Top Health Breakthroughs of 2015, Non-HIV Related

From research studies on anal cancer to new ways to look at Pap smears and breast cancer, it's been quite a year for health innovations. Although LGBTs still shy away from seeing their doctors as much as they should, and hepatitis C, gonorrhea and oral cancer are on the rise in young gays, new breakthroughs are finding clever ways to deal with everything from STIs and fungal infections to malaria.

ANCHOR Study Prevents Anal Cancer From Being a Pain in the Ass: The doctors at the 12 cities participating in the Anal Cancer Outcomes Research and Prevention Study (ANCHOR) are now recruiting HIV-positive men and women 35+ years old into a five-year, compensated study. If cancer is found during screening for pre-cancerous anal lesions, they'll be enrolled and randomized to have the lesions either treated or monitored every six months. It's all to help prevent anal cancer. "We want to study HIV-positive, sexually active MSM and women around 35-45 years old, because we want the potential to study people who might develop cancer," said principal investigator Dr. Gary Bucher. "In general, anal cancer has been a cancer of women." Read more here.

On Natl. Women's Check-up Day, Not Enough Getting Pap Smears: "Despite the simplicity of the screening procedure, a recent CDC report published in the November 2014 issue of 'Vital Signs' revealed 8 million American women who are at risk for developing cervical cancer have not had a Pap smear within the past five years, and many have never had this test," said Kim Stebbings, U.S. President of DySIS Medical. "The CDC's report encourages doctors, nurses and health systems to use all medical visits as an opportunity to educate women about cervical cancer screening." Read more here.

Testing for Malaria Reduces Prescription by Over 70 Percent: Using malaria rapid diagnostic tests (RDT) in registered drug shops in a highly endemic region in Uganda substantially reduced over diagnosis of malaria, improving the use of valuable malaria drugs, according to a new study published in PLOS ONE. "Our findings show that it is feasible to collaborate with the private health sector and introduce malaria RDTs in drug shops," said Prof. Anthony Mbonye from the Ugandan Ministry of Health, lead author of the study. "The next step is to refine the strategy and understand the cost implications of scaling it up in Uganda. Our long term aim is to provide evidence to help the World Health Organization develop guidance to improve malaria treatment in the private sector." Read more here.

Study Shows LGBT Youth Delay Seeking Medical Care: Research has shown that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people are significantly more likely than heterosexuals to avoid or delay medical care for a number of reasons. For instance, LGBT individuals age 18 to 44 are less likely than heterosexuals to have the money or insurance for care, and even partnered gays and lesbians are twice as likely to be uninsured. Then there is the question of stigmatism and homophobia, the fear of which can lead to less access to care. On top of that, many fear to disclose their sexual or gender identity to their physicians, which can also have an impact on quality of care. Read more here.

Oral Cancer is Now Plaguing Younger Generations: Once the disease of older people who regularly drink and smoke, oral cancer is now plaguing younger generations, causing facial deformities, and, in some cases, death. Studies show a link between oral cancer and the human papilloma virus (HPV). Research in the New England Journal of Medicine revealed that people infected with HPV are 32 times more likely to develop oral or throat cancers compared to the increased risk associated with smoking (three times more likely to develop these cancers) and drinking alcohol (two-and-a-half times more likely). Read more here.

NYU Researchers See Uptick in Hep C Among HIV+ MSM: "The purpose of our study was to explain why these outbreaks are occurring and understand whether the increase in reporting indicates a real trend," said principal author, Holly Hagan, Ph.D., a professor at NYUCN and Co-Director of CDUHR who leads the HCV Synthesis Project. "Understanding the causes and the magnitude of the problem will help identify subgroups for targeted intervention." Read more here.

National LGBT Cancer Network Goes 'Behind Closed Drawers' on Anal Cancer: Like similar fundraisers including the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge and the Shower Selfie Challenge, the National LGBT Cancer Network invited you to show your support by donating to bit.ly/BehindClosedDrawers or texting "UNDIES" to 41444, then spreading the word by posting a photo of your underwear on social media and tagging it with #BehindClosedDrawers. They hope to use these photos to add a touch of levity to a subject that is difficult to talk about. "Some are humorous, some are sexy; people did it in ways that not only showed their underwear which, let's face it, is fascinating, but in ways that reflected them, like where they chose to place their underwear if they were not wearing them," said Liz Margolies, LCSW, Executive Director of the National LGBT Cancer Network. Read more here.

CDC Shows Gonorrhea Threat Among Gay and Bisexual Men: In mid-September, scientists from the CDC and other major researchers from around the world gathered in Australia at the 21st Meeting of the International Society of STD Researchers. One study in particular that was presented by CDC looks at a troubling increase in gonorrhea among gay and bisexual men (GBMSM). "There is no clear single answer for the increase, but is likely a mix of social as well as individual factors,"�Dr. Mark Stenger, the lead author on the study, told EDGE. "Re-infection through having sex again with an untreated partner may contribute to increased incidence, as can exposure to new partners who may not know they are infected (gonorrhea can also infect their throats or rectums without showing symptoms)." Read more here.

New Advancement Offers Hope on World Cancer Day: February 4 is World Cancer Day, and there is a new source of hope on the horizon for the nearly 300,000 women who will be diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015. And it's as simple as body position. Traditionally breast cancer patients lie on their backs when receiving radiation therapy, but being in this position can potentially cause damage to one's heart and lung tissue. Research shows that simply changing positions can change the outcome for some breast cancer patients. Doctors are getting better results simply by turning patients over on their stomachs during radiation treatment. By using a special prone therapy board developed in part by Dr. Julia White, doctors at Ohio State's James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute say they can not only reduce a patient's risk to healthy tissue, but preserve the shape of the breast as well. This modified treatment board that allows patients to lie on their stomach in the prone position during radiation treatment is proving more effective for breast cancer patients. Read more here.

Librarians Educate Community on Blood Donation Policy: In an effort to educate the library community about the issues regarding blood donations, the ALA Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Round Table (GLBTRT) sponsored the discussion panel "Blood Donation: Facts, Fear, and Discrimination," on Sunday, Feb. 1, in McCormick Place West, room 183C. Speakers included Dr. Magda Houlberg, chief clinical officer, Howard Brown Health Center; Dr. Robert Garofalo, professor, Northwestern University Feiberg School of Medicine; and the Hon. Mike Quigley, Congressman, Illinois 5th District.
Read more here.

Cel-Sci Expands Study for Treatment of Anal Warts in HIV/HPV Patients: CEL-SCI Corporation announced it has added a second clinical site for its Phase I clinical trial evaluating peri-anal wart immunotherapy in HIV/HPV co-infected men and women with its investigational cancer immunotherapy Multikine* (Leukocyte Interleukin, Injection). Dr. Joel Palefsky, world-renowned scientist and Key Opinion Leader (KOL) in human papilloma virus (HPV) research and the prevention of anal cancer, has joined the study as a Principal Investigator at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF). UCSF becomes the second clinical site for the study. The first site, the U.S. Naval Medical Center San Diego, continues to enroll patients under a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA).�Read more here.

Seattle Experts Call for End to Fungal Infections: "The toll due to fungal diseases is over 1 billion people, yet these diseases are poorly represented by most global health organizations and national public health bodies," said Dr. David Denning, GAFFI President and Professor of Infectious Diseases in Global Health at the University of Manchester. "Burdens vary by geography, country, co-infections, hospital hygiene and agricultural practices. Even though the global antifungal pharmaceutical market is about $8 billion and growing at 2-3 percent annually, there are a limited number of useful antifungals." Read more here.