Tag Archives: dna

New computer model may aid personalized cancer care

Reporting in the journal Cell Reports, researchers combined several types of data from pre- and post-treatment biopsies of breast tumors to obtain a molecular picture of how the cancer evolved as a result of chemotherapy. “Better understanding of tumor evolution is key to improving the design of cancer therapies and for truly individualized cancer treatment,” said Kornelia Polyak, MD, PhD, a breast cancer researcher. The model was developed by Polyak and Franziska Michor, PhD, a computational biologist at Dana-Farber. …

Scientists map gene changes driving tumors in common pediatric soft-tissue cancer

Rhabdomyosarcoma is the most common soft-tissue sarcoma in children and affects muscles in any part of the body. Among patients diagnosed with non-metastasized disease, about 80 percent survive at least five years, although they may experience substantial treatment-related toxic effects. However, for those with metastatic disease, the five-year survival rate is about 30 percent even with aggressive treatment…

International study allows better prediction of risk of hereditary cancer

The study, published in Nature Genetics have carried out clinical and researchers who are part of the INSIGHT (International Society for Gastroeintestinal Hereditary Tumours ) . Coordinated by Maurizio Genuardi , University of Florence, and Finlay Macrae , Royal Melbourne Hospital , at work and have participated Capellá Marta Gabriel Pineda, Hereditary Cancer Program at the Catalan Institute of Oncology ( ICO- IDIBELL) . The research is funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation and the Scientific Foundation of the Spanish Association Against Cancer . Hereditary cancer All cancers are caused by abnormalities in the genetic material of cells , that make them lose their function and become malignant …

Cell division discovery could offer fresh insight into cancer

Scientists have explained a key part of the process of cell division, by which cells are able to keep our organs functioning properly. They discovered a set of proteins that stabilise the sequence of events in which cells duplicate their DNA and then separate into two new cells, each identical to the original. Flaws in this delicate, complex operation can lead to cancer. The findings help explain a fundamental process in all living things, in which cells must continually divide to keep the organism alive and well…

Immune system development linked to leukaemia: Defences against infection can be weaknesses in causing cancer

Scientists have discovered a genetic signature that implicates a key mechanism in the immune system as a driving force for a type of childhood leukemia. Acute lymphoblastic leukemia or ALL is the most common form of childhood leukemia. A key factor driving this leukemia for one in four ALL patients is a mutation that causes two of their genes, ETV6 and RUNX1, to fuse together. This genomic alteration happens before birth and kick starts the disease. …

Mutation discovery may improve treatment for rare brain tumor type

The discovery, reported in Nature Genetics, is encouraging, because it may be possible to attack the tumors with targeted drugs already in use for other kinds of tumors, said the investigators from Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. The mutated gene, known as BRAF, was found in almost all samples of tumors called papillary craniopharyngiomas. This is one of two types of craniopharyngiomas — the other being adamantinomatous — that develop in the base of the brain near the pituitary gland, hypothalamus, and optic nerves. The papillary craniopharyngiomas occur mainly in adults; adamantinomatous tumors generally affect children. …

Mechanism affecting risk of prostate cancer found

Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed malignancy and the second most common cause of cancer-related deaths in men worldwide. In Finland, more than 4,000 new cases are diagnosed every year. The human genome is mainly identical throughout the human population worldwide. However, millions of small variations or polymorphisms, often located in a single nucleotide, can be found between individuals. …

Fresh faced: Looking younger for longer

Publishing in The FASEB Journal, the authors describe how in laboratory tests, they compared the protection offered against either UVA radiation or free radical stress by several antioxidants, some of which are found in foods or cosmetics. While UVB radiation easily causes sunburn, UVA radiation penetrates deeper, damaging our DNA by generating free radicals which degrades the collagen that gives skin its elastic quality…