The Surgeon

Although fewer of them undergo surgery, lung cancer patients in their 80s fare equally well following surgery as their younger counterparts, researchers report. The findings offer doctors potentially valuable guidance in treatment options for elderly patients, according to researchers.

A research team from the Hoag Cancer Center in Newport Beach, California, observed 1,293 patients with lung cancer, 482 of whom underwent surgical treatment. The oldest patients were more likely to be male. Older patients were also more likely to have localized disease.
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According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 66 percent of all U.S. adults are overweight or obese. Faced with conditions of heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes, many Americans are shopping for bariatric surgery to help manage these conditions and, in some cases, cure them.
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Administration of omega-3 fatty acid supplements did not appear to improve the rate of relapse in patients with Crohn’s disease, according to a study released on April 9, 2008 in JAMA.

Crohn’s Disease is a gastrointestinal disorder which is indicated by chronic inflammation of the wall of the digestive tract, usually in the ileum or large intestines. The disease involves constant cycles of flare-ups and remission throughout the life of the patient, and without proper treatment, must be addressed surgically. It is considered an inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), similar to ulcerative colitis. Therapy to induce remission in Crohn’s disease is an unmet medical need, usually attempted with the use of certain immunosuppressive drugs, which are associated with infection and other risks. Many Crohn’s patients turn to alternative medications in the face of disappointing overall results.
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According to research from a team of Mayo Clinic scientists, smoking puts older women at significant risk for loss of DNA repair proteins that are critical for defending against development of some colorectal cancers.

In a study being presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), the researchers found that women who smoked were at increased risk of developing colorectal tumors that lacked some or all of four proteins, known as DNA mismatch repair (MMR) proteins. These proteins keep cells lining the colon and rectum healthy because they recognize and repair genetic damage as well as mistakes that occur during cell division.
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Researchers report the fallopian tube fimbria rather than ovarian surface cells may be the site of origin for over 50 percent of sporadic and hereditary serous carcinoma, the most aggressive form of ovarian cancer. The new knowledge may enable earlier detection, better treatment and potential prevention of the most lethal gynecologic malignancy in Western countries.
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No simple blood test exists to determine which of the millions of people infected with hepatitis C virus will develop cirrhosis of the liver or cancer. Now, researchers are developing new technology to find blood proteins that herald the earliest signs of chronic liver disease. If successful, they hope to extend the use of the technology, and to do the same for many other diseases and to make it commercially available for broad clinical use.
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There are many pathways that allow an errant gene to turn a cell cancerous, and a number of these pathways go through a single enzyme called the p21-activated kinase 1, or PAK1.

Researchers at Fox Chase Cancer Center have now identified a molecule capable of shutting down PAK1 before the enzyme becomes active. Previous studies have linked PAK1 activity with breast cancer and have shown the enzyme is important in pathways involving the ras oncogene, which is thought to cause up to 30 percent of all cancers.
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As our population ages and senior citizens become a larger demographic, cancer researchers are focusing on the links between aging and cancer. Studies presented at the 2008 Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research, April 12 – 16, highlight the biological aspects of aging that are key to greater risk and poorer prognosis, and surgical outcomes.
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Surgical management of symptomatic uterine fibroids can be accomplished cost-effectively with magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound surgery (MRgFUS), Canadian and British investigators report in the March issue of the British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.





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A connection between vitamin D level and the risk of developing breast cancer has been implicated for a long time, but its clinical relevance had not yet been proven.

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