Category Archives: Medical research

Cancer signs could be spotted years before symptoms, says new research institute

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Tests that can identify early changes in cells would give doctors more time to offer treatment, say Cambridge researchers

Scientists at a recently opened cancer institute at Cambridge University have begun work that is pinpointing changes in cells many years before they develop into tumours. The research should help design radically new ways to treat cancer, they say.

The Early Cancer Institute – which has just received £11m from an anonymous donor – is focused on finding ways to tackle tumours before they produce symptoms. The research will exploit recent discoveries which have shown that many people develop precancerous conditions that lie in abeyance for long periods.

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Cancer charities praise ‘brave’ Princess of Wales for speaking about her diagnosis

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Cancer Research UK’s chief executive says high-profile cancer cases such as Catherine’s can help others to seek help early

Cancer charities have praised the Princess of Wales for her “brave” decision to speak out about her cancer diagnosis as a way to encourage others to get their symptoms checked.

In a video message released on Friday, Catherine, 42, spoke of how her condition was discovered after she underwent abdominal surgery in January. In the weeks that followed her procedure, wild rumours flew around her absence and silence – but she said she and her husband, Prince William, had needed time to explain the situation to their three children, George, 10, Charlotte, eight, and Louis, five.

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Coffee drinkers have much lower risk of bowel cancer recurrence, study finds

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Exclusive: Scientists say people with disease who drink two to four cups a day are less likely to see it return

People with bowel cancer who drink two to four cups of coffee a day are much less likely to see their disease come back, research has found.

People with the illness who consume that amount are also much less likely to die from any cause, the study shows, which suggests coffee helps those diagnosed with the UK’s second biggest cancer killer.

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UK researchers find way of diagnosing bowel cancer without biopsies

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PET scans can examine entire bowel before and during treatment, avoiding risks associated with taking tissue samples

Researchers in Glasgow have identified a new means of diagnosing and treating bowel cancer with imaging technology, avoiding the need for biopsies.

Biopsies require an invasive procedure with a number of health risks, such as infection, and are limited in what they can capture within a patient’s bowel.

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UK scientists working on breast cancer monitor fitted in bra

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Researchers at Nottingham Trent University hope device used at home will improve tracking of tumours

Scientists are developing a device that fits inside a bra and could monitor whether a breast cancer tumour is growing.

Researchers hope the device will provide a new non-invasive method of detecting tumour growth that patients can use “in the comfort of their own homes”.

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She beat a rare liver cancer – and now works with her father to find more cures

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Cancer scientist decides to study the tumour that once afflicted his small daughter – and now her work is adding to his project’s success

Elana Simon was 10 years old when she started to experience severe pains in her abdomen. For two years, puzzled doctors put forward diagnoses including lactose intolerance, Crohn’s disease and stress. It was not until 2008 that they pinpointed the real cause. Elana was suffering from fibrolamellar carcinoma (FLC), a rare, usually lethal, form of liver cancer.

“In a way, it was comforting to have a word for what was wrong with me after so much confusion about my condition,” Elana told the Observer. “Pre-diagnosis, my life was a mixture of discomfort and fear. Now I had something to focus on.”

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Overweight girls ‘more likely to see GP about musculoskeletal problems’

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Study finds reception-age girls with obesity 67% more likely to see doctor about musculoskeletal issues than those at healthy weight

Girls aged between four and 11 who are overweight or obese are more likely to see a GP at least once about musculoskeletal problems than their healthy weight peers, research suggests.

Pupils in reception year who had a body mass index considered overweight were 24% more likely to see a doctor at least once for a musculoskeletal issue while their peers who were living with obesity were 67% more likely to do so than girls with a healthy weight, the study found.

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Drug that could slow womb cancer to be rolled out by NHS in England

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Dostarlimab or Jemperli, an immunotherapy used alongside chemotherapy, could extend life expectancy

A drug that could improve the quality of life of hundreds of women with womb cancer will be rolled out on the NHS across England from Tuesday.

Dostarlimab, also known as Jemperli, is an immunotherapy that works by attracting specific proteins on the surface of cancer cells to help the immune system attack them.

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Researchers study brain activity of surgeons for signs of cognitive overload

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Team at Imperial College London say techniques could be used to flag warning signs during surgery

It is a high-stakes scenario for any surgeon: a 65-year-old male patient with a high BMI and a heart condition is undergoing emergency surgery for a perforated appendix.

An internal bleed has been detected, an anaesthetics monitor is malfunctioning and various bleepers are sounding – before an urgent call comes in about an ectopic pregnancy on another ward.

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Covid death toll in US likely 16% higher than official tally, study says

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Researchers think undercounting goes beyond overloaded health systems to a lack of awareness of Covid and low levels of testing

The Covid death toll in the US is likely at least 16% higher than the official tally, according to a new study, and researchers believe the cause of the undercounting goes beyond overloaded health systems to a lack of awareness of Covid and low levels of testing.

The second year of the pandemic also had nearly as many uncounted excess deaths as the first, the study found.

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Combining three healthy behaviours can lower IBS risk, study finds

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People who tick at least three out of five boxes including not smoking and good sleep are found to have 42% lower risk

Combining three healthy behaviours can reduce the risk of irritable bowel syndrome by 42%, a study suggests.

IBS affects the digestive system and its symptoms include stomach cramps, bloating, diarrhoea and constipation. People can suffer for days, weeks or months at a time, and symptoms can come and go. IBS is thought to affect up to one in 10 people worldwide.

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Trial offers hope for millions that jab could prevent rheumatoid arthritis

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An existing drug for the chronic disease could slow or stop its progression, researchers say

Scientists have discovered a jab that could prevent rheumatoid arthritis (RA), a development experts say could offer hope to millions at risk of the disease.

RA is a chronic disease that causes inflammation in the body and triggers pain in the joints. About 18 million people globally are affected by the condition, which can lead to heart, lung or nervous system problems, according to the World Health Organization.

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Decades of research destroyed after freezer fails at Swedish university

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Estimated value of the samples thought to be in the millions as incident reported to police

Research samples collected over decades at a Swedish medical university were destroyed when a freezer malfunctioned during the Christmas holidays, the institute has said.

The samples were stored in tanks cooled with liquid nitrogen, at a temperature of -190C, at Karolinska Institutet (KI) in Stockholm.

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Oesophageal cancer test ‘should be made more available in UK’

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Charities say deaths will be prevented if ‘sponge on a string’ test is widely adopted

A test that can detect oesophageal cancer at an earlier stage than current methods should be made more widely available to prevent deaths, charities have said.

The capsule sponge test, previously known as Cytosponge, involves a patient swallowing a dissolvable pill on a string. The pill then releases a sponge which collects cells from the oesophagus as it is retrieved.

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Vets urged to stop giving pesticide flea treatments after river pollution study

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Exclusive: Pet owners risk contaminating their hands with neurotoxins for at least 28 days after application, scientists find

Vets should limit the use of flea treatments containing pesticides on dogs and cats, scientists have said, after a study revealed the vast amount of toxic substances in them that end up in rivers.

Pet owners using these flea treatments risk contaminating their hands with fipronil and imidacloprid, two insecticides, for at least 28 days after the treatment has been applied, according to research by the University of Sussex and Imperial College London.

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Getting fitter can reduce prostate cancer risk by 35%, study finds

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Increase in cardiorespiratory levels of 3% annually found to be beneficial, Swedish research suggests

Men can reduce their risk of prostate cancer by as much as 35% by doing a little more jogging, cycling or swimming, a study suggests.

Boosting cardiorespiratory fitness by only 3% over the course of a year was linked to a much lower chance of developing the disease. The findings prompted the researchers to encourage men to boost their fitness levels to help cut their prostate cancer risk.

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World-first blood test for brain cancer may increase survival rates, say experts

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Inexpensive test can help diagnose even ‘inaccessible’ tumours earlier, speeding up treatment and improving outcomes

Surgeons and scientists have developed a world-first blood test for brain cancer that experts say could revolutionise diagnosis, speed up treatment and boost survival rates.

For years, brain tumours have remained notoriously difficult to diagnose. They affect hundreds of thousands of people worldwide each year, and kill more children and adults under the age of 40 in the UK than any other cancer.

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Alice is among a growing number of Victorians battling this flesh-eating ulcer. Scientists say they now know why

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As Buruli ulcer cases rise in Victoria, Australian researchers say they have finally solved the ‘transmission enigma’

When Alice Mika was bitten by a mosquito last summer in Melbourne’s west, she didn’t think anything of it.

Then, a small raised bump appeared on her ankle more than five months later and wouldn’t go away. She saw her GP who prescribed antibiotics, believing it to be a spider bite.

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Experimental use of pig liver to filter blood externally offers hope for patients

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Surgeons at University of Pennsylvania attached modified organ from pig to brain-dead human body

Surgeons externally attached a pig liver to a brain-dead human body and watched it successfully filter blood, a step toward eventually trying the technique in patients with liver failure.

The University of Pennsylvania announced the novel experiment on Thursday, a different spin on animal-to-human organ transplants. In this case, the pig liver was used outside the donated body, not inside – a way to create a “bridge” to support failing livers by doing the organ’s blood-cleansing work externally, much like dialysis for failing kidneys.

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Children living near green spaces ‘have stronger bones’

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Bone strength is set in childhood so better park access could prevent fractures in older people, study finds

Children with more green space near their homes have significantly stronger bones, a study has found, potentially leading to lifelong health benefits.

Scientists found that the children living in places with 20-25% more natural areas had increased bone strength that was equivalent to half a year’s natural growth.

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