Results obtained in a phase I clinical study of the new drug were presented in Berlin, on November 19th, at the 22nd EORTC-NCI-AACR Symposium on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics. ACE-041 aims at the receptor known as ALK-1 (activin receptor-like kinase-1), which is responsible for regulating the formation of new networks containing blood vessels that are needed for the growth of tumours. This process is known as angiogenesis. Existing anti-angiogenic drugs, including sunitinib, bevacizumab and sorafenib are targeting other angiogenesis receptors like VEGF, while ACE-041 is among the first drugs to target the ALK-1.

Professor Sunil Sharma, who is the Jon and Karen Huntsman Presidential Professor of Cancer Research at the Huntsman Cancer Institute of the Utah University in Salt Lake City, USA, said that the connection between angiogenesis and ALK-1 was made by discovering that mutations in the ALK-1 gene had caused a condition named HHT2 (hereditary haemorrhagic telangiectasia 2, characterised by diminished formation of capillary beds, which causes red markings at the level of the skin.

A technology company in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, Acceleron Pharma, has designed ACE-041 aiming to inhibit ALK-1 signalling and has asked Professor Sharma to be one of the investigators who would conduct the first-in-man phase I clinical test of the drug in order to see if it really would halt tumour angiogenesis.

Professor Sharma said that since ALK-1 was transiently expressed on proliferating cells lining the inner surface of the blood vessels (endothelial cells), while VEGF receptors were constitutively expressed on endothelial cells and other types too, it would be a more selective target when trying to inhibit angiogenesis. ALK-1 expression on the vasculature of the tumour has been noticed on biopsy samples of a wide range of tumours.

The phase I of the study comprised patients with a diversified range of advanced solid tumours that already spread to other parts of the body or simply were inoperable like multiple myeloma, neck and head cancers, NSCLC (non-small cell lung cancer) and carcinoid tumours (carcinoma type neuroendocrine tumours usually originating in the appendix or small intestine). Many of the patients had been unsuccessfully treated with a series of other treatments, which included anti-VEGF drugs, before this trial. ACE-041 has been administrated via subcutaneous injections.

Professor Sharma said that, early in September, 25 patients have been included in the study and ACE-041 dose level has been escalated from 0.1 mg/kg to 4.8 mg/kg. In the case of a patient with neck and head cancer, the response was partial, while three patients have shown positive responses as determined by FDG-PET scans. ACE-041 has been well tolerated by the patients, with some adverse events like peripheral oedema, anaemia, headache, nausea and fatigue.

Seeing many signs of efficacy during the trial has been quite encouraging for the medical team, particularly because of the structure of the study population. They were patients with end-stage cancer, already treated with and refractory to multiple standard therapies. It has equally been encouraging to note signals of activity of ACE-041 in a wide series of tumour types, thus confirming the hypothesis that ACE-041 may really act against tumours with agiogenic activity, no matter what histology they had. Another important aspect to be noted was the demonstration of the significant activity with ACE-041 monotherapy during the study, which leads to expectations of more efficacy in future studies including ACE-041 combined with other therapies.

Professor Sharma and his team planned further investigations related to the safety and tolerability of ACE-041 in an additional group of cancer patients and look forward to start a phase II study in 2011.

According to Professor Sharma, the anti-VEGF angiogene inhibitors, which include sunitinib, bevacizumab and sorafenib, have represented an important contribution to the armamentarium of therapies against cancer. However, the efficacy is in a way limited because tumours could eventually develop an ability to simulate angiogenesis using non-VEGF angiogenic factors. Serious side-effects appear from effects on blood vessels found in normal tissues. ACE-041 inhibits angiogenesis in a totally different way and therefore it might have synergistic efficacy with VEGF-based inhibitors. It may be effective for patients who have manifested resistance to VEGF inhibitors.

The MASCOT project was financed in part by the European Commission (IST-027652).

This device is the first of its kind because it comprises various significant preparation phases for samples and muxing based detection which was created and implemented in the lab-on chip. An interesting fact is that all the module complexes for investigating and mingling with the samples and the detection feature of the gadget are preparing to be even further minimized in order to be incorporated in just one lab-on-chip device. The researchers desire that this complex would become feasible in a medical manner in the Oslo during the studies of breast cancer treatments.

A great thing is that this circulating cancer diagnosis represents an important methodology for a personalized tracking of people who suffer from malignant tumors both in an early development stage and in an advanced one. This, in turn, would lead to an improvement in the physicians and surgeons` decision-making ability.

Taking into consideration breast cancer, 5 milliliters of blood comprise just two or three cells coming from tumors. In order to find out from the blood tests if someone has developed malignant tumors, the malignant cells circulating in the blood flow have to be isolated, caught and their genetics have to be observed.

The nowadays diagnostics done in the labs of the medical facilities are not time- and cost-effective and require a lot of work. This type of diagnosis might ask for a number of processing phases for the sample in various medical tools so the complete analysis of the sample is for sure to take more than 24 hours. On the other hand, the lab-on-chip technology could have many benefits for the entire medical world and the people who are ill. This innovative system is cost-effective, has easy usage and is very fast compared to the past methods. An interesting aspect of this technology is that it does not need medical laboratories and laborious hours. Instead, the tests comprised by the lab-on-chip can be undergone routinely either in the physician`s office or nearby the bed of the sick person. Thus, the lab-on-chip technology represent a time saving opportunity which does not require laborious work do be done in order to get the results to diagnosis tests. Moreover, it provides the minimum of body invasion in order to discover cancer cells and a customized treatment and screening.

The study`s collaborators created a modular platform in which every module performed a specific job and kept its independence. This endowment means that the technology can be utilized in numerous medical tests. The first module of the platform is the incubation one which has the role of mixing the blood under testing with specialized magnetic beads in order to link the tumor cells to one another. The second module has the role to isolate the malignant cells and count them thanks to a magnetic characteristic which can attract each cell and dielectrophoresis function. The third one is entitled the amplification module. It has the role to destroy the wall comprising malignant cells and by doing this the mRNA, the desired genetic material, is taken out from the sample and enhanced by using MLPA (multiplex ligation dependent probe amplification).

In the third module, certain procedures that measure the biochemical substances from the extracted substance enhance approximately twenty markers that are generated in the carcinoma cells of the breast. In the last module used for detection, the enhanced genetic substance is discovered by utilizing a series of electrochemical markers. These modules have been created and are feasible to use on the samples of blood.

The modules are prepared for advanced incorporation in just one lab-on-chip. By minimizing the size and linking the micofluidic and electronic functions of the technology, their accuracy and trustworthy character is enhanced in order to perform tests on sick people. The medical utilization of the lab-on-chip is going to be observed in order to see its similarities and differences compared to the existing methodologies used in the breast cancer treatments. This is going to be accomplished by a new investigation.

Melanie Seybt is a surgeon within the Medical College of Georgia in the division of neck and endocrine-head. She is the leading author of the study which was released in the Archives of Otolaryngology — Head and Neck Surgery edition. Accompanying her as co-authors are doctor Terris and student Sunny Khichi , both from the Medical College of Georgia . As the leading investigator explains the team believed that older people would be readmitted to the medical facilities more often than younger people, present a higher number of complications and a powerful cancer. However, the investigation group was shocked to discover the opposite situation.

The team`s investigation comprised a number of 428 patients undergoing thyroidectomy at the Medical College of Georgia Medical Center and the Charlie Norwood Veterans Affairs Medical Center. The research started in the year 2003 in November and ended in December of 2007. The patient sample comprised 44 people who were aged over 65 years and 86 patients who were aged between 21 years and 35 years. Studying these two groups, the researchers found that there were only slight variations between them.

The team of investigators discovered that they could undergo policlinic surgery for both of the groups at similar rates as follows: 45.5% in the older age group and 51.2% in the other one. The complication ratios were kind of similar since the elderly patients` group recorded 12.5% and presented ephemeral complications due to low calcium levels and the younger group summed up 11.1%. The thyroid cells` abnormal growth was thought to be of cancerous nature in 4.5% of the older age group and 2.3% in the other one. The results of the biopsies showed that in the elderly group 27.3% suffered from cancer and 18.6% of the young patients had developed malignant tumors. The older patients recorded a bigger medical facility admission ratio summing up 4.5% whereas the younger group recorded 1.2%. However, the above mentioned readmissions were linked to the ephemeral problems related to low levels of calcium and not issues associated with the advanced age. Last but not least, none of the two studied groups presented hemorrhages or permanent paralysis of the vocal cord after their thyroid surgery.

The leading surgeon hopes that her team`s discoveries would diminish the worries of sick people and physicians related to the safety degree of thyroidectomies in the increasing elderly population. Moreover, the investigators draw attention on the importance of screening prior to the surgery which is essential for any patient no matter his or her age. This screening proved to minimize the side-effects and complications in the case of advanced in age patients.

Even though the thyroid illness is very common in younger females, the figure recorded by old people who developed thyroid conditions is increasing. As the leading investigator of the study explains the sample of the research comprised 84 elderly patients. Looking at the statistics provided by the Census Bureau of the United States, the population of older persons has increased by approximately 90% during the past thirty years. Therefore, it is for sure that the geriatric population presents a growing trend.

As doctor Seybt states a high number of elderly patients present complications like heart failure, restrictive lung disease and hypertension. This is why the medical doctors take great care and put emphasis on knowing clear information regarding these patients in order to improve the treatment and practices used.

In addition, the leading surgeon says that operations on the head and neck provide a lower number of problems and a faster recovery rate compared to surgeries done on other body parts like the chest or abdomen. The well-known problems with the thyroid operation are linked to low levels of calcium in the patient`s body. This complication is triggered by the fact that by removing the thyroid gland its neighbors the parathyroid glands become a little bit frozen, but this is an ephemeral condition. In order to prevent such complications, people undergoing surgery are put under a calcium treatment for three weeks on a routine basis. However, there are times when this practice is not effective and adverse conditions such as numbness or, its opposite, tingling of the lips, hands or feet may occur. In addition, due to the fact that the vocal cords are near the thyroid gland, people may present temporary or permanent changes of their voice.

Even though the precise cause remains not known, thyroid illness has a trend of being genetic. Another cause for this condition is thought to be the exposure to radiation. However, in their battle to fight against thyroid cancer, doctor Seybt states that nowadays the medical world enjoys a variety of generally available and qualitative screening which can also take a non-invasive form like the ultrasound. This also means that in the long-run other causes for thyroid cancer would be discovered, no matter the age of the patient.

Nowadays, ultrasounds based on programs from the physicians` computers are more and more present in our community. This is why thyroid nodules could be found at an earlier development stage. Moreover, patients may undergo more thorough tests such as the MRI to scan their neck and head. However, the traditional finding of thyroid nodules is done by palpation either by the patient him or herself or by the physician. An important feature of these types of nodules is the fact that they may present no symptoms until they grow in size just enough to bother the swallowing and breathing processes. Even though some of the thyroid nodules may be observed by everyone when they grow in size, there are types which develop down towards one`s chest or to the back which are harder to be found. As the leading investigator of the research explains the nodules present in elderly patients might have developed in them for a time until they were discovered.

The medical doctors from the Medical College of Georgia and the Veterans Affairs Medical Center utilize one of the three existing approaches to counteract thyroid cancer, depending on the dimensions of the nodules. The approaches comprise the standard incision of a few inches done at the neck`s basis. This is done for the biggest in size nodule and then the surgeons undergo a slightly invasive thyroidectomy. The doctors operate thorough a cut which is 50% smaller than what they would need to see and use an endoscope in order to see on the video and also utilize a very small ultrasonic scalpel in order to diminish the cut by another 50%.

David Terris who is the chair of the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery within the Medical College of Georgia School of Medicine is a specialist in minimal invasive surgeries. His work was presented in the Laryngoscope journal, the March edition. His approach clearly provided patients with smaller recovery time and cut dimensions. His practices are also safer for the majority of sick people.

This newly released screening framework is just the first step of the scientists from the M. D. Anderson Cancer Center to enhance the efficiency of forewarn and discover malignant tumors in their earliest development stage. Discovering cancer at this early development stage is of great importance because it can be more effectively treated through means such as rebuilding and developing even further its screening process. In addition, by doing this the risk of evolution and remission decreases and the worldwide medical world can acquire new diagnostic frameworks related to eight illness sites.

The suggestions regarding the screening process can be found on the Internet site of M. D. Anderson Cancer Center. These guidelines explain in a more comprehensible manner the best actions of admonishing malignant tumors that are undergone at this cancer center. This framework of practices is available for the general public to understand and it comprises the discovered risk classification and information regarding screening such as when it is most appropriate to start it and when it is all right to stop it.

As the American Cancer Society presents, over more than 40% of United States inhabitants are prone to suffer from malignant tumors during their life span. Furthermore, the types of cancer that can be avoided or discovered in early development stages due to screening sum up for minimum 50 percent of all these new malignant tumor occurrences.

Therese Bevers is the medical director of the M. D. Anderson’s Cancer Prevention Center. As the medical doctor state the screening process is not a generalized procedure. It depends on the individual. The center`s new suggestions aim to be more individualized, customized and more accurate. The new framework offers a more thorough recommendation compared to what was in the past made publicly available by other cancer institutions or by M. D. Anderson’s Cancer Prevention Center itself.

Until this recent investigation, suggestions for the screening process were dedicated in a larger manner to people who presented an average risk of suffering from cancer. These past recommendations based themselves on features such as age and family and genetic history and risk. Nonetheless, this average predisposition had not been clearly formulated and suggestions for people who presented a high risk of developing malignant tumors were not presented.

With the appearance of this new research there come new recommendations regarding cancer screening comprised in a new framework. These suggestions target individuals who present an increased predisposition of suffering from cancer. A feature which differentiates this new set of guidelines is, for example, the fact that the new framework comprises five various sets of suggestions for cancer screening for people who show a high predisposition of developing cancer, four categories of suggestions regarding cervical malignant tumors from the point of view of age-related risk. Regarding the colorectal malignant tumors, three new categories are presented in this new set of screening guidelines targeting people who present a high predisposition of developing this type of cancer and other three categories targeting individuals who show an increased predisposition for the colorectal cancer.

This new developed framework is constructed based on the early accepted screening activities, but it is more accurate and specific in offering suggestions, as follows:

Guidelines for Breast Cancer

Beginning with the age of 20 years, women who present all the predisposition levels of developing breast malignant tumors should take a closer look at the anatomy of their breasts and palpate them in order to discover whether sudden changes have appeared. If they notice a transformation of their breasts, the females should immediately go to their doctor and present their situation. Women who are 40 years or older and present an average predisposition to breast cancer should get breast tests and mammograms on a yearly basis.

For those females who present a high risk of developing malignant breast tumors, the frequency and variety of the breast tests depend on agents that represent their enhanced predisposition such as: their family history and thus, genetic risk, the past radiation therapy for counteracting breast tumors, a Gail Model score above 1.7% and the lobar carcinoma diagnosis established on the ground. Therapies recommended for this category of patients comprise breast tests done a specialized medical facility, MRI fro breasts and mammograms.

Guidelines for Cervical Cancer

Females who present an average predisposition for developing cervical cancer, the new guidelines suggest that those who are aged less than 21 years get a liquid based cytology or a Papanicolau tests in maximum three years after their first sexual intercourse. The woman should get Papanicolau tests done on a yearly basis until she scored three consecutive negative results. After this process, the scientists from M. D. Anderson’s Cancer Prevention Center suggest that the girl would undergo a once every two years screening if she does not present an enhanced predisposition of developing cervical cancer. The agents of risk comprise: immune system that does not operate accurately, the presence in the woman`s system of HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus), family history such as exposure before her birth to DES (diethylstilbestrol), the history of one`s cervical malignant tumors and advanced cervical dysplasia and continuously getting HPV (Human Papilloma Virus) positive results.

Starting with 30 years of age, the scientists recommend also testing for the Human
Papilloma Virus instead of the Papanicolau test and in the situation that both come up negative, a female could undergo tests once every three years unless she presents an enhanced predisposition to cervical cancer based in the mentioned agents or unless the recommended Human Papilloma Virus testing was not undergone.

Guidelines for Colorectal Cancer

The new investigation provided by the scientists from M. D. Anderson’s Cancer Prevention Center suggests that a colonoscopy should be done once every ten years and a virtual colonoscopy once every five years. The latter can be substituted by a FOBT (Fecal Occult Blood Test) done on a yearly basis in the case of both men and women who are 50 years or older and who present an average predisposition of developing colorectal cancer.

Taking into consideration both men and women who present an enhanced predisposition or a high risk of developing colorectal malignant tumors, the frequency and variety of medical tests depend on a series of agents such as: genetic history and diagnosis of Hereditary Nonpolyposis Colorectal Cancer and Familial Adenomatous Polyposis, ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease or any other inflammatory bowel disease, family and personal history of colorectal cancers or adenomatous polyps. Therapies recommended for this risk group comprise colonoscopies and flexible sigmoidoscopy.

Ernest Hawk is the vice-president of the Cancer Prevention and Population Sciences. As this medical doctor states due to the fact that the investigation was done both in labs and clinics within the M. D. Anderson’s Cancer Prevention Center and all over the Globe, the knowledge and comprehension regarding the means by which malignant tumors appear and develop are continuously increasing.

This constant increase in the acquired information is going to lead in a more transparent understanding from the patients` behalf of just how their physicians settle on a specific decision related to the screening exams and levels of risk. Furthermore, the cancer suffering people would be also able to comprehend better the way their illness functions and evolves and is prone to make them assess their own predisposition to developing cancer.

As doctor Bevers explains in the case of colorectal malignant tumors screening, patients have to present a proactive attitude about obtaining outcomes from their testing processes. Take for example the case in which polyps are uncovered during a colonoscopy. It is very important for the person in case to understand what type, size and number the polyp has since this discovery has a great deal to do with the predisposition category the patient belongs to.

The categories of cancer predisposition and linked frameworks were created by many departments coming from M. D. Anderson’s Cancer Prevention Center comprising: medical and surgical oncology, imaging, cancer prevention and so on and so forth. The framework related to the screening based on the predisposition of developing prostate, skin, liver, ovarian and endometrial malignant tumors is now underway. Furthermore, a new Internet tool for assessing one`s predisposition to cancer which in linked to the future guidelines is going to be released on the M. D. Anderson’s Cancer Prevention Center Internet site in the beginning of the year 2010.

Senior investigator was medical doctor Marina Pollán from the Nacional de Epidemiología within Instituto de Salud Carlos III located in Madrid. Her team of scientists studied the Spanish cancer registries ranging between 1980 and 2004. The investigators observed aggressive, metastasizing breast cancer tumors in the women population which were recorded in the registry. They choose to use this because the records were written down for almost ten consecutive years. The observers took a closer look at the period in which the cancer screening began in Spain and was available for the whole women population and the year in which this process managed to register its highest peak in the breast cancer suffering population coverage.

The team of researchers discovered that during the 1980s and the 1990s the number of people developing breast cancer grew by 2.9% per year. However, starting with the year 2001 an important diminish in this growing trend appeared, and the probability of developing breast malign tumors dropped down by 3 percents. The overall statistics of the Spanish cancer registries stated that it had been observed a constant, yet little, increase in the number of females who were younger than 45 years and developed breast cancer, a sudden drop down in the year 2001 in the cases of females who were 45 and 46 years old and a gradual decrease of the incidence rate in the cases of women who were older of 65 years of age in the year 1995.

As the investigators state, this abrupt decrease in the number of women developing breast cancer tumors is thought to be the outcome of the screening processes available for all the population. However, at the moment when the screening methods are introduced the number of patients who suffer from cancer is prone to increase due to the fact that the disease is discovered at early development stages rather than when they are already advanced or aggressive. Nonetheless, this slight increase lasts for a short time span.

As the team of investigators explains, at the moment when the screening process is released on the medical market and it also enjoys a full coverage over the cancer suffering population, the number of patients developing malign tumors shows a decreasing trend due to the fact that the number of people who are prone to develop cancer but did not have the means to be diagnosed with this disease had been diminished.

The authors of this research also stated that the variation in the cancer incidence trend in Spain took place in the year 2001, but it seems that it is an outcome of the transformations which take place over geographic regions and age groups in various moments in time.

For those who do not know, the B-cell lymphomas represent those types of cancer that affect most commonly the human being immune system. Some of the triggering causes for this type of tumors are the epigenetic transformations like for example the hyper-methylation of the DNA. Due to these changes, the B-cell lymphomas start appearing mainly because the epigenetic transformation affect the cancer suppressor receptors that are, in this way, unable to stop the development of the mutating tissues.

The SPAK protein has as main role in the human body to supervise and fix the response of the cells to the stress they encounter during their life span. The study from the University of California observed that during the tumor development, the levels of the SPAK protein are significantly diminished.

The team of scientists experimented on samples comprising human and mice tissues affected by the B-cell lymphomas. Balatoni and his team state that part of the B-cell cancers comprise lower expression levels of SPAK mainly due to the DNA hyper-methylation. In addition, the diminished levels of the SPAK protein act as defenders of the B-cell lymphomas and this affected by the human body`s stressors that would trigger the healthy cells` death instead of that of cancer cells. Due to this, the tumors are kept alive and unthreatened, free to spread in the whole body, leading to metastasis.

Doctor Teitell`s team concluded that the fact that the levels of SPAK protein were lowered in the patients suffering from B-cell lymphomas would aid the tumor cells in growing and getting to advanced stages of cancer. The team of researchers explained that the role of the SPAK protein is to prevent the evolution of the B-cell lymphomas by damaging the activation genes of the sick cells. It appears that the findings of the scientists from the University of California are valid in general also for other types of cancer such as breast, prostate and maybe other tumors ahead of the B-cell lymphomas. Furthermore, the investigators stated that the protection offered by the SPAK proteins diminishes and the organism cannot attack the genetic material of the cancer cells in order to counteract their deadly effects. In addition, it appears that the role of protection from the SPAK`s behalf is somehow deactivated in the stages in which the tumor cell evolve.

Taking a closer look at the expression of SPAK in the human body, one can examine this protein`s levels and see whether they are diminished. This process is a key element in counteracting the cancer cells due to the fact that a thorough research may show those people suffering from cancer that must or not receive genotoxic treatments. This is a milestone in the process of the individualizing treatments and alongside them, the medicine in its whole, in order to develop better therapies and encounter success in counteracting cancer.

The study focusing on this theme was released on the 8th of October this year in San Francisco at the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s Breast Cancer Symposium.

The research focused on a sample of 166 females that were under therapy against breast tumors. It was discovered that almost 70% of the women suffered from a deficiency of vitamin D according to blood tests.

As Luke Peppone from the department of Radiation Oncology at the Rochester’s James P. Wilmot Cancer Center states, this supplement is a key agent in improving and keeping the bone mass at a healthy level and females suffering from breast tumors encounter an aggressive loss of the bone mass due the various treatments and chemo against the malign illness. The researcher advises both women and medical doctors to collaborate and have a good understanding of the fact that the female needs to take high doses of vitamin D to prevent eventual fractures.

The National Cancer Institute financed the study of the researchers in order for them to examine the levels of vitamin D in the blood of every female. It was established that the mean level of vitamin D was 27 nanograms per milliliter, meaning than over two thirds of the females suffered from low levels of this supplement. The investigators gave each woman a weekly dose of the vitamin of about 50,000 units and it their supplement level grew.

For those who do not know, the United States Institute of Medicine recommends a level of almost 32 nanograms per milliliter of vitamin D in the body. This is rather logical because, as the team of scientists state older researches proved that almost a half of the total number of both men and women suffer from vitamin D deficiency, their blood testing uncovering levels under the 32 naongrams per milliliter recommended value.

The D vitamin can be acquired by the organism through milk and fortified cereals consumption and by exposure to the natural light of the sun. This food supplement represents a key agent in cellular development, enhances the immune properties of the human body and makes the bones more powerful.

People suffering from low levels of vitamin D present muscular pain, low bone mass which may trigger fractures, are not very energetic and are tired and have problems with their immune system. Moreover, they present depressions and strange mood changes, have problems with sleeping. All of the above symptoms are present in females that suffer from breast tumors and are under therapy.

It is estimated that in the India area there are 132,000 persons who get cervical cancer and 74,000 of the patients die annually.

As Raj Kumar Patro from the Department of Microbiology within the All India Institute of Medical Sciences located in New Delhi states India comprises one fourth of the worldwide total cases of cervical cancer and with regards to the ages of the ill patients, the country scores highest on the Globe. One problem is that the female patients suffer from cervical cancer in advanced stages and due to the tumors` development therapy is not effective.

In order to counteract the human papillomavirus, the researchers have to acquire a deeper knowledge about the genotype so as to develop an efficient vaccination system. The major problem in counteracting the human papillomavirus is the fact that this infection is migrating in the female body. As observations show, 100 human papillomavirus genotypes were identified in the female organisms and more than 40 of them were located in the anogenital cavity.

Raj Kumar Patro and his teammates studied 106 females that were suffering from cervical cancer in a metastatic form, 524 women that presented a biased cervix and women from the local community that were undergoing tests for the human papillomavirus.

Taking into consideration the group suffering from invasive cancer 83% of the cases comprised by it were in a strong relationship with the HPV-16 or HPV-18 roots. The second sample, the females with damaged cervixes, was discovered to host 15.5% cases suffered from the human paillomavirus.

The team of scientists found out that the two common roots of the human paillomavirus were linked to 65.7% of the aggressive cancer cases, 45.4% to the low-level illness and 34.3% to the cases suffering from normal stage cervical cancer. As a statistical conclusion for their study, the researchers stated that the propensity of the human paillomavirus in the amalgam of samples recorded 7%.

Compared to the moral and religious problems encountered in the United States region, Raj Kumar Patro stated that Indian population accepted very well the vaccination against the human papillomavirus. The problem for the women inhabiting India is that the country`s economy is not doing very good and acquiring the vaccine is not for everyone’s` pockets. As Raj Kumar Patro says the vaccination is very expensive for the low- and middle-income households and a huge number of women cannot afford it. Only the women who enjoy a higher income can afford to purchase the vaccine. But the doctoral student hopes that this type of vaccination would become generally available and for free in order to prevent the increasing number of human papillomavirus infections.

Leading author and investigator for this study was the director of the King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center in Riyadh`s research facility located in Saudi Arabia. His name is Khawla S. Al-Kuraya. As he states, the expression of the leptin receptor may be a key factor in forecasting the stages of thyroid tumors` aggression in the Middle East area and may grant guidance for therapies and additional medical care for this type of cancer.

As statistics show, this type of cancer is the eight commonly found diseases in United States` women population which is rather acceptable compared to the fact that in women living in Saudi Arabia the thyroid cancer is the second most common form of illness. As leading investigator, Mr. Al-Kuraya states, the propensity of this type of cancer is well observed in the countries that form the Gulf Council.

The researcher stated that his team uncovered evidence that the thyroid cancer are unique with regards the molecular level in the Middle East region. Their individuality resides in the enhancement of the gene entitled PIK3CA.

During their research, the investigators took a closer look at thyroid tumor samples summing up 536 patients. The scientists studied the leptin`s receptors and levels in the samples. In approximately 80% of the studied patients, an over-expression of the obesity causing molecule was found. This finding was linked with the small tumor life span. Logically, the enhanced expression of leptin receptor was associated with a larger cancer cell found in an advanced growth stage and even metastasizing or of an advanced age. In addition, the investigators made the thyroid tumor cells subject to vitro tests and discovered that the obesity causing molecule aids the development of cancer cells in a negative way for the human body. The leptin aids the development of the thyroid cancer cells and also prevents them from dying.

Even though leptin is primarily known for the role it plays in the obesity cases and also for the fact that it is regulator for both the energy consumption and the food consumed by an individual, this study was the first one to observe the molecule`s effects in the thyroid tumors. Earlier experiments focused on the leptin`s role in poor forecasting in the cases of people suffering from types of cancer such as: gastric, breast and endometrial.

As leading investigator, Mr. Al-Kuraya states it seems that the leptin receptor state can be very quickly found out through the means of a needle biopsy. Moreover, the researcher is sure that the knowledge acquired through these means will provide to be helpful in forecasting the aggressiveness of the thyroid cancer and, thus, develop an effective and efficient therapy in order to counteract the illness. Furthermore, by doing this, doctors will also be able to choose between the various surgery alternatives at hand, the post-surgery treatment and also establish the dose of iodine received by the patient.

The research received grant from the National Cancer Institute and Susan G. Komen for the Cure. The first author of the study is medical doctor Chavez Mac Gregor. Accompanying her in the study are the following: Gabriel Hortobagyi, Ana Maria Gonzalez-Angulo, Jennifer Litton, Vicente Valero, Huiqin Chen, Funda Meric-Bernstam, Melissa Bondy, Clifford Hudis and Antonio Wolff.

During the San Francisco Breast Cancer Symposium this year, the discoveries made by the M. D. Anderson team of researchers were released during a discussion session. This research is the biggest study undergone over a similar features group of women suffering from breast cancer that studies the pCR (pathological complete response) in relationship with the race of the population. The team of scientists from the M. D. Anderson Cancer Center also conducted another research which took a closer look at the relationships between the HER2 negative, the estrogen receptor negative and the progesterone receptor negative. The research focused on this triplet`s relationship with the pathological complete response.

One of the scientists of the research team was medical doctor Mariana Chavez Mac Gregor, an oncologist within the M. D. Anderson Cancer Center. She stated that their discoveries support the pCR in the women`s organism and this represents a high opportunity for surpassing the deadly effects of breast cancer. The team`s findings apply to all races and as doctor Chavez Mac Gregor believes it is essential to continue their research in order to find out more about the pathological complete response in all the races and the ways they can improve it in order to save as many lives as possible.

According to statistics provided by the American Cancer Society it seems that over 19,540 black people and about 14,200 Hispanics are prone to suffer from breast cancer. Moreover, there has been recorded a 10% lower illness rate among black people compared to the white population. , According to statistics comprising the years from 2001 until 2005, it seems that white people recorded a 37% bigger cancer rate that they black counterparts. Furthermore, the American Cancer Society also presented figures which mean that the death rate caused by breast cancer is higher in white people and lower in Hispanic women.

Medical doctor Mariana Chavez Mac Gregor explained that these race disparities should be the subject for a wider and thorough monitoring and studies in order to understand better the various roots of breast cancer and their specific features. This is why, the M. D. Anderson Cancer Center researcher team is focusing on comprehending the tumors and types of breast cancer because as the main author of the study states in order to save more lives the medical world should have a complete understanding of the relationship of the pCR and all the other factors involved with breast cancer. The scientists` problem was the fact that they had not found out exactly the link between the race and the pathological complete response. Due to the disparities the researchers were not able to discover which of the races presented better pathological complete response rates and were not able to acquire knowledge about improving and implementing therapies.

The study focused on these concerns made us of the virtual database provided by the M. D. Anderson Breast Medical, the Oncology department. Thus, the team of doctors focused on a sample of 2,074 women suffering from breast cancer in Stages II and III who were treated at this cancer center. 64.3% of the individuals from the study, meaning 1,334 patients, were white. Hispanics recorded a 15.2% meaning a number of 316, the black people were in a number of 302 summing 14.6% from the whole sample and the remaining 5.9% meaning 122 breast cancer patients were other ethnical groups. The average age of the patients was of 50 years. The whole sample was treated with neo-adjuvant anthracycline chemotherapy and taxane-based chemo in order to homogenize better the final outcomes of the study. When it came to the moment of the clinical operation, the team of doctors discovered insignificant differences in the pCR ratios between the various ethnic groups tested. The results were as follows: 12.3 % in white women, 12.5 % in black people, 14.24 % in Hispanics and 11.5 % in other race groups.

Taking the study further, the scientists found out that after thirty months that 438 women encountered breast cancer remissions and 327 of the sample patients died. Taking a closer look at the RFS (recurrence-free) rate over five years and the patient`s overall survival it was discovered that for white women the RFS was of 71% and the OS of 79%, for black women 60% and 57%, Hispanic people encountered 76% and 79% and the other ethnic groups summed 75% and 84%. Due to the fact that the subtypes of pCR, HER2-positive and triple-negative and lymph node implication were not achieved it meant that the two rates would be found in high numbers among the breast cancer suffering patients.

As doctor Mariana Chavez Mac Gregor states, the research also hardened the theory according to which the black people were on the trend of recording unfavorable results whereas the Hispanic women encountered better results in comparison to the white people. Furthermore, the researcher also explained that this study had also limits due to the fact that it was undergone by a single organization and the results needed a bigger sample and a joint effort and the research also has a retrospective feature. Furthermore, the study only focused on the patients` sample upon the moment of surgery without putting great attention to the after-the-surgery effects such as the reactions of the patients to the hormonal therapies or other treatments different from the five years unadjusted recurrence-free and the overall survival. Nonetheless, the scientists wish to conduct a broader research on women who did not achieve the complete pathological response in order to see why they did not managed to discover the key of this agent in the breast cancer therapy.