The New England journal of medicine
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Testing of blood donors for human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA by means of nucleic acid amplification was introduced in the United States as an investigational screening test in mid-1999 to identify donations made during the window period before seroconversion. ⋯ Minipool nucleic acid-amplification testing has helped prevent the transmission of approximately 5 HIV-1 infections and 56 HCV infections annually and has reduced the residual risk of transfusion-transmitted HIV-1 and HCV to approximately 1 in 2 million blood units.
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Multicenter Study Clinical Trial
Circulating tumor cells, disease progression, and survival in metastatic breast cancer.
We tested the hypothesis that the level of circulating tumor cells can predict survival in metastatic breast cancer. ⋯ The number of circulating tumor cells before treatment is an independent predictor of progression-free survival and overall survival in patients with metastatic breast cancer.
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Cleft lip or palate (or the two in combination) is a common birth defect that results from a mixture of genetic and environmental factors. We searched for a specific genetic factor contributing to this complex trait by examining large numbers of affected patients and families and evaluating a specific candidate gene. ⋯ DNA-sequence variants associated with IRF6 are major contributors to cleft lip, with or without cleft palate. The contribution of variants in single genes to cleft lip or palate is an important consideration in genetic counseling.