Berlin, Germany: Aneuploidy (the presence of an abnormal number of chromosomes) in embryos is a major cause of impaired embryo development, leading to conditions such as Down syndrome, as well as to pregnancy loss. The transfer of such embryos in women undergoing IVF is therefore usually avoided because of unfavourable pregnancy outcomes. But mosaic embryos, […]
Socioeconomic status influences genetic risk for many complex diseases
Berlin, Germany: Differences in socioeconomic status (SES) are known to be linked to differences in the risk of developing disease. While people with lower SES are more likely to develop complex diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease, those with a higher SES are at increased risk of developing certain types of cancer. Using biobank […]
Molecular profiling improves diagnosis and survival for children with high-risk cancers
Berlin, Germany: Cancer is the leading cause of disease-related death in children in most developed countries, and at least a quarter of these patients are diagnosed with aggressive high-risk or relapsed cancers, with an expected five-year survival rate of less than 30%. Accurate diagnosis can be difficult, and survivors often suffer life-long side effects because […]
Polygenic risk scores give inaccurate and highly inconsistent results in embryo selection
Berlin, Germany: Polygenic risk scores (PRSs) are estimates of an individual’s susceptibility to a specific complex trait obtained by aggregating the effects of dozens, thousands, and potentially millions of genetic variants associated with that specific trait into a single figure. Some private companies now market PRS embryo screening to prospective parents through the use of […]
Google Street View reveals how built environment correlates with risk of cardiovascular disease
Researchers have used Google Street View to study hundreds of elements of the built environment, including buildings, green spaces, pavements and roads, and how these elements relate to each other and influence coronary artery disease in people living in these neighbourhoods. Their findings, published in the European Heart Journal [1], show that these factors can […]
Breast cancer patients can safely avoid extensive removal of lymph nodes if they respond well to primary systemic treatment
Milan, Italy: Patients with breast cancer that has started to spread to the lymph nodes in the armpit can safely avoid extensive removal of the lymph nodes if their treatment is tailored to their response to cancer-killing therapies such as chemotherapy before surgery. In a presentation to the 14th European Breast Cancer Conference in Milan, […]
Low-dose radiotherapy boost helps prevent local recurrence with better cosmetic outcomes in young breast cancer patients
Milan, Italy: The vast majority of young patients given a low-dose boost of radiotherapy to the site where their breast cancer was removed in addition to whole breast radiotherapy, remained free of local recurrence after ten years, according to results of the ‘Young boost trial’ presented at the 14th European Breast Cancer Conference. Patients treated […]
AI tool predicts risk of side effects after surgery and radiotherapy in breast cancer patients
Phase 3 clinical trial starts later this year Milan, Italy: A team of international researchers have developed an artificial intelligence (AI) tool that can predict which breast cancer patients may be at risk of side effects after surgery and radiotherapy. Dr Tim Rattay told the 14th European Breast Cancer Conference (EBCC14) in Milan that the […]
A combined PET-MRI scan could improve treatment for patients with early breast cancer
Milan, Italy: Using a combined scanning technique on patients with early-stage breast cancer improved treatment in almost three out of ten cases in a trial presented at the 14th European Breast Cancer Conference. Using the combined positron emission tomography-magnetic resonance imaging (PET-MRI) scans enabled doctors to spot signs that a patient’s tumour had begun to […]
New data show pembrolizumab improves breast cancer outcomes regardless of age or menopausal status
Milan, Italy: New data from the KEYNOTE-756 phase 3 clinical trial show that adding the immunotherapy drug, pembrolizumab, to chemotherapy before and after surgery for breast cancer leads to better outcomes for patients regardless of their age or menopausal status. The findings, presented at the 14th European Breast Cancer Conference (EBCC 14), add to information […]