Dr. Galina Botchkina This is Me

Education

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1. 1. From VHS to DVD, now directly

   www.indianexpress.com/full_sto - [Cached]

   Published on: 7/31/2005   Last Visited: 7/31/2005

   Galina Botchkina, who studied 56 Long Island men, was able to accurately diagnose prostate cancer in all nine of those who developed the disease.
   
   "We need to confirm this in a very large population of men," said Botchkina, a molecular biologist and assistant professor of surgery at Stony Brook University Hospital. Results of the study are reported in the current issue of the journal Clinical Cancer Research.

2. 2. Long Island Press: Long Island Newspaper, News, Entertainment, Real Estate, Classifieds, Automotive, Weddings, Business News, Sports, Restaurants, Fashion, Lifestyle

   www.longislandpress.com/?cp=16 - [Cached]

   Published on: 9/15/2004   Last Visited: 8/27/2005

   Focusing on the enzyme telomerase, which is active in cancer cells but usually not in normal ones, Galina Botchkina, an assistant professor in the Department of Surgery at Stony Brook, analyzed 56 patients' urine and found that 100 percent of those with confirmed prostate cancer had high telomerase activity.
   
   Although such activity alone is not a proven independent marker for the disease, Botchkina believes that analyzing the enzyme in a clinical trial involving large numbers of patients may be used to develop a reliable, early, non-invasive test.
   
   "Based on what we now know, the ultimate goal of a simple urinalysis test for prostate cancer is certainly possible," says Botchkina. She also believes that further study may determine tumor aggressiveness and whether a biopsy is necessary.

3. 3. Stony Brook University Hospital

   www.stonybrookhospital.org/ind - [Cached]

   Published on: 2/3/2005   Last Visited: 5/17/2006

   Galina Botchkina, Ph.D., Assistant Professor in the Department of Surgery at Stony Brook University, is working on developing a non-invasive and more specific prostate cancer diagnostic tool. The method involves a quantitative analysis of telomerase, an enzyme which directs the replication of telomeres at the ends of chromosomes. This enzyme is inactive in normal cells, but active in cancer cells.
   
   Dr. Botchkina and her colleagues analyzed the exfoliated cells from the urine of 56 patients. They reported that 100 percent of those with confirmed prostate cancer had high telomerase activity. In contrast, 70 percent of those with benign prostatic hyperplasia did not express any telomerase activity.
   
   "The research tells us that there is a potential new way to diagnose prostate cancer that will be more reliable than currently exists," said Dr. Botchkina, whose findings have been reported in the journal Clinical Cancer Research. "The results of the study certainly are promising, and that can be only good news for those men who develop prostate cancer." She added, "Based on what we now know, the ultimate goal of a simple urinalysis test for prostate cancer is certainly possible."
   
   Although telomerase activity alone has not yet been proved as an independent marker for prostate cancer, Dr Botchkina believes the evidence is strong enough to suggest that quantitative analysis of telomerase activity may be used for early, non-invasive detection of prostate cancer.
   
   She also believes that levels of telomerase activity, in combination with other molecular markers, such as metalloproteinases and adhesion molecules, can be used to determine tumor aggressiveness and its future behavior, thereby helping to avoid unnecessary aggressive treatment of slowly developing tumors and insufficient treatment of aggressive ones.
   ...
   Dr. Botchkina and her colleagues believe that a clinical trial involving large numbers of patients-including men in different stages of prostate cancer or in different states of benign prostatic disease-will help to answer questions to determine if telomerase is an independent molecular marker for prostate cancer or cancer.