Tag Archives: california

Why tumors become drug-resistant

A new study from MIT reveals that much of this resistance develops because a protein called AXL helps cancer cells to circumvent the effects of ErbB inhibitors, allowing them to grow unchecked. The findings suggest that combining drugs that target AXL and ErbB receptors could offer a better way to fight tumors, says Doug Lauffenburger, the Ford Professor of Bioengineering, head of MIT’s Department of Biological Engineering and an affiliate member of MIT’s Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research…

Stem cell discovery furthers research on cell-based therapy and cancer

"Scientists have known that Bmi1 is a central control switch within the adult stem cells of many tissues, including the brain, blood, lung and mammary gland," said Ophir Klein, MD, PhD, who directs the Craniofacial and Mesenchymal Biology (CMB) Program and serves as chair of the Division of Craniofacial Anomalies at UCSF. "Bmi1 also is a cancer-causing gene that becomes reactivated in cancer cells." Klein’s research group now has shown that BMI1 plays another role in ensuring that the process of development unfolds normally. The hallmarks of all stem cells are that they are immature, they keep dividing to replenish their numbers almost indefinitely, and they generate new specialized cells to function in the tissues in which they reside, a process called cell differentiation. …

Link between omega-3 fatty acids and increased prostate cancer risk confirmed

Published July 11 in the online edition of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, the latest findings indicate that high concentrations of EPA, DPA and DHA — the three anti-inflammatory and metabolically related fatty acids derived from fatty fish and fish-oil supplements — are associated with a 71 percent increased risk of high-grade prostate cancer. The study also found a 44 percent increase in the risk of low-grade prostate cancer and an overall 43 percent increase in risk for all prostate cancers. The increase in risk for high-grade prostate cancer is important because those tumors are more likely to be fatal. The findings confirm a 2011 study published by the same Fred Hutch scientific team that reported a similar link between high blood concentrations of DHA and a more than doubling of the risk for developing high-grade prostate cancer. …

Eating right, exercise may help prostate cancer patients reduce risk of aggressive tumors

Led by Lenore Arab, PhD, JCCC member and professor in the departments of medicine and biological chemistry, the researchers examined associations between adherence to WCRF recommendations and risk of highly aggressive prostate cancer among subjects enrolled in the North Carolina-Louisiana Prostate Cancer Project. …