School of Medicine

A new predictive measurement, called a PEPI score, could bring good news to many women diagnosed with advanced breast cancer — a low PEPI (preoperative endocrine prognostic index) score could show that they have little risk of relapse and can safely avoid chemotherapy after surgery. For others, a high PEPI score could warn that the risk of relapse after breast surgery is large and indicate that careful follow-up and aggressive therapy may be needed, say researchers at the School of Medicine.

Cancer death rates in the United States are highest among African Americans, but a new report shows that in Missouri the disparity in cancer incidence and death between African Americans and whites is declining. As a result, cancer incidence (the rate of newly diagnosed cases) between the races is equal, although the death rate will probably remain higher for African Americans for some time.

WUSTL researchers and colleagues reported that the risk for heart attack is 70 percent to 80 percent higher among people with HIV compared to those who do not have HIV.

Imran Zoberi has been named medical director of radiation oncology at the Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish West County Hospital in Creve Coeur, Mo. Zoberi is assistant professor of radiation oncology at the School of Medicine. As medical director, Zoberi will manage medical support staff and oversee patient care in radiation oncology.

WUSTL researchers and colleagues reported that the risk for heart attack is 70 percent to 80 percent higher among people with HIV compared to those who do not have HIV.

Mouse embryonic stem cells can work to build the heart, potentially moving medical science a step closer to new heart-disease treatments that use human stem cells, School of Medicine research shows.

Courtesy PhotoJosh VanRiper, president of the Program in Physical Therapy’s Class of 2010, performs physical therapy on a young boy during a recent trip to the Dominican Republic by six students in the Program in Physical Therapy.

Applications for KL2 Career Development Award scholars to begin July 2009 are being accepted through Sept. 30 at 5 p.m.

School of Medicine scientists have discovered new genetic mutations and molecular pathways underlying the most common form of brain cancer and the most aggressive.

Image from *What is Atherosclerosis*, courtesy of National Heart, Lung, and Blood InstituteAtherosclerosis in an arteryFuturistic nanotechnology has been teamed with a decades-old drug to beat atherosclerotic plaques in research conducted at the School of Medicine. The scientists have found that drug-laced nanoparticles plus a statin could stop the growth of tiny blood vessels that feed arterial plaques. Their results suggest that the dual treatment also prevents the vessels from restarting their growth, which could shrink or stabilize plaques.