Blood test detects cancer DNA three years before diagnosis
WHAT DID THE STUDY FIND?When someone has cancer, their tumors release small bits of genetic material into the bloodstream. The researchers discovered that this material can show up in blood samples long before any signs of illness appear."We were surprised to find cancer signals in the blood so early. Finding cancer three years earlier gives us a chance to treat it before it spreads,' said Dr. Yuxuan Wang, one of the study authors.The team used blood samples from a large health study called ARIC, which has tracked people's heart and health data for many years.They looked at blood from 52 people:26 people who were later diagnosed with cancer26 people who stayed cancer-freeOut of these, 8 people showed signs of cancer in their blood using a special lab test called MCED (Multicancer Early Detection). All 8 of these people were diagnosed with cancer within four months after their blood was taken.advertisementIn 6 of those cases, researchers went back and checked older blood samples from the same people, taken more than three years before the diagnosis. In 4 of those cases, cancer markers were already present even back then.WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?The study highlights that a simple blood test might one day be able to spot cancer early, giving doctors and patients more time to act.'This kind of early detection could improve treatment and save lives," said Dr. Nickolas Papadopoulos, one of the senior researchers.However, the researchers stated that they need to determine the appropriate clinical follow-up after a positive test for such cancers.
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Time of India
2 days ago
- Time of India
Artificial sweetener consumption linked to less effective cancer treatment
London: In patients with melanoma or non-small cell lung cancer, consuming high levels of the artificial sweetener sucralose contributes to diminished responses to immunotherapy and poorer survival, researchers reported in Cancer Discovery. When the researchers had 132 patients with advanced melanoma or non-small cell lung cancer answer detailed diet history questionnaires, they found that high consumption of sucralose was linked with lower effectiveness of immunotherapies across a range of cancer types, stages and treatment methods. In experiments with mice, the researchers found that sucralose shifts the composition of microbes in the intestines, increasing bacterial species that degrade arginine, an amino acid that is essential for key immune cells called T cells. "When arginine levels were depleted due to sucralose-driven shifts in the microbiome, T cells couldn't function properly," study leader Abby Overacre of the University of Pittsburgh said in a statement. "As a result, immunotherapy wasn't as effective in mice that were fed sucralose." Laying the groundwork for a solution to the problem, the same researchers also found in the mice that supplements that boosted levels of arginine mitigated the negative effects of sucralose on immunotherapy, an approach they now hope to test in humans. "It's easy to say, 'Stop drinking diet soda,' but when patients are being treated for cancer, they are already dealing with enough, so asking them to drastically alter their diet may not be realistic," Overacre said. "That's why it's so exciting that arginine supplementation could be a simple approach to counteract the negative effects of sucralose on immunotherapy." LOW-GRADE IS NOT THE SAME AS LOW-RISK IN PROSTATE CANCER A low-grade prostate tumor is not necessarily low-risk, new research suggests. Biopsy results showing low-grade prostate cancers can sometimes lead to underestimation of disease risk and omission of surgery or radiation in patients who might benefit from such treatments, researchers warned in JAMA Oncology. Among roughly 117,000 men in their study with prostate biopsy results indicating a Grade Group 1, or GG1, tumor - the slowest-growing kind - one in six had intermediate- or high-risk cancer when other factors such as prostate-specific antigen levels in the blood and tumor sizes were also considered, according to the report. Such higher risk cancers are often treated with radiation therapy or removal of the prostate, the researchers noted. "We don't want to miss aggressive cancers that initially present as Grade Group 1 on biopsy," study coauthor Dr. Bashir Al Hussein of Weill Cornell Medicine said in a statement. "Such underestimation of risk could lead to undertreatment and poor outcomes." Current guidelines that advise regular monitoring - rather than treatment - for men with low-grade prostate tumors were based on studies that examined entire prostate glands after removal from patients. Biopsies test only small areas of the prostate, so they can miss more advanced or aggressive cancer cells, providing an incomplete picture, the researchers said. Some cancer experts have been suggesting recently that GG1 tumors are so slow-growing that they shouldn't even be considered malignant. The new study results could help inform those discussions, the researchers said. "There is a misunderstanding that low grade and low risk are the same," study coauthor Dr. Jonathan Shoag of Case Western Reserve University said in a statement. "Here, we show clearly that they are not." (To receive the full newsletter in your inbox for free sign up here)
Time of India
2 days ago
- Time of India
Fake medication is a problem across the world Matthew Ward Agius
Representative image Amid rising demand for popular medications, experts and industry groups are concerned regulators may not be able to keep pace with the speed of counterfeiters. "A doctor simply writes down the prescription. They don't care where the patient buys the drug," said Saifuddin Ahmed, a public health practitioner and epidemiologist at Johns Hopkins University in the US. "It is critically important that a health care provider should be engaged. The [regulators are] not enough," Ahmed told DW. Nowhere else is the challenge more obvious than with the huge demand for products like Wegovy and Zepbound. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like What Happens When You Massage Baking Soda Into Your Scalp Read More Undo They contain active compounds called semaglutide or tirzepatide, which were originally designed to treat type 2 diabetes. But these drugs were found to have a side effect that triggered substantial, sustained weight loss. Demand rose from people wanting to lose weight, and that caused a shortage. Fakes have filled the gap. Fake drugs are a global problem Drug counterfeiting is a major global problem . The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that one in 10 pharmaceuticals are fakes that carry no guarantee of any health benefits. While this is mainly a problem in low-and-middle income countries, especially parts of Africa and Asia, around 1% of people in high-income nations also obtain medication from unregulated sources. In some cases, these drugs may have no effect. In other cases, however, ingredients in the fake medication may lead to adverse reactions or create new health problems. "Purchasing medicine online from unregulated, unlicensed sources can expose patients to potentially unsafe products that have not undergone appropriate evaluation or approval, or do not meet quality standards," said the US regulator, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2023, when it issued its first warnings about the problem. In 2024, the WHO issued a global warning that batches of fake Ozempic were flooding the black market. More recently, in July 2025, data from the UK National Pharmacy Association found one in five Britons had attempted to obtain weight loss treatments in the previous year. It warned that the high demand for these medicines carried the risk that people would "resort to unregulated online suppliers instead of regulated pharmacies." Where are people buying counterfeit medicine? Unregulated pharmaceuticals are being sold via online-only pharmacies, international drug shopping and organised criminal distributors. These digital marketplaces are not online stores for established pharmacies, but sites that seemingly offer medicine at a fraction of the usual cost. The drugs may look identical to genuine medicines online, but when delivered often have spelling errors on the packet or incorrect ingredient listings. But it's not only fake drugs or placebos. Regulators have raised concern about compounding, where medicines that have been approved individually can be formulated to produce non-regulated "compounds" for individual patients. In some regions of the world, including the US, trained pharmacists are allowed to compound medicines, but even then, the practice is less regulated than the stringent approvals that drug manufacturers must meet to bring their products to market. For example, when the FDA temporarily allowed the compounding of weight loss drugs to address a product shortage, some pharmacists used semaglutide salts — which are not approved by regulators — instead of semaglutide itself. This led to reports of side effects. And it wasn't just trained compounding pharmacies that were formulating these products in the US. Ahmed said, "this is done in [places] like gymnasiums and spas." The FDA has now stopped allowing compounded versions of these weight loss drugs, but it is concerned that unregulated online pharmacies are still making substandard products available. Raising awareness about fake drugs To address concerns that consumers may seek unsafe products from unregulated sources, the FDA operates a campaign called BeSafeRx that provides guidance for consumers to identify genuine pharmaceuticals. In the European Union, safety features on medicines are mandated, and include standardized labeling practices. In a statement provided to DW, the European Medicines Agency said "patients should only use online retailers registered with the national competent authorities in the EU Member States, to reduce the risk of buying substandard or falsified medicines." Europol, which is responsible for law enforcement for pharmaceutical crime across member states, has coordinated regular actions across the bloc in collaboration with US and Colombian partners. In a 2023 operation, more than 1,284 people were charged for offenses related to the trafficking of counterfeit and misused medicines and doping substances. As well as local awareness campaigns and enforcement initiatives, the key measure, Ahmed said, was to help improve awareness between patients and their health practitioners. Ahmed heads the Johns Hopkins University's BESAFE initiative, which investigates risks and interventions to prevent the uptake of substandard and counterfeit medication. Surveys undertaken by BESAFE have found that within the US and South Africa, awareness of where to safely buy prescriptions and report fakes or adverse events is low. He said building trust between consumers, medical practitioners and regulators may help avoid the risks of counterfeit and unregulated drug purchases.
Time of India
3 days ago
- Time of India
The surprising link between hearing loss and dementia
If you think hearing loss is 'just' an old age problem, or only means you'll ask people to repeat themselves, read on: not keeping your ears healthy might actually put your brain at risk, too. Multiple studies have shown that folks with hearing loss have a higher risk of developing dementia compared to those with normal hearing. To get specific: Older Americans with moderate or severe hearing loss were found to have a 61% higher prevalence of dementia compared to people with normal hearing. Untreated hearing loss is now considered the single largest modifiable risk factor for dementia, according to the influential 2020 Lancet Commission on Dementia . And—it's not just about Alzheimer's. Hearing loss is associated with all-cause dementia, not just one specific type. How does hearing loss affect the brain? Alright, so why does not hearing well mess with your memory and thinking? Here's what the science from various research studies suggest: Cognitive load: With hearing loss, your brain has to work a lot harder just to understand words. It ends up burning mental energy on listening, so less is available for memory, learning, and thinking. Over time, this 'cognitive overload' might wear down the brain's resources. Brain changes: When the brain isn't getting regular input from the ears, the areas responsible for processing sound can shrink or weaken , sort of like 'use it or lose it.' Social isolation: People with hearing loss often retreat from conversations and social activities. Loneliness and less mental stimulation create a perfect storm for dementia risk. Biological effects: There's some research showing other brain changes, like increased levels of proteins linked to Alzheimer's, in people with age-related hearing loss. What about hearing aids? Do they help? Here's the exciting part! Several major studies, including a nationwide trial funded by the NIH and led by Johns Hopkins, are showing that treating hearing loss may help lower dementia risk: Hearing aid users with hearing loss had a 32% lower prevalence of dementia compared to non-users in a large national sample. One big randomized trial (ACHIEVE) is tracking almost 1,000 older adults with hearing loss to see if those using hearing aids score better on memory and thinking over several years. Early results are promising and suggest that hearing aids could slow cognitive decline, especially in people with high dementia risk. Should you worry about your ears? If you're thinking 'I'm too young for this'—rethink that! The most important research shows that midlife hearing loss (not just in your 70s or 80s) is key. Catching and treating hearing loss early could make a huge difference for your brain down the road. Tips for protecting both ears and mind Get your hearing tested regularly, especially from age 50 and up. Don't ignore mild hearing loss. Even small changes matter over time. Consider hearing aids or assistive devices if recommended, they're not just for 'old folks,' and using them might literally protect your brain. Stay socially active even if you have hearing challenges, don't let hearing struggles push you into isolation. Keep your body and brain healthy: Treat other risk factors like high blood pressure, diabetes, and get plenty of exercise and mental stimulation. Bottom line? Taking care of your hearing is actually a big part of taking care of your mind. If you or a loved one is struggling to hear, don't brush it off—it's not just about missing words, but about keeping your memory, mood, and mind sharp for years to come.
