Survival

Long-Term Survival can be Predicted by a Simple Lung Test

Researchers have found a simple pulmonary test can predict overall long-term survival rates in both men and women. Their findings are presented in the September issue of Chest. Researchers studied survival rates based on a lung function test, called forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1).They performed the lung function test on a group of more than 550 men and more than 640 wom...

Hepatitis G May Boost HIV Survival

A form of hepatitis virus not believed to cause illness may improve survival in people who have HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. In two new studies, HIV-positive people who were also infected with the hepatitis G virus tended to live longer than other people infected with HIV. Researchers suspect that hepatitis G, which is also known as GB virus C, improves survival by keeping HIV from replicatin...

Zinc supplements improve survival rate

Daily zinc supplements given to babies with low birth weight can significantly improve survival rates, especially in countries where infants often die from infectious diseases. The research involved 1,154 full-term but smaller than normal babies born in New Delhi, India, most weighing 5 1/2 pounds or less. Mothers fed them supplements containing zinc or minerals for nine months. Fifteen of the 20...

Medical Journals should create awareness on Child survival

Lancet has urged the medical journals and news media to increase the awareness about child mortality rates and increase international funds// to increase child survival. The Lancet reports that the goals of the two millennium projects are achievable, Millennium Development Goal – 4 (MDG) asks for a reduction in mortality rates in children below the age of 5 and MDG-5 wants a reduction in maternal...

Magnesium no benefit of survival after heart attack

According to researchers at the Hospital of Boston, a large clinical trial presents that giving intravenous magnesium after a heart attack does not improve survival after all. It has been assumed by some doctors that there could be benefit to patients// if they are given magnesium by infusion after a heart attack. The improvement in survival is thought to be especially significant for those who...

Specialist care convalesces intensive care survival

The survival of criticare patients gets better if specialists in critical care medicine manage them personally. Researchers at Johns Hopkins and Pittsburgh University have analysed the evidence on managing patients in intensive care units (ICUs). //They have found that patients do much better if they are cared for by a doctor who is a specialist in critical care medicine. Previous res...

Prolonged survival not assured by psychological therapies for cancer patients

"The lifespan of people with cancer cannot be prolonged by psychological interventions", says a recent study by researchers. Does mind play a role in cancer? Yes. People with cancer can benefit from counselling and therapy// at the time of diagnosis to help them cope with treatment and the illness itself. But whether psychological intervention actually improves the survival prospects o...

Survival rates in breast cancer patients improved with "Dose Dense Chemotherapy"

A study conducted by the Cancer and Leukemia Group B (CALGB) and presented at the 25th Annual San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium assessed the effectiveness of reducing the interval between successive doses of a commonly used chemotherapy regimen to improve survival rates in breast cancer// women. This study was conducted as follow-up of a mathematical model which was developed in the 1980s that...

Longer Lung Cancer Survival

According to the American Cancer Society, there are 172,000 Americans diagnosed with lung cancer each year. Because there are no early screening tests, many of these cancers are caught in their later stages, making them difficult to treat. A new drug is now helping patients who have failed standard treatment. By going after that protein, the drug stops the cancer from growing. Studies show...

ICU Survival can be improved by Antibiotic use

Intensive care unit patients who receive a preventative round of antibiotics aimed at ridding their digestive tract of harmful bacteria are more likely to survive their ICU stay. // That’s the finding from a new study that compared results between ICU patients who were given antibiotics and those who received usual care. The practice of giving ICU patients antibiotics to kill...

Vasopressin Found To Boost Survival In Sudden Cardiac arrest

Each year, more than 600,000 people die of sudden cardiac arrest in North America and Europe, usually because of // a heart attack or a heart rhythm disturbance. When medical personnel arrive, nearly 70 percent of victims have ventricular fibrillation, in which the heart's main pumping chambers flutter wildly and pump little blood. Less than 20 percent of these patients survive to go home....

Improving Survival Rate Of Lung Cancer Patients

Worldwide, lung cancer accounts for the largest number of new cancer cases and deaths from cancer // annually. Investigators in an international study found the survival rate of non-small-cell lung cancer patients after its removal improved with cisplatin-based adjuvant chemotherapy. Cisplatin is an anti-neoplastic medication that interferes with the growth of cancer cells and slows their gr...

Combination Therapy Effective In Improving Lung Cancer Survival

Researchers from Japan say that the combination of chemotherapy with a new medication could improve survival among lung cancer patients.// In the study of close to 1,000 patients, the overall survival rate was significantly higher in patients who received chemotherapy and the oral drug uracil-tegafur. Results of the study show 65 patients who received the combined therapy died within...

Symptoms Found To Be A Good Predictor Of Cancer Survival

New research shows physical symptoms may predict survival in patients with deadly cancers. Study results show physical symptoms, // such as nausea and shortness of breath, predicted shorter survival rates in these patients. Researchers say shortness of breath increased the risk of death by 50 percent for all patients studied. Those who reported nausea and vomiting at the early stages of...

Survival Of Colon Cancer Patients

According to new research chemotherapy after surgery may not be better than surgery alone in the long run for colon cancer patients. // However, researchers say, the study looked at chemotherapy drugs that are no longer used, so new chemotherapy regimens may be better. In 1977, a project looking at the benefits of adding chemotherapy after surgery was initiated. More than 1,000 patients...

Public Defibrillators Found To Improve Survival Rate

Placing automated external defibrillators in public places can improve the overall likelihood someone will survive a heart attack.// Researchers randomly placed AEDs -- devices capable of shocking the heart back to normal during a heart attack -- in nearly 1,000 shopping malls, apartment complexes, and other public places in 24 communities in North America. More than 19,000 volunteers i...

Body Weight Found To Affect Breast Cancer Survival

Body weight at diagnosis may be an important predictor of breast cancer death in early-stage disease say researchers based on findings // of a recent study. Among patients with early-stage breast cancer in the study, researchers found women in the highest weight category of 175 pounds and over experienced a 2.5-fold increased risk of dying from breast cancer compared to women in the lowe...

Enhancing Survival Rate Of Lung Cancer Patients

Investigators in an international study found the survival rate of non-small-cell lung cancer patients after its removal // improved with cisplatin-based adjuvant chemotherapy. Cisplatin is an anti-neoplastic medication that interferes with the growth of cancer cells and slows their growth and spread in the body. Researchers randomly assigned 1,867 patients to receive either three or fo...

The Addition Of Radiation Therapy Found To Improve Survival In Breast Cancer Patients

Researchers say adding radiation therapy to a treatment regimen already consisting of chemotherapy and radical mastectomy // leads to better survival outcomes among women with high-risk breast cancer with few long term side effects. Ina study done between 1979 and 1986, 318 patients were randomly assigned to receive radiation therapy or no radiation at all. In a 20-year follow-up, rese...

Survival rate not improved by invasive procedures

According to a new study, invasive procedures such as catheterization, performed on heart patients as soon as they // are admitted to the hospital may not improve survival rates. Researchers have conducted studies on a statistically significant group of patient population who were admitted to a hospital (cardiac catheterization facilities) after suffering from suspected acute coronary s...

Improving The Survival Of Lung Cancer Patients By Blocking The Effects Of Estrogen

Stopping or slowing the spread of lung cancer may depend on the addition of drugs that block the effects of estrogen, // say researchers according to a recent study . For the study researchers evaluated the effects of three different treatments that block the action of estrogen in human lung tumors grafted in mice. They studied the effectiveness of an estrogen receptor-blocking drug (ful...

Physical activity improves survival in women with breast cancer

A prospective study published in JAMA has shown that women with breast cancer who are active have lesser risk// of dying from breast cancer as compared to thosewho lead a sedentary lifestyle. Evidence from various studies support that there is reduced risk of cancer in women who are physically active. This study analyzed the responses from nearly 3000 registered nurses in the Nurses' Health Stu...

Grafting arteries to restore blood flow is best for survival

Surgeons prefer complete revascularization technique to increase blood flow to the heart// than coronary bypass surgery. The procedure is said to increase 5 years of patients’ life than the coronary bypass surgery. Surgeons from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, US, have found that patients who had blockages in multiple of coronary arteries have more life span when they undergo arterial gra...

Statins Gives New Hope for Increased Survival Rate of Heart Failure Patients

Administrating statins to patients with diastolic heart failure increases// the survival rate by 22% compared to patients receiving other drugs. William C. Little and his research team from Wake Forest University, has found that patients with diastolic heart failure (DHF) treated with statins has better survival rates. The study was done on 137 diastolic heart failure patients publish...

New Discovery to Increase Survival of Breast cancer Patients

Harriet Kluger and co-workers from the Medical Oncology of Yale School// of Medicine published in Clinical Cancer Research has found that expression of high levels of TRAIL-R2 causes a decrease in survival rates of breast cancer patients. TRAIL receptors are cell surface receptors that triggers cell death, the study has found that TRAIL-R1 expression was not associated with survival,...

Combined modality approach for effective treatment and enhanced survival in bile duct cancer

Hilar cholangiocarcinoma is a type of bile duct cancer. Conventional therapy for this for of cancer is to remove (resect) the tumor, which may require removing part of the liver. Survival for patients// with this type of operation is only 25 to 35 percent, and many patients cannot be treated this way because the tumors can involve both sides of the liver. Cholangiocarcinoma is a relati...

Breast cancer women has shown an increase in survival rates

Cancer Research of UK has reported that the survival rate of women with breast cancer has increased by 10% compared to patients with breast cancer prior to 10 years//. The experts feel that the increase in breast cancer survival is mostly due to world wide awareness for early detection of breast cancer and also due to more effective treatment options available due to increased research in the fie...

Novel Treatment Found To Prolong Survival Of Liver Cancer Patients

Surgery remains the most effective treatment option for patients with liver cancer. A cloud of confusion however remains regarding the best way to treat a patient who harbors a liver tumor that cannot be removed by surgery. //Infact very little surgical options are currently available for this group of patients. Thanks to the perseverant work of the researchers who have now suggested...

Disparity In Survival Rates In US and Canadian heart Patients

According to new research, elderly heart failure patients in United States have better short-term survival rates than Canadian patients, but lose that advantage over time.// Their study findings appear in the November 28 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine. Heart failure is the most common cause of hospitalization for individuals aged 65 and older in both countries. <b...

Healthy Brains Depend Upon Survival Genes

A healthy brain can be maintained by a person at old age through activities that exercise the brain like a daily crossword puzzle. The University of Edinburgh’s scientists are doing further research on this subject// with the object of identifying the ‘survival genes’ in the brain. The awakened genes add capacity to the brain to resist the after effects of drugs, strokes, and also con...

Television soaps showing unrealistic coma survival and recovery

British Medical Journal reports that television soaps or serials give a false picture about coma survival and recovery rates in coma patients. Researchers compiled 10 years data of sufferings felt // by coma patients and found that the rate of survival and recovery shown in television soaps is not true as the study show that only 8% of coma patients in soaps died during coma for instance, compar...

Obesity Has Adverse Impact On Breast Cancer Survival

Excess weight is not a good factor in patients with breast cancer and adversely affects the long term prognosis in the condition, a report published in the January 15 issue of the American Journal of Epidemiology has said. // These findings from a Chinese study are identical to conclusions that were arrived at in several Western studies and ponit to the fact that obesity seems to be a hi...

Better Survival for Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer by Radiation Therapy

Lung cancer is the most common cancer which has been mostly caused by tobacco chewing and smoking. Non Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) is a kind of Lung cancer// which has found to have little disease prognosis to cancer treatment. NSCLC is mostly detected in the late stage of the disease and the survival rate of patients more than 1 year is very less. Professor Mac Manus and his team...

Radiation Therapy Raises Survival Rate

Radiation therapy should be considered by women who suffer from stage 1 endometrial cancer along with the removal of the uterus, according to a research which says// that this can prolong their survival. Among the gynecological malignancies, endometrial cancer is reported to be the most common. As many as 40,000 women in the US suffer from this condition annually in the US alone, according to the...

Chinese Herbs Do Not Increase Survival Rate Of SARS Victims

The use of Chinese herbs along with conventional medical treatment for severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) may not be as effective in saving the life// of such victims, according to latest reports. It may just serve to alleviate their misery by a very little margin. The researchers of the present study analyzed 12 different clinical trials involving SARS victims. An approximate...

Survival of colorectal cancer patients increases by intensive surveillance and follow up

Providing a more intensive and a closely monitored surveillance for patients with colon and rectal cancers are proved to reduce the occurrence of cancer recurrence // compared to less aggressive strategy which is now followed by most of the hospitals. Researchers have found that an intensified follow up of patients in disease free survival state increased the chances of early diagnosis of cancer...

Folic Acid Improves Survival Rate Of Children With Birth Defects

The survival rate of children born with birth defects is improved by incorporation of folic acid in the diet, a new study has found //. It has been known that folic acid supplementation during pregnancy can reduce the incidence of neurological birth defects such as spina bifida, anencephaly etc. The researchers analyzed the effect of consumption of folic acid fortified grains on nearl...

Cell Survival Depends on Chromosome Integrity

Johns Hopkins researchers have discovered protein machinery important for cells to keep chromosomes intact. Without such proteins, their experiments show that //yeast cells experience broken chromosomes and DNA damage that in human cells are well known to lead to cancer. “Maintaining genome integrity is crucial for cell survival,” says Jef Boeke, Ph.D., Sc.D., the report’s senior autho...

Easy Access To Healthcare Services Essential For Better Survival Rates

Cancer survival rates have bettered among the teenagers and young adults (TYAs) in countries where people can have easy access to healthcare services// than in those where people have to pay for their own medical insurance It has been found that Australia's system of health insurance for all, regardless of age, meant that TYAs were more likely to survive cancer in Australia than they wer...

Ginseng Improves The Survival Rates Of Breast Cancer

The American Journal of Epidemiology have published that gensing has the anti-cancer properties that will improve the survival rates of breast cancer among women. According to foodconsumer.org the study found that those who took ginseng before diagnosis were 30 percent more likely to survive breast cancer. // Those who took ginseng after treatment were more likely to have a more active...