Nice, France, Thursday 23 March 2006 - A 30 year old woman diagnosed with breast cancer has the same chance of survival as a 60 year old woman with breast cancer according to the latest findings presented today at the European Breast Cancer Conference (EBCC-5).
Scientists have known for a while that young women with breast cancer have a poor prognosis. It was thought to be because younger women were diagnosed later, with more advanced disease. The study set out to see if youth on its own was a factor for poor prognosis.
Researchers analysed the American SEER (Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results) database of over 45,000 women with breast cancer. All women with early stage breast cancer (stage 1) were included in the study and the various age groups were compared. The results were surprising and indicated that being young was an independent indicator of poor survival - regardless of other factors known to be predictive of outcomes in older women such as tumour size, location, hormone receptor status, race, or treatment.
In fact the odds of dying from breast cancer rather than any other disease increased by 5% for every year that a women was under 45 when diagnosed. For example, a women who was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 35 was 50% more likely to die of the disease. The 10-year overall survival probability of a 30-year old patient (85%) was equal to that of a 60-year old, indicating a considerably reduced life expectancy in young patients.
S. Aebi, leading author of the study comments, "These findings suggest that age in young women, more than any other factor affects the chances of survival. It is very important now to carry on more research and analyse what makes the tumours in young women different - what causes these women to die."
Breast cancer in the under 40's is rare, making up around 5% of all cases. However the impact of the disease can be hard for young women, who often have young children or want to start a family of their own. Improving survival rates would make a big difference to these women.
SOURCE: toniclc
вторник, 28 февраля 2012 г.
вторник, 21 февраля 2012 г.
Maternal Mortality In Calif. Up Nearly Threefold Over Last Decade, State Data Show
California's maternal mortality rate has nearly tripled during the past decade, according to an unreleased report from the state Department of Public Health, the Sacramento Bee reports. California Watch, a project of the Center for Investigative Reporting, conducted the investigation into the state's pregnancy-related deaths. The report "shows the most significant spike in pregnancy-related deaths since the 1930s," according to the Bee. The Bee notes that pregnancy remains safe for the vast majority of women in California, with 95 deaths in the state out of more than 500,000 live births in 2006. However, if California had met goals set by HHS, the number of deaths would have been around 28.
In 1996, California's pregnancy-related mortality rate was 5.6 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births, slightly more than the national goal of 4.3 per 100,000 live births After the World Health Organization revised its coding system, California's rate increased to 6.7 in 1998 and 7.7 in 1999. According to the Bee, WHO's coding-system change might have contributed to the rise in deaths in the late 1990s.
Reasons for Increase Disputed
California changed its coding system once more in 2003, and the maternal mortality rate rose to 14.6 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births. In 2006, California's rate reached 16.9, compared with the national average of 13.3. Investigators estimate that reporting system changes account for less than 30% of the increase in maternal mortality rates.
California might be mirroring the rest of the country with its rise in pregnancy-related deaths, according to a recent "Sentinel Event Alert" from the Joint Commission, a hospital accreditation organization. On Jan. 26, the commission sent the alert to hospitals to inform them that maternal mortality rates appear to be increasing nationwide. The Joint Commission suggested that diabetes, high blood pressure, hemorrhaging from caesarean sections and obesity could account for some of the increase in maternal mortality rates.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported a national rise in maternal mortality in 2007. Jeffrey King, head of an inquiry into maternal mortality for the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and some other experts attribute the change to more accurate recordkeeping.
Elliott Main, principal investigator for California's report, said the rise cannot be fully explained by population changes, such as fertility treatments, obesity and older mothers. "What I call the usual suspects are certainly there," Main said, adding, "However, when we looked at those factors and the data analyzed so far, those only account for a modest amount of the increase." Main noted that c-sections also increased by 50% during the same decade that pregnancy-related deaths went up. Currently, c-sections are the most common surgical procedure in the U.S.
In response to the rise in maternal mortality, California officials are starting work on pilot programs designed to improve hospital responses to hemorrhages, reduce the incidence of induced births and strengthen tracking systems for women's medical conditions (Johnson, Sacramento Bee, 2/3).
Broadcast Coverage
On Wednesday, KQED's "The California Report" included a segment on the rise in maternal mortality (Montgomery, "The California Report," KQED, 2/3).
Reprinted with kind permission from nationalpartnership. You can view the entire Daily Women's Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery here. The Daily Women's Health Policy Report is a free service of the National Partnership for Women & Families, published by The Advisory Board Company.
© 2010 The Advisory Board Company. All rights reserved.
вторник, 14 февраля 2012 г.
New Proteomic Method To Detect Inflammation In Amniotic Fluid
All works published in PLoS Medicine are open access. Everything is immediately available without cost to anyone, anywhere to read, download, redistribute, include in databases, and otherwise use subject only to the condition that the original authorship is properly attributed. Copyright is retained by the authors. The Public Library of Science uses the Creative Commons Attribution License.
New proteomic method to detect inflammation in amniotic fluid
A score that measures the proteomic profile of amniotic fluid may predict inflammation before delivery. Researchers from Yale University, led by Catalin Buhimschi, have previously identified a set of four protein markers that were closely associated with inflammation in the amniotic fluid, and developed a score based on these proteins ?the "Mass Restricted" (MR) score. This score has been shown to be able to identify women at risk of preterm delivery. In the current study, the researchers assessed whether MR scores were associated with the outcome of pregnancy; the presence of infection in the placenta, and severe infection in the newborn baby.
169 women recruited into the study had a sample of amniotic fluid taken as part of their routine clinical management from which the protein MR score was calculated, and evidence of bacterial infection was sought. These results were then related to length of time until delivery, presence of placental inflammation after birth, and whether there was evidence of infection in the babies. In line with findings from their previous studies, women with a higher MR score gave birth sooner. There was also agreement between the MR score and evidence of inflammation in the placenta, and mothers with a high MR score were more likely to give birth to babies with suspected or confirmed sepsis.
In this group of women, the MR score seemed to be the most accurate in predicting inflammation when compared with other tests for inflammation such as white cell count, and may therefore provide a useful test for recognizing women at risk of preterm delivery and babies at risk of poor outcome. However, although promising, a further evaluation of the test in different populations will be needed before it could become a standard procedure in the clinic.
Citation: Buhimschi CS, Bhandari V, Hamar BD, Bahtiyar MO, Zhao G, et al. (2007) Proteomic profiling of the amniotic fluid to detect inflammation, infection, and neonatal sepsis. PLoS Med 4(1): e18.
About the PUBLIC LIBRARY OF SCIENCE
PLoS is a nonprofit organization of scientists whose aim is to make the world's scientific and medical research literature a public resource. We are funded by a grant from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation to develop a publishing program based on the Open Access business model, whereby the costs of publication are paid upfront so that anyone with an internet connection can have access to the content, in a free and unrestricted manner. Our immediate goal is to launch two top-tier journals - PLoS Biology (in October, 2003) and PLoS Medicine (in 2004).
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New proteomic method to detect inflammation in amniotic fluid
A score that measures the proteomic profile of amniotic fluid may predict inflammation before delivery. Researchers from Yale University, led by Catalin Buhimschi, have previously identified a set of four protein markers that were closely associated with inflammation in the amniotic fluid, and developed a score based on these proteins ?the "Mass Restricted" (MR) score. This score has been shown to be able to identify women at risk of preterm delivery. In the current study, the researchers assessed whether MR scores were associated with the outcome of pregnancy; the presence of infection in the placenta, and severe infection in the newborn baby.
169 women recruited into the study had a sample of amniotic fluid taken as part of their routine clinical management from which the protein MR score was calculated, and evidence of bacterial infection was sought. These results were then related to length of time until delivery, presence of placental inflammation after birth, and whether there was evidence of infection in the babies. In line with findings from their previous studies, women with a higher MR score gave birth sooner. There was also agreement between the MR score and evidence of inflammation in the placenta, and mothers with a high MR score were more likely to give birth to babies with suspected or confirmed sepsis.
In this group of women, the MR score seemed to be the most accurate in predicting inflammation when compared with other tests for inflammation such as white cell count, and may therefore provide a useful test for recognizing women at risk of preterm delivery and babies at risk of poor outcome. However, although promising, a further evaluation of the test in different populations will be needed before it could become a standard procedure in the clinic.
Citation: Buhimschi CS, Bhandari V, Hamar BD, Bahtiyar MO, Zhao G, et al. (2007) Proteomic profiling of the amniotic fluid to detect inflammation, infection, and neonatal sepsis. PLoS Med 4(1): e18.
About the PUBLIC LIBRARY OF SCIENCE
PLoS is a nonprofit organization of scientists whose aim is to make the world's scientific and medical research literature a public resource. We are funded by a grant from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation to develop a publishing program based on the Open Access business model, whereby the costs of publication are paid upfront so that anyone with an internet connection can have access to the content, in a free and unrestricted manner. Our immediate goal is to launch two top-tier journals - PLoS Biology (in October, 2003) and PLoS Medicine (in 2004).
PUBLIC LIBRARY OF SCIENCE
European Bioinformatics Institute
Wellcome Trust Genome Campus
CB10 1DS
plos
вторник, 7 февраля 2012 г.
Test To Predict Early Menopause Getting Closer
A test to predict when a woman will enter the menopause has come nearer the grasp of scientists from the University of Exeter Peninsula Medical School, England, and the Institute of Cancer, also in England, according to an article published in the scientific peer-reviewed journal Human Molecular Genetics. Being able to know when her reproductive years will end would have a huge impact on a woman's family planning, the researchers say, especially as the current trend is towards having children later on in life.
This research forms part of the Breakthrough Generations Study, a study involving 100,000 UK females aimed at investigating the causes of breast cancer. Over the coming four decades it hopes to determine what genetic, lifestyle and environmental factors influence breast cancer occurrence.
The scientists tested four genes known to be linked to the menopause. 2,000 females from the Breakthrough Generations Study who had entered menopause early were compared to another 2,000 of the same age and ethnicity who had not experienced early menopause (matched group).
The researchers found that the four genes all affected early menopause in their own ways, and much more so when they were all present. They added that their findings help explain why some females go into menopause early.
Women who enter the menopause early have a higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease, infertility and osteoporosis, and a lower risk of getting breast cancer.
Dr Anna Murray, study leader, said:
It is estimated that a woman's ability to conceive decreases on average ten years before she starts the menopause. Therefore, those who are destined to have an early menopause and delay childbearing until their 30s are more likely to have problems conceiving.
These findings are the first stage in developing an easy and relatively inexpensive genetic test which could help the one in 20 UK women who may be affected by early menopause.
"Breakthrough Generations Study" principal researcher, Prof. Anthony Swerdlow, said:
We have made a valuable step towards helping women across the country identify and predict whether they are at risk of early menopause. This may in turn allow them to make informed decisions about their future fertility.
We could not have made these findings without the 100,000 women who are participating in the Breakthrough Generations Study. We hope that many more medical advances will be made over the next 40 years as a consequence of the study.
The authors concluded:
Four common genetic variants identified by genome-wide association studies, had a significant impact on the odds of having EM (early menopause) in an independent cohort from the BGS (Breakthrough Generations Study). The discriminative power is still limited, but as more variants are discovered they may be useful for predicting reproductive lifespan.
"Breakthrough Generations Study"
"Common genetic variants are significant risk factors for early menopause: results from the Breakthrough Generations Study"
Anna Murray, Claire E. Bennett, John R.B. Perry, Michael N. Weedon, Patricia A. Jacobs, Danielle H. Morris, Nicholas Orr, Minouk J. Schoemaker, Michael Jones, Alan Ashworth4 and Anthony J. Swerdlow
Hum. Mol. Genet. (2010) doi: 10.1093/hmg/ddq417 First published online: October 17, 2010
Sources: Institute of Cancer Research, University of Exeter
This research forms part of the Breakthrough Generations Study, a study involving 100,000 UK females aimed at investigating the causes of breast cancer. Over the coming four decades it hopes to determine what genetic, lifestyle and environmental factors influence breast cancer occurrence.
The scientists tested four genes known to be linked to the menopause. 2,000 females from the Breakthrough Generations Study who had entered menopause early were compared to another 2,000 of the same age and ethnicity who had not experienced early menopause (matched group).
The researchers found that the four genes all affected early menopause in their own ways, and much more so when they were all present. They added that their findings help explain why some females go into menopause early.
Women who enter the menopause early have a higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease, infertility and osteoporosis, and a lower risk of getting breast cancer.
Dr Anna Murray, study leader, said:
It is estimated that a woman's ability to conceive decreases on average ten years before she starts the menopause. Therefore, those who are destined to have an early menopause and delay childbearing until their 30s are more likely to have problems conceiving.
These findings are the first stage in developing an easy and relatively inexpensive genetic test which could help the one in 20 UK women who may be affected by early menopause.
"Breakthrough Generations Study" principal researcher, Prof. Anthony Swerdlow, said:
We have made a valuable step towards helping women across the country identify and predict whether they are at risk of early menopause. This may in turn allow them to make informed decisions about their future fertility.
We could not have made these findings without the 100,000 women who are participating in the Breakthrough Generations Study. We hope that many more medical advances will be made over the next 40 years as a consequence of the study.
The authors concluded:
Four common genetic variants identified by genome-wide association studies, had a significant impact on the odds of having EM (early menopause) in an independent cohort from the BGS (Breakthrough Generations Study). The discriminative power is still limited, but as more variants are discovered they may be useful for predicting reproductive lifespan.
"Breakthrough Generations Study"
"Common genetic variants are significant risk factors for early menopause: results from the Breakthrough Generations Study"
Anna Murray, Claire E. Bennett, John R.B. Perry, Michael N. Weedon, Patricia A. Jacobs, Danielle H. Morris, Nicholas Orr, Minouk J. Schoemaker, Michael Jones, Alan Ashworth4 and Anthony J. Swerdlow
Hum. Mol. Genet. (2010) doi: 10.1093/hmg/ddq417 First published online: October 17, 2010
Sources: Institute of Cancer Research, University of Exeter
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