EurekAlert! - Cancer
Sun Apr 24 04:23:12 EDT 2011
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Columbia Business School's Frank Lichtenberg awarded by the Emerald Literati Network - (Columbia Business School) Frank R. Lichtenberg, Courtney C. Brown Professor of Business of Finance and Economics and the Healthcare and Pharmaceutical Management program, was awarded a 2011 Outstanding Author Contribution Award by the Emerald Literati Network.

Study in roundworm chromosomes may offer new clues to tumor genome development - (University of North Carolina School of Medicine) Research led by UNC School of Medicine scientists finds that a "promiscuous DNA replication process" may be responsible for large-scale genome duplications in developing tumors. These findings challenge the long-standing, currently accepted model.

Acupuncture relieves hot flashes from prostate cancer treatment - (American Society for Radiation Oncology) Acupuncture provides long-lasting relief to hot flashes, heart palpitations and anxiety due to side effects of the hormone given to counteract testosterone, the hormone that induces prostate cancer, according to a study published in the April issue of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology•Biology•Physics, an official journal of the American Society for Radiation Oncology.

Phase 3 trial finds no benefit from atrasentan added to chemo for advanced prostate cancer - (University of Michigan Health System) The NCI-supported SWOG trial S0421 closed early based on interim finding that atrasentan added to docetaxel and prednisone did not confer additional survival benefit to patients with advanced hormone-refractory prostate cancer.

In time for spring, biologist illuminates how seedlings regulate growth - (Brown University) All kinds of organisms, from plants to people, regulate growth via networks of proteins that add on and lop off phosphate molecules. In a new study, Brown professor Alison DeLong explains key steps that allow seedlings to make it past the surface of the soil.

A new ending to an old 'tail' - (Salk Institute) In stark contrast to normal cells, which only divide a finite number of times before they enter into a permanent state of growth arrest or simply die, cancer cells never cease to proliferate. Now, scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have uncovered an important clue to one of the mechanisms underlying cancer cell immortality.

Growers rally behind purple flowers to support TGen cancer research - (The Translational Genomics Research Institute) A group of Ohio greenhouse growers hopes a "shock wave" of purple flowers will eventually roll across America in support of scientific research to end pancreatic cancer. Starting May 1, the Maumee Valley Growers and 16 affiliated northwest Ohio greenhouse retailers will raise funds for the Phoenix-based Translational Genomics Research Institute by selling "denim shock wave petunias" through a program called Plant Purple-Grow Hope.

Worm studies shed light on human cancers - (University of Wisconsin-Madison) Research in the worm is shedding light on a protein associated with a number of different human cancers, and may point to a highly targeted way to treat them.

Thomas Kipps receives ACGT Investigator Award - (University of California - San Diego) Citing his on-going development of an immune-mediated gene therapy for intractable B cell leukemia, the Alliance for Cancer Gene Therapy (ACGT) has awarded Thomas J. Kipps, MD, PhD, professor of medicine in the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and deputy director of research operations at the UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center, its 2010 Investigator Award in Clinical Translation of Cell and Gene Therapy.

Air pollution exposure affects chances of developing premenopausal breast cancer - (University at Buffalo) Exposure to air pollution early in life and when a woman gives birth to her first child may alter her DNA and may be associated with pre-menopausal breast cancer later in life, researchers at the University at Buffalo have shown.

Nature's elegant solution to repairing DNA in cancer, other conditions - (Duke University Medical Center) A major discovery about an enzyme's structure has opened a window on understanding DNA repair. Scientists at Duke University Medical Center have determined the structure of a nuclease that will help scientists to understand several DNA repair pathways, a welcome development for cancer research.

Molecule Nutlin-3a activates a signal inducing cell death and senescence in primary brain tumors - (IDIBELL-Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute) Researchers of Apoptosis and Cancer Group of the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL) have found that a small molecule, Nutlin-3a, an antagonist of MDM2 protein, stimulates the signaling pathway of another protein, p53. By this way, it induces cell death and senescence (loss of proliferative capacity) in brain cancer, a fact that slows its growth. These results open the door for MDM2 agonists as new treatments for glioblastomas. The study has been published at the journal PLoS ONE.

NYU Langone Medical Center awarded $4.5 million for breast cancer research - (NYU Langone Medical Center / New York University School of Medicine) NYU Langone Medical Center announced today the US Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program of the Office of the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs has awarded Silvia Formenti, M.D., the Sandra and Edward Meyer Professor and Chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology a $4.5 million Multi-Team Award to conduct novel breast cancer research.

ACE inhibitors may increase risk of recurrence in breast cancer survivors - (University of California - Los Angeles Health Sciences) ACE inhibitors, commonly used to control high blood pressure and heart failure in women, may be associated with an increased risk of recurrence in women who have had breast cancer, according to a study by researchers at UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Jean Y.J. Wang elected to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences - (University of California - San Diego) Jean Yin Jen Wang, PhD, professor of medicine and biology in the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, was elected today with 211 other distinguished scientists, scholars, writers, artists, business and civic leaders to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Biophysicist targeting IL-6 to halt breast, prostate cancer - (Ohio Supercomputer Center) An Ohio State University biophysicist searched thousands of molecular combinations for the best configuration to block a protein that can cause breast or prostate cancer. Chenglong Li, Ph.D., is leveraging Ohio Supercomputer Center resources to develop a drug that will block the protein molecule Interleukin-6. The body normally produces IL-6 to combat infections, burns, traumatic injuries, etc. Scientists have found, however, that in cancer patients, the body overproduces IL-6, causing inflammation and, potentially, cancer.

Exploiting the stress response to detonate mitochondria in cancer cells - (The Wistar Institute) Wistar Institute researchers have found a new way to force cancer cells to self-destruct. Low doses of a drug that disrupts mitochondria allows a second drug to push the cell toward apoptosis, "programmed cell death." Their findings show how this combination approach synergistically kills tumor cells in both mouse models of glioblastoma and human glioblastoma cells.

Landmark study reveals breed-specific causes of death in dogs - (University of Georgia) Dog owners and veterinarians have long relied on a mix of limited data and anecdotal evidence to assess which breeds are at risk of dying from various conditions, but a new University of Georgia study provides a rare and comprehensive look at causes of death in more than 80 breeds.

Minimizing side effects from chemoradiation could help brain cancer patients live longer - (Thomas Jefferson University) Minimizing neurological side effects in patients with high-grade glioma from chemoradiation may result in improved patient survival, a new study from radiation oncologists at the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson suggests. These findings were reported in the April issue of the British Journal of Cancer.

Study confirms link between breast implants and rare form of cancer - (RAND Corporation) Breast implants appear to be associated with a rare form of lymphoma, but there is not yet evidence to show that the cancer is caused by implants or to suggest an underlying mechanism for how the disease might develop, according to a study by researchers from the RAND Corporation.

Study suggests another look at testosterone-prostate cancer link - (Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center) The long-standing prohibition against testosterone therapy in men with untreated or low-risk prostate cancer merits reevaluation, according to a new study published in the Journal of Urology.

Taking aim at tumors - (Binghamton University) Many of the newest weapons in the war on cancer come in the form of personalized therapies that can target specific changes in an individual's tumor. By disrupting molecular processes in tumor cells, these drugs can keep the tumor from growing and spreading. At the forefront of this work are Binghamton University researchers, Susan Bane, and Susannah Gal, who are deploying a new tool in their study of an enzyme called tubulin tyrosine ligase, or TTL.

The role that alcohol drinking may play in the risk of cancer - (Boston University Medical Center) A large group of distinguished scientists published a very detailed and rather complex paper describing the association between alcohol consumption and cancer in the BMJ. It is based on data from the EPIC study in Europe, with a mean follow up of 8.8 years for more than 300,000 subjects.

Decoding cancer patients' genomes is powerful diagnostic tool - (Washington University School of Medicine) Two new studies in the Journal of the American Medical Association highlight the power of sequencing cancer patients' genomes as a diagnostic tool, helping doctors decide the best course of treatment and researchers identify new cancer susceptibility mutations that can be passed from parent to child.

A cancer marker and treatment in 1? - (University of California - San Diego) Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine say antibodies to a non-human sugar molecule commonly found in people may be useful as a future biomarker for predicting cancer risk, for diagnosing cancer cases early and, in sufficient concentration, used as a treatment for suppressing tumor growth.