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Apr. 3, 2013 ? A new system for isolating rare circulating tumor cells (CTCs) -- living solid tumor cells found at low levels in the bloodstream -- shows significant improvement over previously developed devices and does not require prior identification of tumor-specific target molecules. Developed at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Center for Engineering in Medicine and the MGH Cancer Center, the device rapidly delivers a population of unlabeled tumor cells that can be analyzed with both standard clinical diagnostic cytopathology and advanced genetic and molecular technology.
The MGH team's report has been published in Science Translational Medicine.
"This new technology allows us to follow how cancer cells change through the process of metastasis," says Mehmet Toner, PhD, director of the BioMicroElectroMechanical Systems Resource Center in the MGH Center for Engineering in Medicine, the paper's senior author. "Cancer loses many of its tissue characteristics during metastasis, a process we have not understood well. Now for the first time we have the ability to discover how cancer evolves through analysis of single metastatic cells, which is a big step in the war against cancer."
The new device -- called the CTC-iChip -- is the third microchip-based device for capturing CTCs developed at the MGH Center for Engineering in Medicine. The first two systems relied on prior knowledge of a tumor-specific surface marker in order to sort CTCs from whole blood and required significant adjustment for each different type of cancer. The systems also required four to five hours to process a single blood sample.
The only U.S. Food & Drug Administration-cleared, commercially available device for capturing and enumerating CTCs -- the CELLSEARCH? system developed by Veridex, LLC -- relies on magnetic nanoparticles that bind to the same epithelial protein used in the MGH -developed microchip-based devices and cannot always find CTCs present at very low numbers. In January 2011 the MGH entered into a collaborative agreement with Veridex and its affiliate Janssen Research & Development, LLC, to establish a center of excellence in research on CTC technologies.
Combining elements of both approaches -- magnetic labeling of target cells and microfluidic sorting -- the CTC-iChip works by putting a blood sample through three stages. The first removes from the sample, on the basis of cell size, all blood components except for CTCs and white blood cells. The second step uses a microfluidic process developed at the MGH to align the cells in a single file, allowing for extremely precise and rapid sorting. In the third stage, magnetically labeled target cells -- either CTCs tagged via the epithelial marker or white blood cells tagged on known blood-cell antigens -- are sorted out. Tagging white blood cells instead of CTCs leaves behind a population of unlabeled and unaltered tumor cells and doesn't rely on the presence of the epithelial marker or other known tumor antigens on the cell surface.
The new system was able to process blood samples at the extremely rapid rate of 10 million cells per second, handling a tube of blood in less than an hour. Both the mode of sorting out tagged CTCs, called tumor-antigen-dependent, and the technique that depletes white blood cells, called tumor-antigen-independent, recovered more than 80 percent of tumor cells from different types of cancer that had been added to blood samples. Comparison of the antigen-dependent-mode CTC-iChip with existing commercial technology for processing blood samples from patients with prostate, breast, pancreatic, colorectal and lung cancer showed the CTC-iChip to be more sensitive at detecting low levels of CTCs.
In the antigen-independent mode, the CTC-iChip successfully identified CTCs from several types of cancers that had lost or never had the epithelial marker, including triple-negative breast cancer and melanoma. CTCs isolated through this mode were put through standard cytopathological analysis, which revealed structural similarities to the original tumor, and detailed molecular genotyping of CTCs from a single patient found significant differences in gene expression patterns among individual CTCs.
"We're only beginning to identify potential applications of the ability to analyze how tumors mutate as they spread, but this should help improve our understanding of the fundamental genetic principles of metastasis," says Toner, the Benedict Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School (HMS). "We hope to develop this technology to the point where it could be used for early diagnosis, which is the 'Holy Grail' that all of us working on CTC technology have been striving for."
Ravi Kapur, PhD, of the Center for Engineering in Medicine, leader of the innovation team within the MGH Circulating Tumor Cell Center, says, "The CTC-iChip provides a first-in-class device for high-efficiency, high-speed tumor cell sorting from a clinically relevant blood volume. The chip is designed for mass manufacturing, and simple automation for clinical translation." The team is working with collaborators at Veridex and Janssen to refine the system for commercial development.
Study co-author Daniel Haber, MD, PhD, director of the MGH Cancer Center and Isselbacher/Schwartz Professor of Oncology at HMS, adds, "The study of cancer metastasis has been limited by the inability to quickly and reliably isolate tumor cells in transit in the blood. This new approach is likely to be a game changer in the field."
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DEAR ABBY: My husband, "Wade," and I went into a convenience store near our home that we frequent regularly. A new employee -- a pretty, much younger girl -- stared at Wade with an expression of recognition and surprise on her face. When I asked him what that was about, he laughed it off and said I was "imagining things."The next time we saw her, Wade acted nervous and started talking fast, as if trying to distract me. He seemed to be avoiding eye contact with her. She ignored me while obviously trying to lock eyes with Wade. ...
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/opec-happy-level-oil-output-ceiling-132616442--finance.html
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Just five months after winning reelection, President Obama is once again shaking the money tree.
The president is kicking off his effort to boost the Democratic Party's coffers ahead of the 2014 midterm elections with two days of fundraising in California.
Obama was lending his fundraising prowess to two Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee events in San Francisco tonight. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and DCCC Chairman Rep. Steve Israel, D-N.Y., were also to attend, a Democratic official confirmed.
The president was first to head to a cocktail reception for 100 people at the home of hedge fund billionaire and environmentalist Tom Steyer and Kat Taylor. Tickets for the event ranged from $5,000 to $34,200.
Next, Obama was to attend a dinner at the home of Ann and Gordon Getty for 75 attendees who paid $32,400 per ticket.
Gordon Getty is a music composer and billionaire philanthropist from the Getty Oil family. The annual dinner raised roughly $1.7 million last year.
Thursday morning, the president planned to attend two Democratic National Committee events in Atherton, Calif., before returning to Washington.
The fundraisers were the first of Obama's second term.
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A new strain of bird flu in China has sickened nine people, including three who died, according to news reports.
Two of the deaths were in Shanghai, and one in the Zhejiang province, the BBC says.
Here are six things to know about this new bird flu strain, called H7N9:
Has there ever been an outbreak of this H7N9 flu strain in the past?
No, before these cases in China, the H7N9 flu strain was not known to cause illness in humans. The strain has mainly been seen in birds.
Most strains of bird flu do not infect people, although the H5N1 flu strain has caused more than 600 human illnesses in 15 countries since 2003, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Have similar strains infected people?
Strains from the H7 family of flu viruses have caused more than 100 cases of human infection in the past decade, according to a recent study in the Journal of Virology. A 2003 outbreak of the H7N7 strain in the Netherlands caused 89 infections and one death, according to CNN.
The "H" and "N" in the virus' name refer to proteins on the surface of the virus, called the hemagglutinin and neuraminidase. There are 16 types of hemagglutinin and nine types of neuraminidase that can come in pretty much any combination, said Dr. Richard Webby, a bird flu expert and infectious disease researcher at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
What symptoms do people with H7 flu infections have?
Three of the people infected in China experienced respiratory tract infections that progressed to pneumonia and breathing problems, according to the World Health Organization.
Many of H7 flu virus infections seen in the past caused conjunctivitis (or eye infections) that were not transmissible between people, Webby said.
Does the H7N9 virus spread person-to-person?
At this time, there's no evidence that the new H7N9 strain spreads between people, WHO says. The first three cases, which occurred in Shanghai and China's Anhui province (both near the country's east coast), did not appear to be connected, and people in close contact with those who got sick were not found to be infected. An investigation into the source of the infection is ongoing, WHO says.
One infected woman reportedly worked with poultry, according to CNN.
A concerning feature of the virus is that it has a genetic marker thought to increase the likelihood that it can infect humans, Webby said. It's possible this marker only shows up once the virus infects people. But if viruses in the animal population have this marker, then we could expect to see a lot more cases, Webby said. However, this marker is likely not sufficient to allow the virus to transmit between people, Webby said.
How is the virus spread if it's not person-to-person?
It's likely that the H7N9 has a source population, but whether that population is birds or another organism remains to be seen. "There's a lot of something infected with it," Webby said, and a small percentage of cases are hopping over to humans.
What will health officials look for in the coming weeks?
Besides trying to identify the source of the virus, health officials will be looking for more cases, Webby said. The cases we're seeing now may be on the extreme end of the spectrum, in terms of symptom severity, and there may be more people with less severe infections, Webby said.
Follow Rachael Rettner @RachaelRettner. Follow MyHealthNewsDaily @MyHealth_MHND, Facebook & Google+.
Copyright 2013 MyHealthNewsDaily, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Source: http://news.yahoo.com/bird-flu-virus-6-things-know-181826735.html
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FILE - In a Dec. 20, 1970 file photo Tucson, Ariz., firefighters apply a steady stream of water during the Pioneer International Hotel fire , that resulted in 29 deaths. Louis Cuen Taylor who has spent more than four decades in prison for the hotel fire is expected to be released Tuesday, April 2, 2013, as part of a deal with prosecutors. (AP Photo/The Tucson Citizen, file )
FILE - In a Dec. 20, 1970 file photo Tucson, Ariz., firefighters apply a steady stream of water during the Pioneer International Hotel fire , that resulted in 29 deaths. Louis Cuen Taylor who has spent more than four decades in prison for the hotel fire is expected to be released Tuesday, April 2, 2013, as part of a deal with prosecutors. (AP Photo/The Tucson Citizen, file )
Louis Cuen Taylor in custody in Tucson, Ariz. in December, 1970. Taylor was tried and convicted in connection with the Pioneer International Hotel fire on Dec. 20, 1970, that left 29 dead. Taylor, who turns 59 this week, is scheduled to plead no contest in an agreement that sets aside his original conviction and gives him credit for time served, the Arizona Daily Star reported. (AP Photo/Arizona Daily Star, Harry Lewis,file ) ALL LOCAL TV OUT; PAC-12 OUT; MANDATORY CREDIT
Undated photo provided by the Arizona Department of Corrections is of Arizona prison inmate Louis C. Taylor, serving a life sentence after being convicted in the deaths of 28 people in the 1970 Pioneer Hotel fire. Taylor, who turns 59 this week, is scheduled to plead no contest in an agreement that sets aside his original conviction and gives him credit for time served, the Arizona Daily Star reported. (AP Photo/Arizona Daily Star, Arizon Department of Corrections ) ALL LOCAL TV OUT; PAC-12 OUT; MANDATORY CREDIT
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) ? A man who was locked up more than 40 years for a 1970 Arizona hotel fire that killed 29 people walked out of prison a free man Tuesday, hours after reaching a deal with prosecutors amid questions about his conviction.
"It's a tale of two tragedies: the Pioneer Hotel fire and my conviction," Louis Taylor told reporters gathered outside the prison.
Taylor, who turns 59 Saturday, was just a teenager when he was arrested for the fire, but consistently denied any involvement. When he appeared in a packed Tucson courtroom earlier in the day, he faced a choice: continue his fight, maybe for years more, to clear his name or enter a plea and get out of prison now.
"Welcome back, Mr. Taylor," said Judge Richard Fields after accepting Taylor's plea deal that meant he would no longer contest the charges he denied during his more than 15,000 days of incarceration.
The case ended up back in court Tuesday after a new defense team and others raised fresh questions about the evidence used to convict Taylor. Authorities still insist Taylor is guilty, but they acknowledged that gaining a conviction at a new trial would be dicey given that some evidence has been lost and witnesses have either moved or died.
The blaze was one of Arizona's worst as hundreds of people gathered at the Pioneer Hotel in Tucson to celebrate Christmas festivities. When the fire erupted, exits were blocked and fire truck ladders were too short to reach the upper floors. Many guests were trapped in their rooms. Some jumped to their deaths while others burned alive. Most victims died from carbon-monoxide poisoning.
Tuesday's hearing was marked by dramatic testimony from a Washington, D.C., man who was 4 years old when his father, an attorney, was killed in the fire at age 31. Paul d'Hedouville II said his dad had been awaiting his family to celebrate Christmas. He had gifts piled in his suite for his two sons.
"Instead, my father was buried on Christmas Eve 1970," he said. He lamented how his father was never there to show him how to ride a bike or teach him his Daffy Duck impression, and how his now elderly mom, who is recovering from leukemia, doesn't have her husband by her side.
"He was never able to dance with my bride at my wedding," d'Hedouville said.
"I harbor no feelings of ill will or vengeance against you," he added, staring at Taylor who sat at the defense table dressed in orange prison clothes.
Then d'Hedouville offered a single thought to Taylor without addressing the man's guilt: "Do as you choose Mr. Taylor. But choose wisely. Do not waste your new beginning."
Pima County prosecutor Rick Unklesbay noted his office's insistence that Taylor is guilty. He added, however, that fire investigators for the defense and the state, reviewing the remaining evidence, say a cause of the blaze could not be determined, something that also would hamper efforts to secure a fresh conviction.
Unklesbay later explained how both state and defense experts at Taylor's original trial determined the blaze was arson. He said Taylor was found at the hotel with five boxes of matches. He wrote in a memorandum to the court that hotel employees "found the defendant standing by himself simply looking at the fire."
In his deal with prosecutors, Taylor was allowed to avoid admitting guilt outright to each count against him, read aloud by the judge in a monotone voice, to which Taylor replied 28 times, "No contest." Taylor was never charged in the death months later of a 29th victim.
A no contest plea allows defendants to neither dispute the charges against them nor admit guilt while offering no defense. Taylor also gave up his right to seek vindication or compensation from the state. He offered no statement to court. A news conference was planned for Wednesday.
"Mr. Taylor maintains his innocence and the no contest plea allows him to continue to do so," Phoenix attorney Ed Novak told the judge.
Novak explained outside court that Taylor chose to accept the deal instead of remaining in prison for an indefinite amount of time. He said prosecutors promised to fight the case all the way to the Supreme Court if he chose to seek a new trial.
"It's a question of freedom now versus freedom three years from now," Novak said.
Taylor, who is black, was 16 at the time of his arrest, and contends he was wrongly convicted by an all-white jury. The lead fire investigator at the time told AP this week he had profiled the suspect as "probably a negro," but the man insisted the statements had nothing to do with Taylor's arrest.
"That statement had nothing to do with Louis' prosecution," Cy Holmes, now 83, said. "I wasn't part of Mr. Taylor's guilt. I was just involved in determining whether or not the fire was arson."
Taylor's appeals were exhausted after the U.S. Supreme Court denied him a new trial in 1983. The judge who presided over his trial, meanwhile, had publicly expressed skepticism about the conviction and stayed in touch with Taylor, sending him Christmas gifts and law books.
Reports in 2002 by CBS' "60 Minutes" raised questions about whether the fire was, in fact, arson, and the Arizona Justice Project, which works on behalf of inmates believed to be wrongly convicted, said prosecutor's committed misconduct at Taylor's original trial when they neglected to inform his defense team that no accelerants had been found at the hotel.
Tucson authorities at the time then began reviewing evidence while the Arizona Justice Project examined case files to determine whether he received a fair trial.
However, Holmes said he stands by his determination that it was arson. Holmes said the techniques he used are the same procedures used today. He said the new findings are based on incomplete information, adding, "They didn't spend two full days digging through that place."
Albert Pesqueira, an area assistant fire chief, was just 21 when he responded to the scene. He remembers parts of the once exclusive hotel reduced to rubble and ashes. But what he recalls most are the victims, specifically three children who fell to their deaths from an upper-floor window. To this day, he wonders if they jumped or were pushed by their parents in an attempt to save them.
"I have nightmares about that," Pesqueira said. "The parents stayed up there and they died."
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Reuters Market Eye - Bank of America Merrill Lynch says it expects FY14 Sensex earnings per share (EPS) to be downgraded below 1,300 rupees, which is a growth of under 10 percent versus current expectations of 17 percent, citing concentration risk and a delay in economic recovery.
The investment bank says five stocks, namely Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd
BofA-Merrill adds that FY14 EPS growth, at 8-9 percent, will be higher than the 5 percent for FY13 and that long-term investors have probably been close to the bottom of the earnings cycle, though FY14 is unlikely to be the year of recovery.
(Reporting by Abhishek Vishnoi)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/earnings-downgrades-continue-fy14-bofa-merrill-104159955--sector.html
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