DENVER – ALK rearrangement has been demonstrated to be a potent oncogenic driver and a promising therapeutic target in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). It defines a distinct molecular subset of NSCLC, in particular adenocarcinoma that can benefit by the treatment of ALK-inhibitors. Development of robust and reliable laboratory tests for predictive biomarkers is essential to select appropriate patients for targeted therapy. Researchers from the Chinese University of Hong King evaluated the practical usefulness of immunohistochemistry to detect ALK expression as a reliable ...

DENVER – The incidence of lung cancer in women affects an estimated 516,000 women worldwide, of which 100,000 are in the United States and 70,000 in Europe. Until now, lung cancers occurring in women have been treated similarly to lung cancers in men. However, numerous studies have highlighted different characteristics of lung cancer in women. Researchers at the University of Toulouse III in France aim to compare clinical, pathological and biological characteristics of lung cancer in cohorts of women smokers and women never-smokers. They looked at a total of 140 women, ...

DENVER – Each year, 13 percent of all newly diagnosed lung cancer patients are diagnosed with small-cell lung cancer (SCLC). Approximately 39 percent of patients with SCLC are diagnosed with limited-stage disease, meaning the cancer is only present in one lung, but may have spread to lymph nodes or tissue between the lungs. These patients are often treated with chemotherapy and definitive radiation therapy. Staging information is essential because of the high propensity for metastatic disease in SCLC, and the identification of metastases can spare patients from the toxicity ...

Tobacco smoke, diesel exhaust and oil combustion carry polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons – PAHs that are known to cause cancer. But of these PAHs, the obviously dangerous high-molecular-weight PAHs like benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) have received the vast majority of research attention. Their low-molecular-weight cousins have been largely overlooked, in part because studies have shown that these compounds alone aren't very successful at mutating genes in cancer-causing ways. A University of Colorado Cancer Center study published in the journal PLoS One explores two of these low-molecular-weight ...

Male twin Vietnam veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were more than twice as likely as those without PTSD to develop heart disease during a 13-year period, according to a study supported by the National Institutes of Health. This is the first long-term study to measure the association between PTSD and heart disease using objective clinical diagnoses combined with cardiac imaging techniques. "This study provides further evidence that PTSD may affect physical health," said Gary H. Gibbons, M.D., director of the NIH's National Heart, Lung, and Blood ...

A Johns Hopkins study of more than 1,800 men ages 52 to 62 suggests that African-Americans diagnosed with very-low-risk prostate cancers are much more likely than white men to actually have aggressive disease that goes unrecognized with current diagnostic approaches. Although prior studies have found it safe to delay treatment and monitor some presumably slow-growing or low-risk prostate cancers, such "active surveillance" (AS) does not appear to be a good idea for black men, the study concludes. "This study offers the most conclusive evidence to date that broad application ...

A team of scientists with the Wildlife Conservation Society, BirdLife International, and other groups have discovered a new species of bird with distinct plumage and a loud call living not in some remote jungle, but in a capital city of 1.5 million people. Called the Cambodian tailorbird (Orthotomus chaktomuk), the previously undescribed species was found in Cambodia's urbanized capitol Phnom Penh and several other locations just outside of the city including a construction site. It is one of only two bird species found solely in Cambodia. The other, the Cambodian laughingthrush, ...

LOS ANGELES — Researchers at the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center have discovered a promising new way to treat a rare and aggressive blood cancer most commonly found in people infected with HIV. The USC team shows that a class of drugs called BET bromodomain inhibitors effectively targets primary effusion lymphoma (PEL), a type of cancer for which those drugs were not expected to be effective. "It's a reversal of the paradigm," said Preet Chaudhary, MD, PhD, chief of the Nohl Division of Hematology and Blood Diseases at the Keck School of Medicine of USC and ...

Global sustainability is like a high-stakes jigsaw puzzle – and an international group of scientists have created a new framework to assemble the big picture without losing pieces. Scientists led by Jianguo "Jack" Liu, Michigan State University's Rachel Carson Chair in Sustainability, have built an integrated way to study a world that has become more connected – with faster and more socioeconomic and environmental interactions over distances. They say "telecoupling" describes how distance is shrinking and connections are strengthening between nature and humans. In Ecology ...

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Humans and their pet dogs are close, so close that they both develop a type of cancer called diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. In humans it's the most common lymphoma subtype while in dogs, it's one of the most common cancers in veterinary oncology. A team of scientists from the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, North Carolina State University's College of Veterinary Medicine and Duke University have conducted one of the first studies to directly compare canine and human B-cell lymphoma by examining molecular similarities and differences ...

New research out of St. Michael's Hospital has found that despite popular belief, the flu shot is effective in preventing the flu, even if the virus going around does not match the vaccine. "It's quite common for people to say they are not going to get the flu shot this year because they've heard it does not match the strain of flu going around," said Dr. Andrea Tricco, the lead author of the paper and a scientist at the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute of St. Michael's Hospital. "However, we've found that individuals will be protected regardless of whether the flu strain ...

There are two popular models when it comes to delivering the best healthcare – using evidence-based guidelines or applying personalized medicine. Each method has its own merits and drawbacks, but according to one Northwestern Medicine® cardiologist, when the two theories are integrated the result is an optimal healthcare delivery model that is both less expensive and better for the patient. "It should not be one or the other but instead a combination of both," said Jeffrey Goldberger, MD, an attending cardiologist and cardiac electrophysiologist at Northwestern Memorial ...

FINDINGS: UCLA researchers have found that older adults who regularly used a brain-fitness program on a computer demonstrated significantly improved memory and language skills. The UCLA team studied 69 dementia-free participants, with an average age of 82, who were recruited from retirement communities in Southern California. The participants played a computerized brain-fitness program called Dakim BrainFitness, which trains individuals through more than 400 exercises in the areas of short- and long-term memory, language, visual-spatial processing, reasoning and ...

NEW YORK (June 25, 2013) -- Based on the experience of a large hospital in Tanzania, Weill Cornell Medical College researchers have discovered a "startlingly" high burden of hypertension in this sub-Saharan African country. In the Journal of Hypertension, the researchers say non-communicable disease -- driven primarily by hypertension, resulting in stroke and other cardiovascular diseases -- accounted for nearly half of the deaths and admissions during a three-year period at Weill Bugando Medical Center, one of Tanzania's preeminent teaching hospitals. Previous research ...

TORONTO, June 25, 2013—One in five adolescents surveyed in Ontario said they have suffered a traumatic brain injury that left them unconscious for five minutes or required them to be hospitalized overnight, a statistic researchers in Toronto say is much higher than previously thought. Sports such as ice hockey and soccer accounted for more than half the injuries, said Dr. Gabriela Ilie, lead author of the study and a post-doctoral fellow at St. Michael's Hospital. Traumatic brain injuries, such as concussions, were reported more often by males than females, by those with ...

CLEVELAND, Ohio (June 26, 2013)—Should women take calcium and vitamin D supplements after menopause for bone health? Recommendations conflict, and opinions are strong. But now, an analysis from the major Women's Health Initiative (WHI) trial throws weight on the supplement side—at least for women taking hormones after menopause. The analysis was published online today in Menopause, the journal of The North American Menopause Society. Among the nearly 30,000 postmenopausal women in the hormone trial, some 8,000 took supplemental calcium (1,000 mg/day) and vitamin D (400 ...

Philadelphia, PA, June 26, 2013 – Investigators from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) describe pathologic findings from 40 case reports of fungal infection in patients who had been given contaminated epidural, paraspinal, or intra-articular (into joints) steroid injections and correlate these findings with clinical and laboratory data. The report, published in the September issue of The American Journal of Pathology, alerts clinicians and the general public to the catastrophic dangers of contaminated epidural injections. In September 2012, CDC began ...

Asians – recently found to be the fastest growing minority group in the U.S. – have been described as the least segregated minority group in the U.S. In fact, Chinese and Indians are segregated almost as highly as Hispanics, and Vietnamese segregation is almost as high as that of African Americans. At the same time, every Asian nationality except Vietnamese lives on average in neighborhoods with higher income and share of college-educated residents than do non-Hispanic whites. This pattern is especially strong in the suburbs, according to a new study released by the ...

Tennessee grandparent's rights Article provided by Goble Law Firm Visit us at http://www.getgoble.com Of course, most grandparents want to have a close relationship with their grandchildren. As a stabilizing force in children's lives, grandparents may be especially important if the children's parents have problems. The right to a hearing for visitation Tennessee law lays out criteria that govern grandparents' rights to have access to and spend meaningful time with their grandchildren. If a custodial parent, or parents, do not allow grandparents visitation ...

Accident involving tractor-trailer shuts down highway Article provided by Law Offices of Kelly R. Reed, PLLC Visit us at http://www.reedkimble.com Anyone who has been involved in an accident involving a large commercial vehicle such as a tractor-trailer knows that the consequences are devastating. The chance of a serious injury or even death increases significantly in this type of accident. This is illustrated by a recent head-on collision on the West Virginia Turnpike involving a passenger vehicle and an 18-wheeler carrying hazardous materials. Three individuals ...

Proposed bill could limit athletes' workers' compensation claims Article provided by Atcheson & Kepler Visit us at http://www.workinjury-sandiego.com The San Diego Union-Tribune recently reported on a bill that would prevent some professional athletes from filing workers' compensation claims in California. Many in opposition to the bill feel that the legislation is a way for owners of professional sports teams to avoid liability for players' injuries. Overview of the bill The bill, AB1309, seeks to prevent professional athletes who have spent a majority ...

Co-parenting after split begins during the divorce process Article provided by Zollie C. Steakley, PLLC Visit us at http://www.zolliesteakley.com Divorce can be a stressful time no matter the situation. If children are involved, however, that stress can ratchet up considerably. Co-parenting amicably -- or at least functionally -- during and after divorce can be difficult. Fortunately, there are ways to minimize conflict and raise healthy, well-adjusted children even if divorced. Begin with parenting plan The first step to co-parenting is to have a thorough ...

An increase in Florida bicycle accidents leaves some looking for answers Article provided by Ingram & Eno, P.A. Visit us at http://www.ingram-eno.com/ When bicycle accidents on Clearwater's Memorial Causeway Bridge spiked, officials formed a task force to examine the bridge's structure, blueprints, accessibility, safety, traffic rates and layout looking for answers. Some preliminary findings from the task force indicate that they are having a hard time finding a definite causal link between the bridge itself and the higher accident rate. A recent Tampa Bay ...

DNA samples can be taken from arrestees, says US Supreme Court Article provided by Conforti & Turner, LLP Visit us at http://www.conforti-turner.com Recently, the U.S. Supreme Court indicated a practice common among law enforcement agencies in over half the states in the country -- including California -- is legal. The high court's decision involved the issue of whether a police officer should be allowed to take a DNA sample from an individual who has been arrested, but not yet convicted of a crime. Prior to this decision, many states in the nation had already ...

US Supreme Court holds DNA samples can be taken from arrestees Article provided by The Law Office of Matthew J. Davenport, P.A. Visit us at http://www.mattdavenportlaw.com The U.S. Supreme Court recently issued a decision in a case that could change certain procedures followed after an individual is arrested in North Carolina. Currently, people in North Carolina who are arrested can have their fingerprints and photograph taken. The Supreme Court's decision will also allow law enforcement officers to take a sample of the arrestee's DNA. Many people have raised ...