Tag Archives: body

Chemotherapy before radiotherapy for testicular cancer could reduce long-term side-effects

The new pilot study, published in the August issue of the Annals of Oncology, tested a new treatment in a pilot study of men with stage IIA and IIB testicular seminoma — where the cancer has spread to the lymph nodes in the abdomen. The researchers showed that giving chemotherapy drug carboplatin before radiotherapy could reduce relapse rates compared with radiotherapy alone — cutting the numbers of men who would need follow-up treatment. It also allowed radiation doses to be reduced. …

Researchers use nanoparticles to fight cancer

The findings were published recently in the early online edition of ACS Nano. The human body operates under a constant state of martial law. Chief among the enforcers charged with maintaining order is the immune system, a complex network that seeks out and destroys the hordes of invading bacteria and viruses that threaten the organic society as it goes about its work. The immune system is good at its job, but it’s not perfect. …

Cancer’s origins revealed: Genetic imprints and signatures left by DNA-damaging processes that lead to cancer identified

Each mutational process leaves a particular pattern of mutations, an imprint or signature, in the genomes of cancers it has caused. By studying 7,042 genomes of people with the most common forms of cancer, the team uncovered more than 20 signatures of processes that mutate DNA…

New insights into neuroblastoma tumor suppressor may provide clues for improved treatment

Neuroblastoma can appear in nervous tissue in the abdomen, chest and spine, among other regions of the body, and can spawn body-wracking metastasis. The most severe tumors respond poorly to treatment, and the disease accounts for 15 percent of cancer deaths in children. Johan Holmberg, PhD, at the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research Stockholm took a close look at the role of the CHD5 tumor suppressor during normal nervous system development. Previous studies had shown that the gene CHD5 is often inactivated in the most severe forms of neuroblastoma, but little was known about its function in healthy tissue or how it operates. …

Origin of inflammation-driven pancreatic cancer decoded

The study, published online today in The Journal of Cell Biology, maps how inflammation pushes acinar cells in the pancreas — those that produce digestive enzymes — to transform into duct-like cells. As these cells change, they can acquire mutations that can result in further progression to pancreatic cancer, says senior author Peter Storz, Ph.D., a biochemist and molecular biologist at Mayo Clinic. …

What causes a small, benign polyp to develop into severe invasive bladder cancer?

Some people develop invasive bladder cancer, which is where the cancer has grown through the muscle layer of the bladder. When this occurs, there is a higher risk that the cancer will spread to other areas of the body and it is much more difficult to treat…

Digest this: Cure for cancer may live in our intestines

However, if the patient’s gastrointestinal tract remains healthy and functioning, the patient’s chances of survival increase exponentially, said Jian-Guo Geng, associate professor at the University of Michigan School of Dentistry. Recently, Geng’s lab discovered a biological mechanism that preserves the gastrointestinal tracts in mice who were delivered lethal doses of chemotherapy. …

New hope for hormone resistant breast cancer

Seventy percent of breast cancer patients have estrogen receptor positive cancer, and most patients respond well to anti-estrogen therapies, for a few years at least. Within 15 years, however, 50% will relapse and eventually die from the disease. Dr Andrew Stone, Professor Susan Clark and Professor Liz Musgrove, from Sydney’s Garvan Institute of Medical Research, in collaboration with scientists from Cardiff University, have demonstrated that the BCL-2 gene becomes epigenetically ‘silenced’ in resistant tumours. This process is potentially detectable in the blood, providing a diagnostic marker. …

Drug research: New technique shows if drugs have reached intended target

Named the "Cellular Thermal Shift Assay" (CETSA), scientists can now know for sure if a drug had reached its target protein in the body, which is a critical step in determining the effectiveness of most medicines. Presently, scientists can only hypothesise if a drug has indeed reached its target protein, leading to expensive and prolonged drug development process. …