Malignant Melanoma Recurrence - How To Avoid It After Targeted Treatment
According to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers at The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) have demonstrated how to prevent new cancers that can occur when malignant melanoma patients are treated with drugs known as BRAF inhibitors. In the past, doctors have observed that between 15 and 30% of patients who were treated with BRAF inhibitors, including the FDA-approved drug vemurafenib ( Zelboraf ), developed another type of skin cancer known as cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma, which required surgical removal. Professor Richard Marais from the ICR, and his worldwide collaborators, assessed squamous cell carcinoma tissue, which had been obtained from 21 malignant melanoma patients who were treated with vemurafenib in a clinical trial.
Esophageal Cancer May Be Caused By Migration Of Cancer-Causing Stomach Cells
A new study is providing clues that may answer a decades-old question about the cells that give rise to a particularly lethal form of esophageal cancer. The research, published by Cell Press in the January 17th issue of the journal Cancer Cell, links inflammation and bile acid reflux with migration of cancer-causing stomach cells into the esophagus and may help guide future strategies for early therapeutic intervention. Esophageal adenocarcinoma is a cancer of the esophagus that is associated with acid reflux disease and Barrett esophagus (BE). BE is characterized by abnormal changes in the cells that line the lower esophagus, very close to the junction with the stomach.
Bladder Cancer Marker Identified By Computer Algorithm
Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have used an innovative mathematical technique to find markers that effectively predict how deadly a cancer will be. The discovery, which in this case concerned bladder cancer, could lead to faster, less expensive and more accurate analysis of cancer risk and better treatment of the disease. The findings were published online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. This is the first study in which a special Stanford-designed computer algorithm was used to identify a clinically prognostic marker from public databases, though the search tool was introduced in a paper published two years ago that established its effectiveness in identifying markers in mice.
News From The Journal Of Clinical Investigation: Jan. 17, 2012
VIROLOGY: How to prevent hepatitis B virus reproducing Infection with hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a major health problem worldwide, despite the fact that a highly effective preventative vaccine exists. A modified form of the immune molecule IFN-alpha is commonly used to treat individuals infected with HBV. The rationale behind this is that IFN-alpha inhibits HBV replication in vivo and in vitro, although the mechanisms by which it does this have not been clearly defined. A team of researchers - led by Maura Dandri, at University Medical Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf, Germany; and Massimo Levrero, at Sapienza University, Italy - has now identified a new mechanism by which IFN-alpha suppresses HBV replication in vitro and in vivo.
Discovery Of Genes And Disease Mechanisms Behind Muscular Dystrophy Could Lead To A Biomarker-Based Diagnostic Test
Continuing a series of groundbreaking discoveries begun in 2010 about the genetic causes of the third most common form of inherited muscular dystrophy, an international team of researchers led by a scientist at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center has identified the genes and proteins that damage muscle cells, as well as the mechanisms that can cause the disease. The findings are online and will be reported in the Jan. 17 print edition of the journal Developmental Cell. The discovery could lead to a biomarker-based test for diagnosing facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD), and the findings have implications for developing future treatments as well as for cancer immunotherapies in general.
Brain Tumors Sensitized To Chemotherapy By Selectively Stopping Glutathione
Brain cancer cells are particularly resistant to chemotherapy - toxins enter the cells, but before the toxins can kill, cancer cells quickly pump them back outside. In fact, brain cancer cells are even better than healthy cells at cleaning themselves. This means that when hit with chemotherapy, healthy cells tend to die before brain cancer cells. Especially in the brain, killing healthy cells is bad. Researchers at the University of Colorado Cancer Center have discovered a way to turn off the pumps - only in brain cancer cells and not in their healthy neighbors. Promising early testing provides hope for the nearly 45, 000 people diagnosed with brain cancer in the United States every year, who are currently expected to survive less than 12 months after diagnosis.
Young Female Cancer Survivors Express Their Concerns And Frustrations About The Impact Of Their Disease, Treatment, Future Fertility
Young female cancer survivors are concerned about their future fertility and parenthood options and want better information and guidance early on, according to a new study by Jessica Gorman and her team from the University of California in the US. Their paper, which presents in-depth information on young survivors' experiences navigating decisions about fertility and parenthood, is published online in Springer's Journal of Cancer Survivorship. Many more adolescents and young adults are surviving their disease, resulting in a substantial and growing number of female cancer survivors of reproductive age. Young cancer survivors are less likely to have biological children than non-cancer survivors, mainly due to the effects of cancer treatments on future fertility.
Study Finds Tobacco Company Misrepresented Danger From Cigarettes; Toxicity Levels Obscured, Increasing Risks Of Heart Disease, Cancer
A new UCSF analysis of tobacco industry documents shows that Philip Morris USA manipulated data on the effects of additives in cigarettes, including menthol, obscuring actual toxicity levels and increasing the risk of heart, cancer and other diseases for smokers. Tobacco industry information can't be taken at face value, the researchers conclude. They say their work provides evidence that hundreds of additives, including menthol, should be eliminated from cigarettes on public health grounds. The article is published in PLoS Medicine. In the new, independent study, the scientists reassessed data from Philip Morris' "Project MIX, " which detailed chemical analyses of smoke and animal toxicology studies of 333 cigarette additives.
Newcastle Scientists Find Genetic Key To Why Some Cancer Patients Don t Respond To Treatment
In a study funded by the charity Leukemia & Lymphoma Research published in the leukemia journal Blood in January, scientists from Newcastle University have discovered a gene variation that occurs in 20% of the population, which can have a substantial effect on treatment responses in patients with a rare type of blood cancer. The CD95 gene is one of the genes involved in controlling the death of cells in the body. According to the researchers belief, having an abnormal version of the CD95 gene could also dictate survival rates for other cancer types like lymphoma, breast - and prostate cancer. The researchers examined data from 231 people diagnosed with acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL).
PSA Screening Does Not Help Mortality
A study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute reveals that there is no difference in mortality rates between men participating in the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian Cancer (PLCO) Screening Trial, and men who receive usual care after 13 years follow-up. In November 1993, the multi-center, two-arm, PLCO Trial, began enrollment with follow-up, through December 2009. The trial assessed the effect of screening on prostate, lung, colorectal, and ovarian cancer. Participants had no previous history of these cancers and were aged between 55 and 74 years of age. Men in the control group received their usual care, which for some participants included screening.
