Category Archives: Cancer Treatment

Breakthrough discovery into the regulation of a key cancer drug target

Scientists used a powerful technique called protein crystallography to look at 3D structures of protein complexes purified from cultured human cells. They discovered that a family of complexes, that switch off gene expression, is regulated by small signalling molecules called inositol phosphates. This latest study shows that this mode of regulation is conserved from yeast right through to man and is a fundamental process for life…

Biomarker predicts risk of breast cancer recurrence after tamoxifen treatment

"Most patients with early-stage, ER-positive breast cancer remain cancer-free after five years of tamoxifen treatment, but they remain at risk of recurrence for 15 years or longer after their initial treatment," says Dennis Sgroi, MD, of the MGH Cancer Center and Department of Pathology, lead and corresponding author of the report. "Our biomarker identifies the subgroup of patients who continue to be at risk of recurrence after tamoxifen treatment and who will benefit from extended therapy with letrozole, which should allow many women to avoid unnecessary extended treatment." Previous research by Sgroi’s team, in collaboration with investigators from bioTheranostics Inc., discovered that the ratio between levels of expression of two genes — HOXB13 and IL17BR — in tumor tissue predicted the risk of recurrence of ER-positive, lymph-node-negative breast cancer, whether or not the patient was treated with tamoxifen. …

Study links cardiac hormone-related inflammatory pathway with tumor growth

The research may lead to the development of new drugs or delivery systems to treat cancer by blocking this receptor, known as natriuretic peptide receptor A (NPRA). The findings appeared online recently in the journal Stem Cells. "Our results show that NRPA signaling by cancer cells produces some molecular factors that attract stem cells, which in turn form blood vessels that provide oxygen and nutrients to the tumor," said the study’s principal investigator Subhra Mohapatra, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Molecular Medicine…

Brain cancer: A circuitous route to therapy resistance

Gliomas are malignant brain tumors that arise from glial cells called astrocytes, found in the central nervous system. "In treating malignant gliomas, we currently combine radiotherapy with the anticancer drug temozolomide. However, in some patients, tumors rapidly become resistant to both treatment methods," says neurooncologist Professor Dr…

Protein is involved with colon cancer cell’s ability to invade other cells

Previous research shows that km23-1 is involved in the movement of cancer cells and in the control of specific proteins at the leading edge of moving cells. Kathleen Mulder, professor of biochemistry and molecular biology, who discovered the protein, now says km23-1 is used in the cancer cell’s ability to move out of a tumor in the early stages ofinvasion. "km23-1 may be able to help in this process due to its role in the assembly of large groups of proteins favorable to cancer invasion," Mulder said. Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer in the United States. …

Molecule considered to be a breast cancer indicator also has a protective function

Researchers from the Centre for Genomic Regulation led by Miguel Beato have, in an article published in the journal Cell Reports, just revealed that one of these molecules (PLK1 kinase), up to now thought to be related to cancer, can also be crucial for the proper functioning of the cell. PLK1 had always been associated with breast cancer due to its role in cell division. …

Study details cancer-promoting mechanisms of overlooked components in secondhand smoke

A University of Colorado Cancer Center study published in the journal PLoS One explores two of these low-molecular-weight (LMW) PAHs — 1-methylanthracene (1-MeA) and 2-methylanthracene (2-MeA) — and shows that while they don’t necessarily cause cancer, 1-MeA promotes conditions that will likely allow cancer to grow. "There’s a big distinction between initiating cancer and promoting it," says Alison Bauer, PhD, CU Cancer Center investigator and assistant professor at the Colorado School of Public Health. Her study showed that in a mouse cell model using a progenitor cell of lung cancer, the LMW 1-MeA promoted inflammation and increased mitogenic pathways, both of which are linked to tumor promotion. 2-MeA, while nearly structurally identical, did not…