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Faith Group Leaders Come Together To Support 'Wall Of Life'
Leaders of the major faith groups have put their support behind the Wall of Life, an interactive campaign launched today by NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT). The campaign - at http://www.walloflife.org.uk - aims to promote awareness of and support for organ donation to boost the number of people joining the NHS Organ Donor Register (ODR).
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Don't Let The Credit Crunch Squeeze Your Vision!
As the credit crunch keeps on crunching and finances are squeezed ever tighter it is tempting to put off that visit to the optometrist and to carry on with your old specs for another few months. If your vision is good then it is even less likely that you will make an appointment for a sight test - after all you can "see" that nothing is wrong!
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TAU Develops Tiny Device To "Sniff Out" Disease, Heart Attacks, Poison And Environmental Pollution
Like the sensitive seismographs that can pick up tremors of impending earthquakes long before they strike, a similar invention from Tel Aviv University researchers may change the face of molecular biology.
Mental Health

Promising Biomarker And Candidate Tumor Suppressor Gene Identified For Colorectal Cancer

Researchers have identified a new candidate tumor suppressor gene in colorectal cancer and examined its use as a potential biomarker in stool samples, according to a new study published online June 17 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. In the study, Manon van Engeland, Ph.D., of the Department of Pathology at Maastricht University Medical Center in the Netherlands, and colleagues examined N-Myc downstream-regulated gene 4 (NDRG4) as a novel tumor suppressor and biomarker. The researchers analyzed NDRG4 promoter methylation and expression in human colorectal cancer cell lines, noncancerous colon mucosa, and colorectal cancer tissue. Quantitative methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction was used to examine NDRG4 promoter methylation as a biomarker in fecal DNA from 75 colorectal cancer patients and 75 control subjects. The researchers found that NDRG4 promoter methylation was more prevalent in colorectal cancers than in noncancerous colon mucosa. Its mRNA and protein expression were decreased in colorectal cancer tissue compared with noncancerous colon mucosa. A methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction assay for NDRG4 promoter methylation in stool identified the presence of colorectal cancer in 53% of colorectal cancer cases and correctly categorized a subject as cancer free 100% of the time. "In conclusion, to our knowledge, this is the first study to describe a tumor suppressor role for NDRG4 in cancer," the authors write. "Our data indicate that NDRG4 promoter methylation is potentially useful as a sensitive and specific noninvasive pre-selection modality for identifying individuals at risk for colorectal cancer for whom colonoscopy is recommended." In an accompanying editorial, Gad Rennert, M.D., Ph.D., of the Carmel Medical Center and Technion in Haifa, Israel, discusses the concept of molecular testing of stool for early detection of colorectal cancer and where such testing stands today. "Genetic diagnosis of colorectal cancers and meaningful adenomas has now reached a new phase that, when further fine-tuned, may carry the promise of becoming a suitable and affordable means of prevention and early detection of colorectal cancer in the general population," he writes. Citations: Article: "N-Myc downstream-regulated gene 4 (NDRG4): a candidate tumor suppressor gene and potential biomarker for colorectal cancer." Melotte et al. J Natl Cancer Inst 2009, 101: 916-927. Editorial: "Are We Getting Closer to Molecular Population Screening for Colorectal Cancer?" Rennet G. J Natl Cancer Inst 2009, 101: 902-903. Journal of the National Cancer Institute


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