This new tool makes use of technological gains that now allow doctors to sequence about 90% of a patient’s genome at one time.  Although it is still cost-prohibitive to sequence the entire genome, this form of testing provides a great deal of insight that was previously unavailable.

The lead developer of PhenoDB explains that, “The average person has tens of thousands of variations from the standard genetic sequence and we don’t know what most of those variations mean.  One of the things that needs to change is that the lab doing the testing needs to have the whole phenotype, from head to toe.”

The system will allow researchers to determine which variations may be pertinent to a patient’s health.  Another massive advantage of PhenoDB is that it allows scientists in disparate locations to securely access the information and effectively collaborate, even when miles apart.  The database offers the capability to grant different users differing levels of access contained in the patient’s file.  This ensures proper patient privacy.

Currently, the database software is available for free via download.  The creator predicts that other types of software will soon be synched with electronic health and medical records in order to give doctors increased access to information regarding a patient’s personal and family health history, disease symptoms, appearance and demographic to provide the utmost in individualized medical care.

The lead developer says that, “PhenoDB is much more useful than I even thought it would be.  Bringing all of this information together is crucial to figuring out what our genetic variations mean.”

See more at Medical News Today.

Image from thinkprogress.org

When the study was initiated, the women had completed doctor prescribed treatments within the past one to four years.  All of the patients chosen to participate in the study reported no signs of the cancer’s recurrence at the beginning of the study.

Researchers wanted to test the hypothesis that estrogen found in high-fat dairy products, such as milk with more than 2% fat, actually fuels cancer growth.  Scientists have been speculating that high-fat diary causes estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer, the most common form of breast cancer.

The study’s participants completed questionnaires recording a detailed inventory of what they ate.  Researchers accounted for other factors that could lead to death, such as age, smoking and the stage at which the cancer was diagnosed.

They found that even with these risk factors, those women who consumed more high-fat dairy products, such as whole milk, ice cream, cheese and full-fat yogurts, were 49 percent more likely to die from breast cancer than those women who consumed less than a half a serving of diary products per day.

This study did not examine the effects of consuming low-fat diary products on breast cancer growth and researchers are quick to point out that these products may have a different effect on tumor growth.

Another important point to note is possible participant bias.  Scientists maintain that people often tend to under-report what they eat. This means that participants may have under-reported the amount of high-fat dairy, say ice cream, that they actually consumed.  This possibility would indicate that the study underestimated the harmful effect of consuming a lot of high-fat diary products on breast cancer growth.

See more at Live Science.

Image from www.netdoctor.co.uk