Brain metastasis is a terrifying complication of advanced breast cancer, with a grim prognosis and few treatment options. The cancer’s spread to the brain is often undetected until patients start to develop symptoms such as seizures, headaches, and trouble thinking…
Many research teams have found activation and increased signaling of a protein known as Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription 3 (STAT3) in different kinds of cancers, and it is associated with poor prognosis, said senior author Jennifer Grandis, M.D., Distinguished Professor of Otolaryngology, Pitt School of Medicine, and director of the Head and Neck Program at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI), partner with UPMC CancerCenter. In adult tissues, STAT3 triggers the production of other proteins that promote the growth and survival of cancer cells. "Until now, the question of why STAT3 could be hyperactivated has gone unanswered," Dr…
CRC-PRO, or Colorectal Cancer Predicted Risk Online, is designed to help both patients and physicians determine when screening for colorectal cancer is appropriate. Current guidelines recommend patients are screened at the age of 50. …
In this early proof-of-concept study, the scientists have shown that they can target tumor blood vessels in mice without affecting healthy tissues. …
This research is published online in the British Medical Journal on December 16, 2013 and will appear in the January print edition. …
The finding is important for the field of epigenetics because Tet enzymes chemically modify DNA, changing signposts that tell the cell’s machinery "this gene is shut off" into other signs that say "ready for a change." Tet enzymes’ roles have come to light only in the last five years; they are needed for stem cells to maintain their multipotent state, and are involved in early embryonic and brain development and in cancer. The results, which could help scientists understand how Tet enzymes are regulated and look for drugs that manipulate them, were published online on Dec. …
In a new study, University of Iowa researchers have identified an unexpected molecular link between liver cancer, cellular stress, and these health problems that increase the risk of developing this cancer. The study, published Dec. 19 in the journal PLOS Genetics, shows that a protein called CHOP, which had previously been thought to generally protect against cancer, actually promotes liver cancer in mice and may do the same in humans. "Obesity, alcoholism, and viral hepatitis are all known independently to cause cellular stress and to induce expression of CHOP," says Thomas Rutkowski, Ph.D., assistant professor of anatomy and cell biology in the UI Carver College of Medicine and senior study author…
Roughly 40 percent of all medications act on cells’ G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). One of these receptors, beta 2 adrenergic receptor site (B2AR), naturally transforms between two base configurations; knowing the precise location of each of approximately 4,000 atoms is crucial for ensuring a snug fit between it and the drug. Now, researchers at Stanford and Google have conducted an unprecedented, atom-scale simulation of the receptor site’s transformation, a feat that could have significant impact on drug design. This is the first scientific project to be completed using Google Exacycle’s cloud computing platform, which allows scientists to crunch big data on Google’s servers during periods of low network demand…
In clinical trials, ibrutinib has often shown exceptional activity in people with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). …
The research team found that people with a genetic variant present in approximately 15 percent of the world population can express an additional immune system receptor on their B cells, the cells that make antibodies. This additional receptor, called an Fc receptor, binds the antibodies made by B cells and plays a key role in regulating their production. Part of the immune system, antibodies can recognize invaders like bacteria and remove them from the body. …