Getting the message across
 Dr. Golin
Prostate
screening is a good example because many men say they don't really know whether
the screenings actually reduce risks and save lives. Although more than half of
all American men, aged 50 or older, have had one or more prostate-specific
antigen (PSA) test, most men correctly answer less than one third of questions
about the benefits of screening and early detection.
Golin
examined two different strategies for presenting information about the PSA
test. Results showed that men understood the benefits of PSA tests better if
the information was presented along with information about other men's health
issues than if only PSA tests were discussed.
Knowing
how patients learn about their health, and correcting misperceptions, are
critical these days as patients assume greater control of their own health care
and need to make informed decisions.
(back to top)
Curious trends in liver cancer
 Dr. Rusyn
Ivan
Rusyn, MD, PhD, professor of environmental sciences and engineering, conducts
research to determine how the increase in liver cancer incidence may relate to
chronic
diseases
(such as hepatitis C), lifestyle factors (including alcohol abuse) and
environmental
agents
(such as fungal toxins).
Rusyn
and collaborators at Kansas University Medical Center use animal models to
understand
the
pathogenesis of human disease. Rusyn says one of the challenges in
understanding the combined effects of chronic viral infection and an
environmental toxin is the lack of animal models, since mice tend to be
resistant to human hepatitis C infection. However, it is possible
to
create mice that can be studied in this way by inserting viral DNA into the
mouse genome. Rusyn's lab research using these transgenic mice has shown that
exposure to a fungal toxin called aflatoxin B1 has doubled the incidence of
liver tumors. Human studies have shown similar outcomes but these mouse
experiments provide a useful model for understanding how the disease may
develop in the liver.
Rusyn
continues to explore the mechanisms of how cancer causing agents interact so
that researchers may find new ways to prevent and treat cancers.
(back to top)
Clues
for preventing and controlling breast cancer
 Dr. Troester
Troester's
early results suggest the normal tissue microenvironment collaborates with the
breast tumor during the progression of cancer, and how they collaborate affects
the prognosis. Now, Troester is identifying biomarkers with improved discriminatory
accuracy in predicting breast cancer risk. "Studying normal breast tissue
represents a unique and understudied yet promising approach for elucidating new
cancer prevention and control strategies," she says.
(back to top)
Collaborating
for better cancer care
 Dr. Weiner
The
same is true with cancer care.
"Improving
cancer care quality requires clinician and non-clinician scientists to work
collaboratively in multidisciplinary research teams," says Bryan Weiner, PhD, professor of health policy and management.
That's why Weiner, with
funding from the National Cancer Institute, has examined the quality of cancer care
when specialists, primary care physicians and other health care professionals
work together with various groups and
centers
to conduct clinical trials.
Weiner
shows various organizations involved in cancer care how beneficial strong
communication and cooperation can be - from early detection, screening and
diagnosis, to treatment and care of survivors. He includes not only health care
providers, but also administrators, policy makers and financial officials in
the interdisciplinary
"communities
of research." As a result, he has helped groups develop better ways to make
decisions,
develop protocols, train investigators and set up mentoring systems.
(back to top)
|
|
Last updated July 26, 2011 |
Research 
