News Releases

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."

ROCHESTER, Minn. — Research on kidney stones in fruit flies may hold the key to developing a treatment that could someday stop the formation of ...

ROCHESTER, Minn. — March 22, 2012.  It's a natural laboratory for studying heart disease, lung problems, muscle loss, sleeping disorders and new medical technologies. It's also the highest mountain in the world. Mount Everest's extreme altitude puts climbers under the same conditions experienced by patients suffering from heart disease, obesity or advanced age. To take advantage of that, Mayo Clinic researchers are joining an expedition to Everest with National Geographic, The North Face and Montana State University. The Mayo group will monitor up to nine climbers from base camp for the duration of the climb, which will run from mid-April to mid-May. VIDEO ALERT: Additional audio and video resources, including excerpts from an interview with Dr. Johnson describing the research, are available on the Mayo Clinic News Blog. "We can simulate some conditions in oxygen tents and hyperbaric chambers, but only for short periods," says Bruce Johnson, Ph.D., Mayo Clinic physiologist and leader of the scientific expedition. "We're studying the effects of extreme altitude on healthy, active individuals as well as these extreme athletes because what they experience mimics aspects of heart disease." Dr. Johnson, who has conducted research at the South Pole and other mountain ranges, will be joined by three other Mayo investigators: physician-researcher Doug Summerfield, M.D., and scientists Bryan Taylor, Ph.D., and Amine Issa, Ph.D. Mayo Clinic also will send its own reporter to cover the research expedition. Joel Streed of the Mayo Clinic News Network will blog and shoot video from base camp. The coverage can be followed at www.MayoCliniconEverest.com, and on Twitter at #MayoClinic #onEverest. The expedition and other research initiatives are part of Mayo's work to transform medical care. The data generated by the expedition is expected to provide new insights into aging patients and heart disease, and help Mayo develop high-quality, affordable options for patients who need cardiac monitoring.

WHAT: Mayo Clinic's Complementary and Integrative Medicine team will provide free back and hand massages, aromatherapy samples, and yoga and tai chi lessons. Take this ...

ROCHESTER, Minn. — Today, the United States Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision in favor of Mayo Collaborative Services in a case against Prometheus Laboratories, ...

ROCHESTER, Minn. — Mayo Clinic researchers have trained mouse immune systems to eradicate skin cancer from within, using a genetic combination of human DNA from melanoma cells and a cousin of the rabies virus. The strategy, called cancer immunotherapy, uses a genetically engineered version of the vesicular stomatitis virus to deliver a broad spectrum of genes derived from melanoma cancer cells directly into tumors. In early studies, 60 percent of tumor-burdened mice were cured in fewer than three months and with minimal side effects. Results of the latest study appear this week in the journal Nature Biotechnology. "We believe that this new technique will help us to identify a whole new set of genes that encode antigens that are important in stimulating the immune system to reject cancer. In particular, we have seen that several proteins need to be expressed together to generate the most effective rejection of the tumors in mice," says Richard Vile, Ph.D., a Mayo Clinic researcher in the Department of Molecular Medicine and a coauthor of the study, along with Jose Pulido, M.D., a Mayo Clinic ophthalmologist and ocular oncologist. Dr. Vile's success with melanoma adds to Mayo Clinic's growing portfolio of experimental cancer vaccines, which includes an active clinical trial of vesicular stomatitis vaccines for liver cancers. Future studies could include similar vaccines for more aggressive cancers, such as lung, brain and pancreatic. "I do believe we can create vaccines that will knock them off one by one," Dr. Vile says. "By vaccinating against multiple proteins at once, we hope that we will be able to treat both the primary tumor and also protect against recurrence." The immune system functions on a seek-and-destroy platform and has fine-tuned its capacity to identify viral invaders such as vesicular stomatitis virus. Part of the appeal of building cancer vaccines from the whole spectrum of tumor DNA is that tumors can adapt to the repeated attacks of a healthy immune system and display fewer antigens (or signposts) that the immune system can identify. Cancers can learn to hide from a normal immune system, but appear unable to escape an immune system trained by the vesicular stomatitis virus with the wide range of DNA used in the library approach. "Nobody knows how many antigens the immune system can really see on tumor cells," says Dr. Vile. "By expressing all of these proteins in highly immunogenic viruses, we increased their visibility to the immune system. The immune system now thinks it is being invaded by the viruses, which are expressing cancer-related antigens that should be eliminated." Much immunotherapy research has slowed because of researchers' inability to isolate a sufficiently diverse collection of antigens in tumor cells. Tumors in these scenarios are able to mutate and reestablish themselves in spite of the body's immune system.

ROCHESTER, Minn. — Mayo Clinic is pleased to announce that General Mills is the newest consortium member of the Healthy Aging and Independent Living (HAIL) ...

ROCHESTER, Minn. — Medical school students around the country will learn their fate this Friday, March 16, on what is known as Match Day. This ...

ROCHESTER, Minn. — A one-time memory loss — for up to 24 hours — might not be a sign of a brain injury or dementia. ...

ROCHESTER, Minn. — Over the past few years, studies have found that vitamins previously considered beneficial may not be helping — and may be causing harm. The March issue of Mayo Clinic Health Letter provides an overview on the latest advice about taking vitamins. The newest research is from the Iowa Women's Health Study. This 20-year study of 38,000 women age 55 and older showed that taking a multivitamin appears to increase the risk of premature death. Evidence from this study and others suggest there is no need to take most supplements for general health or disease prevention. Exceptions appear to be calcium supplements and vitamin D for bone health. The Mayo Clinic Health Letter highlights some potentially risky supplements: Vitamin E: A 2005 review of research found that taking daily vitamin E supplements of 400 international units (IU) or more and possibly as low as 150 IU a day may pose health risks, including increased risk of premature death. Vitamin A: A large study of postmenopausal women found that long-term intake of at least 6,660 IU of vitamin A acetate or palmitate may increase the risk of hip fractures. However, other research hasn't come to the same conclusion. Folate and folic acid (vitamin B-9): Supplementation helps prevent birth defects, but evidence of other benefits has been elusive. The Iowa Women's Health Study suggests that folic acid supplements might increase the risk of premature death by 5.9 percent. Other studies have linked folic acid supplements with an increased risk of colorectal cancer. Vitamin B-6: Large daily doses — more than 100 milligrams (mg) — can cause nerve damage over time. In the Iowa study, vitamin B-6 appeared to increase the risk of premature death by 4.1 percent. Vitamin B-3 (niacin): High doses can help lower high cholesterol levels. This treatment should be done under a doctor's supervision because side effects can include severe liver disease. Trace minerals: Copper, chromium, magnesium, selenium and zinc are among the essential trace minerals. There is no solid evidence that trace mineral supplements have any benefit in the absence of deficiencies — which are rare. The Iowa Women's Health Study indicated that the risk of premature death increased 3.6 percent in those taking magnesium, 3 percent in those taking zinc, and 18 percent in those taking copper supplements.

ROCHESTER, Minn. — Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is on the rise in the United States, according to the March issue of Mayo Clinic Health ...

ROCHESTER, Minn. — People with symptoms suggesting rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder, or RBD, have twice the risk of developing mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or Parkinson's disease within four years of diagnosis with the sleep problem, compared with people without the disorder, a Mayo Clinic study has found. The researchers published their findings recently in the Annals of Neurology. VIDEO ALERT: For video of Dr. Boeve talking about the study and for b-roll of study participants with RBD, visit the Mayo Clinic News Blog. One of the hallmarks of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep is a state of paralysis. In contrast, people with rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder, appear to act out their dreams when they are in REM sleep. Researchers used the Mayo Sleep Questionnaire to diagnose probable RBD in people who were otherwise neurologically normal. Approximately 34 percent of people diagnosed with probable RBD developed MCI or Parkinson's disease within four years of entering the study, a rate 2.2 times greater than those with normal rapid eye movement sleep. "Understanding that certain patients are at greater risk for MCI or Parkinson's disease will allow for early intervention, which is vital in the case of such disorders that destroy brain cells. Although we are still searching for effective treatments, our best chance of success is to identify and treat these disorders early, before cell death," says co-author Brad Boeve, M.D., a Mayo Clinic neurologist. Previous studies of Mayo Clinic patients have shown that an estimated 45 percent of people who suffer from RBD will develop a neurodegenerative syndrome such as mild cognitive impairment or Parkinson's disease within five years of diagnosis.