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AUSTRALIA — Scientists Find Genetic Key to Autoimmune Diseases.

AUSTRALIA — Funding Awarded to Starpharma and Baker Heart Research Institute to Develop Arterial Disease Imaging Agent.

AUSTRALIA — Gene Syndrome Behind a Significant Number of Endometrial Cancers.

CHINA — Breast Cancer Leading Cause of Death Among Local Women in China.

CHINA — Chinese Government Encourages the Practice of TCM.

CHINA — Unified Code Name System for Drugs Set for Year-End Launch.

JAPAN — Researchers at Japanese National Institute for Physiological Sciences Discover Brain Compensatory Mechanisms that Enhance the Recovery from Spinal Cord Injury.

TAIWAN — Academia Sinica Opens Its Mutant Mouse Lab Facilities.

THAILAND — The Cause of Recent Sustained Outbreak of Human Leptospirosis in Thailand Discovered.

SINGAPORE — Singapore's NCCS Finds New Cure for Advanced Colon Cancer Patients.

SINGAPORE — Protein Found to Turn On Genes Related to Obesity.

SINGAPORE – Intelligent Sensor Informs You to Change a Diaper via SMS

JAPAN – Tokyo Institute of Technology research: Key genetic event underlying fin-to-limb evolution

ISRAEL – Independent Results Show that BiondVax's Universal Flu Vaccine Administered in a Trial 3 Years ago Improves Immunogenicity against Current Flu H3N2 Epidemic

UNITED KINGDOM – Imperial Innovations Launches Orthonika: A Novel Knee Meniscus Replacement

UNITED KINGDOM – New Vaccine For Chlamydia to Use Synthetic Biology

CANADA – Aeterna Zentaris Announces Data and Safety Monitoring Board Scheduled to Complete Second Interim Analysis of the ZoptEC Phase 3 Trial in Endometrial Cancer in Early October

UNITED STATES – NueMD Launches Free ICD-10 Training Tool Ahead of October 1 Deadline

UNITED STATES – A new hope for Moderate and Severe Dementia: Upsher-Smith receives FDA approval for generic version of Namenda (Memantine HCL) Tablets

UNITED STATES – FDA Approves U.S. Product Labeling Update for Sprycel^® (dasatinib) to Include Five-Year First-Line and Seven-Year Second-Line Efficacy and Safety Data in Chronic Myeloid Leukemia in Chronic Phase

In illuminating tissues, a cylindrical diffuser (CD) has an advantage over regular laser sources due to its ability to illuminate a larger volume of the target tissue. This paper presents a co-registered large volume photoacoustic (PA) and ultrasonic (US) imaging for early endometrial cancer (EEC) detection using CD. It has the advantage that the US imaging system is outside the body and only the PA excitation device is inside the body, which makes the system more efficient and less invasive for EEC detection. The paper reports on two sets of experiments. The first set produced real-time PA images of blood vessel phantom. The second set demonstrated the imaging of pig uterus ex vivo. The results show that the system has the potential for imaging and characterizing of EEC.

Background: Primary broad ligament epithelial malignancies are rare occurrence. Hence, the treatment options are uncertain. Therefore, an accurate diagnosis is warranted to manage this condition.

Case report: We present a 61-year-old female with abdominal distension associated with significant weight loss for six months. A computed tomography (CT) scan of the abdomen and pelvis revealed a pelvic mass measuring 10.7 × 14.6 × 13.5 cm with omental caking.

Result: An exploratory laparotomy and tumour debulking was performed. Histological examination revealed moderately differentiated endometrioid carcinoma of the broad ligament stage IC and an endometrioid carcinoma of endometrium, stage 1A. She received external beam radiotherapy; brachytherapy followed by adjuvant chemotherapy with a 6 monthly surveillance. Currently, she is healthy with no recurrence at 24 months postoperatively.

Conclusion: The rarity of primary broad ligament endometrioid carcinoma may incline clinicians to suspect more common malignancies such as ovarian. However, with an accurate diagnosis, the treatment will allow a better prognosis to the patient.

In developed countries, approximately 1.5 million women are diagnosed with cancer every year and almost half of these are cancers of the female reproductive organs. Oestrogens and progestogens, prescribed as oral contraceptives and hormone replacement therapy (HRT), are among the most commonly used medications worldwide. Oral contraceptives increase breast cancer risk while being used, although this excess risk diminishes following cessation of use. Oral contraceptives also increase the risk of cervical cancer, but they result in a long lasting reduction in the risk of ovarian and endometrial cancers. The combination of these risks means that, overall, use of combined oral contraceptives results in a net reduction in the lifetime risk of breast, ovarian and endometrial cancers. Use of oestrogen-only HRT increases the risk of breast, endometrial and ovarian cancer. Compared to oestrogen-only HRT, use of combined oestrogen-progestogen HRT results in a greater increase in breast cancer risk, a similar elevation in the risk of ovarian cancer, and a decreased or null effect on the risk of endometrial cancer. There is limited evidence available on the association between use of HRT and cervical cancer risk. Overall, the use of oestrogen-only or combined HRT results in a net increase in the risk of cancer of the breast, ovary and endometrium. Therefore, oral contraceptives and HRT have differing effects on the risk of developing reproductive system cancers. The net effect of oral contraceptives is likely to be protective in developed countries, whereas the net effect of combined HRT is to elevate the risk of reproductive system cancers.

During the past four decades, the prospects of developing medicines to reduce the risk of breast cancer in healthy women have gone from a laboratory concept to a clinical reality. Tamoxifen, the pioneering selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM), was initially shown to prevent rodent mammary carcinogenesis and the data were used to suggest prospective placebo-controlled clinical trials. Tamoxifen reduced the incidence of breast cancer by 50%; but, most importantly, this reduction versus placebo was maintained for a decade after stopping the drug. A small but significant increase in endometrial cancer in postmenopausal women taking tamoxifen, but not premenopausal women, makes tamoxifen the chemopreventive of choice for the high risk premenopausal woman. The finding that the SERM raloxifene maintains bone density in postmenopausal women but decreases breast cancer incidence without an increase in endometrial cancer makes raloxifene the chemopreventive of choice in postmenopausal women. A range of new and novel SERMs has completed clinical testing.