Category Archives: In the News

Celebrating Infection Preventionists

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Tania Bubb

Tania Bubb, PhD, RN, CIC, FAPIC. Photo by Richard DeWitt.

In a video interview of Dr. Tania Bubb, MSK’s Director of Infection Control, Infection Control Today features a study she presented at the annual conference of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC).

Infection preventionists (IPs) were invited to fill out surveys regularly from March through July 2020. IPs from 16 US states and three other countries reported both exhaustion at the peak of the COVID pandemic and increased empowerment and value at their institutions. They noted that the pandemic led their colleagues to take hand hygiene and use of personal protective equipment (PPE) more seriously than ever before, at the same time expressing frustration with PPE shortages.

Dr. Bubb closed the interview by applauding IPs as unsung heroes of the pandemic: 

They may not have taken care of patients directly, but their policies, their procedures, their vigilance, and their enthusiasm for their jobs supported those who took care of the patients and laid the groundwork for how those who took care of the patients would remain safe.

New Findings on Nutrition and Colon Cancer

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In a new study, researchers from the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology demonstrated the health benefits of red seaweed. Two sugars contained in red seaweed manifested prebiotic activity in-vitro. Additionally, the authors found that one of those sugar, 3,6-anhydro-l-galactose, had properties able to fight colon cancer in-vitro. Those preliminary findings may help explain why Japan has the lowest incidence of colon cancer. The study was published in Marine Drugs. 

A recent study by oncologists from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute identified how red meat consumption affects DNA.. From observational studies, it has been known that a correlation existed between consuming red meat and colon cancer, but the biological mechanisms were not understood. The authors discovered that some compounds found in red meat caused alkylation, a type of DNA damage. This study is a crucial step in understanding why high consumption of red meat increases the risk of colon cancer. The study was published in Cancer Discovery.

Advances for Lung and Prostate Cancer Patients

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Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of two new advances promise to transform the detection of prostate cancer and the treatment of lung cancer.

On May 26, the FDA approved Pylarify, a molecule injected prior to positron emission tomography (PET) imaging that reveals prostate cancer cells on the scan. Pylarify does not replace prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening, but will allow physicians to determine the extent of prostate cancer in patients suspected of having or diagnosed with the disease. Dr. Michael Morris led the phase III clinical trial at MSK. Read more from NBC News, Healio.com, and MSK.

On May 28, the FDA approved the use of sotorasib (Lumakras) in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer who have the KRAS-G12C genetic mutation and have already tried another treatment modality. This treatment was the culmination of almost 40 years of research, and was spearheaded through clinical trials by MSK’s Dr. Bob Li. Learn more from Good Morning America, TargetedOnc.com, and MSK.