Gene responsible for hereditary cancer found to disrupt growth-regulating cellular pathway
This is an unexpected finding, as some cancers keep this pathway turned on to fuel their unchecked growth and expansion. …
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Scientists expose molecular secrets of bile duct cancers from different countries
The team’s findings may lead to new cholangiocarcinoma treatments, and have shed light on some of the oldest questions in cancer research. The group is also affiliated with the Genome Institute of Singapore and the Cancer Science Institute in Singapore. This work was published online in the scientific journal Nature Genetics. Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA), is a cancer involving uncontrolled growth of the bile ducts, the part of the liver that drains bile into the intestine…
Events coordination during embryogenesis
The study, published October 29 in the open access journal PLOS Biology, analyzes how the timing of gene expression is regulated in the notochord, the evolutionary and developmental precursor of the backbone. The notochord is the main feature that sets humans, mice, sea squirts and related animals (collectively known as chordates) apart from flies, worms and mollusks, and is essential for their development. A crucial player in the development of the notochord is the Brachyury gene, which encodes a DNA-binding protein that switches on the expression of numerous notochord genes and ensures their sequential deployment during the formation of this pivotal structure…
Researchers identify molecule that could aid lung cancer detection, treatment
According to the National Cancer Institute (NCI), lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death among both men and women in the United States, and 90 percent of lung cancer deaths among men and approximately 80 percent of lung cancer deaths among women are due to smoking. The NCI also estimates that approximately 373,489 Americans are living with lung cancer and its treatment costs approximately $10.3 billion in the United States each year…
Review of daily aspirin dosage highlights concerns about side effects
The possible benefits of a daily dose have been promoted as a primary prevention for people who are currently free of, but at risk of developing, cardiovascular disease or colorectal cancer. However, any such benefit needs to be balanced alongside a fuller understanding of the potentially harmful side effects such as bleeding and gastrointestinal problems. The paper, published by the National Institute for Health Research Health Technology Assessment (NIHR HTA) Programme, reviews the wealth of available randomised controlled trials (RCTs), systematic reviews and meta-analyses, allowing the team from Warwick Evidence to quantify those relative benefits and risks. The reported benefits of taking aspirin each day ranged from 10% reduction in major cardiovascular events to a 15% drop in total coronary heart disease. …
Screening guidelines may miss ten percent of colon cancers
In the largest population-based study to date, researchers from Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) at the University of Utah made this finding based on nearly 127,000 individuals who underwent colonoscopy in Utah between 1995 and 2009. The results appear online in “Early View” of the journal Cancer. Family history of colon cancer is widely accepted as a factor that increases risk for the disease. …
Long-term obesity associated with poorer pancreatic cancer survival
Pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer-related death in the United States. Most patients with pancreatic adenocarcinoma, which accounts for more than 90% of new cases, survive less than a year after their diagnosis…
Parental perceptions are preventing HPV vaccination success
"The greatest misperception of parents is that the HPV vaccine isn’t needed," says Mayo Clinic’s Robert Jacobson, M.D., pediatrician in the Mayo Clinic Children’s Center and lead author of the editorial. "Not only is that wrong, it’s a dangerous idea to be spreading around. Recent figures show that at least 12,000 unvaccinated women develop cervical cancer from HPV every year." Other incorrect perceptions: The HPV vaccines are not safe, and they are given to children when they are too young. Dr. …
New drug combinations may benefit patients with pancreatic cancer
Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest types of cancer, with a five-year survival rate of just 6 percent. …
Targeted investigational therapy potential to overcome crizotinib resistance in lung cancers
About 3 to 5 percent of lung cancers harbor ALK gene abnormalities. The drug crizotinib (Xalkori), which blocks ALK protein kinase activity, was approved in August 2011 by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of patients who have these lung cancers. Although robust responses to crizotinib are observed for lung cancers harboring ALK gene abnormalities, the majority eventually become resistant to the effects of the drug. …