Dear Readers, The summer flew by and as promised here are this summer's news highlights. Our monthly revisions begin in September. Happy Reading and Best Regards, Shara Rosen

Researchers at the Breast Care Center at Baylor College of Medicine and The Methodist Hospital have developed a new test to predict which breast cancer tumors will respond to chemotherapy. Using DNA array technology, the study identified differences in the gene patterns from tumor samples that predict which patients would respond to treatment with the chemotherapy docetaxel, marketed under the brand name Taxotere by Aventis.

Scientists at Wake Forrest University has reported the findings of a study that suggests that polymorphisms in the promoter region of the PSA gene may account for some of the normal variability in PSA levels. Testing for the PSA gene polymorphisms could potentially reduce the number of unnecessary biopsies.
Source: Journal of the National Cancer Institute, July 16, 2003.

According to researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine serum levels of cardiac troponin T (cTnT) and C-reactive protein (CRP) are directly related to the risk of death in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD).
Source: Journal of the American Medical Association, July 16, 2003