TNBC is deadly because, unlike other types of breast cancers such as estrogen receptor (ER) positive or HER2 amplified breast tumours which have effective targeted therapy, TNBC tumours do not respond to targeted therapy. Breast cancer has many subtypes, each with its own genetic makeup. …
“You don’t eat wild cucumber, unless you want to use it as a purgative,” said William Lucas, professor of plant biology at the University of California, Davis and coauthor on the paper to be published Nov. 28 in the journal Science. That bitter flavor in wild cucurbits — the family that includes cucumber, pumpkin, melon, watermelon and squash — is due to compounds called cucurbitacins. The bitter taste protects wild plants against predators. …
Lung cancer, which affects nonsmokers as well as smokers, is the most common cancer worldwide, causing 1.6 million deaths a year, far more than pancreatic, breast and colon cancer combined. About 30 percent of the most common type of lung cancer (non-small) contains a mutation in a gene called KRAS. …
“Despite the intense therapeutic and surgical regimen typically used to treat ovarian cancer, outcomes remain poor,” said William Small Jr., MD, chair, Department of Radiation Oncology, LUHS. “This study provided encouraging preliminary results for the use of RT in women with ovarian cancer.” The study evaluated 56 patients with ovarian clear cell adenocarcinoma (CCA), an aggressive form of ovarian cancer that is more likely to be resistant to chemotherapy and to have a poorer prognosis than other forms of this disease. …
The findings extend the anti-cancer potential of an experimental monoclonal antibody called cirmtuzumab, developed at UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center by Thomas Kipps, MD, PhD, and colleagues. Cirmtuzumab is currently in a first-in-human phase 1 clinical trial to assess its safety and efficacy in treating CLL. …
Cidofovir is an anti-viral drug that is effective against several viruses, including the human papilloma virus (HPV), which is implicated in the onset of cervical cancer. It targets the cancer-causing proteins (oncoproteins) produced by HPV. These oncoproteins interfere with the action of other proteins that control genome stability and cell death, and so, when cells are infected with HPV they become resistant to dying. …
A study, led by Zhimin Lu, M.D., Ph.D., professor of neuro-oncology at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, showcased the non-metabolic abilities of PKM2 (pyruvate kinase M2) in promoting tumor cell proliferation when cells produce more of the enzyme. The study results were published in today’s issue of Nature Communications…
ASPS tumor cells contain a chromosomal translocation — strands of DNA from two chromosomes trade places. The two strands fuse together to create a new gene, ASPSCR1-TFE3 that functions differently than either “parent” gene…
The findings are published online in Lancet Oncology. Study co-leads Dr. Robert Bristow, a clinician-scientist at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, and Dr. Paul Boutros, an investigator at the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research, report that the gene test provides a much-needed quick and accurate tool to determine with greater precision the men who will do well with local treatment only (surgery or radiation), and those who will need extra treatment (chemotherapy and hormone therapy) to ensure the cancer is completely eradicated. …
Lead investigator Ahmad Haider, MD, PhD, urologist, Bremerhaven, Germany, states, “Although considerable evidence exists indicating no relationship between testosterone and increased risk of developing PCa, decades of physician training with the notion that testosterone is fuel for PCa made it difficult to dispel such fallacy and the myth continued to persist. …