Tag Archives: count

New tool provides maps of protein interactions for 2,800 diseases

Scientists working in the Structural Bioinformatics and Network Biology Lab have included the more than 23,000 documented genetic mutations that affect the function of 2,000 proteins in an open-access web tool, and have positioned them on the map of known interactions between human proteins. dSysMap can be accessed free of charge at http://dsysmap.irbbarcelona.org, and scientists from around the world can add their data in an anonymous manner. Developed entirely at IRB Barcelona, dSysMap (“Disease-mutations Systemic Mapping”) provides molecular details about how mutations in certain proteins alter interactions with other proteins, thus affecting the correct funcion of cellular processes. The tool has explained, for example, why mutations in a single protein can cause two distinct diseases or why mutations in different proteins can trigger the same condition. …

Cancer researchers may inspire new area of research in cellular biology

A research collaboration between Griffith and the Malaghan Institute in Wellington, New Zealand has made the discovery that mitochondria are capable of passing through the healthy membrane of a host cell into defective tumour cells, possibly kicking off the rapid proliferation of tumour cells which is the hallmark of cancer. Until now each cell was believed to be a unique entity, with mitochondria and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) bound within the cell membrane. …

Toughest breast cancer may have met its match: Protein inhibitor makes cell susceptible to chemotherapy — ScienceDaily

A report of their findings was published online in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on Dec. 1. Triple-negative breast cancers account for about 20 percent of all breast cancers in the United States, and 30 percent of all breast cancers in African-American women. …

Toughest breast cancer may have met its match: Protein inhibitor makes cell susceptible to chemotherapy

A report of their findings was published online in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on Dec. 1. Triple-negative breast cancers account for about 20 percent of all breast cancers in the United States, and 30 percent of all breast cancers in African-American women…

Risk stratification model may aid in lung cancer staging and treatment decisions

Lung cancer treatment and prognosis is critically dependent on accurate staging that takes into account the extent to which cancer has spread from the primary lung tumor to other locations. Examination of lymph nodes containing lung cancer cells that have spread can be done by surgical removal, historically the standard practice, or by using a less invasive more cost effective technique called endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA). …

Prostate cancer risk reduced by sleeping with many women, but increased with many men, study finds

Marie-Elise Parent and Marie-Claude Rousseau, professors at university’s School of Public Health, and their colleague Andrea Spence, published their findings in the journal Cancer Epidemiology. The results were obtained as part of the Montreal study PROtEuS (Prostate Cancer & Environment Study), in which 3,208 men responded to a questionnaire on, amongst other things, their sex lives…

Why early-stage breast cancer survivors opt for mastectomy — ScienceDaily

“According to research evidence, survival rates are considered equal,” explained dean Nancy Fahrenwald of the South Dakota State University College of Nursing. Working through the South Dakota Women’s Cancer Network, the South Dakota Comprehensive Cancer Control Program and seven cancer treatment centers in the state, Fahrenwald got responses from 1,093 breast cancer survivors who had been diagnosed in the last five years. To determine which of the nine independent variables tipped the scales toward mastectomy, she turned to associate professor Chris Saunders of the mathematics and statistics department. “The statistics were not meant to be innovative but to provide an answer that is robust and rigorous,” said Saunders, who used logistic regression to analyze the survey results…

Ovarian cancer: New test can help doctors choose best treatment

Successful treatment depends in part on accurately identifying the type of tumor, but this can be difficult. As a result, many women with cancer are not sent to the right specialist surgeon, or those with a benign cyst may have a more serious operation than they need. In a study published today in the British Medical Journal, an international team led by Imperial College London and KU Leuven, Belgium describe a new test, called ADNEX, which can discriminate between benign and malignant tumors, and identify different types of malignant tumor, with a high level of accuracy. The test is based on the patient’s clinical information, a simple tumor marker blood test and features that can be identified on an ultrasound scan…