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

Early detection crucial in bile duct cancer for patients with rare liver disease

Early detection crucial in bile duct cancer for patients with rare liver disease
2024-06-20
(Press-News.org) Primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) is a rare progressive liver disease that damages bile ducts and significantly increases the risk of bile duct cancer, particularly a type called cholangiocarcinoma (CCA). This cancer is aggressive, and curative surgery is uncommon. Liver transplantation is a potential treatment option for some PSC-CCA patients, especially if the cancer is caught early. Early diagnosis is essential for successful treatment.

PSC can affect people of all ages but primarily strikes men in their 30s and 40s. It is often accompanied by inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The disease can progress to liver failure and increase the risk of colorectal cancer as well. There is no cure for PSC, but medications can help manage symptoms.

Diagnosing CCA in PSC patients is difficult due to limitations in diagnostic tools and the non-specific symptoms, which often appear late and mimic those of progressive PSC itself. Magnetic resonance imaging with magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRI/MRCP) is the best imaging modality for suspected PSC-CCA.

For a select group of patients with PSC-CCA, liver transplantation has emerged as a potentially curative treatment, particularly for a specific type of bile duct cancer called perihilar CCA (pCCA). However, most patients are diagnosed at an advanced stage when curative options are no longer available.

Due to the challenges in diagnosing CCA early, a low threshold for suspicion is recommended in high-risk PSC patients. Regular high-quality MRI/MRCP scans are crucial for early detection.

Researchers are actively seeking better strategies for early detection of CCA in PSC patients. Developing more advanced surveillance techniques and diagnostic tests is a high priority.

PSC is a severe liver disease that significantly increases the risk of bile duct cancer. Early detection of CCA is essential for successful treatment with liver transplantation. More research is needed to improve early detection methods and expand treatment options for PSC patients.

See the article: 

Villard C, Jorns C, Bergquist A. Treatment of cholangiocarcinoma in patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis: a comprehensive review. eGastroenterology 2024;2:e100045. doi:10.1136/egastro-2023-100045

About eGastroenterology

eGastroenterology is a new, open-access, and open peer-reviewed BMJ Journal, which focuses on basic, clinical, translational, and evidence-based medicine research in all areas of gastroenterology (including hepatology, pancreatology, esophagology, and gastrointestinal surgery).

For more information, please visit: egastroenterology.bmj.com and follow us on Twitter (@eGastro_BMJ).

Sign-up to Email Alerts for eGastroenterology: https://emails.bmj.com/k/Bmj/jausu/egastroenterology

END


[Attachments] See images for this press release:
Early detection crucial in bile duct cancer for patients with rare liver disease Early detection crucial in bile duct cancer for patients with rare liver disease 2 Early detection crucial in bile duct cancer for patients with rare liver disease 3

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

BCMA-CD19 bispecific CAR-T therapy in refractory chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy

BCMA-CD19 bispecific CAR-T therapy in refractory chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy
2024-06-20
This study is led by Professor Junnian Zheng and Ming Shi from the Cancer Institute of Xuzhou Medical University, together with the team of Professor Guiyun Cui and Wei Zhang from the Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University. The team reported for the first time using BCMA-CD19 bispecific CAR T cells for treating relapsed/refractory CIDP.   Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy (CIDP) is an uncommon condition with sudden onset symptoms, including nerve damage affecting movement, sensation, speech, breathing, and heart rate. ...

Embryo and organoid models do not threaten the definition of personhood, bioethicist says

2024-06-20
Advances in organoids and embryonic models of human development have the potential to prompt social and existential questions—e.g., what defines human individuality? However, bioethicist Insoo Hyun of Harvard Medical School and the Museum of Science in Boston says that these models have the potential to strengthen rather than weaken the concept of human individuality when considered within the philosophical frameworks of “personhood” and sentience. In a commentary publishing June 20 in the journal Cell, Hyun argues that despite huge advances, we are a long way off from developing technologies that would ...

Great British Bake Off finalist Josh Smalley discusses the parallels between chemistry and baking

Great British Bake Off finalist Josh Smalley discusses the parallels between chemistry and baking
2024-06-20
Last year on a Friday evening, chemical biology researcher Josh Smalley was in the lab when he received a call inviting him to appear on the 14th and latest season of The Great British Bake Off. Starting as one of a group of 12 amateur bakers, Smalley made it all the way to the final round, where the top 3 contestants compete for the winning spot. In an essay published in the journal Cell Chemical Biology on June 20, Smalley describes the overlap between chemistry and baking and how his training in one ...

New genetic cause of obesity could help guide treatment

2024-06-20
Scientists have discovered a new cause of why people who lack a specific blood group are genetically predisposed to be overweight or obese. A team of international researchers, led by the University of Exeter, discovered that people with a genetic variant that disables the SMIM1 gene have higher body weight because they expend less energy when at rest. SMIM1 was only identified 10 years ago, whilst searching  for the gene encoding a specific blood group, known as Vel. One in 5,000 people  lack both copies of the gene, making them Vel-negative. The findings from the new research suggest that this group is also more likely to be overweight, a conclusion ...

Palaeontology: New, small, ancient crocodile-like reptile described in Brazil

2024-06-20
The discovery of a new, ancient, predatory reptile dubbed Parvosuchus aurelioi — part of a group of crocodile-like reptiles called pseudosuchians — in Brazil is described in a paper in Scientific Reports. The specimen, which dates to approximately 237 million years ago, during the Middle-Late Triassic, is the first small predatory reptile of its kind to be found in this country. Prior to the dominance of the dinosaurs, pseudosuchians were a common form of ancient quadruped reptile during the Triassic Period (252 – 201 million years ago), with some species amongst ...

Prenatal maternal psychological distress during the pandemic and newborn brain development

2024-06-20
About The Study: The findings of this study suggest that increased maternal mental health symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic are associated with subsequent changes in regional brain growth in newborn offspring.  Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Nickie Andescavage, M.D., email nniforat@childrensnational.org. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.17924) Editor’s Note: Please see the article for additional information, including ...

Healthy lifestyle and the likelihood of becoming a centenarian

2024-06-20
About The Study: In this case-control study of Chinese older adults, adhering to a healthy lifestyle appears to be important even at late ages, suggesting that constructing strategic plans to improve lifestyle behaviors among all older adults may play a key role in promoting healthy aging and longevity.  Corresponding Authors: To contact the corresponding authors, email Xiang Gao, M.D., Ph.D. (xiang_gao@fudan.edu.cn) and Xiaoming Shi, M.D., Ph.D. (shixm@chinacdc.cn). To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.17931) Editor’s Note: Please see ...

New, simple test detects rare fatal genetic heart condition

2024-06-20
A team of international researchers has revealed a new, simple clinical test to detect Calcium Release Deficiency Syndrome (CRDS), a life-threatening genetic arrhythmia that causes dangerously fast heartbeats and can lead to severe complications such as sudden cardiac arrest and death. The new diagnostic method monitors for changes in electrocardiography (ECG) after a brief period of a fast heartbeat and a pause, which can occur naturally or be induced by artificially pacing the heart. This research was co-led by Jason Roberts, a scientist at the Population ...

YALE NEWS: Chemotherapy before surgery benefits some patients with pancreatic cancer

2024-06-20
New Haven, Conn. — Patients with pancreatic cancer who received chemotherapy both before and after surgery experienced longer survival rates than would be expected from surgery followed by chemotherapy, according to a new study from researchers at Yale Cancer Center (YCC) and Yale School of Medicine. The study, published June 20 in JAMA Oncology, included patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), which accounts for 90% of pancreatic cancers. An aggressive cancer with a high mortality rate, PDAC is predicted ...

First conclusive evidence that a terrestrial leech species can jump

First conclusive evidence that a terrestrial leech species can jump
2024-06-20
A new study presents video evidence that at least one species of terrestrial leech can jump, behavior that scientists have debated for more than a century. Researchers from the American Museum of Natural History, Fordham University, and City University of New York (CUNY)’s Medgar Evers College published the footage and corresponding analysis today in the journal Biotropica. “We believe this is the first convincing evidence that leeches can jump and do so with visible energy expenditure,” said lead author Mai Fahmy, a visiting scientist at the Museum and a postdoctoral researcher ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Caltech's new fingerprint mass spectrometry method paves the way to solving the proteome

Invasive flathead catfish impacting Susquehanna’s food chain, researchers find

Javadi receives DOE Early Career Award to study qubit hosts

Obesity Medicine Fellowship created at Pennington Biomedical

Structural biology analysis of a Pseudomonas bacterial virus reveals a genome ejection motor

Remote tool developed to helped detect autism and developmental delay in children with limited access to specialists

Texas Accounting Chair Steven Kachelmeier garners coveted award for scholarship

CABHI launches funding program that ignites innovation to advance healthy aging

A fully automated AI-based system for assessing IVF embryo quality

Senolytics dasatinib and quercetin for prevention of pelvic organ prolapse in mice

UCLA efforts to provide prostate cancer treatment in the community gets $6 million boost

Study asks: Can cell phone signals help land a plane?

Artificial intelligence is creating a new way of thinking, an external thought process outside of our minds

Reaction conditions tune catalytic selectivity

Verified users on social media networks drive polarization and the formation of echo chambers

Get a grip: The best thumb position for disc launch speed and spin rate

Maternal eating disorders, BMI, and offspring psychiatric diagnoses

Geometric mechanics shape the dog's nose

‘Visual clutter’ alters information flow in the brain

Researchers succeed in taking 3D x-ray images of a skyrmion

MRI can save rectal cancer patients from surgery, study suggests

Fyodor Urnov on clinical crisis in CRISPR genome editing

People with type 2 diabetes who eat low-carb may be able to discontinue medication

Air pollution linked to having a peanut allergy during childhood

Dangers of the metaverse and VR for US youth revealed in new research

A national indicator for a just energy transition

Cognitive effort whets the appetite for reward

European funders and organizations partner to promote sustainable research

A model for the decline of trends, fads, and information sharing

Plastic mulch is contaminating agricultural fields

[Press-News.org] Early detection crucial in bile duct cancer for patients with rare liver disease