Nearly 40 million U.S. adults are classified as obese. Of these, it is estimated that four million are severely obese and 1.5 million are morbidly obese (BMI > 40). A number of medical conditions have been associated with obesity – osteoarthritis, sleep apnea, diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular disease – to name a few. The annual health care costs for obesity-related diseases now represent some 5.5% of total healthcare expenditures in the U.S. Because of their tremendous size, transporting such patients has become problematic. 1 in 80 men and 1 in 200 women weigh more than 300 pounds. Many facilities find standard…
Author: Global Cancer Consortium
Aethlon Medical’s Hemopurifier has been shown to capture or inhibit the growth of other envelope viruses including HIV, SIV, FIV, Hepatitis C, Measles, Mumps, Influenza, Ebola, Marburg, and Orthopox viruses. Researchers have also documented the Hemopurifier’s ability to reverse immune suppression in cancer patients. The company announced Wednesday that it will initiate studies to test the effectiveness of the Hemopurifier in its ability to capture West Nile virus. West Nile is presently untreatable with antiviral drug and vaccine therapy. West Nile is part of the celebrity superbug phenomenon, insofar as it is highly feared but, in reality, presents little threat…
One of the central problems in using chemotherapy to treat cancer is its harmful effect on organ health. Lower dosages of the drug are often used to limit side effects, which may diminish benefits of the therapy. Delcath has developed a drug delivery system that isolates the liver from the circulatory system. It allows chemotherapy agents to be administered to the liver and filters those agents from the blood before returning it to general circulation (in January, the company formed a collaboration with Aethlon Medical to advance this filtration technology). On Monday, the company announced results from a study of…
Each year over 234,000 new cases of prostate cancer are diagnosed in the U.S. Treatment options include surgery, radiation therapy, hormone therapy, “watchful waiting” and cryotherapy. Treatment depends on factors including the patient’s age, the stage of the cancer and the presence of other pre-existing medical conditions. To date, radical prostatectomy has been the preferred treatment – surgically removing the cancerous tissue carries a high success rate, but is often associated with unwanted side effects such as impotence and incontinence. Radiation therapy, which includes traditional external radiation and interstitial radioactive seed therapies (brachytherapy), is used to treat the early-stage disease.…
Most cases of colon cancer begin as small noncancerous polyps. Over time these polyps may become colon cancers. Regular screening helps identify polyps before they become cancerous, allowing for prophylactic treatment. According to the American Cancer Society, 112,000 people are diagnosed with colon cancer annually. The most common and effective diagnostic procedures is the oft-dreaded colonoscopy. It is recommended that individuals 50 and up get one – some 90% of colon cancers occur in this age group. During the exam, a colonoscope, a long, slender, flexible tube attached to a video camera is used to view the colon and rectum.…
I-Flow Corporation develops ambulatory drug delivery systems for pain management and infusion therapy. The company’s line of compact and portable infusion pumps includes catheters and pain kits to administer medications directly to a wound site. ON-Q, I-Flow’s principal product, delivers local anesthetic continuously to the surgical site. A review of data from 44 studies and 2,141 patients, published in December 2006 by the Journal of American College of Surgeons, offers evidence demonstrating the superiority of the pain relief therapy provided by ON-Q as compared to narcotics, the current standard of care. Benefits included better pain relief, less need for narcotics,…
Clarient provides access to technologies and services for the characterization, assessment and treatment of cancer. The company offers a full range of diagnostic technologies and services for the clinical cancer diagnostics industry including immunohistochemistry, flow cytometry, in-house molecular testing, complete tumor work-up and consultation services to follow-up and monitor disease after diagnosis. Client services include: diagnosing solid tumors, cancer sub-typing, classifying patients into prognostic categories (i.e. low, medium and high risk groups), identifying which drugs or therapy paths are best for patients, monitoring patient on therapy, searching for residual disease during and post therapy, and detecting relapse or cancer transformation.…
Immunicon’s CellSearch Circulating Tumor Cell (CTC) Kit has received FDA clearance as an aid in the monitoring of patients with metastatic prostate cancer. The kit is now cleared for three of the four most prevalent cancers; a combined ≈$1 billion market, according to the company. The CellSearch CTC kit was originally cleared in January 2004 to predict progression-free and overall survival in patients with metastatic breast cancer and later expanded to include monitoring. In November 2007, the kit was cleared by the FDA for monitoring metastatic colorectal cancer. The American Cancer Society estimates that in 2006 there were 1.4 million…