December 15, 2006, 4:31 AM CT

Halting Cancer Growth with NSAIDs

Scientists have discovered that induction of a gene known as MDA-7/IL-24 is the molecular mechanism that enables nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) to halt the growth of cancer cells, a finding that could eventually lead to the development of targeted cancer treatments.

Led by researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC), in collaboration with scientists at Columbia University Medical Center, the new findings provide the answer to the long-puzzling question: How does this popular class of pain killers protect people from developing this deadly disease" The study appears in the Dec. 15 issue of the journal Cancer Research.

"Although observational studies had previously demonstrated that NSAIDs [such as aspirin, ibuprofen and sulindac] might be effective in the prevention and treatment of several common cancers, it wasn't at all clear how this was happening," explains the study's senior author Towia Libermann, PhD, Director of the BIDMC Genomics Center and Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School (HMS). "Now, after treating a number of different types of cancer cells in culture with a whole set of NSAIDs, we can point to this single gene which, when upregulated, kills cancer cells while sparing normal, healthy cells".........

Posted by: Jesmi24      Permalink         Source

December 13, 2006, 6:35 PM CT

International Tykerb Clinical Trial

A clinical trial of a new targeted breast cancer drug, led by physicians at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Cancer Center, has begun enrolling patients. The TEACH (Tykerb Evaluation After CHemotherapy) trial will investigate the experimental drug Tykerb (lapatinib) in patients with early-stage, HER2-positive breast cancer who have not been treated with Herceptin, another targeted drug used for the same type of tumor. The MGH is the lead institution for the international trial, which is being sponsored by GlaxoSmithKline, the manufacturer of Tykerb.

"This trial represents another step toward understanding the role of targeted therapies in extending disease-free survival," said Paul Goss, MD, PhD, director of Breast Cancer Research at the MGH Cancer Center, who proposed the TEACH study and chairs the International Steering Committee.

About one quarter of breast cancer patients have tumors that overexpress or produce too many copies of a receptor molecule called HER2. Because cellular growth is stimulated by the overactivity of this molecule, which also is called ErbB2, these tumors are more likely to recur and are less responsive to hormone-based treatments. Herceptin, a monoclonal antibody that blocks the HER2 receptor, is approved by the FDA as an adjuvant treatment - given along with chemotherapy after surgical removal and/or radiation therapy - for early-stage, node-positive and HER2-positive tumors as well as for metastatic tumors.........

Posted by: Jesmi24      Permalink         Source

December 11, 2006, 9:29 PM CT

New Antibody Test On Mice with Breast Cancer

Herceptin, a monoclonal antibody is well known to physicians and breast cancer patients. It has been described as the miracle drug. Now a new monoclonal antibody developed by scientists at the University at Buffalo has been shown to extend significantly the survival of mice with human breast-cancer tumors and to inhibit the cancer's spread to the lungs in the animals by more than 50 percent.

The antibody, named JAA-F11, targets a particular disaccharide, an antigen known as TF-Ag, which aids the adhesion and spread of certain cancer cells. While the antibody did not kill the cancer cells, it blocked stages of cancer-cell growth that allow the cells to adhere to organ tissue, the research showed.

Results of the research appeared in the November 2006 issue of the journal Neoplasia.

Mice with breast-cancer tumors that received the antibody had a median survival time of 72 days, in comparison to 57 days for the animals that did not receive JAA-F11, the study found. In addition, exposing cultures of tumor cells to the antibody inhibited cell growth by a statistically significant 16 percent.

Kate Rittenhouse-Olson, Ph.D., associate professor of clinical and laboratory sciences in the UB School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, is senior author on the study.........

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November 30, 2006, 9:09 PM CT

Face The Sun

Three years ago I watched helplessly as my wife lost a close childhood friend to breast cancer after she was originally misdiagnosed, and told she was too young to get breast cancer. Diane courageously battled the illness, enduring both mainstream and alternative therapys, all the while reminding those around her of the precious nature of each day of life. In an effort to raise awareness about breast cancer, and to pay tribute to Diane, I spent the years since her passing writing a screen play which follows a young woman and family dealing with breast cancer. Through the recently formed, Sunflower Pictures, that script is now in what is referred to as the "pre-production phase".

The response to the story has been very strong. In support of the film, and to coincide with October being Breast Cancer Awareness Month, we've launched a website that not only talks about the film, but provides women with the information they need to be properly informed about this terrible disease. The film website is www.facethesunmovie.com Take a moment to visit the site, watch the videos, visit the linked websites and send the message to your friends reminding them of the importance of regular mammograms. Your support of this project is critical to ensuring that women of all ages understand that breast cancer isn't an illness that just affects other people. Furthermore, when "Face the Sun" is released theatrically a percentage of the net profits will be donated to breast cancer research.Let us know what you think of the website, and what you think of the project. I look forward to hearing from you soon. Take care.........

Posted by: Mike Moroz      Permalink         Source

November 29, 2006, 9:33 PM CT

preserve fertility after cancer

The Center for Reproductive Research at Northwestern University is launching a new, experimental research program for young women who may be at risk to lose their ovarian function and fertility following treatment for cancer.

The program, in which a woman's ovary is removed and frozen for possible future use, is being led by Teresa Woodruff, Ph.D., associate director of the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University and executive director of the Institute for Women's Health Research at Northwestern's Feinberg School of Medicine. The long-term goal of the program is to be able to extract and mature eggs from cryopreserved (frozen) ovarian tissues to initiate pregnancies once cancer treatment has been completed.

"This breakthrough may permit not only the potential preservation of fertility options for women and girls with cancer, but also can be applied to normal in vitro fertilization patients. This procedure, when developed, could radically change the way infertility is viewed, reduce and eliminate embryo storage and provide better options for women who do not respond to hormonal therapy, " said Woodruff.

In recognition of the Cancer Center's commitment to providing fertility options to women and men with cancer, it has been recognized as a Fertile Hope Center of Excellence, the fifth medical center in the country to receive this designation. Fertile Hope is a non-profit organization that assists cancer patients faced with infertility.........

Posted by: Jesmi24      Permalink         Source

November 28, 2006, 5:12 AM CT

Aging Gene Protects Against Prostate Cancer

Cancer scientists at the Kimmel Cancer Center at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia have shown that a gene that is involved in regulating aging also blocks prostate cancer cell growth. The researchers, led by Kimmel Cancer Center director Richard Pestell, M.D., Ph.D., hope the newly found connection will aid in better understanding the development of prostate cancer and lead to new drugs against the disease.

SIRT1 is a member of a family of enzymes called sirtuins that have far-reaching influence in all organisms, including roles in metabolism, gene expression and aging.

"We know that sirtuins play a role in aging, and that the risk for prostate cancer increases with aging, but no one has ever linked the two until now," says Dr. Pestell, who is also professor and chair of cancer biology at Jefferson Medical College.

"We've shown that by making a prostate cancer with cells overexpressing a mutation for the androgen receptor, which is resistant to current forms of therapy, we can almost completely block the growth of these cells with SIRT1," he says. Dr. Pestell and his team report their findings in November in the journal Molecular and Cellular Biology.

According to Dr. Pestell, prostate cancer cells can express a mutation that makes patients resistant to current forms of treatment such as hormonal therapy. Such therapy focuses on inactivating the androgen receptor by giving agents that shut off testosterone production.........

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November 27, 2006, 5:02 AM CT

Chemotherapy Temporarily Affects The Brain

Researchers have linked chemotherapy with short-term structural changes in cognitive areas of the brain, according to a new study. Published in the January 1, 2007 issue of CANCER (http://www.interscience.wiley.com/cancer-newsroom), a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, the study reveals that within 12 months of receiving adjuvant chemotherapy, significant regions of the brain associated with memory, analysis and other cognitive functions were significantly smaller in breast cancer patients who received chemotherapy than those who did not. Within four years after treatment, however, there were no differences in these same regions of the brain.

While the development of chemotherapy has had substantial and beneficial impact on cancer survival rates, it is also linked to significant short- and long-term adverse effects. Gastrointestinal complaints, immunosuppression, and painful mucositis, for example, are the immediate risks of the treatment.

Patients receiving chemotherapy have also long complained of problems with memory, problem-solving and other cognitive abilities. Although chemotherapy was thought not to affect brain cells due to the blood-brain barrier, recent clinical studies have confirmed declines in cognitive functions in patients receiving chemotherapy. Animal studies have shown physical changes in the brain and in neurons caused by chemotherapy drugs. In human studies, however, the little data that is available is only available through imaging and is not consistent in the long-term. In addition, lack of controls in studies makes it difficult discern cancer- versus drug-effects.........

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November 22, 2006, 4:47 AM CT

Side-effect-free chemotherapy

Treating cancer with chemotherapy can be as destructive to healthy cells as it is to tumour cells, causing notorious, debilitating side effects. US researchers have now developed an enzyme with the potential to eliminate the extreme fatigue, sickness and hair loss that result from this cell damage and strike fear into the hearts of cancer patients.

The researchers, led by Zaver Bhujwalla from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, developed a traceable enzyme to activate cancer prodrugs. The enzyme can be tracked on its journey within the body, to ensure that it has been cleared out of healthy tissue before the prodrug is introduced.

'Blood vessels of tumour cells are much leakier than normal, healthy vasculature so the enzyme leaks into the tumour but is cleared out of healthy tissue by the bloodstream,' Bhujwalla explained.

The enzyme, cytosine deaminase was chemically tagged with two tracers, gadolinium, which is a contrast agent that can be visualised using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI); and rhodamine, which is an optically visible tracer. Using rhodamine allowed the scientists to view sections of tissue microscopically and verify that their MRI images were accurate.

'This is the first time that a prodrug enzyme has been made visible with MRI,' Bhujwalla told Chemistry World. 'It's crucial because this type of imaging can be used in a clinical setting.'.........

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November 15, 2006, 4:35 AM CT

Vaccine And Colorectal Cancer

British researchers have developed a vaccine that stimulates colorectal cancer patients' immune systems to fight cancerous cells.

In a clinical trial of 67 patients, researchers at the University of Nottingham observed that when the vaccines were administered before and after surgery to remove cancerous tumors, they helped stimulated immune cell production in up to 70 percent of patients. These results are published in the November 15 issue of Clinical Cancer Research.

"This is the first vaccine shown to stimulate TNF-alpha an immune-system protein that is very effective at killing cancer cells," said Lindy Durrant, senior author of the study and professor of cancer immunotherapy at the university.

The vaccine works by stimulating the patients' immune response to generate infection-fighting white blood cells called T cells, which in turn produce immune system proteins called cytokines that destroy cancer cells. The antibody contained in the vaccine, called 105AD7, was cloned from a patient who survived seven years with liver metastases from colorectal cancer, Durrant explained.

"This is very unusual as most patients die within one year of getting liver metastases," she said. "I thought if this antibody had helped this patient, if we could clone it, it might help others".........

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November 13, 2006, 8:52 PM CT

Cancer In Women With Rare Breast Condition

Women whose mammograms reveal a suspicious lesion need a needle biopsy to confirm or rule out cancer. But if that biopsy reveals only abnormal - not malignant - cells, is a more extensive evaluation necessary?

Yes, suggests a new study by doctors at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. They looked at the medical records of women whose initial core-needle breast biopsies found rare, yet non-malignant breast conditions: atypical lobular hyperplasia (ALH) or lobular carcinoma-in-situ (LCIS). These lesions are known to increase a woman's risk of breast cancer, but what the scientists found was surprising.

Follow-up surgical biopsies in which more breast tissue was removed observed that up to 25% of the women actually had cancer in addition to their high-risk breast conditions. Most of the cancers were invasive, meaning the tumors had penetrated normal breast tissue and would require therapy. None of the tumors had spread beyond the breast.

"This is very significant," explains lead author Julie A. Margenthaler, M.D., assistant professor of surgery and a breast surgeon at the Siteman Cancer Center at Washington University School of Medicine and Barnes-Jewish Hospital. "We now know that we can't assume that women with ALH or LCIS are cancer free".........

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