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The patient’s predicament: Donating biospecimens and waiting for cures
June 21, 2018
Imagine you’re very sick and your prognosis is tenuous. You’re taking some experimental drugs and praying for the best. Your doctor wants you to stay hopeful. “A lot of scientists are studying your condition as we speak,” she says. “We could see a breakthrough at any time.” In fact, she would like to collect blood […]
Biobanks, biospecimens and big data will change the world
June 14, 2018
By Dr. Christopher J. Ianelli, iSpecimen Every sample has a story to tell. My co-presenter Rohit Gupta was referring to biospecimens in that presentation title. “What would the patients say if they knew that all their samples you collected are still sitting in a freezer somewhere?” he asked the audience. “Samples are not meant to live […]
Tumor Tissue Samples and Detailed Data for Ovarian Cancer Research
June 7, 2018
June Specimen Spotlight Approximately 22,000 American women this year will receive a diagnosis of ovarian cancer, the fifth-ranked fatal cancer among women. Among the conditions related to ovarian cancer are mutations of: The tumor-suppressing TP53 gene (mutations are seen in nearly half of ovarian cancer tumors). And the KRAS oncogene. Scientists are aggressively seeking treatments and […]
Depression’s hidden biology exposed
May 31, 2018
Although everyone experiences sadness from time to time, depression is different. It causes severe, lingering symptoms that can affect how you feel, think, and handle daily activities, such as sleeping, eating, or working. An estimated 16.2 million adults in the United States had at least one major depressive episode in 2016, representing nearly 7 percent of all U.S. […]
As specimens lie idle in freezers, patients await cures
May 22, 2018
And biobanks lose needed revenue Although biobanks do tremendous good for the world, many want to do even better. Biobanks collect tissue, biofluids and cells for use by researchers working toward new cures, treatments and vaccines. To better understand their challenges, we created a detailed questionnaire that 42 biobank professionals from around the world filled […]
Cancer Tissue Blocks for Triple Negative Breast Cancer Research
May 10, 2018
May Specimen Spotlight “Triple negative” is a less common category of breast cancer that is more challenging to treat, often requiring surgery, chemotherapy and radiation. The name signifies that the cancer is not fueled, as the majority of breast cancers are, by estrogen, progesterone or the HER-2 protein. These other cancer types can often be […]
Our microbiomes show potential for precision medicine and better cancer treatment
April 19, 2018
A universe of 40 trillion creatures lives in your gut, making it one of the richest, most fascinating and mysterious platforms for precision medicine. Researchers are quickly discovering new medical insights by cross-referencing these worlds – patients’ unique microbiomes of bacteria, fungi and other microbes – with clinical outcomes. For example, new studies show that the […]
Genomics and the blood – a powerful duo for cancer patients
April 12, 2018
A person’s blood can tell us a lot about their health. We’ve blogged about blood biomarkers that may soon help clinicians diagnose concussions, ovarian cancer and prostate cancer. Yet, it seems like we’re still only scratching the surface of blood’s potential to reveal health insights. For example, Stanford researchers have recently discovered that the blood from certain […]
April Specimen Spotlight: Biospecimens for Alzheimer’s Research
April 5, 2018
An estimated 5.7 million Americans of all ages are living with Alzheimer’s dementia in 2018, according to just-released facts and figures from the Alzheimer’s Association. By 2025, the number of people age 65 and older with Alzheimer’s dementia is estimated to reach 7.1 million – an increase of almost 29 percent from the 5.5 million […]
Medicare to cover next-generation sequencing for cancer patients
March 30, 2018
Great news for cancer patients, their doctors and the scientists creating personalized medicine solutions: Medicare will immediately begin covering next-generation sequencing (NGS) tests that help doctors prescribe specific cancer treatments likely to help individual patients based on their genetic profiles. “CMS believes when these tests are used as a companion diagnostic to identify patients with […]
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