Tag Archives: department

Cutting-edge computer software helps pinpoint aggressiveness of breast cancer tumors

Their findings are published today in the journal, Nature Scientific Reports. “We are using a unique software program in our lab that looks at a type of mutation called a splicing mutation that is typically overlooked using current methods,” said lead author on the study, Stephanie Dorman, a PhD student in the department of biochemistry at Western University’s Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry. She said that where previous genetic studies of 445 tumours detected 429 of these splicing mutations, the Western-developed analysis software was able to find more than 5000. Using this software and human tumour tissue sample genetic data from The Cancer Genome Atlas, the research team pinpointed that mutations in the Neural Cell Adhesion Molecule (NCAM) and other related genes in NCAM biology were present at a much higher rate in tumours which had metastasized to the lymph nodes than those that did not…

Novel cancer vaccine approach for brain tumors

“In recent years, researchers and the public have begun to realize the role that the immune system plays in both cancer prevention and treatment,” says senior author Craig Hooper, Ph.D., a Professor in the Department of Cancer Biology at Thomas Jefferson University. “The immune system has great potential for helping fight cancer. This study helps give us a roadmap for future brain cancer vaccines.” The study reports on the results of a second phase 1 clinical trial, after the first phase 1 trial in 2001 lead by David Andrews, M.D., Professor of Neurological surgery at Jefferson, saw tumor shrinkage in eight out of 12 patients tested. …

Meditation, support groups: Clear new evidence for mind-body connection demonstrated in study, researchers show — ScienceDaily

A group working out of Alberta Health Services’ Tom Baker Cancer Centre and the University of Calgary Department of Oncology has demonstrated that telomeres — protein complexes at the end of chromosomes — maintain their length in breast cancer survivors who practise meditation or are involved in support groups, while they shorten in a comparison group without any intervention. Although the disease-regulating properties of telomeres aren’t fully understood, shortened telomeres are associated with several disease states, as well as cell aging, while longer telomeres are thought to be protective against disease. …

Radiation a risk factor for brain tumors in young people, study finds

Researchers analyzed records of 35 patients who were diagnosed with meningiomas before age 30. Five had been exposed to ionizing radiation earlier in their lives. They include two patients who received radiation for leukemia at ages 5 and 6; one who received radiation at age 3 for a brain tumor known as a medulloblastoma; and one who received radiation for an earlier skull base tumor that appeared to be a meningioma. …

Clear new evidence for mind-body connection demonstrated in study — ScienceDaily

A group working out of Alberta Health Services’ Tom Baker Cancer Centre and the University of Calgary Department of Oncology has demonstrated that telomeres — protein complexes at the end of chromosomes — maintain their length in breast cancer survivors who practise meditation or are involved in support groups, while they shorten in a comparison group without any intervention. Although the disease-regulating properties of telomeres aren’t fully understood, shortened telomeres are associated with several disease states, as well as cell aging, while longer telomeres are thought to be protective against disease. “We already know that psychosocial interventions like mindfulness meditation will help you feel better mentally, but now for the first time we have evidence that they can also influence key aspects of your biology,” says Dr. Linda E. …