Lifeboat Foundation

Very promising.

The explosion of sequencing technologies such as next generation sequencing (NGS) means it is now possible to tailor individual cancer therapies based on patients’ genetic make-up and tumour molecular profiling. The challenge lies in determining which genetic alterations are important in driving disease, so called ‘actionable mutations’.

Sequencing the entire genome or even a limited region reveals large numbers of alterations. Most are harmless, normal changes that do not promote the transformation of a normal cell to a cancer cell. Being able to sort out which changes are drivers in a cancer is a significant, but critical challenge in being able to guide therapy in clinical trials.

Our scientists at AstraZeneca are taking a leading position, defining a genetic classification strategy for how patients can be characterised at the molecular level, integrating knowledge from the drug’s mechanism of action combined with disease biology to help guide cancer therapy in early stage exploratory clinical trials. The article published in the May 2016 issue of Nature Reviews Cancer describes approaches taken by external groups alongside our own efforts to tackle this problem.

Continue reading “New genomic classification approach strengthens early cancer trial design” »

Very eye opening: North America has the largest market for silent cancer therapeutic, followed by Europe.

Silent cancer refers to those types of cancer which are undiagnosed in early stages. This is due to asymptomatic nature of the disease which makes it difficult to identify the disease till it progresses to advanced stages. Major silent types of cancer include brain, cervix, esophagus, mouth and larynx, ovarian, pancreatic, kidney, and liver cancer. Some silent types of cancer such as ovarian cancer, esophageal cancer, and pancreatic cancer show symptoms in their early stages. Ovarian cancer occurs in epithelium or lining cells of the ovary. Major signs and symptoms of ovarian cancer include pain or cramps in the belly, nausea, abnormal vaginal bleeding, and bloating. Pancreatic cancer is one of the fastest growing types of cancer worldwide. Esophagus cancer is more common among the older population, compared to adults. This cancer is mainly treated by chemotherapy, surgery, and radiosurgery. Moreover, physicians also use combination therapy for the treatment of silent cancer. For instance, the combination of radiation therapy and chemotherapy is very effective in the treatment of silent cancer.

Continue reading “Silent Cancer Therapeutic Market — Historical, Current and Projected industry size and Recent Industry Trends by 2015 — 2021” »

A feel good story for this Tuesday at work to brighten up your day. Hope it brings a smile to everyone.

Combined, they took 77 years to make and cover an area 28 acres in size, slightly larger than Parliament Hill. They’re beautiful, comforting and hopeful, but at times tinged with sorrow.

This week, Betty Giffin will knock on the front door of a home in Ottawa. She’ll have with her a handmade quilt to give to the woman who lives there. The woman has cancer, as does everyone who receives one of the quilts from Giffin’s organization.

Continue reading “‘Nobody wants our quilts until they need one’: Quilters provide comfort to 50,000 people with cancer” »

Using Google Glass, Augmedix has developed a platform for doctors to collect, update and recall patient and other medical data in real time, technology website TechCrunch reported on Tuesday.

Google Glass is no longer available for consumers but its enterprise business continues to rise especially in the health care sector.

“When you are with doctors without Glass, they are charting and clicking on computers for a lot of the time and not focusing on their patients,” Ian Shakil, CEO of Augmedix was quoted as saying.

Continue reading “Google Glass to ‘rehumanise’ doctor-patient relationship” »

Cool

Shipments of augmented reality hardware, which combine real-world and virtual images in the user’s field of view, are forecast by market research firm IDC to ramp up over the next few years. Unlike virtual reality hardware, which tends to be more geared toward gaming, AR hardware is particularly suited for enterprise use, such as architecture, equipment repair and maintenance,

Product design and medical procedures, to name a few. IDC predicted that VR hardware will take off first, but AR will catch up, with combined devices markets seeing hardware shipments exceeding.

Continue reading “Virtual Reality Projected To Lead Before Augmented Reality” »

New project underway to find answers.

The Allen Institute for Brain Science has announced major updates to its online resources available at “brain-map.org” brain-map.org, including a new resource on Aging, Dementia and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) in collaboration with UW Medicine researchers at the University of Washington, and Group Health. The resource is the first of its kind to collect and share a wide variety of data modalities on a large sample of aged brains, complete with mental health histories and clinical diagnoses.

“The power of this resource is its ability to look across such a large number of brains, as well as a large number of data types,” says Ed Lein, Ph.D., Investigator at the Allen Institute for Brain Science. “The resource combines traditional neuropathology with modern ‘omics’ approaches to enable researchers to understand the process of aging, look for molecular signatures of disease and identify hallmarks of brain injury.”

Continue reading “Allen Institute releases powerful new data on the aging brain and traumatic brain injury” »

New research findings showing HPV is several cases could be passed orally. If this is the case; what is the tie to folks with cold sores.

The transmission of Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), very much possible during oral sex, causes cancer, two oncologists have warned.

A new anti-biofilm nano coating has been developed by a group of researchers from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU). The newly developed coating has remarkable anti-adhesive potential, and may be used for various industrial and medical applications.

Hyderabad: Infections, haemorrhage, swelling and head injuries are some of the prime reasons for brain surgery but experts say taking the patient under the knife is the last option because of the complexities of the procedure which could lead to disability or death.

Senior doctors said despite advancements in technology, dealing with brain surgeries requires much expertise and continues to be a challenging area.

Senior neurosurgeon Dr Radha Krishna said, “Brain surgeries are complex and the protocol is to first opt for medicines. Nowadays due to diagnostic technologies, even the smallest of lesions or tumours are picked up but it is still important to treat them with medicines.”

Continue reading “Pollution affecting the brain” »