Screening detects ovarian cancer using neighboring cells

Public release date: 22-Apr-2013
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Contact: Megan Fellman
fellman@northwestern.edu
847-491-3115
Northwestern University

Study results could translate into a minimally invasive early detection method

Pioneering biophotonics technology developed at Northwestern University is the first screening method to detect the early presence of ovarian cancer in humans by examining cells easily brushed from the neighboring cervix or uterus, not the ovaries themselves.

A research team from Northwestern and NorthShore University HealthSystem (NorthShore) conducted an ovarian cancer clinical study at NorthShore. Using partial wave spectroscopic (PWS) microscopy, they saw diagnostic changes in cells taken from the cervix or uterus of patients with ovarian cancer even though the cells looked normal under a microscope.

The results have the potential to translate into a minimally invasive early detection method using cells collected by a swab, exactly like a Pap smear. No reliable early detection method for ovarian cancer currently exists.

In previous Northwestern-NorthShore studies, the PWS technique has shown promising results in the early detection of colon, pancreatic and lung cancers using cells from neighboring organs. If commercialized, PWS could be in clinical use for one or more cancers in approximately five years.

The ovarian cancer study was published this month by the International Journal of Cancer.

PWS uses light scattering to examine the architecture of cells at the nanoscale and can detect profound changes that are the earliest known signs of carcinogenesis. These changes can be seen in cells far from the tumor site or even before a tumor forms.

"We were surprised to discover we could see diagnostic changes in cells taken from the endocervix in patients who had ovarian cancer," said Vadim Backman, who developed PWS at Northwestern. "The advantage of nanocytology -- and why we are so excited about it -- is we don't need to wait for a tumor to develop to detect cancer."

Backman is a professor of biomedical engineering at the McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science. He and his longtime collaborator, Hemant K. Roy, M.D., formerly of NorthShore, have been working together for more than a decade and conducting clinical trials of PWS at NorthShore for four years. Backman and Roy both are authors of the paper.

"The changes we have seen in cells have been identical, no matter which organ we are studying," Backman said. "We have stumbled upon a universal cell physiology that can help us detect difficult cancers early. If the changes are so universal, they must be very important."

Ovarian cancer, which ranks fifth in cancer fatalities among American women, usually goes undetected until it has spread elsewhere. The cancer is difficult to treat at this late stage and often is fatal.

"This intriguing finding may represent a breakthrough that would allow personalization of screening strategies for ovarian cancer via a minimally intrusive test that could be coupled to the Pap smear," Roy said.

At the time of the ovarian cancer study, Roy was director of gastroenterology research at NorthShore and worked with Jean A. Hurteau, M.D., a gynecological oncologist at NorthShore. (Hurteau is an author of the paper.) Roy is now chief of the section of gastroenterology at Boston University School of Medicine and Boston Medical Center.

The study included a total of 26 individuals. For cells taken from the endometrium (part of the uterus), there were 26 patients (11 with ovarian cancer and 15 controls); for cells taken from the endocervix, there were 23 patients (10 with ovarian cancer and 13 controls). The small size of the study reflects the difficulty in recruiting ovarian cancer patients.

Cells were placed on slides and then examined using PWS. The results showed a significant increase in the disorder of the nanoarchitecture of epithelial cells obtained from cancer patients compared to controls for both the endometrium and endocervix studies.

The cells for the ovarian cancer study were taken from the cervix and uterus. For the earlier lung cancer study, cells were brushed from the cheek. For the colon, cells came from the rectum, and for the pancreas, cells came from the duodenum. Cells from these neighboring organs showed changes at the nanoscale when cancer was present.

PWS can detect cell features as small as 20 nanometers, uncovering differences in cells that appear normal using standard microscopy techniques. PWS measures the disorder strength of the nanoscale organization of the cell, which is a strong marker for the presence of cancer in the organ or in a nearby organ.

The PWS-based test makes use of the "field effect," a biological phenomenon in which cells located some distance from the malignant or pre-malignant tumor undergo molecular and other changes.

###

The paper is titled "Insights into the field carcinogenesis of ovarian cancer based on the nanocytology of endocervical and endometrial epithelial cells." The paper is available at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ijc.28122/abstract.

In addition to Backman, Roy and Hurteau, other authors of the paper include Dhwanil Damania, Hariharan Subramanian, Lusik Cherkezyan, all from Northwestern, and Dhananjay Kunte, Nela Krosnjar and Maitri Shah, all from NorthShore University HealthSystem.

Editor's note: Backman, Roy and Subramanian are co-founders and/or shareholders in Nanocytomics LLC.

---

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?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Public release date: 22-Apr-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Megan Fellman
fellman@northwestern.edu
847-491-3115
Northwestern University

Study results could translate into a minimally invasive early detection method

Pioneering biophotonics technology developed at Northwestern University is the first screening method to detect the early presence of ovarian cancer in humans by examining cells easily brushed from the neighboring cervix or uterus, not the ovaries themselves.

A research team from Northwestern and NorthShore University HealthSystem (NorthShore) conducted an ovarian cancer clinical study at NorthShore. Using partial wave spectroscopic (PWS) microscopy, they saw diagnostic changes in cells taken from the cervix or uterus of patients with ovarian cancer even though the cells looked normal under a microscope.

The results have the potential to translate into a minimally invasive early detection method using cells collected by a swab, exactly like a Pap smear. No reliable early detection method for ovarian cancer currently exists.

In previous Northwestern-NorthShore studies, the PWS technique has shown promising results in the early detection of colon, pancreatic and lung cancers using cells from neighboring organs. If commercialized, PWS could be in clinical use for one or more cancers in approximately five years.

The ovarian cancer study was published this month by the International Journal of Cancer.

PWS uses light scattering to examine the architecture of cells at the nanoscale and can detect profound changes that are the earliest known signs of carcinogenesis. These changes can be seen in cells far from the tumor site or even before a tumor forms.

"We were surprised to discover we could see diagnostic changes in cells taken from the endocervix in patients who had ovarian cancer," said Vadim Backman, who developed PWS at Northwestern. "The advantage of nanocytology -- and why we are so excited about it -- is we don't need to wait for a tumor to develop to detect cancer."

Backman is a professor of biomedical engineering at the McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science. He and his longtime collaborator, Hemant K. Roy, M.D., formerly of NorthShore, have been working together for more than a decade and conducting clinical trials of PWS at NorthShore for four years. Backman and Roy both are authors of the paper.

"The changes we have seen in cells have been identical, no matter which organ we are studying," Backman said. "We have stumbled upon a universal cell physiology that can help us detect difficult cancers early. If the changes are so universal, they must be very important."

Ovarian cancer, which ranks fifth in cancer fatalities among American women, usually goes undetected until it has spread elsewhere. The cancer is difficult to treat at this late stage and often is fatal.

"This intriguing finding may represent a breakthrough that would allow personalization of screening strategies for ovarian cancer via a minimally intrusive test that could be coupled to the Pap smear," Roy said.

At the time of the ovarian cancer study, Roy was director of gastroenterology research at NorthShore and worked with Jean A. Hurteau, M.D., a gynecological oncologist at NorthShore. (Hurteau is an author of the paper.) Roy is now chief of the section of gastroenterology at Boston University School of Medicine and Boston Medical Center.

The study included a total of 26 individuals. For cells taken from the endometrium (part of the uterus), there were 26 patients (11 with ovarian cancer and 15 controls); for cells taken from the endocervix, there were 23 patients (10 with ovarian cancer and 13 controls). The small size of the study reflects the difficulty in recruiting ovarian cancer patients.

Cells were placed on slides and then examined using PWS. The results showed a significant increase in the disorder of the nanoarchitecture of epithelial cells obtained from cancer patients compared to controls for both the endometrium and endocervix studies.

The cells for the ovarian cancer study were taken from the cervix and uterus. For the earlier lung cancer study, cells were brushed from the cheek. For the colon, cells came from the rectum, and for the pancreas, cells came from the duodenum. Cells from these neighboring organs showed changes at the nanoscale when cancer was present.

PWS can detect cell features as small as 20 nanometers, uncovering differences in cells that appear normal using standard microscopy techniques. PWS measures the disorder strength of the nanoscale organization of the cell, which is a strong marker for the presence of cancer in the organ or in a nearby organ.

The PWS-based test makes use of the "field effect," a biological phenomenon in which cells located some distance from the malignant or pre-malignant tumor undergo molecular and other changes.

###

The paper is titled "Insights into the field carcinogenesis of ovarian cancer based on the nanocytology of endocervical and endometrial epithelial cells." The paper is available at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ijc.28122/abstract.

In addition to Backman, Roy and Hurteau, other authors of the paper include Dhwanil Damania, Hariharan Subramanian, Lusik Cherkezyan, all from Northwestern, and Dhananjay Kunte, Nela Krosnjar and Maitri Shah, all from NorthShore University HealthSystem.

Editor's note: Backman, Roy and Subramanian are co-founders and/or shareholders in Nanocytomics LLC.

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-04/nu-sdo042213.php

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Palestinian kid begs Israeli soldier not to arrest him and allow him to ...

?Israeli Channel Two aired a video footage showing the arrest of a Palestinian boy aged 15 years by the Israeli forces in the occupied territories on charges of ?throwing stones.?

The video also show that one of the elements of Israeli patrol told Ahmad during his arrest: ?You are a hero.? Ahmed told the soldier: ?Please do not arrest me now, I have a test in school tomorrow, you can arrest me after the completion of the exam.? These are the words of a Palestinian boy who asked the soldiers not to arrest him.

Heart-breaking words from uttered by a Palestinian child amid pleas of his mother who begs the soldiers not to arrest him. But despite his young age, the young boy faces the might of the Israeli war and destruction machines.

The video also shows how the Israeli soldiers terrorize the Palestinians, particularly women and children.

Source: http://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2013/04/87919/palestinian-kid-begs-israeli-soldier-not-to-arrest-him-and-allow-him-to-pass-his-exam-video-2/

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Exact Sciences shares lose 1/5 of their value

NEW YORK (AP) -- Shares of Exact Sciences Corp. lost nearly one-fifth of their value Friday after some results from a study of its DNA-based colon cancer test, Cologuard, disappointed investors.

THE SPARK: Exact Sciences said the test met its main goals in the study. But Cologuard's detection of pre-cancerous polyps fell slightly short of the company's expectations.

Results showed that when Cologuard test determined a patient had cancer, it was right 92 percent of the time. The test was correct 87 percent of the time when it said patients did not have cancer. But the test detected pre-cancerous polyps 42 percent of the time.

THE BIG PICTURE: Cologuard would be the Madison, Wis., company's first product. It is a noninvasive test, meant to be widely used, that uses DNA technology to find possible signs of cancer and pre-cancer in a person's stool. It could indicate that more sophisticated follow-up diagnostic testing is needed. That could catch cancer in earlier stages, when it is more easily treatable.

The study enrolled 10,000 patients between the ages of 50 and 84. They were at average risk for developing colorectal, or colon, cancer. Results of the tests were confirmed by colonoscopies.

THE ANALYSIS: Wedbush analyst Zarak Khurshid said he had understood that at least a 50-percent success rate for pre-cancer detection was needed for approval by the Food and Drug Administration for that use. The sales potential of Cologuard is more limited if it's only approved to detect cancer and not pre-cancer, he said.

The company defended its product, saying it didn't think sales would be hurt. "I understand that people may be disappointed that the pre-cancer detection rate didn't come in at 50 percent, but clinically it just won't make much of a difference. And we're excited about the impact that the test can have," said CEO Kevin Conroy on a conference call with analysts.

Khurshid rates Exact Sciences shares "Neutral" with a price target of $11.

SHARE ACTION: Exact Sciences stock fell $1.90, or 19 percent, to $8.07 in afternoon trading. Earlier the shares sank to $6.93, their lowest price since October 2011.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/exact-sciences-shares-lose-1-180536031.html

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Calif. Democrats push wide-ranging gun control bills

California lawmakers took their first step toward moving a package of gun control bills Tuesday, following tough firearm and ammunition restrictions enacted in several other states in the wake of recent shooting rampages.

As dozens of supporters and opponents packed the committee room, Democrats in the state Senate began to use their majority to advance a group of seven bills that would further tighten California's strict gun laws.

One of the proposals would prohibit the sale of any semi-automatic rifle that accepts detachable ammunition magazines, prompting activists on both sides of the debate to say the plan goes beyond bans in other states.

"We simply can't wait until the next tragedy before taking action," Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa told the Senate Public Safety Committee.

The proposals come in the aftermath of mass shootings in Newtown, Conn., and Aurora, Colo. Some of the measures, including a ban on possessing ammunition magazines holding more than 10 bullets, would apply to current gun owners as well as those who buy weapons in the future.

Also, bills in the package would:

? Make it more difficult to rapidly reload weapons with high-capacity magazines.

? Add a combination shotgun-rifle to the state's list of prohibited weapons.

? Require background checks for all gun owners.

? Require ammunition buyers to undergo a background check and get a permit.

? Require more training for gun buyers.

? And add new crimes to those that disqualify California residents from owning weapons.

New York, Connecticut and Colorado have passed restrictions on firearms in response to the recent mass shootings.

The new bills in California are among at least 30 gun control measures introduced in the state this year, and they come as state Assembly members also debate the topic.

The Assembly Public Safety Committee advanced a bill Tuesday that would make it a crime to negligently store a loaded firearm or leave it in a place where a child is likely to access it. Current law makes it a crime only if the child uses the weapon.

The same committee also rejected a pair of gun owners' rights bills ? one that would have made it easier to get a concealed weapons permit and another allowing the open carry of firearms.

Given the makeup of the California Legislature, the Senate gun control package stands a fair chance of becoming law. Democrats hold two-thirds majorities in both houses of the Legislature. Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown's office, however, declined comment on the pending legislation.

Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, author of the bill to outlaw rifles with detachable magazines, said the proposal would close "loopholes and gaps that the manufacturers have exploited" to sell military-style assault weapons in the state.

The Sacramento Democrat estimated that about 355 California residents and 3,300 people nationwide have died from gun violence since the Connecticut elementary school shooting in December.

However, gun rights advocate Jake McGuigan told the committee that few assault weapons are used in homicides in California, citing state Department of Justice statistics.

"We don't look for the loopholes," said McGuigan, a National Shooting Sports Foundation spokesman. "We only look to comply with the legislation."

Steinberg and other supporters acknowledged that California laws can be skirted by those who travel to other states to buy weapons, underscoring their desire for federal gun control legislation. However, Steinberg said, California lawmakers should not wait to take action.

Gun control activist Rick Jacobs echoed the notion at a Capitol news conference before the hearing, saying that California lawmakers are acting, "while unfortunately those folks in Washington are watching."

Jacobs, chairman of the Courage Campaign, said his group helped collect more than 31,000 signatures backing the gun restrictions.

Meanwhile, opponents testified that the ban on future sales of rifles with detachable magazines would outlaw firearms that don't generally qualify as assault weapons and would sweep up Californians who would inadvertently be breaking the law.

"Filling our jails with normal, everyday law abiding citizens," said Sen. Joel Anderson, R-Alpine, as he voted against Steinberg's bill, "makes absolutely no sense to me."

Also Read

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/calif-dems-push-wide-ranging-230821881.html

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The Human Body As You Know It Is Over - Business Insider

Here is what happens.

Humans invent technology.?

Then technology re-invents humans.

According to NewScientist, most humans were pretty lousy at using hand tools when they were first invented 1.7 million years ago.

The reason: primitive wrists that were "good for hanging from branches, but too weak to grasp and handle small objects with much force."

But by 800,000 years ago, humans had great hands for using tools.

What happened between those years?

A newly discovered set of bones ? from between those eras, 1.4 million years ago ? gives us a clue.

The 1.4 million-year-old bones reveal human hands that were better for using tools than the ones from 1.7 million years ago, but not as good as hands from 800,000.

The 1.4 million year-old-hand had?"a small lump at its base ? the styloid," that allowed helped stabilize wrists, allowing the hand to grip smaller objects.

The newly-discovered bones reveal that, over time, human hands progressed along an continuum of evolution.

Human bodies evolved to better use human-invented technology.

The New Scientists puts the theory this way: "As stone tools became more widespread, those who had the wrist structure to use them would have had an evolutionary advantage over their weaker-wristed kin."

What does this mean for today's humans??

It means new technologies like the Internet, Google search, and portable, powerful computers such as the iPhone are inevitably going to change us as a species ? re-wiring our brains and molding our bodies.

You can already see this happening.?

First of all, a person and a people's technical literacy and economic prosperity are obviously linked in a cycle where one improves and reinforces the other.

Secondly, there is the impact that Google is having on our brains.

In 2011, Science published a study called: "Google Effects on Memory: Cognitive Consequences of Having Information at Our Fingertips."

The study showed that humans who used Google a lot were becoming worse at remembering certain things.?To many, the study seemed to suggest that Google was making us stupid.

But what the study actually showed was that humans have simply learned to remember differently ? in a way that allows us to actually remember, and use, much more information.

Ars Technica nicely summarized its conclusion: "People are recalling information less, and instead can remember?where to find the information they have forgotten."

Our brains are adapting to a world in which we can store and find information in a centralized brain.

It's pretty amazing. It took our hands 900,000 years to grow fully accustomed to physical tools.

Google was invented less than 20 years ago, and it's already re-wiring our bodies.

Imagine how human brains and bodies will work in another 20 years, when computers will have been next to, on, or in bodies for generations ? providing constant connection to each other and all the information in the world.

Now imagine how untold advances on those technologies will form our bodies and the brains inside them after 100 or 100,000 years of use.

The human body, as you know it, is over.

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/the-human-body-as-you-know-it-is-over-2013-4

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Top Ways To Promote Business and Products Online Effectively

Your company might have got the best in class products or services to offer to the customers but the real challenge in this cut throat business world competition is to promote your products or services. Promoting your product or business successfully helps you to catch the attention of desired audience. Many businesses and companies have separate departments taking care of the new product and service launches. Online free ads can gain the maximum traffic for online promotion of a business/product, let?s see how.

Promote Business Products online

Why promotion is important?

Without promoting your business or product appropriately all the efforts, time and money put into the manufacturing of product would go as a waste. It is just like preparing for the exams day and night and forgetting to take a pen to write in the exam. A well planned online and offline promotion can help the company prepare the right platform for launch of a product, or selling a product or for making other important announcements such as upgrades on the product or service.

In today?s world where everything is getting modernized it is becomes very elementary to choose the right path for promotion so that it is carried out effectively. Gone are the days when word of mouth and newspaper advertisements were in fashion to promote the product. The latest trend in terms of promotion is use of World Wide Web to spread news about some product or service to large audiences spread across the globe within matter of hours.

Top ways of promoting online

Let us try and have a look at the top ways to promote business/products online. The internet is in itself a great platform for promotion of anything still one should know the right way of promotion that can be used to catch attention of large audiences using least of the efforts and resources.

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• Social networking websites ? Websites like Facebook and Twitter are in itself a great platform for promotion of anything. Make a fan-page, set statuses about the product, tweet about the advantages of buying a product or service. One can also use the tweets and posts as a form of online free ads to increase the viewership of a business/ product. These are free resource to endless traffic if handled well enough.

?

• Article Marketing ? Another free way to promote your business is through online articles. You can write articles about the services of your business or advantages of a product and can submit it to online article directories. This method generally takes little time to catch attention of audiences but works really well.

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• Blogs and Forums ? People do take interests in reading blogs and forums to know about the choices they have for a certain product. A well written blog post or posting in similar niche of your business or product in forums can help amassing large audience for your business. In these posts never forget to leave the web links to your business.

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The Final Verdict
Other than these few common ways of promoting your products online for free are online affiliate marketing, SEO content and Email marketing etc. Online promotion of business or products is such a boon gifted by technology. These online promotional strategies have been used by many successful businesses to gain a lot of success. You can also follow the same path to success.

About: Bashir Ahmed

My name is Bashir Ahmed! I am a full time Blogger and I love blogging. I like to share best blogging tips, Technology news, social media marketing. I will do my best and keep you all informed on the best ways to promote your site and increase organic traffic. If you want to write a guest post for my blog click here. Check my Free WordPress Blog Installation Service!

Source: http://ajnabii.com/business/promote-products-business-online.html

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Magnitude-7.8 earthquake strikes Iran, USGS says

By John Newland, Staff Writer, NBC News

A magnitude-7.8 earthquake struck Iran on Tuesday, according to the United States Geographical Survey.

Reuters cited witnesses as saying that tall buildings shook as far as way as New Delhi, India, with the tremors sending people running into the streets. Intense shaking was also felt in southern Pakistan.

The quake struck at 3:44 p.m. local time (6:44 a.m. ET) in southeastern Iran, about 50 miles east of the city of Khash and near the Pakistani border, the USGS reported.

The epicenter was in a thinly populated area, according to maps from the European-Mediterranean?Seismological Agency.

The nearest city of any size, Khash, has a population of 70,000, the agency said.

According to the USGS, about 232,000 people live in areas where the shaking was strong; more than 2 million occupy areas where it was moderate; and another million are in territories where it was classified as light.

Soon after the quake, reports from those who felt it came pouring in to the EMSA from places including Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates.

A witness in Karachi, Pakistan, which is almost 400 miles from the epicenter, said, "I felt my laptop and table shake noticeably."

Pakistan state television said aftershocks were rattling the region at 7:30 a.m. ET.

In Fujairah, UAE, slightly farther away, a witness reported to EMSA "some shaking and trembling" and "everyone on the streets," adding, "Hanging things were swinging."

In New Delhi, about 1,500 miles away, a witness reported feeling two shocks a few second apart. "The first was short and slight, and the second was stronger and lasted longer -- maybe 10 seconds."

Tuesday's quake was the second significant one in Iran in a week.

An April 9 earthquake near the country's only nuclear power plant killed 37 people and injured at least 850 more, leaving entire villages devastated.

Despite the scare caused by that quake, Iran pledged that it would continue to build more reactors in the heavily seismic region, which is hundreds of miles from the site of the latest temblor, on the other side of the country's south.?

Reuters and NBC News' Mujid Ahmed contributed to this report.

This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.

Related:

'Devastating' quake strikes near Iran's Bushehr nuclear plant

Full Iran coverage from NBC News

This story was originally published on Tue Apr 16, 2013 6:58 AM EDT

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/653387/s/2ac6d1fa/l/0Lworldnews0Bnbcnews0N0C0Inews0C20A130C0A40C160C177763190Emagnitude0E780Eearthquake0Estrikes0Eiran0Eusgs0Esays0Dlite/story01.htm

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