Research - May 2014 Archives

CHICAGO — In examining why some advanced melanoma patients respond so well to the experimental immunotherapy MK-3475, while others have a less robust response, researchers at Mayo Clinic in Florida found that the size of tumors before treatment was the strongest variable. They say their findings, being presented June 2 at the 50th annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), offered several clinical insights that could lead to different treatment strategies and perhaps influence staging of advanced melanoma. “This was the first robust assessment to determine the impact of baseline tumor size on clinical endpoints in patients with metastatic melanoma — in particular — those receiving MK-3475. Our findings suggest the location of spread is less important than the amount of tumor that is present before treatment,” says the study’s lead investigator, Richard W. Joseph, M.D., an oncologist at Mayo Clinic in Florida. Journalists: Broadcast sound bites with Dr. Joseph are available in the downloads. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8PYNOBQyhM&feature=youtu.be  

JACKSONVILLE, Flórida, 21 de maio de 2014 — Pesquisadores da Clínica Mayo em Jacksonville, Flórida, descobriram uma enzima que, segundo eles, está estreitamente ligada ao nível de agressividade do câncer do pâncreas em um paciente. Os pesquisadores dizem que o estudo, publicado no jornal Molecular Cancer Research, fornece percepções fundamentais sobre a forma mais agressiva da doença, que é um dos tipos de câncer mais fatais para o ser humano. O estudo também se refere a alguns possíveis avanços clínicos no futuro, tais como uma maneira de medir o benefício para pacientes, individualmente, e traz percepções sobre uma terapia potencial para interromper a atividade da enzima, conhecida como Rac1b.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Mayo Clinic researchers have discovered an enzyme they say is tightly linked to how aggressive pancreatic cancer will be in a patient. They say the study, published in Molecular Cancer Research, provides key insights into the most aggressive form of the disease, which is one of the deadliest human cancers. It also offers a number of possible future clinical advances, such as a way to gauge outcome in individual patients, and insight into potential therapy to shut down activity of the enzyme, known as Rac1b. “The implication from our research is that Rac1b is activating unique pathways in pancreatic tumors that make this cancer aggressive. If we can therapeutically target that pathway, we may be able to have an impact on this very difficult-to-treat disease,” says the study’s senior investigator, Derek Radisky, Ph.D., a researcher with the Mayo Clinic Cancer Center in Jacksonville, Fla. A potential drug target would have to be found within the cancer-causing pathways activated by Rac1b, since the enzyme is difficult to target because it is involved in many normal biological processes, Dr. Radisky says. He and his colleagues are now working to uncover how Rac1b ramps up pancreatic cancer progression. The RAC1 superfamily of proteins — which play important regulatory roles in cell growth and cell movement — have been implicated in other cancers, such as melanoma and non-small cell lung cancer, but before this study, no one knew that one sub-form, Rac1b, played a role in pancreatic cancer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LImk-KdMT1w ROCHESTER, Minn. — May 14, 2014 — In a proof of principle clinical trial, Mayo Clinic researchers have demonstrated that virotherapy — destroying cancer with a virus that infects and kills cancer cells but spares normal tissues — can be effective against the deadly cancer multiple myeloma. The findings appear in the journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings.  Click here to listen to the July 12th Mayo Clinic Radio program featuring Dr. Russell and Stacy Erholtz Journalists: The video package and extra b-roll are available in the downloads. The video package script, including intro and anchor tags, is available here. Two patients in the study received a single intravenous dose of an engineered measles virus (MV-NIS) that is selectively toxic to myeloma plasma cells. Both patients responded, showing reduction of both bone marrow cancer and myeloma protein. One patient, a 49-year-old woman, experienced complete remission of myeloma and has been clear of the disease for over six months. “This is the first study to establish the feasibility of systemic oncolytic virotherapy for disseminated cancer,” says Stephen Russell, M.D., Ph.D., Mayo Clinic hematologist, first author of the paper and co-developer of the therapy. “These patients were not responsive to other therapies and had experienced several recurrences of their disease.” Multiple myeloma is a cancer of plasma cells in the bone marrow, which also causes skeletal or soft tissue tumors. This cancer usually responds to immune system-stimulating drugs, but eventually overcomes them and is rarely cured.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cc8riRUR81Q ROCHESTER, Minn. — A Mayo Clinic review of 47 studies found that 30-day readmissions can be reduced by almost 20 percent when specific efforts are taken to prevent them. Key among these are interventions to help patients deal with the work passed on to them at discharge. The results of the review are published in this week’s issue of JAMA Internal Medicine. Journalists: Sound bites with Dr. Leppin are available in the downloads.

JACKSONVILLE, Flórida — Neurocientistas da Clínica Mayo de Jacksonville, Flórida, definiram um subtipo de doença de Alzheimer (DA) que não é bem identificada, nem tratada apropriadamente.   http://youtu.be/w4xQeNQVFoc A forma variante de Doença de Alzeimer que não afeta o hipocampo, representa 11% de um total de 1.821 casos de cérebros com Doenca de Alzeimer confirmados e examinados pelos pesquisadores da Clínica Mayo, o que sugere que esse subtipo é relativamente comum na população em geral. A Associação da Alzheimer estima que 5,2 milhões de americanos convivem com a doença de Alzheimer. E como quase a metade dos casos de DA que não afeta o  hipocampo não é diagnosticada corretamente, é possível significar que bem mais de 600.000 americanos têm essa variante da doença de Alzheimer, afirmam os pesquisadores.

Philanthropic effort supports patient-inspired innovations ROCHESTER, Minn. — To accelerate the pace of research, solve unmet needs of patients and improve the quality of health care, Mayo Clinic today announced a philanthropic campaign to raise $3 billion by Dec. 31, 2017, strengthening Mayo’s strategic priorities in patient care, research and education. “Reliable funding is the biggest barrier to advance medical breakthroughs that can benefit patients suffering from diseases,” says John Noseworthy, M.D., Mayo Clinic president and CEO. “Traditional funding sources, such as federal grants, cannot cover the cost of discovering cutting-edge science and implementing those solutions in clinical practice.” A focal point for the campaign is biomedical research. For example, funding will allow scientists and researchers to apply healthy tissues to regenerate and cure diseased organs; find trusted answers on diagnosis, prognosis and treatment of disease based on an individual’s genome and harness Mayo’s collective knowledge to improve the cost-effective delivery of quality health care.

Findings indicate significant advancements in the management of diabetic kidney transplant patients https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HySh85IZS5E ROCHESTER, Minn. — Mayo Clinic researchers have discovered that the five-year survival of diabetic kidney transplant patients is now on par with the five-year survival of nondiabetic kidney recipients. These new findings are published on the Kidney International website and will also be printed in a future issue of the journal. The study findings represent significant improvements in the management of kidney transplant patients who have diabetes and pre-transplant consequences of diabetes such as heart disease and high blood pressure. The study also suggests that improvements in patient management post-transplant have resulted in significant declines in subsequent cardiac events and a reduction in infections. Prior to 2004, the five-year mortality rate of diabetic kidney transplant patients was more than double that of nondiabetic kidney recipients. To arrive at these latest findings, a Mayo Clinic research team led by Fernando Cosio, M.D., medical director of kidney and pancreas transplantation, analyzed the experiences of 1,688 kidney recipients, including 413 with diabetes prior to transplant between 1996 and 2007.

Sex-Specific Research in the Future of Health Care Read more about Virginia Miller, Ph.D., director of Mayo Clinic’s Specialized Center of Research on Sex Differences, who has spent her career advocating for the importance of conducting research that is sex-specific. That means that research studies include both men and women, and that the results are analyzed separately by sex. Implications of Patient Genomic Sequencing At Mayo Clinic, the future of health care promises individual-driven innovation with patient care designed for your whole body. One way that we're fueling this innovation is through the Center for Individualized Medicine (IM Clinic) which offers genomic testing to patients in order to further personalize care. Collaborative Teams Building the Future of Health Care From concept design to custom fabrication, from embedded microprocessors to engraving, the engineering department at Mayo Clinic continues to work with medical professionals to ensure that miracles will continue in the future of health care.