The treatment of AIDS patients co-infected with Hepatitis C has made significant progress. The women were followed up for 5 years, but the value in the follow-up time was just over two years and was stopped on December 17, 2003. All previous breast cancer patients were randomly assigned to receive Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) treatment or to be in the control group that did not receive HRT, and they had at least one follow-up evaluation. By September 2003, out of 434 registered women, 345 had at least one follow-up report, with a median follow-up time of 2.1 years. In the HRT treatment group, 26 women experienced recurrence or new breast cancer cases compared to seven women in the control group. Among all the breast cancer cases, those in the HRT treatment group had received HRT during their treatment. Dr. Holmberg pointed out that in the next few years, these women will still be followed up, and the HABITS trial Steering Committee will continue to collaborate with other studies in the same clinical areas. In a subsequent commentary, Dr. Nananda Col from Massachusetts Dayton Women’s Health Hospital explains the meaning of the HABITS trial and concludes that even short-term use of hormone therapy poses unacceptable risks for breast cancer. This conclusion can reasonably guide the clinical practice for women with breast cancer. There is a need to address the difficulties faced by these women with menopausal syndrome and develop alternative security policies. A commentary by Dr. Harmon J. Eyrer, medical director of the American Cancer Society, pointed out that the scale of this study is large enough and clearly shows that HRT increases the likelihood of new and recurrent breast cancer. Therefore, HRT for women with a history of breast cancer is incorrect.
Spanish researchers have recently stated that CD38 expression in children with HIV infection can predict treatment failure. Many previous studies have shown that the expression of CD8+CD38+ T cells can precisely forecast disease progression in children infected with HIV-1. When HAART regimens are applied, the count of CD8+CD38+ T cells declines. To clarify whether the expression of CD8+CD38+ T cells serves as a prognostic marker for treatment failure in children, researchers observed 42 HIV-1 infected children over a five-year period. At baseline, viral loads were not measured after HAART in children. According to Dr. M. Angeles Munoz-Fernandez and colleagues from Madrid Gregorio Maranon General Hospital, it was confirmed that the count of CD8+CD38+ T cells is a marker of immune activation, and its expression decreases as children gain control over HIV-1. They also reported that during the period of undetectable viral load, the count of CD8+CD38+ T cells in a subgroup of 17 children showed that those with levels higher than the median (70.6%) had a higher incidence and relative risk of treatment failure compared to those below this value. Based on these findings, the researchers pointed out that: In the case of other infections, the count of CD38+CD8+ T-cells may be elevated, making CD38 values a useful prognostic factor for treating HIV-1 infection in children with HAART.
British researchers have recently announced the identification of a gene associated with bladder cancer, which could improve the treatment of this cancer. Professor Colin Cooper of Cancer Research UK believes this is an exciting advancement. E2 is a missing link in our understanding of the disease. The E2F3 gene is involved in controlling human cell division. Cooper and his colleagues found that overexpression of E2F3 is associated with cell proliferation and the development of bladder cancer. In laboratory tests, they measured the content of the E2F3 protein in bladder cancer cells. They found it consistent with the tumor grade status or severity. Less protein content in a bladder cancer cell indicates a higher level of aggressiveness. Cooper points out that these findings promote the development of new treatments for bladder cancer and also help predict the aggressiveness of a particular tumor, thus enabling...