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

Study: Inexpensive method detects ALK rearrangement in lung cancer patients

2011-08-04
(Press-News.org) A relatively simple and inexpensive method may be used to determine whether a lung cancer patient is a candidate for crizotinib therapy, according to research published in the August issue of the Journal of Thoracic Oncology, the official monthly journal of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC).

Lung cancer patients with ALK rearrangement have been found to respond well to crizotinib, an ALK inhibitor currently in clinical trials. Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) has been considered the gold standard method for detecting ALK rearrangement.

"However, FISH requires a fluorescence microscope, and the signals are labile and rapidly fade over time," researchers wrote in the study, led by Jin-Haeng Chung, M.D., Ph.D., of Seoul National University Bundang Hospital in South Korea.

Researchers compared ALK rearrangement assessments using FISH and a newly developed method called chromogenic in situ hybridization (CISH). CISH allows detection of gene copy status using a conventional peroxidase-base reaction and standard bright field light microscope.

Out of a total 465 non-small cell lung cancer samples, ALK rearrangement was assessed using CISH in 449 patients (96.6%) and ALK rearrangement was identified in 18 patients (4%). Using FISH, ALK rearrangement was assessed in 453 patients (97.4%); ALK rearrangement was identified in 19 patients (4.2%). Among these cases, 443 cases (95.3%) had results matching the corresponding FISH results: 17 rearranged, 425 wild types, and 1 discordant case.

"There was high concordance in the assessment of ALK gene rearrangement between FISH and CISH techniques," researchers wrote.

### For a copy of the article or to arrange an interview, please contact Renée McGaw, IASLC director of communications, at renee.mcgaw@ucdenver.edu or +1-303-724-5796.

Supported by a grant-in-aid from Korea Institute of Science & Technology and Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology.

About the Journal of Thoracic Oncology:

The Journal of Thoracic Oncology (JTO) is the official monthly journal of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC). It is a prized resource for medical specialists and scientists who focus on the detection, prevention, diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer. It emphasizes a multidisciplinary approach, including original research (clinical trials and translational or basic research), reviews and opinion pieces. To learn more about the JTO please visit http://journals.lww.com/jto/pages/default.aspx.

About the IASLC:

The Denver-based International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) is the only global organization dedicated to the study of lung cancer. Founded in 1972, the association's membership includes more than 3,000 lung cancer specialists in 80 countries.

IASLC members promote the study of etiology, epidemiology, prevention, diagnosis, treatment and all other aspects of lung cancer and thoracic malignancies. IASLC disseminates information about lung cancer to scientists, members of the medical community and the public, and uses all available means to eliminate lung cancer as a health threat for the individual patients and throughout the world. Membership is open to any physician, health professional or scientist interested in lung cancer.

To learn more about IASLC please visit http://iaslc.org/


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

UNH researchers help find natural products potential of frankia

2011-08-04
DURHAM, N.H. – Soil-dwelling bacteria of the genus Frankia have the potential to produce a multitude of natural products, including antibiotics, herbicides, pigments, anticancer agents, and other useful products, according to an article in the June 2011 issue of the journal "Applied and Environmental Microbiology." University of New Hampshire professor of microbiology and genetics Louis Tisa, a Frankia expert, contributed the genomic analysis to this study. "We were able to use cutting-edge techniques to identify unexpected compounds in this organism, Frankia," Tisa says. ...

Are pet owners healthier and happier? Maybe not…

2011-08-04
For many people, Fido and Fluffy are more than just pets, they're true and equal members of the family. And it's not hard to see why. Our pets greet us at the door after a long day of work, settle in our laps while we're watching TV, or 'sing' along when we hum a tune. They provide companionship and even a sense of comfort. We like to believe that our pets are good for us, that they enrich our lives and make us happier, and messages in media and advertising reinforce these beliefs. But is there really a universal 'pet effect' on human mental and physical health? According ...

African rodent uses 'poison arrow' toxin to deter predators

African rodent uses poison arrow toxin to deter predators
2011-08-04
Woe to the clueless predator trying to make a meal of the African crested rat, a rodent that applies poisonous plant toxin to sponge-like hairs on its flanks, a discovery recently made by Jonathan Kingdon and colleagues from the National Museums of Kenya, the Wildlife Conservation Society, and University of Oxford. In the only known instance of a mammal acquiring a lethal toxin from a plant for defense, the researchers have discovered where the African crested rat (or maned rat) gets its poison: the Acokanthera tree, the same source used by East African hunters for ...

What's in a kids meal? Not happy news

2011-08-04
High-calorie, high-sodium choices were on the menu when parents purchased lunch for their children at a San Diego fast-food restaurant. Why? Because both children and adults liked the food and the convenience. However, the study of data compiled by researchers in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of California, San Diego, appearing this week in the new journal, Childhood Obesity, showed that convenience resulted in lunchtime meals that accounted for between 36 and 51 percent of a child's daily caloric needs. In addition, 35 to 39 percent of calories came ...

First large study to find HIV epidemic among gays in the Middle East

2011-08-04
NEW YORK (Aug. 2, 2011) -- HIV epidemics are emerging in several countries in the Middle East and North Africa among men who have sex with men, a term that encompasses gay, non-gay identified homosexual men, and transgendered and bisexual men. Though HIV infection levels were historically very low in the Middle East and North Africa, substantial levels of HIV transmission have been found, beginning in 2003, among men who have sex with men, a hidden and stigmatized population in this part of the world. These findings are published today in PLoS Medicine and represent the ...

Georgia Tech proposes Internet consumer nutrition label

2011-08-04
When it comes to broadband speeds, U.S. Internet service providers (ISPs) largely deliver on their promises, says a report issued today by the Federal Communications Commission, but "throughput" is only one of several metrics listed in the report that affect network performance. ISPs should provide a broadband "nutrition label"—easy-to-understand information about service-limiting factors—and users need better ways of measuring the performance their ISPs are delivering, concludes a study from the Georgia Tech College of Computing. Out of some 2 billion Internet users ...

BGU researchers develop webcam tool to improve office worker posture

2011-08-04
BEER-SHEVA, ISRAEL, August 2, 2011– A multidisciplinary team at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev has developed a new training method using a desktop webcam to improve ergonomic posture and reduce the risk of musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) among office workers using computers. According to an article in Applied Ergonomics in the forthcoming issue, a group of 60 workers received both office training and an automatic frequent-feedback system that displayed a webcam photo of a worker's current sitting posture alongside the correct posture photo taken during office training. ...

Plant biologists dissect genetic mechanism enabling plants to overcome environmental challenge

2011-08-04
Cold Spring Harbor, NY -- When an animal gets too hot or too cold, or feels pangs of hunger or thirst, it tends to relocate – to where it's cooler or hotter, or to the nearest place where food or water can be found. But what about vegetative life? What can a plant do under similar circumstances? Plants can't change the climate and they can't uproot themselves to move to a more favorable spot. Yet they do respond successfully to changes in environmental conditions in diverse ways, many of which involve modifications of the way they grow and develop. Plant biologists ...

August 2011 GSA Today science: Understanding Earth's eroding surface with 10Be

2011-08-04
Boulder, Colorado, USA - The August GSA TODAY science article is now online at http://www.geosociety.org/gsatoday/archive/21/8/. The modification of Earth's surface by erosion is one of the most important geological processes in terms of its impact on society, as well as its influence on the geological record, but geologists have been lacking a well-determined compilation of pre-human rates of erosion. In a groundbreaking compilation of 1528 calculations of surface erosion rates from 80 study areas from all over the world, authors Eric Portenga and Paul Bierman of the ...

Stray-bullet shootings most often harm women and individuals at low-risk for violence

2011-08-04
(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) — In the first nationwide study of stray-bullet shootings, Garen Wintemute, professor of emergency medicine and director of the Violence Prevention Research Program at UC Davis School of Medicine and Medical Center, quantifies mortality and injury among victims of these unexpected events. His research is published as a letter in the August 3 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. "Stray-bullet shootings create fear and insecurity in many communities," said Wintemute. "People stay indoors, don't let their children play outside, and ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

New jab protects babies from serious lung infection, study shows

July Tip Sheet from Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center

Current application status and innovative development of surgical robot

Counterfeited in China: New book assesses state of industry and its future

Machine learning reveals historical seismic events in the Yellowstone caldera

First analyses of Myanmar earthquake conclude fault ruptured at supershear velocity

Curved fault slip captured on CCTV during Myanmar earthquake

Collaboration rewarded for work to further deployment of batteries in emerging economies

Heart-healthy habits also prevent cancer, Alzheimer’s, COPD, other diseases, Emory study finds

Scientists will use a $1M grant to build a support system addressing sea level rise and flooding in South Florida

New research examines how pH impacts the immune system

Inhaled agricultural dust disrupts gut health

New study reveals hidden regulatory roles of “junk” DNA

Taking the sting out of ulcerative colitis

Deep life’s survival secret: Crustal faulting generates key energy sources, study shows

Idaho National Laboratory to lead advancements in US semiconductor manufacturing

AI-assisted sorting, other new technologies could improve plastic recycling

More than just larks and owls!

Call for nominations: 2026 Dan David Prize

New tool gives anyone the ability to train a robot

Coexistence of APC and KRAS mutations in familial adenomatous polyposis and endometrial cancer: A mini-review with case-based perspective

First global-to-local study reveals stark health inequalities from COVID-19 in 2020–2021

rcssci: Simplifying complex data relationships with enhanced visual clarity

Why some ecosystems collapse suddenly—and others don’t

One-third of U.S. public schools screen students for mental health issues

GLP-1 RA use and survival among older adults with cancer and type 2 diabetes

Trends in physician exit from fee-for-service Medicare

Systematic investigation of tumor microenvironment and antitumor immunity with IOBR

Common feature between forest fires and neural networks reveals the universal framework underneath

New R package revolutionizes gene set enrichment analysis visualization for biomedical research

[Press-News.org] Study: Inexpensive method detects ALK rearrangement in lung cancer patients