Chronic heartburn may indicate Barrett’s Esophagus (BE), a precancerous condition where the esophagus lining is damaged due to digestive fluids. Although BE itself doesn’t manifest symptoms, it significantly increases the risk of developing esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC), a dangerous cancer. Many individuals with BE are unaware of their condition and consequently, their elevated cancer risk. Timely identification of BE and precancerous cells is crucial for effective monitoring and intervention, preventing the progression to fatal esophageal cancer. Now, an advanced test for detecting esophageal precancer has demonstrated improved assay efficiency and cost-effectiveness in comprehensive validation studies. Lucid Diagnostics (New York, NY, USA) has launched EsoGuard 2.0, its next-generation EsoGuard Esophageal DNA test. The EsoGuard test begins with extracting DNA from esophageal cells gathered using the EsoCheck Cell Collection Device. This DNA undergoes bisulfite conversion, tagging unmethylated sites. It then focuses on two genes, VIM and CCNA1, identifying 31 methylation sites linked to ...
For a long time, visible signs of tumor growth on scans were the benchmark for initiating cancer treatment. However, the emergence of precision oncology tools, including circulating tumor DNA sequencing, is changing this approach. These advancements allow for earlier cancer detection and adaptation of treatment strategies to combat mutations that cause resistance to current therapies. They also offer the potential for less toxic alternatives to chemotherapy. New research led by a clinical scientist at UC Davis Health (Sacramento, CA, USA) highlights the benefits of using blood tests to search for cancer DNA. This method can speed up cancer detection and inform the use of targeted treatments. Cancer DNA circulating in a patient’s blood can be identified from a simple blood draw. This DNA is then sequenced to determine its genetic structure, helping to classify the cancer based on the findings in the blood sample. Unlike traditional tissue biopsies, which are ...
Effective monitoring of cancer cells is crucial for physicians in guiding treatment and managing the disease, potentially reducing cancer-related mortality. Non-invasive diagnostic platforms that measure the electrical properties of cancer cells show promise for early detection of drug resistance and metastasis in cancer. Earlier studies have found that the type of cancer and its drug resistance status can be understood from cellular permittivity and conductivity data. As a result, there is a growing need for analytical methods that can quickly measure these electrical properties of cells. Electrorotation (ROT) is one method that can capture these cellular properties by analyzing permittivity and conductivity based on how a cell moves in an electric field. This method characterizes cell types and states by profiling their frequency-dependent rotational movement under a modulated electric field. However, traditional ROT methods have limitations, primarily the cumbersome process of capturing, measuring, and replacing cells, which reduces the throughput ...
Head and neck cancer, previously linked to heavy drinking and smoking, has seen a significant shift due to human papillomavirus (HPV). In fact, HPV-positive oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC) has become the most prevalent HPV-related cancer, surpassing cervical cancer, with increasing cases globally. Despite treatments, up to 30% of head and neck cancer patients face recurrences, often due to elusive cancer cells that treatments miss. Recently, the focus has shifted to liquid biopsy for detecting cancer recurrences post-treatment. Liquid biopsies search for cancer indicators in body fluids like blood and urine. Now, a new study has found that liquid biopsy of lymphatic fluid, which is commonly thrown away post-surgery, could be key in tailoring treatments for HPV-driven head and neck cancer. The groundbreaking study by researchers at University of Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh, PA, USA) and Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis (WUSTL, St. Louis, MO, USA) revealed that HPV ...
Genentech’s brief leadership interregnum is coming to an end as the company’s interim chief executive, Ashley Magargee, prepares to take a permanent place on the throne. Magargee, who was tapped to temporarily steer the Roche subsidiary in November, will don the mantle of full-time CEO on Jan. 1, 2024, Genentech said Tuesday. Magargee, who most recently headed up Genentech’s commercial portfolio in addition to her interim CEO duties, is taking the place of Alexander Hardy. Hardy hit the exit back in November and now serves as CEO of BioMarin. Having served at Genentech since 2004, Magargee is no stranger to the South San Francisco-based drugmaker. In terms of her leadership pedigree, Magargee has operated in senior management positions at both Roche and Genentech across life cycle management, digital customer experience and market access, Genentech said in a release. Genentech and its Swiss parent Roche have been locked in a complicated ...
Dive Brief Becton Dickinson has received 510(k) clearance for a device that collects blood from a fingerstick instead of from the vein. The MiniDraw Capillary Blood Collection System container is slightly larger than its predicate device, the BD Microtainer MAP Microtube, but is cleared for sample collection in “ancillary healthcare facilities,” positioning BD and its partner Babson Diagnostics to support blood collection from community sites such as pharmacies. When Babson rolls out its BetterWay blood testing service next year, the device could support the collection of samples for lipid panel, selected chemistry tests, and hemoglobin and hematocrit analyses. Dive Insight BD began working with Babson to develop a capillary blood collection and testing system in 2019. The partners expanded their collaboration last year to support work on self-collection, mobile services and at-home collection. Devices that enable the collection of capillary, rather than venous, blood for tests of hemoglobin and hematocrit ...
A new study led by the Medical Research Council’s (MRC) Laboratory of Molecular Biology (LMB) has identified a new protein as a potential therapeutic target for frontotemporal dementia, a type of early-onset dementia. Dementia is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder that affects more than 944,000 people in the UK. Frontotemporal dementia occurs from the degeneration of the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain, which control emotions, personality and behaviour, along with speech. Most neurodegenerative diseases involve proteins aggregating into filaments known as amyloids. When identified, researchers can target these proteins for diagnostic tests and treatments. However, in around 10% of frontotemporal dementia cases, researchers had to identify the TAF15 protein. Published in Nature, MRC LMB researchers successfully pinpointed the aggregated structures of the protein using cutting-edge cryo-electron microscopy to study the brains of four patients who had this type of early-onset dementia. The FUS protein is already known to be ...
Dive Brief The Food and Drug Administration received more than 19,600 comments related to its planned changes to the oversight of laboratory developed tests (LDTs). The public comment period closed on Monday. Multiple groups pushed back against plans to increase FDA oversight of LDTs. The American Clinical Laboratory Association (ACLA) is at the forefront of the resistance, submitting a 107-page document that outlines “grave concerns” and urges the FDA to withdraw the proposal. Hospitals and healthcare provider groups, like the American Hospital Association (AHA), also opposed the FDA’s proposal, arguing that the rule would limit patients’ access to tests. Dive Insight The FDA closed the comment period Monday, resisting calls to give affected groups more time to send feedback. The length of the comment period is one of many points of contention. Plans to increase regulatory oversight of LDTs, without gaining additional powers from Congress, have alarmed a spectrum of ...
A recent study published in the ArXiv preprint* server discusses the optimization of large language models (LLMs) for accurate differential diagnosis (DDx). Background Accurate diagnosis is the first step in effective medical care. It has been perceived that artificial intelligence (AI)-based models can be used to assist clinicians for accurate diagnosis of a disease. The real-world diagnostic process involves an interactive and iterative process with rational reasoning about a DDx. A physician weighs different diagnostic possibilities based on varied clinical information procured from advanced diagnostic procedures. Deep learning has been applied to the generation of DDx in ophthalmology, dermatology, and radiology. Due to the absence of interactive capabilities, deep learning models cannot assist patients with diagnosis through fluent communication in their native language. This interactive shortcoming can be overcome with the development of LLMs, which can be used to design effective tools for DDx. LLMs are trained using a massive ...
Study Finds Researchers recently tested ChatGPT’s ability to answer patient questions about medication, finding that the AI model gave wrong or incomplete answers about 75% of the time. Providers should be wary of the fact that the model does not always give sound medical advice, given many of their patients could be turning to ChatGPT to answer health-related questions. By KATIE ADAMS Researchers recently tested ChatGPT’s ability to answer patient questions about medication, finding that the viral chatbot came up dangerously short. The research was presented at the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists’ annual meeting, which was held this week in Anaheim. The free version of ChatGPT, which was the one tested in the study, has more than 100 million users. Providers should be wary of the fact that the generative AI model does not always give sound medical advice, given many of their patients could be turning to ChatGPT ...
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