Out of the 1.5 million women diagnosed with breast cancer in the world annually, nearly one in seven of these is classified as triple negative. Patients with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) have tumours that are missing three important proteins that are found in other types of breast cancer. The absence of these three proteins make TNBC patients succumb to a higher rate of relapse following treatment and have lower overall survival rates. …
They show how the cells, which are responsible for fighting infections and cancer in the human body, change the organisation of their surface molecules, when activated by a type of protein found on viral-infected or tumour cells. Professor Daniel Davis, who has been leading the investigation into the immune cells, known as natural killers, said the work could provide important clues for tackling disease…
Metastasis is responsible for the overwhelming majority of cancer deaths and there are many theories as to how it occurs, but the problem remains yet unsolved. …
The new technique, called ‘glucose chemical exchange saturation transfer’ (glucoCEST), is based on the fact that tumours consume much more glucose (a type of sugar) than normal, healthy tissues in order to sustain their growth. The researchers found that sensitising an MRI scanner to glucose uptake caused tumours to appear as bright images on MRI scans of mice. Lead researcher Dr Simon Walker-Samuel, from the UCL Centre for Advanced Biomedical Imaging (CABI) said: "GlucoCEST uses radio waves to magnetically label glucose in the body. This can then be detected in tumours using conventional MRI techniques…
Reported on-line today in the journals Cell and Cell Stem Cell, the two papers demonstrate in mouse models that miR-22 drives both the onset and spread of breast cancer, as well as the onset of blood cancer. …
The researchers, whose findings are published this week in the journal Cell, report that the ZEB1 gene is held in a poised state in basal non-CSCs, such that it can readily respond to environmental cues that consequently drive those non-CSCs into the dangerous CSC state. Basal-type breast carcinoma is a highly aggressive form of breast cancer. According to a 2011 epidemiological study, the 5-year survival rate for patients with basal breast cancer is 76%, compared with a roughly 90% 5-year survival rate among patients with other forms of breast cancer. …
Blood platelets play a crucial role in haemostasis. When a blood vessel is injured, the platelets ensure the rapid initial closure of the wound. To do this, they quickly adhere to the wall of the injured blood vessel, thereby attracting more platelets which aggregate and form a plug that blocks the opening in the blood vessel wall…
The scientists found that excess activity of this gene — EYA1 — also enhances development of breast cancer stem cells that promote resistance to cancer therapy, recurrence, and poor survival. Because EYA1 is an enzyme, the scientists are now working to identify a natural compound that could shut down EYA1 activity, says Richard Pestell, M.D., Ph.D., Director of Kimmel Cancer Center. …
source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/06/19/hpv-vaccine-reducing-infection-rates-in-teen-girls-study-shows/
Mark Hurwitz, MD, Director of Thermal Oncology for the Department of Radiation Oncology at Thomas Jefferson University and Hospital reported that the treatment, magnetic resonance image-guided focused ultrasound (MRIgFU) ablation therapy, significantly reduced pain in 67 percent of patients who received the treatment. …