elderly individuals lack the resources or knowledge to use communications tools such as FaceTime or Zoom, their family and friends had no way to visit them except through a facility window.
What these family members couldn't see as they peered through their loved one's glass frame was the mental ...
2021-05-19
CORVALLIS, Ore. - Researchers at Oregon State University have found a key new piece of the puzzle in the quest to use gene therapy to enable people born deaf to hear.
The work centers around a large gene responsible for an inner-ear protein, otoferlin. Mutations in otoferlin are linked to severe congenital hearing loss, a common type of deafness in which patients can hear almost nothing.
"For a long time otoferlin seemed to be a one-trick pony of a protein," said Colin Johnson, associate professor of biochemistry and biophysics in the OSU College of Science. "A lot of genes will find various things to do, but the ...
2021-05-19
Rice farmers in Nepal are chronically falling short of their potential productivity. Poor rice yields are persistent across the Terai--a lowland region lying south of the outer foothills of the Himalayas that extends through southern Nepal into northern India--and existing decision support systems are failing to provide the precision required.
To date, farmers in the area have lacked the knowledge and support they need to properly plan nutrient applications for their crops. Current nutrient recommendation systems only provide "blanket" prescriptions that fail ...
2021-05-19
VANCOUVER, Wash. - Employer COVID-19 safety measures influenced worker precautions even when they were not on the clock, according to a new study out of Washington State University.
The study found that workplace cultures that adopted COVID-19 prevention measures, such as daily health checks and encouraging sick workers to stay home, resulted in less "sickness presenteeism" or going places when feeling ill. The effect was found both inside and outside of work - meaning fewer employees with COVID-19 symptoms showed up to work and other public places like grocery stores, gyms and restaurants.
The same held true for attitudes toward the COVID-19 prevention measures recommended ...
2021-05-19
While some international students come to Canada knowing whether they intend to stay or return home after completing their degrees, the majority decide after they have had a chance to live here for a few years, a new study has found.
"Nearly a quarter of our participants made the decision prior to arriving in Canada," said Elena Neiterman, a lecturer in the School of Public Health and Health Systems at the University of Waterloo. "However, the majority were not certain what their plans for the future were until they had a chance to live here and explore life in Canada."
The students identified several factors shaping their decision to stay or go, including family ties in Canada or abroad, ...
2021-05-19
Researchers from Case Western Reserve University have identified a potential new approach to better controlling epileptic seizures.
Lin Mei, professor and chair of the Department of Neurosciences at the Case Western Reserve School of Medicine, who led the new study in mouse models, said the team found a new chemical reaction that could help control epileptic seizures.
Their findings were recently published in The Journal of Clinical Investigation.
Epilepsy is a neurological disorder in which abnormal brain activity causes seizures or periods of unusual behavior, sensations and sometimes loss of awareness.
A human brain contains about 86 billion nerve cells, also known as neurons. Eighty percent ...
2021-05-19
Sophia Antipolis, 19 May 2021: Cities harbour a dangerous cocktail of environmental stressors which politicians must tackle to save lives and preserve health. That's the conclusion of a paper published today in European Heart Journal, a journal of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).1
"By 2050, three in four people will live in cities, where up to 80% of energy is consumed and 70% of greenhouse gases are emitted," said study author Professor Thomas Münzel of the University Medical Centre Mainz, Germany. "There are limited actions that individuals can take to protect themselves from pollutants so politicians and policy makers need to take on this responsibility."
Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of mortality in Europe, accounting for 47% and ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
[Press-News.org] Small uveal melanomas 'not always harmless', ground breaking study finds
