(February 18, 2010 - Insidermedicine)

From Baltimore - According to a report published in Science Translational Medicine, researchers have developed a new technique that may work to personalize cancer management. Scientists analyzed four colorectal and two breast tumors, finding that tumors DNA sequences had been uniquely rearranged. Researchers then used these rearranged DNA sequences as red flags--biomarkers capable of pointing towards other parts of the DNA that may have tumor DNA in them.

From  North Carolina - The drug sorafenib has been shown to shrink kidney cancer tumors before surgery, according to a report published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. Researchers studied 30 kidney cancer patients, administering sorafenib twice daily up to eight weeks before surgery. Results showed that the tumors shrunk up to 40% before the operation. 

And finally, back to Baltimore - Obesity drastically raises ones risk of developing kidney stones, according to a report published in the Journal of Urology. Researchers reviewed data on nearly 100,000  people, finding that having a BMI of over 30kg/m2 nearly doubled the risk of having kidney stones.