Category Archives: Cancer

Integrins losing their grip drive activate T cell immune responses

Integrins are adhesion molecules expressed on the surface of cells. They play a crucial role in “integrating” the cell exterior and the interior cytoskeleton in cells. �The beta2-integrin family members are highly expressed in dendritic cells that are very important in immune responses. Dendritic cells pick up antigens in inflamed tissues and move to lymph nodes where they present the antigen to T cells and activate them to help fight infection…

Papillary thyroid carcinoma: New research

In the presentation “Impact of Radioactive Iodine on Survival in Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma,” Paritosh Suman, M.D. and colleagues from North Shore University Health System (Evanston, IL), explore the benefit of (RAI) treatment following surgery to remove the thyroid in patients with PTC, and whether survival benefit relates to tumor size. In a retrospective study of nearly 285,000 patients treated over 13 years, with a mean follow-up of 7 years, the authors found that 47% of patients had RAI therapy and it showed a small but statistically significant survival benefit regardless of the tumor size. Carrie Lubitz, M.D., M.P.H., Massachusetts General Hospital (Boston), and coauthors previously described a novel blood-based assay for detecting the V600E mutation in the BRAF gene in patients with melanoma…

Latest research on thyroid cancer therapy

Renata Jaskula-Sztul, Ph.D., University of Wisconsin Medical School (Madison), and colleagues will deliver an oral presentation entitled “Targeted Delivery of a Novel Histone Deacetylase Inhibitor, AB3, Using Unimolecular Micelles to Improve Antitumor Effect in Medullary Thyroid Cancer.” MTC is a neuroendocrine tumor that accounts for 3-5% of thyroid cancers. …

Decades of research: Effectiveness of phone counseling for cancer patients still unknown

“The answer is that we really don’t know yet,” says Sonia Okuyama, MD, investigator at the CU Cancer Center and the paper’s first author. The small sample sizes of most studies, focus on non-Hispanic white patients (predominantly in breast cancer), varied design of the phone interventions offered, and lack of consistency in adhering to reporting guidelines means that despite a high number of published studies, few definitive findings are possible…

First detailed picture of cancer-related cell enzyme in action on chromosome unit

Enzymes like PRC1 turn on or turn off the activity of genes in a cell by manipulating individual chromosome units called nucleosomes. “The nucleosome is a key target of the enzymes that conduct genetic processes critical for life,” said Song Tan, professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at Penn State University and the leader of the study’s research team…

Support for fecal testing in familial colorectal cancer screening

“In our study, repeat FIT screening detected all colorectal cancers in asymptomatic first-degree relatives of patients with colorectal cancer,” said lead study authors Enrique Quintero, MD, PhD, and Marta Carrillo, MD, from Hospital Universitario de Canarias, Tenerife, Spain. “These findings suggest that FIT screening should potentially be considered for familial screening, especially in populations where colonoscopy capacity is limited and/or compliance with colonoscopy is a concern.” Researchers conducted a prospective randomized trial to compare the efficacy of repeated FITs and colonoscopy in detecting advanced tumors in family members of patients with colorectal cancer. The study included 1,918 first-degree relatives of patients with colorectal cancer, who were randomly split into two groups to receive either a single colonoscopy examination or three FITs — one a year for three years…

Prostate cancer medications linked with increased risk of heart-related deaths in men with cardiovascular problems — ScienceDaily

Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT), which reduces levels of male hormones in the body to prevent them from stimulating cancer cells, is a mainstay of treatment for prostate cancer. Despite its anticancer effects, ADT has been associated with heart problems, including increased risk of diabetes, coronary heart disease, heart attacks, and sudden cardiac death. To investigate this potential link thoroughly, Paul Nguyen, MD, of the Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women’s Cancer Center in Boston, along with David Ziehr of Harvard Medical School and their colleagues, analyzed information on 5,077 men with prostate cancer who were treated between 1997 and 2006…