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Laser cancer treatment and Martian imaging
August 21, 2002Can laser light be used to treat cancer patients? Why is the search for Martian water so important? These questions may appear to be unconnected, but they actually have more in common than you might think. Both subjects will be tackled at free public talks held at Cardiff International Arena on Tuesday 3 and Wednesday 4 September. The talks show two exciting areas of discovery relating to the use of optics and imaging in very different fields - medicine and planetary science. These talks are part of Photon02 - a major scientific meeting for UK optoelectronics research and business.
"Light for the firm but gentle control of human disease" is the talk to be given by Steve Bown from the National Medical Laser Centre, University College London at 18.00 on Tuesday. He will describe how high power laser beams can be sent deep into the body very precisely, by using flexible optical fibres no thicker than a piece of thread. These lasers can stop ulcers bleeding and relieve the symptoms of some cancers - like the inability to swallow in advanced cancers of the gullet. Benign lumps in the breast and womb can also be "cooked" by inserting laser fibres through needles in the skin, which causes the lumps to disappear on their own.
A treatment that combines laser light with special drugs that make living tissue sensitive to light (called photodynamic therapy or PDT) will also be described. PDT enables
cancerous cells to be killed without having to perform surgery, so cancers can be removed without leaving an obvious scar. This kind of therapy could be revolutionary to cancer treatment as we know it. This talk is sponsored by the Welsh Branch of the Institute of Physics.
"Imaging in space - looking at the surface of Mars" will be presented at 18.00 on 4 September by Andrew Coates from the Mullard Space Science Laboratory at University College London. This talk will be about the British-built Beagle 2 lander, which will be the next craft to land on Mars. It will contain special equipment to take three-dimensional images of the Martian surface, and to study the Martian rocks, dust and water vapour in the atmosphere. Beagle 2 is part of the European Space Agency's Mars Express Mission, which will be launched in June 2003.
Water is a key commodity for life as we know it, and it has recently been discovered as close as one metre below the surface of Mars. Mars Express and Beagle 2 will look for more information about Martian water under the surface using radar, and in the atmosphere using cameras and other instruments. The talk will describe the mission, the design of the three-dimensional camera system and the search for Martian water and why this is so important. This talk is sponsored by Wales South East and Wales South West Branches of the Institution of Electrical Engineers.
Institute of Physics
Cancer Current Events and Cancer News RSSGenetic breakdown in Fanconi anemia may have link to HPV-associated cancer
A genetic malfunction that causes DNA instability in people with the blood disorder Fanconi anemia may put them at high risk for squamous cell carcinomas linked to human papillomavirus (HPV), according to a study posted online ahead of print by Oncogene.
International study supports new standard of treatment for women with advanced ovarian cancer
Results of a phase III, international randomized clinical trial demonstrate a new standard of care for treating advanced ovarian cancer that significantly reduces side-effects and post-operative deaths compared to the previously established treatment course.
Researchers identify cell group key to Lyme disease arthritis
A research team led by the La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology and Albany Medical College has illuminated the important role of natural killer (NK) T cells in Lyme disease, demonstrating that the once little understood white blood cells are central to clearing the bacterial infection and reducing the intensity and duration of arthritis associated with Lyme disease.
Researchers Discover New Enzyme in Cancer Growth
While studying the mechanics of blood clots, researchers at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center discovered a new enzyme that not only affects the blood, but seems to play a primary role in how cancer tumors expand and spread throughout the body.
Angled gantry technique reduced breast radiation exposure by 50 percent
A novel angled gantry approach to coronary CT angiography reduced radiation exposure to the breast by more than 50%, according to Thomas Jefferson University researchers.
HER2 levels may aid in treatment selection for metastatic breast cancer
Findings published in the December 1, 2008, issue of Clinical Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, show lapatinib benefits women with HER2-positive breast cancer, while women with HER2-negative breast cancer or those who express EGRF alone derive no incremental benefit.
Drop in cancer deaths tied primarily to gains in behavior and screening
Improvements in behavior and screening have contributed greatly to the 13 percent decline in cancer mortality since 1990, with better cancer treatments playing a supporting role, according to new research from David Cutler of Harvard University.
Plants display 'molecular amnesia'
Plant researchers from McGill University and the University of California, Berkeley, have announced a major breakthrough in a developmental process called epigenetics. They have demonstrated for the first time the reversal of what is called epigenetic silencing in plants.
New breast imaging technology targets hard-to-detect cancers
Breast-specific gamma imaging (BSGI) is effective in the detection of cancers not found on mammograms or by clinical exam, according to a study presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).
Dancing atoms now understood
In developing a model to explain the motion of atoms in a magnetic field, scientists have overcome a decades-old obstacle to understanding a key component of magnetic resonance.
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