Cancers can be genetically characterized by analyzing tumor DNA taken from a blood sample, thus bypassing the need to extract solid tumor tissue. But extensive testing is required before liquid biopsies can supersede surgical biopsies in the clinic. Geoffrey Oxnard (Dana-Farber) is quoted.
A runner in this year’s Boston marathon is running to raise awareness about Alzheimer’s, and has also been diagnosed with the disease. Brent Forester (McLean) is quoted.
A woman’s chances of giving birth via Cesarean section depends in part on the hospital in which she chooses to deliver, a Consumer Reports analysis suggests. Neel Shah (Beth Israel Deaconess) is quoted.
Tumors are subject to the same rules of natural selection as any other living thing. Clinicians are now putting that knowledge to use. Kornelia Polyak (Dana-Farber) is quoted.
Paul Nguyen (Brigham and Women’s) led a study that suggests men who take hormone therapy for prostate cancer may have a higher risk of depression than patients who receive different treatment for these malignancies.
Patients diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia who have a specific gene mutation typically don’t survive longer than three years, but a drug approved Monday, based on science out of Dana-Farber, could change that. Matthew Davids (Dana-Farber) is quoted.
Pieter Cohen (Cambridge Health Alliance) led a study which found that a stimulant banned from international athletic competition has been detected in 14 easy-to-buy supplements.
