Arizona - March 2012 Archives

PHOENIX — March 29, 2012.  An emerging fungal infection of the gastrointestinal tract that mimics cancer and inflammatory bowel disease appears to be emerging in the Southwestern United States and other desert regions, according to Mayo Clinic researchers in Arizona investigating the disease. The invasive fungus, Basidiobolus ranarum, is typically found in the soil, decaying organic matter and the gastrointestinal tracts of fish, reptiles, amphibians, and bats. VIDEO ALERT: Click here to watch. Mayo researchers studied 44 cases of human gastrointestinal basidiobolomycosis reported from around the world, including 17 from Arizona, one from southern Utah and one from elsewhere in the U.S. Eight of the 44 patients died. Mayo's review of the cases is published online in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases. Basidiobolomycosis is usually a subcutaneous infection in the tropical and subtropical regions of the world that develops following traumatic inoculation of the fungus under the skin. The emergence of gastrointestinal involvement with Basidiobolus in arid regions has been considered unusual. "The exact mode of acquisition of this gastrointestinal infection is unclear, although consumption of contaminated food or dirt is the favored hypothesis," says lead author H.R. Vikram, M.D., an infectious diseases physician at Mayo Clinic, where seven of the 19 U.S. cases studied were treated. "The infection is still considered so rare that no one had put together a complete description." He adds that more study needs to be done to determine how this infection is contracted, what underlying diseases might predispose patients to this infection and how best to treat it. He emphasizes that early recognition is key to successful treatment. The first U.S. case of gastrointestinal Basidiobolus infection was reported in 1986. The CDC subsequently investigated six cases in Arizona between 1994 and 1999. This sparked the interest of researchers at Mayo Clinic in Arizona to study this infection.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Most patients undergo a colonoscopy with the expectation that any suspicious lesions that may signal evidence of colorectal cancer will be detected. ...

Phoenix — Mayo Clinic in Arizona and the American Cancer Society have announced that construction is projected to begin in the fall of 2012 for ...

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Could blocking a testosterone receptor lead to a new way to treat an aggressive form of breast cancer? That's a question researchers at Mayo Clinic in Arizona and the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) are exploring. Preliminary results of a Mayo Clinic — TGen collaborative study shows the testosterone receptor may be a potential target to attack in treating triple negative breast cancer (TNBC). VIDEO ALERT: Click here to watch Dr. Barbara Pockaj explain the study. Lead researcher Barbara Pockaj, M.D., a surgical oncologist at Mayo Clinic in Arizona will present the results of the study at the 65th annual Society of Surgical Oncology conference on March 23 in Orlando, Fla. TNBC is highly aggressive and affects approximately 10 to 20 percent of breast cancer patients. The disease is characterized by larger, faster-growing tumors than other types of breast cancer and has limited treatment options. Unlike other forms of breast cancer in which treatments are tailored to specifically target hormone receptors such as estrogen and progesterone or the HER-2 proteins that promote the growth and spread of cancer cells, triple negative cancer cells do not possess markers for estrogen, progesterone or HER-2, Dr. Pockaj says. There are no targeted therapies for TNBC, just chemotherapy, she says. Researchers at Mayo Clinic and TGen say that could change if the androgen (testosterone) receptor shows potential as a therapeutic target. "The goal of the study was to define what may be fueling TNBC, thereby identifying new potential options for effective targeted treatment," says co-lead researcher Heather Cunliffe, Ph.D., Associate Professor and head of TGen's breast and ovarian cancer research unit. "The team discovered that the androgen receptor is expressed in a significant proportion of these tumors, and moreover, the androgen-receptive positive tumors shared a unique clinical behavior."

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — A recent Mayo Clinic study on yips, a condition that has baffled golfers and scientists for decades, will be a featured presentation ...