Two Day National Symposium on Radiation Oncology and Radiation Dosimetry to be held on 8th March

Nagpur Today: Rashtrasant Tukdoji Maharaj Nagpur University Regional Cancer Hospital and Reserch Center and Association of Medical Physicists of India (Western Chapter) together organizing two days National Symposium on “Radiation Advances in Radiation Oncology Medical Physics (ROPM) and Radiation Dosimetry (RDY)” on 8^th and 9^thmarch 2014 at Hotel Center Point, Ramdaspeth. Rashtrasant Tukdoji Maharaj Nagpur University Regional Cancer Hospital has completed 40 years in the service for cancer patients and on completion of 40 years of medical radiation in Cancer Relief Services the R.S.T Regional Cancer Hospital and Research Center, Nagpur, is organizing the symposium.

Convener, Organizing Committee (AMPI-WC 2014) and Chief Physicist, Department of Medical Physics R.S.T Regional Cancer Hospital and Research Center Vijay Chaube while talking to media personal said that the aim of this symposium is to share knowledge and experience, also to spread awareness on recent advances applicable in clinical settings.

More than 150 Representatives from all over India will take part in the Symposium. The program will cover Radiation oncology Medical Physics and Radiation Dosimetry in relation with radiotherapy, radiobiology, treatment planning algorithm, imaging oncophysics, radiation safety. There will also be continuing Medical Physics Education (CMPE) and proffered paper session. Professional experts from atomic energy regulatory board and bhabha atomic research centere as well as eminent clinical physicists, radiation oncologists, nuclear medicine specialists and oncoradiologists from renowned institutions are invited to enlighten on the topics. Medical Physicists, radiation safety officer, radiation oncologists, radiologists, nuclear medicine specialists and technologists will be participating in the symposium. The organizers informed the press personals that their will also be a special panel discussion on current practices in Radiation sources safety and security.

Source:http://www.nagpurtoday.in/two-day-national-symposium-on-radiation-oncology-and-radiation-dosimetry-to-be-held-on-8th-march/

QIAGEN Launches careHPV™ Test in India to Expand Preventive Screening

• The careHPV^™ Test is the first HPV diagnostic designed for regions with limited healthcare infrastructure, complementing QIAGEN's market-leading digene  HC2 HPV Test
• Commercial launch of careHPV Test in India enables high-quality screening for prevention of cervical cancer among women in low-resource areas
• The careHPV Test plays an important role in QIAGEN's Corporate Social Responsibility effort around the world, especially in low-resource areas

·         QIAGEN N.V. today announced the commercial launch in India of its careHPV^™ Test, the only molecular diagnostic for high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) designed to screen women in settings with limited healthcare infrastructure, such as areas lacking electricity, water or laboratories. HPV is the primary cause of cervical cancer in women, so screening for the viral infection is a powerful strategy for prevention and early treatment of the deadly cancer. ThecareHPV Test was launched commercially in China in 2013 and has been used in several other countries, including as part of QIAGEN's corporate social responsibility effort, QIAGENcares.

·         The careHPV Test for low-resource settings is highly complementary with QIAGEN's digene HC2 HPV Test, the world's most validated and sensitive diagnostic test for detection of high-risk HPV. The digene HC2 HPV Test is recognized as the "gold standard" in HPV screening and is widely used in developed countries and in large cities in emerging markets.

·         About 72,000 women in India die of cervical cancer each year, more than one-fourth of the world's 270,000 annual deaths. In India, cervical cancer accounts for about 20% of all cancer-related deaths in women and is the number one cause of death in middle-aged Indian women.

·         "The launch of careHPV in India will help in efforts to reduce the high burden of cervical cancer for women in India," said Dr. Victor Shi, President of QIAGEN Asia Pacific. "With the digene HC2 HPV Test serving areas that have modern healthcare infrastructure and the careHPV Test serving low-resource areas, QIAGEN is expanding our role as the global leader in preventive screening for cervical cancer and continuing to contribute to women's health around the world."

·         Dr. Partha Basu, Head of the Department of Gynecological Oncology and Officer In Charge, Division of Preventive Oncology, Chittaranjan National Cancer Institute, noted the importance of the two-tiered approach to screening: "Based on the findings of the screening project that we have been doing for four years in Kolkata and surrounding areas, there is a need for a cost-effective and easy-to-use test which can best meet the requirements of low-resource settings. Availability of thecareHPV Test is an important step forward for the prevention of cervical cancer in India."

·         QIAGEN's robust, portable and easy-to-use careHPV Test combines the power of advanced molecular technologies with innovative design and features. For example, the system has color-coded, easy-to-understand menus and self-contained reagents. The test tolerates temperature variations that occur in rural clinics lacking refrigeration for sample storage due to limited electricity or water, and can provide results much faster. The careHPV Test was developed with support from PATH, an international nonprofit organization, and is manufactured by QIAGEN in Shenzhen, China.

·         The careHPV Test already plays an important role in QIAGENcares, QIAGEN's collaborations with NGOs and governments in which it helps expand access to high-quality cervical cancer screening in resource-poor regions. For example, tests for cervical cancer have been conducted on women in El Salvador using the careHPV Tests since 2012. The test will also be used in other countries, including Vanuatu.

·         Also as part of QIAGENcares, QIAGEN and the Chittaranjan National Cancer Institute (CNCI) started a five-year-program in 2010 to provide cervical cancer screening with the digene HC2 HPV Test to 50,000 women in rural West Bengal. Screening is facilitated through mobile field clinics. This project has screened more than 36,000 women to date and has detected 216 cases of High Grade Squamous Intra-epithelial Lesions (HSIL) and 52 cases of cervical cancers. Most of the cervical cancers were at early treatable stages, and more than 90% of these patients have been treated at CNCI. In addition, many doctors and community-based healthcare workers have been trained in HPV screening. This project is the first HPV based screening project in India, demonstrating program aspects and successful implementation with clear deliverables.  

·         Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer among women worldwide, and research has shown that 80% of new cases and deaths occur in developing countries, where awareness of the disease and access to preventive tests and medical treatment is low. In many low-resource areas, cervical cancer has eclipsed breast cancer as the primary cancer killer of women.

·         To learn more about QIAGENcares please visit:

·         http://www.qiagen.com/about-us/who-we-are/sustainability/qiagencares/.

·         About QIAGEN

·         QIAGEN N.V., a Netherlands holding company, is the leading global provider of Sample & Assay Technologies that are used to transform biological materials into valuable molecular information. Sample technologies are used to isolate and process DNA, RNA and proteins from biological samples such as blood or tissue. Assay technologies are then used to make these isolated biomolecules visible and ready for interpretation. QIAGEN markets more than 500 products around the world, selling both consumable kits and automation systems to customers through four customer classes: Molecular Diagnostics (human healthcare), Applied Testing (forensics, veterinary testing and food safety), Pharma (pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies) and Academia (life sciences research). As of December 31, 2013, QIAGEN employed approximately 4,000 people in more than 35 locations worldwide. Further information can be found athttp://www.QIAGEN.com/.

·         Certain of the statements contained in this news release may be considered forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. To the extent that any of the statements contained herein relating to QIAGEN's products, markets, strategy or operating results, including without limitation its expected operating results, are forward-looking, such statements are based on current expectations and assumptions that involve a number of uncertainties and risks. Such uncertainties and risks include, but are not limited to, risks associated with management of growth and international operations (including the effects of currency fluctuations, regulatory processes and dependence on logistics), variability of operating results and allocations between customer classes, the commercial development of markets for our products in applied testing, personalized healthcare, clinical research, proteomics, women's health/HPV testing and nucleic acid-based molecular diagnostics; changing relationships with customers, suppliers and strategic partners; competition; rapid or unexpected changes in technologies; fluctuations in demand for QIAGEN's products (including fluctuations due to general economic conditions, the level and timing of customers' funding, budgets and other factors); our ability to obtain regulatory approval of our products; difficulties in successfully adapting QIAGEN's products to integrated solutions and producing such products; the ability of QIAGEN to identify and develop new products and to differentiate and protect our products from competitors' products; market acceptance of QIAGEN's new products, the consummation of acquisitions, and the integration of acquired technologies and businesses. For further information, please refer to the discussions in reports that QIAGEN has filed with, or furnished to, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

·          

Source: http://www.sacbee.com/2014/02/26/6190187/qiagen-launches-carehpv-test-in.html

PIO develops cheap paper test to detect cancer

 An Indian-American scientist at theMassachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has developed a cheap, simple, paper test that can detect cancer, circumventing expensive approaches such as mammograms and colonoscopy.

The diagnostic, which works much like a pregnancy test, could reveal within minutes, based on a urine sample, whether a person has cancer, MIT said in a statement announcing the amazing breakthrough, adding that while this approach has helped detect infectious diseases, the new technology will do allow non-communicable diseases to be detected using the same strategy.

The star at the center of this breakthrough us technology is MIT professor and Howard HughesMedical Institute investigator Sangeeta Bhatia, already a star in the US scientific firmament. The US born Bhatia explained that the paper test essentially relies on nanoparticles that interact with tumor proteins called proteases, each of which can trigger release of hundreds of biomarkers that are then easily detectable in a patient's urine.

“When we invented this new class of synthetic biomarker, we used a highly specialized instrument to do the analysis," said Bhatia, who is also the John and Dorothy Wilson Professor of Health Sciences and Technology and Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. "For the developing world, we thought it would be exciting to adapt it instead to a paper test that could be performed on unprocessed samples in a rural setting, without the need for any specialized equipment. The simple readout could even be transmitted to a remote caregiver by a picture on a mobile phone."

Cancer rates in developing nations have climbed sharply in recent years, and now account for 70 percent of cancer mortality worldwide. Early detection has been proven to improve outcomes, but screening approaches such as mammograms and colonoscopy, used in the developed world, are too costly to be implemented in settings with little medical infrastructure.

Bhatia, who is also a member of MIT's Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research and Institute for Medical Engineering and Science, is the senior author of a paper describing the particles in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences scheduled this week. The paper's lead authors are graduate student Andrew Warren, postdoc Gabriel Kwong, and former postdoc David Wood.

(MIT said that in 2012, Bhatia and colleagues introduced the concept of a synthetic biomarker technology to amplify signals from tumor proteins that would be hard to detect on their own. These proteins, known as matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), help cancer cells escape their original locations by cutting through proteins of the extracellular matrix, which normally holds cells in place.

The MIT nanoparticles are coated with peptides (short protein fragments) targeted by different MMPs. These particles congregate at tumor sites, where MMPs cleave hundreds of peptides, which accumulate in the kidneys and are excreted in the urine.

In the original version of the technology, these peptides were detected using an instrument called a mass spectrometer, which analyzes the molecular makeup of a sample. However, these instruments are not readily available in the developing world, so the researchers adapted the particles so they could be analyzed on paper, using an approach known as a lateral flow assay — the same technology used in pregnancy tests.

To create the test strips, the researchers first coated nitrocellulose paper with antibodies that can capture the peptides. Once the peptides are captured, they flow along the strip and are exposed to several invisible test lines made of other antibodies specific to different tags attached to the peptides. If one of these lines becomes visible, it means the target peptide is present in the sample. The technology can also easily be modified to detect multiple types of peptides released by different types or stages of disease.

In tests in mice, the researchers were able to accurately identify colon tumors, as well as blood clots. Bhatia says these tests represent the first step toward a diagnostic device that could someday be useful in human patients. "This is a new idea — to create an excreted biomarker instead of relying on what the body gives you," she says. "To prove this approach is really going to be a useful diagnostic, the next step is to test it in patient populations."

Bhatia and her team's research have other Indian inputs: They won a grant from MIT's Deshpande Center for Technological Innovation (funded by Indian-American tech entrepreneur Desh Deshpande) to develop a business plan for a startup that could work on commercializing the technology and performing clinical trials. The research was also funded by, among others, by a Mazumdar-Shaw International Oncology Fellowship, backed by Indian bio-tech entrepreneur Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw.

Source:http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/science/PIO-develops-cheap-paper-test-to-detect-cancer/articleshow/30963615.cms