Some New York women who are diagnosed with breast cancer may wonder whether they should make a decision about treatment based on whether they took a traditional test or a genetic test. In some cases, the traditional test might show that the risk of the cancer advancing is high while a genetic test might show that the risk is low. According to a study published on Aug. 24, the survival rate for women whose test results differ in this way are similar whether or not the women choose chemotherapy.The chance of survival after five years without metastasis for women whose genetic tests showed a low risk and who went through chemotherapy was 1.9 percentage points higher. However, this also means that around 35,000 women annually may go through unnecessary chemotherapy [...]

According to statistics, around one in every 10 to 12 people in New York and across the United States are living with a rare disease. In the U.S., a rare disease is defined as any condition that affects less than 200,000 people. The European Union considers a disease to be rare if it affects 250,000 people or less.There are more than 6,000 rare diseases on record. Unfortunately, these conditions are often misdiagnosed because a doctor may not be familiar with the symptoms. Even in cases where a correct diagnosis is made, a doctor may be unfamiliar with the proper treatments for the condition. Many rare diseases have no known cures and few treatment options.Some rare conditions can be treated by orphan drugsNew York residents who have suffered a worsened condition [...]

Most people in New York probably haven't heard of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. That may be because EDS exhibits symptoms that are similar to other, more common disorders. In fact, those with EDS are often misdiagnosed with a variety of conditions such as chronic fatigue syndrome, depression, irritable bowel syndrome, arthritis and even hypochondria. The average EDS patient receives an accurate diagnosis 20 years after they begin to show symptoms.EDS is a connective tissue disorder that affects the way a patient's body makes collagen. Making up 30 percent of the body, collagen is a vital part of the bones, skin, blood vessels, muscles, brain, tendons and cartilage. When EDS alters a person's collagen production, the person may experience symptoms in all different parts of their body. The apparent randomness of the symptoms [...]

Specialists from New York University's Langone Medical Center contributed to research that achieved a promising breakthrough that could improve the diagnosis of mesothelioma. The research team identified a protein, BAP1, that could be used to distinguish mesothelioma from lung cancer.The researchers looked at 45 tissue samples of non-small cell lung cancer and 35 samples of pleural mesothelioma. Lab tests of every lung cancer tumor revealed a normal level of BAP1. In the pleural mesothelioma tumor cells, however, over half of them lacked the presence of BAP1.The lead researcher said that testing for BAP1 should become part of the protocol for testing potential lung cancer samples. He said that in the United States at least 10 percent of people with a lung cancer diagnosis have been misdiagnosed because their medical caregivers [...]