New blood test finds early risk for ovarian cancer
AZN•Researchers found that blood levels of the RNA molecule Tu-Stroma can detect a precursor to ovarian cancer, identifying 92.3% of affected women and 98.2% of healthy women in the study. The article also reports on a pre-surgical bladder cancer drug regimen and research on coffee and digestion.
1. Blood test detects precursor
Researchers found that women with serous tubal intraepithelial carcinoma, a precursor condition that can develop in the fallopian tubes, had elevated blood levels of an RNA molecule called Tu-Stroma. The test detected the precursor in 92.3% of affected women and correctly identified 98.2% of healthy women. Among women with genetic risk factors, about 72% of positive results would be accurate, while negative results would be correct nearly 100% of the time, researchers reported.
2. Bladder cancer treatment
In a trial of nearly 700 patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer, patients who received AstraZeneca’s Imfinzi and Padcev from Astellas and Pfizer before surgery, followed by immunotherapy, had a 42% lower risk of death than patients who underwent surgery alone. At two years, 78% of patients in the drug-treatment group were alive, versus 69% in the surgery-only group; about 64% were free of cancer-related events, versus 45%.
3. Coffee and digestion
A study of 61 people found that frequent coffee drinkers had more colon contractions and lower small-intestine pH than less frequent drinkers. The researchers said the study cannot prove the differences were caused by coffee, and they do not yet know whether the lower pH is beneficial or harmful.
