Tag Archives: king

Blood test for ‘nicked’ protein predicts prostate cancer treatment response

The study evaluated two groups of 31 men with prostate cancer that had spread and whose blood levels of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) were still rising despite low testosterone levels. Investigators gave each man either enzalutamide (Xtandi) or abiraterone (Zytiga) and tracked whether their PSA levels continued to rise, an indication that the drugs were not working. In the enzalutamide group, none of 12 patients whose blood samples tested positive for AR-V7 responded to the drug, compared with 10 responders among 19 men who had no AR-V7 detected. In the abiraterone group, none of six AR-V7-positive patients responded, compared with 17 responders among 25 patients lacking AR-V7. …

‘K-to-M’ Histone Mutations: How Repressing Repressors May Drive Tissue-Specific Cancers

In 2012, investigators from multiple research institutions studying the sequence of the genome from cancer patients rocked the “chromatin world” when they independently reported that mutations in the gene that encodes histone H3.3 occurred in aggressive pediatric brain tumors. This finding was stunning, as researchers had never before associated histone mutations with any disease, much less a deadly tumor…

Invisible blood in urine may indicate bladder cancer

Invisible blood in urine may indicate bladder cancer — ScienceDaily

Scientists at the University of Exeter Medical School found that one in 60 people over the age of 60 who had invisible blood in their urine (identified by their GP testing their urine) transpired to have bladder cancer. The figure was around half those who had visible blood in their urine — the best known indicator of bladder cancer. However, it was still higher than figures for other potential symptoms of bladder cancer that warrant further investigation. Lead author Sarah Price, a PhD student at the University of Exeter Medical School, led the first robust study to investigate whether invisible blood in urine can indicate bladder cancer…

Preclinical development of tumor therapeutic agent begins

amcure, one of the partners of which is KIT, now plans to use the funds acquired for the further development of candidate agents identified by the team of Dr. Veronique Orian-Rousseau, KIT, for the treatment of metastatic tumors. The candidate substances bind specifically to a certain so-called isoform of the surface molecule CD44 and, thus, specifically interfere with central signal paths of tumor growth, while other types of cells remain unaffected. New formation of blood vessels supplying the tumor (angiogenesis) and migration of cancer cells and their invasion into other organs (development of metastases) are inhibited…

Three-quarters of depressed cancer patients do not receive treatment for depression; new approach could transform care

An analysis of data from more than 21,000 patients attending cancer clinics in Scotland, UK, published in The Lancet Psychiatry, found that major depression is substantially more common in cancer patients than in the general population. Major depression was most common in patients with lung cancer (13%) and lowest in those with genitourinary cancer (6%). Moreover, nearly three quarters (73%) of depressed cancer patients were not receiving treatment. To address the problem of inadequate treatment the SMaRT Oncology-2 randomised trial, published in The Lancet, evaluated the effectiveness of a new treatment program called ‘Depression Care for People with Cancer’ (DCPC)…

Promising new cancer therapy uses molecular ‘Trash Man’ to exploit a common cancer defense

Cancer therapies cause unwanted proteins to accumulate in cancer cells, which can trigger a form of cell suicide known as apoptosis. To survive, the cells break down the excess proteins through autophagy, from a Greek term meaning “self eating.” In a study recently published in the journal Molecular and Cellular Biology, scientists induced autophagy using the anti-tumor drug obatoclax while simultaneously blocking the production of p62 using a drug known as a cyclin-dependant kinase (CDK) inhibitor. …