Attention, chocolate lovers: You may not be able to help yourselves. Swiss and British scientists have linked the widespread love of chocolate to a chemical "signature" that may be programmed into our metabolic systems.
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Test Predicts Success of Brain Cancer Drug
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WEDNESDAY, Sept. 29 (HealthDayNews) -- A genetic test can pinpoint which patients with deadly brain tumors called glioblastomas will live longer if they take the drug temozolomide, says a study presented Wednesday at the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer symposium in Geneva. This test is conducted during tumor biopsies and can provide results within two to three days. If the test becomes widely implemented, it could make temozolomide a targeted treatment. A gene called 0-6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase (MGMT) is the key to predicting which patients will benefit from temozolomide, which acts directly against DNA to slow down the replication of cancer cells. Glioblastomas account for about 12 percent to 15 percent of all brain cancers. About two to three people per 100,000 are diagnosed with glioblastomas each year in the United States and Europe. More information The National Cancer Institute has more about brain tumors.
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