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New Research Demonstrates the Importance of Genetic Testing for Many Cancers Not Currently Covered by Clinical … – PR Newswire

Posted: May 25, 2024 at 2:45 am

Study findings to be presented at the 2024 ASCO Annual Meeting find hereditary risk for gastric and lung cancers, among others, underscoring the need for broader genetic testing

SAN FRANCISCO, May 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Invitae (OTC:NVTAQ), a leading medical genetics company, today announced eight studies to be presented at the 2024 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting held in Chicago from May 31-June 4, 2024. The clinical data being presented demonstrate the importance of genetic testing for patients with various different types of cancers, including breast, gastric, prostate and lung, to better inform management and treatment decisions.

Genetic testing guidelines need to be inclusive of more cancer types, with new data finding gastric, lung and prostate cancer patients with inherited genes linked to increased cancer risk

Gastric cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide, and the role of pathogenic (disease causing) variants in cancer predisposition genes is not well understood for this disease. One study looked at genetic testing results in 3,706 gastric cancer patients the largest study of its kind to better understand the prevalence of disease causing variants in cancer associated genes. The results found the percentage of patients with disease causing variants to be 13.4%, about 1 in 8 patients. This shows the value of genetic testing in all gastric cancer patients, as the prevalence of pathogenic variants is similar to other cancer types for which guidelines recommend universal genetic testing.

"Current guidelines haven't met the needs for patients across cancer types, gastric cancer included," said Dr. Ophir Gilad, University of Chicago and a co-author of this study. "The prevalence of actionable gene variants found in this study of gastric cancer patients is on par with other cancer types for which guidelines recommend universal genetic testing. We're increasingly seeing evidence for germline genetic testing to help guide treatment plans and familial testing for various cancer types."

Additionally, in a study of 14,317 patients with lung cancer, 12.6% had pathogenic germline variants -- regardless of smoking history. The study results suggest these inherited genes are not only independently associated with lung cancer, but also additive to smoking risk for lung cancer. These data reinforce prior studies supporting consideration of germline genetic testing for all patients with lung cancer, independent of age or reported smoking history.

Genetic testing is similarly underutilized for prostate cancer. In a large study of 15,000 prostate cancer patients that received genetic testing, results showed that of the patients with genetic variants that increase risk of prostate cancer, 3 in 4 patients had no reported family history of prostate cancer and more than 1 in 3 patients had no reported family history of any cancer. The findings underscore the importance of genetic testing for all prostate cancer patients, regardless of age, stage or family history.

Breast cancer data in Rwanda demonstrates need for more genetic testing in underrepresented populations

Despite the observation that cancers are often diagnosed at young ages and take an aggressive course in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), genetic data that could inform treatment are limited for this population group.

In a recent study, patients undergoing cancer treatment in hospitals in Rwanda for female breast, male breast and prostate cancer underwent multigene panel testing (Invitae), and the results found a large proportion of the patients had inherited pathogenic variants that could help inform their treatment (18.3% of female breast cancer, 16.7% of male breast cancer, and 4.3% of prostate cancer patients). The findings suggest that genetic testing should be more routinely implemented into cancer care and prevention strategies in this population.

Underrepresented race, ethnicity, and ancestry (REA) groups face these challenges across geographies. In another recent study being presented at ASCO that included more than one million people over an eight-year period who underwent genetic testing for hereditary cancer syndromes, it was found that underrepresented REA groups are disproportionately impacted by variants of uncertain significance (VUS) in genetic testing, which are uncertain results that are not clinically actionable. With more representation of these groups in clinical studies, there will be more data that could uncover life-saving discoveries. Clinical evidence was the most significant source of information leading to VUS resolution, underscoring the importance of the clinician-lab partnership and communication.

"Germline genetic testing should be the standard of cancer care across many types of cancers. In underrepresented populations, this is especially crucial as more information needs to be collected to better inform care and improve population health overall," said Dr. Michael Korn, chief medical officer at Invitae. "Each year, ASCO presents us with an opportunity to share compelling research to help propel cancer treatment forward, and we're proud of the clinical insights our tests are able to provide across cancer types."

Study offers reassurance that variants of uncertain significance in genetic testing results among patients with breast cancer do not lead to overuse of treatment or surveillance interventions, such as mastectomies

It's common for patients with breast cancer undergoing germline genetic testing to have uncertain results, but it's previously been unclear if these results impact clinical management. However, a recent study being presented at ASCO presents new evidence indicating that variants of uncertain significance (VUS) identified through germline genetic testing do not result in guideline-discordant management in real-world settings. Specifically, patients with breast cancer and VUS results demonstrated similar rates of treatment, prevention and surveillance interventions compared to those with negative results. This offers reassurance that VUS results do not lead to overuse of mastectomies or other interventions for patients with breast cancer.

2024 ASCO presentations and posters:

About InvitaeInvitae (OTC: NVTAQ) is a leading medical genetics company trusted by millions of patients and their providers to deliver timely genetic information using digital technology. We aim to provide accurate and actionable answers to strengthen medical decision-making for individuals and their families. Invitae's genetics experts apply a rigorous approach to data and research, serving as the foundation of their mission to bring comprehensive genetic information into mainstream medicine to improve healthcare for billions of people.

To learn more, visit invitae.comand follow for updates on LinkedIn, X, Instagram, and Facebook@Invitae.

Safe Harbor StatementThis press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements relating to the company's beliefs regarding its new research; the company's belief that its new research demonstrates the importance of genetic testing for many cancers not currently covered by clinical guidelines; the company's belief that its new research demonstrates the need for more research in underrepresented populations; and the company's belief that its research helps move cancer treatment forward.. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially, and reported results should not be considered as an indication of future performance. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: the applicability of clinical results to actual outcomes; the company's ability to use rapidly changing genetic data to interpret test results accurately and consistently; risks and uncertainties regarding the company's ability to successfully consummate and complete a plan under chapter 11 or any strategic or financial alternative as well as the company's ability to implement and realize any anticipated benefits associated with its sale of assets to Labcorp and the any alternative that may be pursued, including the asset sales and wind down of operations; the company's public securities' potential liquidity and trading; and any impact resulting from the delisting of the company's common stock from the New York Stock Exchange and trading instead on the OTC Pink Marketplace; and the other risks set forth in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the risks set forth in the company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2023. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof, and Invitae Corporation disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

Invitae PR contact: Renee Kelley [emailprotected]

SOURCE Invitae Corporation

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New Research Demonstrates the Importance of Genetic Testing for Many Cancers Not Currently Covered by Clinical ... - PR Newswire

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UN treaty to look at indigenous medicine, genetic resources in patents | Loop St. Lucia – Loop News St. Lucia

Posted: May 25, 2024 at 2:45 am

GENEVA (AP) UN member countries on Friday concluded a new treaty to help ensure that traditional knowledge about genetic resources, like medicines derived from exotic plants in the Andes mountains, is properly traced.

It marks the first time the 193 member states of the UN's World Intellectual Property Organization have reached agreement on patent protections about historic knowledge from indigenous cultures, which have long been exploited by colonists, traders and others.

The treaty doesn't address compensation to indigenous communities for their historic expertise about products drawn from things like from tropical plants.

But the accord is seen as an important first step. It requires patent applicants, like foreign entrepreneurs or international companies, to specify where they got ideas about what goes into their products, especially inputs drawn from the knowledge of indigenous or local peoples.

Daren Tang, the organization's director-general, said the agreement showed that "multilateralism is alive and well at WIPO."

"Today we made history in many ways," he said. "Through this, we are showing that the IP system can continue to incentivize innovation while evolving in a more inclusive way, responding to the needs of all countries and their communities."

The WIPO Intellectual Property, Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge treaty, reached by consensus after more than two decades in the making, will take effect as international law after 15 countries adopt it.

The agreement centers on genetic resources like medicinal plants, crops from farms and some animal breeds. It will not be retroactive, meaning that it's only applicable to future discoveries, not past ones.

WIPO's rules don't allow for intellectual property protection of natural or genetic resources themselves but do help to safeguard inventions by people that put those resources to work for humankind, whether historically or recently.

The deal will, for example, require companies in industries like fashion, luxury goods and pharmaceuticals to specify the origin of the plant-based chemicals in medicines or plants in skin creams that they use for their products, if drawn from local knowledge.

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UN treaty to look at indigenous medicine, genetic resources in patents | Loop St. Lucia - Loop News St. Lucia

Recommendation and review posted by G. Smith

Kapow! Superpower launches preventative health and longevity platform – Longevity.Technology

Posted: May 25, 2024 at 2:45 am

The information included in this website is for informational purposes only: its purpose is to promote a broad consumer understanding a knowledge of various health topics. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or treatment and before undertaking a new health care regimen, and never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website.

DISCLAIMER FOR U.S. BASED INVESTORS

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Kapow! Superpower launches preventative health and longevity platform - Longevity.Technology

Recommendation and review posted by G. Smith

Healthy Longevity The Nutrition Source – Harvard University

Posted: May 25, 2024 at 2:45 am

Longevity is the achievement of a long life. We may hope for longevity so that we can experience many years of quality time with loved ones or have time to explore the world. But living to a ripe old age doesnt necessarily mean healthy or happy longevity if it is burdened by disability or disease. The population of people over age 65 has grown more quickly than other age groups due to longer life spans and declining birth rates, and yet people are living more years in poor health. [1] Therefore, we will explore not just ones lifespan but healthspan, which promotes more healthy years of life.

What you do today can transform your healthspan or how you age in the future. Although starting early is ideal, its never too late to reap benefits.

Researchers from Harvard University looked at factors that might increase the chances of a longer life. [2] Using data collected from men and women from the Nurses Health Study and Health Professionals Follow-up Study who were followed for up to 34 years, researchers identified five low-risk lifestyle factors: healthy diet, regular exercise (at least 30 minutes daily of moderate to vigorous activity), healthy weight (as defined by a body mass index of 18.5-24.9), no smoking, and moderate alcohol intake (up to 1 drink daily for women, and up to 2 daily for men). Compared with those who did not incorporate any of these lifestyle factors, those with all five factors lived up to 14 years longer.

In a follow-up study, the researchers found that those factors might contribute to not just a longer but also a healthier life. [2] They saw that women at age 50 who practiced four or five of the healthy habits listed above lived about 34 more years free of diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer, compared with 24 more disease-free years in women who practiced none of these healthy habits. Men practicing four or five healthy habits at age 50 lived about 31 years free of chronic disease, compared with 24 years among men who practiced none. Men who were current heavy smokers, and men and women with obesity, had the lowest disease-free life expectancy.

Beyond the five core lifestyle habits mentioned above, a growing body of research is identifying additional factors that may be key to increasing our healthspans:

These senses can decline over time for various reasons: normal aging, which causes a gradual decrease in taste and smell; prescription drugs that reduce taste sensitivity and promote dry mouth or lack of saliva; deficiencies in micronutrients such as zinc that reduce taste; and poor dentition with tooth loss or dentures leading to chewing problems. [19] Up to 60% of adults 70 years and older may lose their sense of taste. [20] With this loss may come heavier seasoning of food with sugar and salt. [21] They may prefer softer lower-fiber foods that dont require much chewing. Poor taste and smell in the elderly is associated with lower dietary quality and poorer appetite. [22]

Food aromas are important as they trigger the release of saliva, stomach acid, and enzymes in preparation for digestion. [23] The scent of food can trigger the release of dopamine and serotonin, causing a feeling of wellbeing to encourage eating. An impaired sense of smell in older adults is also associated with less variety in food choices and poorer nutrition, but can also lead to increased food intake and weight gain in some individuals. [23]

Seasoning food more liberally with sodium-free herbs, spices, and vinegars may help to compensate for sensory deficiencies. Using foods with a savory umami quality like mushrooms, tomatoes, some cheeses, and yeast can boost richness and flavor. Another sensory aspect of food called kokumi describes a full and rich mouthfeelsuch as that experienced from a minestrone soup, an aged cheese, or a seafood stew simmering for many hours. If poor appetite from sensory loss is a problem, providing variety through different textures, smells, and colors in the meal may stimulate an increased desire to eat. [21]

Eating and food preparation are also important activities offering socialization and mental stimulation such as when learning new cooking skills. Preparing meals helps to reduce sedentariness as there are several action steps involved: selecting and purchasing, washing and chopping, and cooking the ingredients.

Japanese women and men currently live five to six years longer than Americans, so their practices are of great interest. In Japanese families, elders are highly revered and households are intergenerational. Japanese elders are generally healthier than Western elders, but is this the chicken or the egg? Does better health from good lifestyle habits allow them to stay physically active and involved in society so they remain a valuable asset and reap psychosocial benefits, or is it the culture that reveres elders so they have better mental health, less loneliness, and better healthcare so that they stay healthier longer? Japan has also largely avoided the epidemic of obesity that the U.S. is experiencing; for example, the prevalence of obesity among U.S. women is about 37% but among Japanese women is less than 5%. [24] This difference is certainly an important contributor to differences in life expectancy, but raises questions about how the Japanese have been able to control their weight. In recent years, diets in Japan have become more similar to those in the U.S. but they still eat smaller portions, more fermented foods, less sweets, and less red meat.

Identifying additional factors that improve and extend our healthspans is an active area of scientific inquiry. In the meantime, current research findings are encouraging, and underscore the importance of following healthy lifestyle habits throughout ones life course. That said, sticking to these behaviors is easier said than done, and public policies must support and promote these habits by improving the food and physical environments that surround us.

Last reviewed December 2022

The contents of this website are for educational purposes and are not intended to offer personal medical advice. You should seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website. The Nutrition Source does not recommend or endorse any products.

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Healthy Longevity The Nutrition Source - Harvard University

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Electric Cars Are Twice as Likely to Hit Pedestrians, Researchers Find – Futurism

Posted: May 25, 2024 at 2:45 am

Ouch! Silent But Deadly

An increasing proportion of cars traversing our roadways are electric vehicles or hybrids, which is great for the environment because they produce far fewer harmful emissions.

But according to a recent study in the United Kingdom, they do have a notable downside: electric and hybrid vehicles are more than twice as likely to hit pedestrians compared to vehicles that run on fossil fuels accidents that become more likely in urban environments.

And the reasons why make perfect sense.

In the paper, published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, the researchers proposed that these more eco-friendly vehicles are more likely to strike people because their motors are quieter than engines, and any noise they do produce are drowned out in busy towns and cities.(Electric vehicles are increasingly required to emit a sound, but it's unclear to what degree pedestrians have learned to associate the ringtone-esque noises with oncoming traffic.)

In other words, pedestrians may well not be alerted to the vehicles' presence until it's too late.

The researchers analyzed British traffic safety data from 2013 and 2017, focusing on more than 96,000 pedestrian accidents with cars and taxis.

In the data, 74 percent of the accidents involved fossil fuel vehicles while 2 percent were from electric or hybrid vehicles reflecting the market dominance of the internal combustion engine.

But when the researchers adjusted for the number of vehicles on the road, electric and hybrid collisions with pedestrians were significantly out of proportion, accounting for double the rate of accidents versus cars that run on fossil fuels.

"Given the damaging impacts of air pollution from petrol and diesel cars, overall electric cars are almost certainly better for our health, but our research shows that more needs to be done to reduce the risk they pose to pedestrians, particularly in noisy urban environments," said London School of Hygieneand Tropical Medicine Professor of Epidemiology & Statistics and first author Phil Edwards in a statement.

To make pedestrians aware of electric or hybrid cars, Edwards proposed a public awareness campaign or "new technologies such as autonomous emergency braking."

For a possible future study, the researchers proposed examining the age of people driving electric and hybrid vehicles to see whether age or a lack of experience behind the wheel is a factor in these accidents.

Meanwhile, perhaps, everybody crossing the road whether motoristor pedestrian should be more careful.

More on electric vehicles: Scientists Say Quantum Tech Will Charge Electric Cars as Fast as Gas Ones

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Electric Cars Are Twice as Likely to Hit Pedestrians, Researchers Find - Futurism

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Microplastics Found in Every Human Testicle – Futurism

Posted: May 25, 2024 at 2:45 am

Image by Getty / Futurism

What do the pyramids, the oceans, the blood of newborns, and human and canine testicles all have in common?

They've all been found to be host to cancer-causing microplastics which may also, scientists hypothesize, be why sperm counts have been diminishingfor decades.

A new paper published in the journal Toxological Science describes alarming results from a study that tested testicle samples from 23 humans and 47 pet dogs,finding microplastics in every single subject: 330 micrograms of microplastics per gram of tissue and 123 micrograms found in the dogs.

"At the beginning, I doubted whether microplastics could penetrate the reproductive system," paper coauthor Xiaozhong Yu told The Guardian. "When I first received the results for dogs I was surprised. I was even more surprised when I received the results for humans."

Besides the jarring prevalence, the team was also concerned about the heightened concentration of polyethylene and PVC found in the human samples, which came from postmortem subjects ranging in age from 16 to 88.

Though this isn't the first study to find microplastics in human testes and semen, the comparative concentrations between the human and canine samples is novel and not in a good way.

Though the correlation isn't yet perfectly understood, some recent mice studies have found a link between reduced sperm counts and microplastics exposure, and the chemicals released by the pollutants may also be associated with some hormonal abnormalities and disruptions as well.

That's likely because PVC in particular is, well, super freakin' toxic.

"PVC can release a lot of chemicals that interfere with spermatogenesis," Yu explained, "and it contains chemicals that cause endocrine disruption."

More research is needed, but one thing's for sure: our degradation of the environment has come home to our own bodies, and we're only starting to understand how that will affect us all.

More on nuts: Scientists Grow Teeny Tiny Testicles in Laboratory

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Microplastics Found in Every Human Testicle - Futurism

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