Cancer - April 2014 Archives

ROCHESTER, Minn. — Mayo Clinic research into whether ultrasounds to detect breast cancer in underarm lymph nodes are less effective in obese women has produced a surprising finding. Fat didn’t obscure the images — and ultrasounds showing no suspicious lymph nodes actually proved more accurate in overweight and obese patients than in women with a normal body mass index, the study found. The research is among several Mayo studies presented at the American Society of Breast Surgeons annual meeting April 30-May 4 in Las Vegas. Researchers studied 1,331 breast cancer patients who received ultrasounds of their axillary lymph nodes, the lymph nodes in the armpits, to check for cancer before surgery. Of those patients, 36 percent were considered obese, with a body mass index of 30 or more. Body mass index is a formula that uses weight and height to estimate body fat. Of the other women studied, 33 percent were of normal weight and 31 percent were overweight but not obese.

  High-dose vitamin C: Can it kill cancer cells? High-dose vitamin C has been touted by some as an effective alternative ...

ROCHESTER, Minn. — April 24, 2014 — Mayo Clinic researchers have uncovered a novel tumor suppressive role for p53, a cancer-critical gene that is mutated in more than half of all cancers found in humans. The researchers found that loss of p53 function caused overproduction of the kinase Aurora A, an enzyme involved in the process of cell division. That overproduction leads to mitotic spindle malformation and aberrant separation of duplicated chromosomes over daughter cells, a phenomenon that predicts tumor metastasis and poor patient outcomes. The findings appear in the journal Nature Cell Biology. Normal human cells have 46 chromosomes. It has long been recognized that developing cancer cells reshuffle their chromosomes and, more recently, that chromosome-number abnormalities help transform normal cells into cancerous cells that metastasize and resist treatment.

ROCHESTER, Minn. — Mayo Clinic Cancer Center announced today that it is participating in an expanded access program for the experimental cancer drug MK-3475 at its three sites in Arizona, Florida and Minnesota. MK-3475 is a therapy for the treatment of metastatic melanoma. This program will provide expanded access to the drug prior to its approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). MK-3475 received “breakthrough therapy” designation from the FDA based on early interim results from a single-arm, open-label Phase I study in 85 patients with surgically unresectable metastatic melanoma. In that trial, the drug had a 51 percent objective response rate. The objective response includes patients with a complete response, those whose tumors were no longer detectable, and those whose tumors shrunk by at least 30 percent compared to baseline.

Cancer-related fatigue: Create a personal exercise plan Cancer fatigue can be overwhelming and intense. One of the most effective ways to address it is with exercise. How to care for skin during and after radiation Most side effects from radiation therapy are limited to the area being treated and go away within weeks. Use these tips to care for your skin. Biopsy: Types of biopsy procedures used to diagnose cancer You might be nervous about an upcoming biopsy. Learning how and why it's done may help reduce your anxiety. Managing chemotherapy side effects Chemotherapy treatment carries with it a host of potential side effects — fatigue, hair loss and more. Learn about managing chemotherapy side effects.

New therapies sought for triple negative breast cancer Researchers have found that triple negative breast cancer is more common in younger women and in African-American women. Thyroidectomy Find out how to prepare for this procedure to treat thyroid disorders, such as cancer, and what you can expect. PSA test: Benefits and limitations Consider the benefits and limitations of a PSA test when choosing whether to undergo prostate cancer screening. Managing chemotherapy side effects Chemotherapy treatment carries with it a host of potential side effects — fatigue, hair loss and more. Learn about managing chemotherapy side effects.

Real-time tissue analysis gives Mayo Clinic much lower reoperation numbers than national rate ROCHESTER, Minn. — Unique laboratory testing during breast cancer lumpectomies to make sure surgeons remove all cancerous tissue spares patients the need for a repeat lumpectomy in roughly 96 percent of cases at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, a success rate much higher than the rate nationally, a Mayo study shows. During the years reviewed, 13.2 percent of breast cancer lumpectomy patients nationally had to return to the operating room within a month of their initial surgery, compared to 3.6 percent at Mayo in Rochester, which uses a technique called frozen section analysis to test excised tissue for cancer while  patient are still on the operating table. The findings are published in the journal Surgery.

Just when you think you have it beat, one of the sneaky things about cancer is the way it can reappear, undetected in a few isolated cells. Alaska State Senator Mike Hawker had that concern after his first life or death battle with prostate cancer. Then in late 2012, Mayo Clinic became the first U.S. medical facility granted U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval to use a new marker, called Choline C 11, which can make those stealthy cancer cells light up! In their own words, here are Rep. Hawker and Eugene Kwon, M.D., the researcher who made this medical breakthrough possible.  [TRT 2:41] Journalists: The full package, animation and additional b-roll are available in the downloads. To access the script, click here.    This is a special report produced for the Mayo Clinic 150th Anniversary Collection of Stories. To view other stories and learn more about Mayo Clinic's sesquicentennial, please click here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXcm8IHXT1U

TOPEKA, Kan. — April 1, 2014 — Stormont-Vail HealthCare and Mayo Clinic officials announced today that the Topeka-based health system has become a member of the Mayo Clinic Care Network, a national network of like-minded organizations that share a commitment to better serving patients and families. Stormont-Vail HealthCare is the first health system in Kansas to join the network. “Stormont-Vail HealthCare is committed to being a national leader in health care through collaboration and innovation,” said Randy Peterson, president and CEO, Stormont-Vail HealthCare. “Working with Mayo Clinic through the Mayo Clinic Care Network offers our physicians yet another resource to help them provide the kind of innovative care that our patients have come to expect from us.” Stormont-Vail HealthCare specialists now have access to Mayo Clinic resources to enhance patient care, including the latest Mayo-vetted medical information through its AskMayoExpert database and eConsults that connect physicians with Mayo Clinic experts on questions of diagnosis, therapy or care management. These tools will allow staff at Stormont-Vail to continue to improve the quality of health in the community. “We have known and respected our colleagues at Stormont-Vail for many years, and we are excited to strengthen and grow our collaboration through the Mayo Clinic Care Network,” says David Hayes, M.D., medical director, Mayo Clinic Care Network. “The network is about delivering the right care, at the right place, at the right time. And we believe that by working together more patients will be able to stay closer to home for care.” Stormont-Vail is an integrated health care system based in Topeka, Kan. The organization employs more than 230 physicians and is comprised of the Stormont-Vail Regional Health Center, a 586-bed acute care center, the Cotton-O’Neil and PediatricCare clinics and a variety of ancillary services. It has the region’s only Level III neonatal intensive care and trauma center.  Stormont-Vail recently received redesignation as a Magnet facility by the American Nurses Credentialing Center in 2014 after first receiving this recognition for excellence in nursing services in 2009.