Invasive breast cancers missed in risk-based screening in women in their forties
Published: 2 December 2014
A study in the University of California, San Francisco shows that risk-based screening based on family history and breast density would miss a significant percentage of invasive cancers and could potentially be dangerous. The study included 136 women between the ages of 40 and 49 with breast cancer identified by screening mammography between 1997 and 2012.
Dr. Bonnie Joe M.D Ph.D said “Notably, we found that almost 90 percent of the invasive cancers we would have missed using risk-based triage had positive receptor status, meaning they were very treatable and worth finding early.”
They found that a very strong family history was absent in 90% of patients, and extremely dense breast tissue was absent in 86%. Seventy-eight percent of patients had neither strong family history nor extremely dense breasts, including 79 percent of the cases of invasive disease.
The result show that by exclusively using a risk-based approach to screening mammography, we could potentially miss more than 75 percent of breast cancers in women in their 40s, thereby eliminating most of the survival benefit from screening mammography that has been previously shown in randomized controlled trials said Dr. Joe
New sourced from:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/12/141202082413.htm
First human trial for brain tumours treatment to begin in Brisbane and Melbourne
Published: 25 Nov. 2014
The worlds-first human trial for the treatment of brain cancer is set to begin in Brisbane and Melbourne. It has the potential to be one of the biggest breakthroughs in brain cancer treatment.
Scientists are confident an antibody created to prolong the lives of people suffering from Glioblastoma tumour may offer a cure. Andrew Boyd QIMR Berghofer Medical Institute professor discovered the cancer protein EphA3 more than 20 years ago. He also developed the antibody that has been shown to specifically target cancer cells which express EphA3. American biotech company KaloBios Pharmaceutical adapted it for human use when they created KB004 clinical drug.
20 patients with recurrent brain tumour will be treated at Royal Brisbane, Women’s Hospital and Austin Hospital in Melbourne will be treated with the antibody that specifically targets a cancer protein on the surface of the tumour cells as part of the trial.
Dr Brett Stringer, said the upcoming Glioblastoma trial would be the first test of the drug against solid tumours, as opposed to blood cancers.
“We expect that it will prolong life,” he said. “Our hope is for patients … with this new antibody is that it will give them a second chance.
News sourced from:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-11-25/human-trials-begin-on-brain-cancer-treatment/5917512
World’s Most Comprehensive Prostate Cancer Testing Guidelines Released for Public Consultation at 2014 World Cancer Congress
Published: 03 December 2014
2014 World Cancer Congress: Melbourne Australia. Leading cancer authorities in Australia released the worlds robust set of clinical practice guidelines for maximizing the benefits and reducing the harms associated with the Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) test for prostate cancer; the second most common male cancer worldwide. These new draft guidelines are expected to inform international opinion and clinical practice regarding PSA Testing.
Professor Mary Gospodarowicz, President of the Union of International Cancer Control (UICC) welcomes the draft guidelines, saying: “The current PSA test is not accurate enough for population screening, yet it remains in widespread use. We need to focus on helping both patients and healthcare professionals understand the risks and benefits of this test to empower them to make more informed choices around screening. We applaud the Australian cancer authorities for taking the lead in developing the strongest set of clinical guidelines seen to date in prostate cancer; developed through a truly multisectoral approach. We expect the final recommendations of this review to clear the current confusions that exist around PSA testing.”
The new draft guidelines address risk/benefit concern; it was developed under the auspices of Cancer Council Australia’s guidelines unit with funding from Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia (PCFA). The guide was released for public consultation via a globally-accessible wiki platform, the draft guidelines have been developed by a broad-based Australian Expert Advisory Panel, which included general practitioners, public health experts, urologists, pathologists, patient support groups and allied health professionals. This is the first time anywhere in the world that an expert advisory panel with all key stakeholders and varying perspectives has come together for such a systematic evidence-based review in this area of men’s health.
News sourced from:
http://www.heraldonline.com/2014/12/03/6588957/worlds-most-comprehensive-prostate.html
