A multi-institutional team of scientists has developed a free, publicly accessible resource to aid in classification of patient tumor samples based on distinct molecular features identified by The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) Network. The resource comprises classifier models that can accelerate the design of cancer subtype-specific test kits for use in clinical trials and cancer diagnosis. This is an important advance because tumors belonging to different subtypes may vary in their response to cancer therapies.  

 Most study participants could not extract basic information—including whether they have cancer—from standard prostate cancer pathology reports but were able to understand this diagnostic information from the patient-centered pathology reports (PCPRs). Also, they discriminated between risk levels (i.e., lower levels of perceived worry in the low-risk condition) with PCPRs compared with standard reports. Hospital systems should consider including PCPRs with standard pathology reports to improve patient understanding. 

This case-control study found that individuals with more advanced breast cancer at diagnosis were more likely to have prevalent cardiovascular disease. This finding may be specific to hormone receptor–positive and ERBB2-negative (formerly HER2) disease. Future studies are needed to confirm these findings and investigate interventions to improve patient outcomes, including personalized cancer screening.

An enzyme called MICAL2 promotes tumor growth and metastasis in the most common form of pancreatic cancer, according to a new study by UC San Diego School of Medicine researchers.

New Haven, Conn. — In 2020, the federal minimum age for buying tobacco products was officially raised from 18 to 21 as an increasing number of states and localities across the country sought to raise the age for tobacco purchases to protect the health of young adults.

 

One of the driving factors behind the change was a 2015 report from the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) that found that a federal Tobacco 21 (T21) law could prevent as many as 249,000 deaths through the year 2100.

 

A new study led by Yale researchers with the Cancer Intervention and Surveillance Modeling Network (CISNET) Lung Working Group has now determined that the NAM report grossly underestimated the number of averted deaths. The findings significantly amplify the potential impact of the T21 law and provide important new information for future state and local policy discussions surrounding tobacco regulation and public health.

Fighting cancer can seem like a deadly game of chance. While some patients may respond well to certain treatments, others might not be as fortunate. Doctors and scientists have long struggled to explain why. Now, in new research from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Shelley Berger, PhD, the Daniel S. Och University Professor and Director of Penn’s Epigentics Institute, and Katherine Alexander, PhD, currently an assistant professor at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory have found a possible source of this variability in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC)—the most common kidney cancer diagnosed in adults. The findings of their study were published today in Nature Cell Biology.

One or two doses of psilocybin, a compound found in psychedelic mushrooms, may improve the mental health of cancer patients when accompanied by psychotherapy, a new report suggests. A second new study found that treatment with psilocybin resulted in lasting, positive personality changes in patients with alcohol use disorder.