The study appears online in Nature Genetics. The discovery stems from a program at the U-M Comprehensive Cancer Center called Mi-ONCOSEQ in which patients with advanced cancer have their DNA and RNA sequenced to identify all types of genetic mutations that could play a role in the cancer. Researchers use the findings to help direct therapies they think will work best. But they also use the data to find new genetic links. …
"We know very little about male breast cancer since it comprises only 0.6 percent of all breast cancer, and nearly all therapy is based on female breast cancer studies. This study demonstrates that just as in women, men with early stage breast cancer have the same outcome with a mastectomy or a lumpectomy followed by radiation. In women, breast-conserving surgery is the standard and preferred treatment for the majority of women…
Scientists at The Institute of Cancer Research, London, found that combining two separate molecularly targeted therapies could stop processes driving growth in a cancer called rhabdomyosarcoma, a major cause of cancer death in children. The drugs, called AZD8055 and AZD6244, block two different signalling pathways involved in cancer growth — acting like road-blocks on two separate routes that cancers could otherwise use to evade treatment. The study, published in Clinical Cancer Research, was funded by the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre for Cancer at The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust and The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR), with additional funding from Cancer Research UK, The Royal Marsden Hospital Charitable Fund and the Chris Lucas Trust. Rhabdomyosarcoma tumours can form anywhere in the body and resemble primitive muscle tissue…
Sequencing spells out, or decodes, the billions of letters of DNA and other genomic data so that clinicians can discover what genetic changes might lead to cancer. Better optics and faster computers, which are the hallmarks of today’s Next Generation Sequencing (NGS), are leading to genomic analysis that enables development of new drugs that target specific genetic mutations. However, because patients’ tumors often contain multiple abnormalities, their cancer often progresses beyond initial targeted therapies…
Results from the research, which looked retrospectively at the treatment of women diagnosed with cervical cancer during a two year period, showed 18% of cervical cancer patients in the East African country died within two years of a diagnosis. Dr Ian Hampson, from The University of Manchester’s Institute of Cancer Sciences who oversaw the research, said the findings, published in PLOS One this week, add further weight to the call to spend more on cancer screening and prevention in Kenya…
In a study published online by Applied Physics Letters, a multidisciplinary team led by Physics Professor Otto Zhou, PhD; Radiation Oncology Associate Professor X. Sha Chang, PhD; and Physics Professor Jianping Lu, PhD, built a device using carbon nanotube-based x-ray source array technology developed at UNC that can generate microbeam radiation with similar characteristics as the beams generated by synchrotron radiation. Researchers from Applied Sciences and Radiology at UNC also participated in this study. Zhou, a member of the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, points to several studies that have shown that microbeam radiation destroyed tumors and increased survival by as much as a factor of ten in brain tumor bearing animals treated with the technique. …
Working with local hospitals across North Carolina, UNC researchers led by Ronald Chen, MD, MPH, assistant professor of Radiation Oncology in the UNC School of Medicine, and Paul Godley, MD, PhD, Professor in the Division of Hematology/Oncology — both members of the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center — surveyed patients about their decision-making process after a prostate cancer diagnosis. "Prostate cancer is a unique disease where there are multiple treatment options, ranging from active surveillance to surgical treatments to radiation treatments…
According to the Association of University Technology Managers, academic institutions have been collectively generating more than $2 billion in commercialization income over the last several years. Despite this significant commercialization activity, studies have shown that academic institutions face challenges to commercializing their innovations. Identifying and adjusting for these challenges can further boost academic-based research commercialization, thus having significant benefits for universities and consumers. …
The term epigenetics refers to the external modifications to DNA that turn genes "on" or "off." These modifications do not change the DNA sequence, but instead, they affect how cells read genes. The researchers propose that epigenetic and other changes mediate the development of cancer progenitor cells. These cells represent the early stage of cancer cell development and can grow rapidly to become full-fledged cancer. …
Palliative care is the medical specialty that focuses on improving quality of life for patients and their families in the setting of a serious illness. Palliative care teams provide an added layer of support to patients, caregivers, and doctors by addressing unremitting symptoms, helping with decision making, and coordinating care. The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) selected a total of four high-impact abstracts, including this one, to feature in an official press briefing for its upcoming 2013 Quality Care Symposium. More than 270 abstracts will be presented at the conference, which will be held in San Diego on November 1-2…