Biological Markers—Advances in Research and Application: 2012 Edition is a ScholarlyBrief™ that delivers timely, authoritative, comprehensive, and specialized information about Biological Markers in a concise format. The editors have built Biological Markers—Advances in Research and Application: 2012 Edition on the vast information databases of ScholarlyNews.™ You can expect the information about Biological Markers in this eBook to be deeper than what you can access anywhere else, as well as consistently reliable, authoritative, informed, and relevant. The content of Biological Markers—Advances in Research and Application: 2012 Edition has been produced by the world’s leading scientists, engineers, analysts, research institutions, and companies. All of the content is from peer-reviewed sources, and all of it is written, assembled, and edited by the editors at ScholarlyEditions™ and available exclusively from us. You now have a source you can cite with authority, confidence, and credibility. More information is available at http://www.ScholarlyEditions.com/.

This book is organized into 4 sections, each looking at the question of outcome prediction in cancer from a different angle. The first section describes the clinical problem and some of the predicaments that clinicians face in dealing with cancer. Amongst issues discussed in this section are the TNM staging, accepted methods for survival analysis and competing risks. The second section describes the biological and genetic markers and the rôle of bioinformatics. Understanding of the genetic and environmental basis of cancers will help in identifying high-risk populations and developing effective prevention and early detection strategies. The third section provides technical details of mathematical analysis behind survival prediction backed up by examples from various types of cancers. The fourth section describes a number of machine learning methods which have been applied to decision support in cancer. The final section describes how information is shared within the scientific and medical communities and with the general population using information technology and the World Wide Web. * Applications cover 8 types of cancer including brain, eye, mouth, head and neck, breast, lungs, colon and prostate* Include contributions from authors in 5 different disciplines* Provides a valuable educational tool for medical informatics

Environmental toxicology is generally held to be the study of the potential of constituents of outdoor environments to impact either human health or the biological structure of the ecosystems involved. This volume is a first attempt to integrate toxicological studies of all of the many human environments, both indoor and outdoor, and their complex interrelationships. Included are considerations of natural environments, the agroecosystem, occupational, urban and domestic environments as well as the environment associated with Superfund sites and military deployments. The primary emphasis is on public health, including the potential health effects of toxicants found in different environments, the bioprocessing of such toxicants in humans and surrogate animals and the principles of risk analysis. Approaches the toxicology of human environments in a new and unique way, stressing the complex interrelationships of all human environments and the implication for human and environmental health Each chapter is written by an acknowledged expert and is addressed to those interested in the broader implications of the environmental modifications that are always associated with the activities of humans living and working in them

The use of biomarkers in basic and clinical research has become routine in many areas of medicine. They are accepted as molecular signatures that have been well characterized and repeatedly shown to be capable of predicting relevant disease states or clinical outcomes. In Role of Biomarkers in Medicine, expert researchers in their individual field have reviewed many biomarkers or potential biomarkers in various types of diseases. The topics address numerous aspects of medicine, demonstrating the current conceptual status of biomarkers as clinical tools and as surrogate endpoints in clinical research. This book highlights the current state of biomarkers and will aid scientists and clinicians to develop better and more specific biomarkers for disease management.

Technologies collectively called omics enable simultaneous measurement of an enormous number of biomolecules; for example, genomics investigates thousands of DNA sequences, and proteomics examines large numbers of proteins. Scientists are using these technologies to develop innovative tests to detect disease and to predict a patient's likelihood of responding to specific drugs. Following a recent case involving premature use of omics-based tests in cancer clinical trials at Duke University, the NCI requested that the IOM establish a committee to recommend ways to strengthen omics-based test development and evaluation. This report identifies best practices to enhance development, evaluation, and translation of omics-based tests while simultaneously reinforcing steps to ensure that these tests are appropriately assessed for scientific validity before they are used to guide patient treatment in clinical trials.

Gastrointestinal Hormones—Advances in Research and Application: 2012 Edition is a ScholarlyEditions™ eBook that delivers timely, authoritative, and comprehensive information about Gastrointestinal Hormones. The editors have built Gastrointestinal Hormones—Advances in Research and Application: 2012 Edition on the vast information databases of ScholarlyNews.™ You can expect the information about Gastrointestinal Hormones in this eBook to be deeper than what you can access anywhere else, as well as consistently reliable, authoritative, informed, and relevant. The content of Gastrointestinal Hormones—Advances in Research and Application: 2012 Edition has been produced by the world’s leading scientists, engineers, analysts, research institutions, and companies. All of the content is from peer-reviewed sources, and all of it is written, assembled, and edited by the editors at ScholarlyEditions™ and available exclusively from us. You now have a source you can cite with authority, confidence, and credibility. More information is available at http://www.ScholarlyEditions.com/.

In an era of promising advances in cancer research, there are considerable and even alarming gaps in the fundamental knowledge and understanding of ovarian cancer. Researchers now know that ovarian cancer is not a single disease-several distinct subtypes exist with different origins, risk factors, genetic mutations, biological behaviors, and prognoses. However, persistent questions have impeded progress toward improving the prevention, early detection, treatment, and management of ovarian cancers. Failure to significantly improve morbidity and mortality during the past several decades is likely due to several factors, including the lack of research being performed by specific disease subtype, lack of definitive knowledge of the cell of origin and disease progression, and incomplete understanding of genetic and non-genetic risk factors. Ovarian Cancers examines the state of the science in ovarian cancer research, identifies key gaps in the evidence base and the challenges to addressing those gaps, considers opportunities for advancing ovarian cancer research, and examines avenues for translation and dissemination of new findings and communication of new information to patients and others. This study makes recommendations for public- and private-sector efforts that could facilitate progress in reducing the incidence of morbidity and mortality from ovarian cancers.

This textbook of oncology is aimed at specialist registrars in the early phase of their training. The basic concepts of cancer practice is touched upon in undergraduate and junior postgraduate years, but new trainees frequently seek additional resources to boost their knowledge in the field of Oncology. This title offers a concise account of the multidisciplinary management of common cancers and cancer-related problems appropriate to doctors at the start of their careers in this specialty. The content of the book is based on latest available evidence and reflects the training guidelines. Readable and concise style, aimed at the beginner in this specialty. Well illustrated in colour with graphics, clinical photographs and radiographs. Section on research methodology. Approachable design in the ‘Specialist Training in...’ series style.

Expert laboratory and clinical researchers from around the world review how to design and evaluate studies of tumor markers and examine their use in breast cancer patients. The authors cover both the major advances in sophisticated molecular methods and the state-of-the-art in conventional prognostic and predictive indicators. Among the topics discussed are the relevance of rigorous study design and guidelines for the validation studies of new biomarkers, gene expression profiling by tissue microarrays, adjuvant systemic therapy, and the use of estrogen, progesterone, and epidermal growth factor receptors as both prognostic and predictive indicators. Highlights include the evaluation of HER2 and EGFR family members, of p53, and of UPA/PAI-1; the detection of rare cells in blood and marrow; and the detection and analysis of soluble, circulating markers.