Novel Cancer Diagnosis

[dadstimeon]

http://www.ivanhoe.com/channels/p_chann ... ryid=11138

Reported May 2, 2005

Novel Cancer Diagnosis

DURHAM, N.C. (Ivanhoe Broadcast News) -- Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the United States. Now, new research could help in early detection and treatment of the disease.

Only 14 percent of lung cancer patients make it to the five-year mark, so Chuck Waser knows he's lucky to be alive. "It's been, in some respects, nothing short of a miracle," he says.

After nearly two years of treatment Waser is cancer-free -- to celebrate, he got Lola.

What happens in this lab at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N.C., offers promise to other lung cancer patients. Researchers can identify the difference between normal and cancerous lung tissue by comparing proteins.

"We hope by understanding the proteins in the cell, then we'll be able to understand why a cell acts a certain way. For instance, why a cell turns into a cancerous cell and what makes it a cancerous cell," says Duke thoracic radiologist Edward Patz, Jr., M.D.

Michael Campa, Ph.D., a radiology researcher at Duke, tells Ivanhoe, "So what this may allow us to do is to tailor therapy based on what exact type of tumor someone has."

Waser beat the odds and hopes this new research gives other patients that same chance. He says, "Certainly the earlier you catch it, the better chance you have of getting remission or effectively getting a cure."

While lung cancer is the model currently being tested at Duke, researchers say the new technology could be applied to other types of cancers and diseases as well.

This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, who offers Medical Alerts by e-mail every day of the week. To subscribe, go to: http://www.ivanhoe.com/newsalert/.

If you would like more information, please contact:

Becky Levine

Duke University Medical Center

(919) 660-1308

levin005@mc.duke.edu

[Patkid]

Thank you for all your research!

It enriches all of us.

Brian and Pat