Texas Biomedical Research Institute UTHealth in Houston partner to test a modified TB vaccine that, if effective, could prove more powerful and provide longer lasting immunity.
The immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab has demonstrated a favorable safety profile and “promising durable clinical activity” in pretreated patients who exhibit high levels of the PD-L1 protein in advanced stages of small cell lung cancer. That is according to data from a phase 1b clinical trial conducted by Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey investigators and colleagues at centers around the world.
Despite a decade-long call for simplification of clinical trials, the number of criteria excluding patients from participating in clinical trials for lung cancer research continues to rise.
The researchers set out to find which genes can regulate the cells that initiate brain metastases - what are the genes that are sending the signal to leave the lung tumour, go into the blood stream, invade the blood-brain barrier and form a tumour in the brain.
The very same treatment that thwarts breast cancer has a dark side – it can fuel the spread of the disease to the lungs. Researchers at The Ohio State University found clues to why it happens, opening up the possibility of interfering with the medication’s downsides while preserving its cancer-fighting properties in breast tissue.
Novel molecular tests that detect certain genetic mutations in tuberculosis are as good in predicting response to treatment and risk of dying as old-fashioned drug-sensitivity tests done in lab cultures. The results stem from a head-to-head comparison between standard culture-based drug-sensitivity tests and molecular tests that detect specific genetic mutations that make TB resistant to treatment. The findings, based on analysis of 171 samples obtained from patients in Lima, Peru, should provide reassurance of molecular tests’ reliability as predictor of overall treatment outcome.
Researchers from the University of Portsmouth’s Brain Tumour Research Centre of Excellence have identified molecules which are responsible for metastatic lung cancer cells binding to blood vessels in the brain.
Keeping allergies and asthma under control during the school year is a challenge that involves advance planning and working with your child's school to keep him or her healthy.
On World Lung Cancer Day, August 1, the American Thoracic Society and fellow members of the Forum of International Respiratory Societies (FIRS) commemorates, celebrates and supports those impacted by lung cancer. FIRS continues to support the grassroots efforts of the lung cancer community to raise awareness about lung cancer and its global impact, creating an educational movement of understanding lung cancer risks as well as early treatment around the world.
A test called the lung clearance index (LCI) is superior to standard tests in identifying patients with lung disease related to military deployment, suggests a study in the August Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.
The Lung Cancer Mutation Consortium at the University of Colorado Cancer Center reports this week in the journal Cancer that 24 of 920 patients (3 percent) with advanced-stage lung cancer had mutations in the gene HER2. Seventy-one percent of these patients were never-smokers, with a median age of 62. The gene HER2 has been known as a breast cancer driver, with therapies approved to target HER2 mutations in this setting.
Surgeons were able to identify and remove a greater number of cancerous nodules from lung cancer patients when combining intraoperative molecular imaging (IMI) – through the use of a contrast agent that makes tumor cells glow during surgery – with preoperative positron emission tomography (PET) scans. The study from the Abramson Cancer Center at the University of Pennsylvania (ACC) is the first to show how effective the combination of IMI with the tumor-glowing agent can be when combined with traditional PET imaging.
Sinus infections are one of the most common reasons patients walk out of the doctor’s office with an antibiotic prescription in hand. The problem is that bacteria causes only about one-third of sinus infections, which means most patients are inappropriately receiving antibiotics.
African-Americans typically have worse outcomes from smoking-related cancers than Caucasians, but the reasons for this remain elusive. However, scientists at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center have taken a big step toward solving this puzzle.
It’s no secret that university life often includes alcohol use, which can sometimes cause harm. Yet harm can also extend beyond the drinker, such as “secondhand harm” that is caused by intoxicated people: accidents or domestic, physical, or sexual violence; interrupted sleep or property destruction; and arguments, problems with relationships, or financial problems. Prior research suggests that more than 70 percent of college undergraduates have experienced harm from other students’ drinking. This study examined the prevalence and types of secondhand harm among Canadian undergraduates, and whether certain personality risks for alcohol use disorder – impulsivity, sensation seeking, hopelessness, anxiety sensitivity – can predict secondhand-harm exposure.
People who carry a genetic susceptibility to Alzheimer’s disease appear to be at greater risk of diminished cognition from sleep-disordered breathing than those without the susceptibility, according to new research published online, ahead of print in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society.
For patients with advanced, inoperable stage 3 lung cancer, concurrent chemotherapy and the specialized radiation treatment, proton therapy, offers improved survival compared to historical data for standard of care, according to a new study from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.
“Take a deep breath and hold it.” With that simple instruction, The Department of Radiation Oncology at Valley-Mount Sinai Comprehensive Cancer Care is helping patients with breast cancer protect their heart health.
Exposure to environmental pollutants during pregnancy may increase the risk of asthma for as many as three consecutive generations, according to new research.
The winner of the American Society for Radiation Oncology’s (ASTRO’s) 2017 Survivor Circle Award is many things—a former pro baseball player, a retired UPS driver, a family man and, yes, a current cancer patient.
The University of Birmingham has secured £2 million from the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) to launch a research group aimed at improving healthcare for patients with lung diseases around the world.
Premature babies treated with caffeine have better lung function in mid-childhood than preemies not treated with caffeine, according to a randomized controlled trial published in the American Thoracic Society’s American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
Patients with chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) who quit smoking will see their condition improve over a period of about 10 years, according to the results of a new study led by the Sinus Center at Mass. Eye and Ear.
Galectin-3, a protein that promotes cancer cell growth and is used as a biomarker for heart failure, has been linked to tumors observed in two rare genetic diseases, according to a study published July 11, 2017, in eLife
Do overweight children have more breathing limitations, intolerance for exercise, and breathlessness when exercising than normal weight children, leading to possible misdiagnosis for conditions such as asthma?
A recent discovery by Cornell University researchers could lead to a new, effective treatment for persistent tuberculosis infections.
Researchers at the University of Virginia have received more than $8.6 million to support efforts that could dramatically increase the number of lungs available for transplant – and then save the lives of the people who receive them.
New findings have important clinical implications, suggesting that corticosteroids, the main treatment for asthma, may worsen the disease in this group of patients.
At a glance: Medicare policies governing end-of-life care for cancer patients may fail to reflect the variety of experiences across different patient subgroups. Researchers have developed a model that accounts for variations in the clinical course, outcomes and patterns of care among patients with the same cancer diagnosis. Stratification of different subpopulations could lead to better tailored Medicare policies that take into account critical differences in end-of-life care.
Dr. Zea Borok of the Keck School of Medicine of USC has received a $6.9 million, seven-year NIH grant that could lead to new therapies for common lung diseases
Scientists have solved the structure of a protein that helps a common respiratory virus evade the immune system. The team, led by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, have identified critical parts of the protein that could be targeted with drugs or vaccines, opening up the possibility of preventing or treating an infection that sickens thousands of babies and elderly people every year.
The Forum of International Respiratory Societies (FIRS) warns today that government agencies must not become complacent in the effort to provide clean air to all citizens.
People with COPD are more likely to be active and to participate in pulmonary rehabilitation if they live with others and have a caregiver, according to new research published online, ahead of print in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society.
A compound developed by Dean Kip Guy’s lab of UK College of Pharmacy, with research that began at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, now shows promise for blocking cancer-causing proteins on a cellular level.
Highly active older adults experience no limitations in the lungs’ capacity to exchange gases (lung-diffusing capacity) during physical activity, researchers have found.
In recent years, immunotherapy, a new form of cancer therapy that rouses the immune system to attack tumor cells, has captivated the public’s imagination. When it works, the results are breathtaking. But more often than not it doesn’t, and scientists still don’t know why.
High ozone levels and a quickly growing population are making it tough to implement regulations to reduce pollution, says a Cal State Los Angeles professor.
Ongoing clinical trial by University of Colorado Cancer Center investigators is evaluating the ability of an inhaled form of the pulmonary hypertension drug iloprost to prevent lung cancer.
A study from the University of Warwick suggests peer-led self-management programmes have little impact on the quality of life or lung function of adolescents with asthma.
The new ATS Foundation/Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals Research Fellowship in Sarcoidosis will award $40,000 per year for two years to one investigator conducting research in the area of sarcoidosis.
A new study shows many physicians who treat patients with “penicillin allergy” listed in their charts may not fully understand important facts about penicillin allergy.
Scientists have known for decades that smoking cigarettes causes DNA damage, which leads to lung cancer. Now, for the first time, UNC School of Medicine scientists created a method for effectively mapping that DNA damage at high resolution across the genome.
At a glance: People with low levels of vitamin A living in households with people who have TB were 10 times more likely to develop the disease themselves. The study findings suggest that vitamin A supplementation may offer powerful protection against the deadly disease among high-risk individuals. TB, one of the top infectious disease killers globally, hits especially hard in low- and middle-income countries, where vitamin A deficiencies are common.
People who regularly use electronic cigarettes are less dependent on their product than those who regularly use traditional cigarettes, according to Penn State College of Medicine researchers.
The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) issued a new clinical guideline for the use of stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) in early-stage lung cancer today.
An old pharmaceutical product may be a new treatment for obstructive sleep apnea, according to new research presented today by University of Illinois at Chicago and Northwestern University scientists at the SLEEP 2017 annual meeting in Boston.
A new study finds that exposure to a widespread outdoor fungus can increase cell damage (oxidative stress) in the airways. This spike weakens the airways’ barrier defense system that, when functioning normally, removes infection- and allergy-causing organisms (mucociliary clearance).
Cardiac surgeons are successfully performing more extensive surgical repairs of type A aortic dissection—one of the highest risk operations in cardiothoracic surgery. These new surgical techniques, along with improved postoperative care, are resulting in better long-term outcomes and lower rates of complications, according to an article published online today in The Annals of Thoracic Surgery.
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