Evolution May Be to Blame for High Risk of Advanced Cancers in Humans
Compared to chimpanzees, our closest evolutionary cousins, humans are particularly prone to developing advanced carcinomas the type of tumors that include prostate, breast, lung and colorectal cancers even in the absence of known risk factors, such as genetic predisposition or tobacco use.
A recent study led by researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine and Moores Cancer Center helps explain why. The study, published December 9, 2020 in
FASEB BioAdvances, suggests that an evolutionary genetic mutation unique to humans may be at least partly to blame.
December 10, 2020
Postmenopausal women may be able to skip some treatments, thereby avoiding some debilitating side effects, new research says.
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It may be possible for some postmenopausal women to avoid some breast cancer treatment without compromising survival, according to two new studies presented at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS), hosted by UT Health San Antonio, the American Association for Cancer Research, and the Dan L. Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center at Baylor College of Medicine.
The meeting was held virtually December 8 to 11.
One study found that postmenopausal women with early-stage breast cancer who were at low risk of recurrence can skip chemotherapy after surgery. The other found that older patients may be able to skip radiation therapy following breast-conserving surgery.
Massachusetts General Hospital is President-elect Joe Biden s pick to head the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Walensky is the infectious disease chief at MGH and a professor at Harvard Medical School.
Walensky is also a practicing infectious disease physician at MGH and Brigham and Women s Hospital. She serves as chairwoman of the Office of AIDS Research Advisory Council, part of the National Institutes of Health, and as a member of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Panel on Antiretroviral Guidelines for Adults and Adolescents.
Walensky is a well-respected public health and infectious disease expert who also has a reputation for speaking her mind, The Washington Post reported.