Microwave Imaging May Be A Better System To Detect Breast Cancer

A new study published in the AIP Review of Scientific Instruments states that a microwave imaging system may be a better, cheaper, and safer method to detect breast cancer. Microwave imaging relies upon cancerous and normal tissues’ ability to conduct electricity or sustain an electric field. The breast is suspended in a liquid bath rather than compressed, and closely surrounded by 16 antennae. Each antenna then illuminates the breast with a low powered microwave signal which is then transmitted through the other antennae which produces a 3D image of the breast showing both cancerous and noncancerous tissue.

Final Clinical Trial Results For Patients With Advanced Breast Cancer May Slow Down Progression Of Cancer

Final clinical trial results were recently published in The Lancet Oncology demonstrating that the amount of time patients were on treatment who did not experience the progression of their breast cancer was doubled in women with advanced breast cancer who took the experimental drug, palbociclib. According to the lead author of the study and associate professor of medicine at the Translational Oncology Research Laboratory at UCLA, the drug stops tumor cells from growing. The drug does not produce side effects like traditional chemotherapy such as infections, however some patients experience a lower white blood cell count that can be easily managed through other means.

Clot-Grabbing Device May Be More Effective For Stroke Patients Than Drugs

A new study published by the New England Journal of Medicine states that removing the clot in a blocked artery of a stroke victim will more likely produce better results than using clot-busting drugs. The study known as MR CLEAN shows that 90 days after the stroke, 32.6% of patients whose surgeons used the clot-grabbing device in the brain artery achieved functional independence while only 19.1% did so with the clot dissolving drugs. The device had been around for several years, according to the director of the UCLA Stroke Center, however this was the first clinical trial demonstrating its effectiveness.

Excess Belly Fat Increases Risk Of Sudden Cardiac Death

The New York Times reports that having excess belly fat can significantly increase the risk of sudden cardiac death. Researchers recently published the new finding in the British journal, Heart, that those who died of sudden cardiac death during the 13 year study also had higher rates of other cardiac risk factors like obesity, hypertension, and high cholesterol. Those with the highest waist-to-hip ratio had more than doubled the risk of sudden cardiac death compared with others in the normal range.