Advanced melanoma, the most deadly form of skin cancer, can be successfully treated in some cases by vaccinating patients with tumor proteins. How these vaccines work and why they are only effective in some patients remains unclear. Pierre Coulie and colleagues now show, in two articles in the January 17 issue of the Journal of Experimental Medicine, that these vaccines work by increasing the number of immune cells called killer T cells that can attack the tumor. In an unexpected finding, however, t

A new study by researchers at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and The Johns Hopkins University provides new insight into how tumor cells can become resistant to anti-cancer therapy.

The scientists observed that a protein called P-glycoprotein (P-gp), which causes resistance to chemotherapy in many tumor types, is able to physically “jump” or transfer between tumor cells and retain its functional properties, protecting otherwise sensitive cells from the effects of anti-ca

Subterranean termites pose a major threat to dwellings and other vital infrastructure throughout Victoria according to a report released today by CSIRO Forestry and Forest Products (CFFP) scientist, Jim Creffield.

Mr Creffield says that in order to effectively manage the pest, all municipalities state-wide must immediately be ’termite declared’.

The report draws upon the expertise of the CSIRO Termite Group – comprised of ensis (a recently formed joint venture of CFFP and

Australian expertise is a crucial part of an international project aiming to develop therapies against two deadly viruses.

With funding from the United States’ National Institutes of Health (NIH), and in collaboration with a research team led by Dr Christopher Broder at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda Maryland, CSIRO Livestock Industries’ Australian Animal Health Laboratory (AAHL) in Geelong is attempting to develop treatments against Hendra v

Scientists have uncovered critical information that may lead to an urgently needed method for effective monitoring of antiangiogenic cancer therapies. The research, published in the January issue of Cancer Cell, is likely to facilitate development of new antiangiogenic drugs or treatment strategies and allow for accurate determination of the optimal drug doses to use for such therapies.

Antiangiogenic cancer therapy targets the formation of new blood vessels used to support tumor

A new research study published in the January issue of Cancer Cell provides exciting new information about how to boost the effectiveness of a promising cancer treatment that targets telomeres in an attempt to interfere with the ability of a cancer cell to continuously divide.

Telomeres are DNA sequences found at the ends of chromosomes that play a key role in controlling the life span of cells. With every cell division, telomeres get a bit shorter until eventually they becom

The latest findings in cancer vaccine development suggest that cancer vaccines may have two modes of action; specific immunization and non-specific activation of immune cells paralyzed by the tumor.

The human immune system fights cancer partly through the production of many populations of specialized immune cells called cytolytic T cells (CTL). Each CTL population recognizes a different, specific marker, an ’antigen’, on the cancer cell surface. Cancer vaccines are d

In two articles, published in Circulation, researchers from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine provide further evidence for the role of cyclooxygenases (COX) in heart-disease risk. In one, a statistical meta-analysis of two placebo-controlled trials, the COX-2 inhibitor Bextra elevated the combined incidence of heart attack and stroke three-fold in coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery patients. In the second, the investigators found that a fat produced by COX-1 speeds ha

Grapefruit juice can be deadly for people on certain medications, nurse researchers remind doctors, nurses, and everyone who takes medicine and enjoys grapefruit juice, in a paper in the American Journal of Nursing, a journal of the American Nurses Association.

Amy Karch, R.N., M.S., of the School of Nursing at the University of Rochester Medical Center reported on a man from a northern climate who moved to Florida for the winter – one of tens of thousands of “snowbirds” who head so

Mayo Clinic researchers studying endometrial cancer have found that patients at risk for relapse based on identified risk factors had a 46 percent probability of experiencing recurrence within five years despite treatment with state-of-the-art therapy.

The study’s findings are important for women deemed at risk because they might need additional treatment, which physicians should consider in their treatment plans for their patients, says Karl Podratz, M.D., Ph.D., the study

New understanding of the dynamic interplay between genes and environment, made possible by technologies arising from the Human Genome Project, helps support the individualization of medicine and makes focusing on racial or ethnic group differences in disease less relevant, say Penn State researchers.

“Technology has given us the ability to make a much more comprehensive picture of health outcomes,” says Dr. Keith Whitfield, associate professor of biobehavioral health. “We now see,

Modern proverbs to illustrate great truths about public health principles

It’s time to add to our store of proverbs with new phrases that teach us how to be healthier, says a University of Toronto researcher.

In a paper published in the Dec. 2004 issue of the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, Bernard Choi, a professor in the Department of Public Health Sciences, suggests that we need to create new science-based proverbs that reflect current information about

Teenage mothers often focus on instrumental behaviour rather than displaying affection towards infants

Mothers who are more mature tend to display more affection towards their infants whereas teenage mothers often focus on instrumental behaviour – fixing their infant’s clothes or their soother – finds a new study of maternal behaviour.

“While the study is still preliminary, this finding was very surprising,” says Katherine Krpan, lead author of the study, conducted as

New health economic data published in the European Journal of Hospital Pharmacy outline the cost benefits of the non-steroidal anti-androgen bicalutamide 150mg for the treatment of locally advanced prostate cancer. By delaying disease progression in patients with locally advanced prostate cancer, bicalutamide 150mg reduces the additional healthcare costs associated with treating advanced disease.

The paper by Dr Heather Payne, Middlesex Hospital UCL, London states that bicalutam

Researchers of a study published in the latest issue of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry tested the hypothesis that low doses of gamma radiation have beneficial effects. Researchers Rudy Boonstra, Richard G. Manzon, Steve Mihok, and Julie E. Helson found that low, chronic doses of gamma radiation produced apparent hormetic effects associated with an increase in longevity in natural populations of meadow voles.

Hormesis is defined as a phenomenon where low doses of an otherwise ha

Behavioral and emotional difficulties are found in children with obstructive sleep apnea, but they improve after treatment, according to a study in the January issue of Archives of Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

“Sleep-disordered breathing in children is most commonly caused by adenotonsillar hypertrophy [enlarged adenoids and tonsils], and tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy (T & A) is curative in 85 percent to 95 percent of cases,” according