Tag Archives: paris

Promising results shown with targeted approaches in subsets of non-small cell lung cancer

“Reports of lung cancers bearing mutations in BRAF have generated considerable interest because these mutations may be associated with increased sensitivity to BRAF tyrosine-kinase inhibiting agents,” says lead author Dr David Planchard, pulmonary oncologist at the Gustav-Roussy Cancer Campus, Paris, France. Planchard says studies suggest that activating BRAF mutations are present in around 2% of lung carcinomas — approximately 80% of which are V600E mutations. The BRAF V600E mutations are frequently associated with shorter disease-free, overall survival, and lower response rates to platinum-based chemotherapy. …

Leukemia: mode of action of a targeted treatment clarified

The PML/RARA protein causes the proliferation of cancer cells in patients affected by acute promyelocytic leukemia. Existing targeted treatments combining a hormone — retinoic acid — and a poison — arsenic — result in permanent recovery for the majority of patients, without us having a precise understanding of their action on cancer cells. Previous work by Prof Hugues de Thé’s team has shown that the combination of arsenic and retinoic acid causes destruction of the PML/RARA protein and the elimination of leukaemic stem cells…

Mouse study finds gut microorganisms may determine cancer treatment outcome

NCI scientists found that tumors of germ-free mice (mice completely lacking these microorganisms), or mice treated with antibiotics to deplete the gut of bacteria, were largely impaired in their ability to respond to immunotherapy that slows cancer growth and prolongs survival. The mice were also impaired in their ability to respond to mainstay chemotherapy drugs such as oxaliplatin and cisplatin. These findings in mice may underscore the importance of microorganisms in optimal cancer treatment outcomes in humans. …

Three of four cases of bladder cancer display mutations in the same gene

The study was led by Francisco X. Real, head of the Epithelial Carcinogenesis Group at CNIO, together with Nuria Malats, the head of the Genetic & Molecular Epidemiology Group at CNIO, as well as other European groups, especially Yves Allory, a pathologist at the Mondor Hospital (Créteil, Paris, France), who is on a sabbatical year with Real and Malats’s groups at CNIO, and Ellen Zwarthoff’s group at the Erasmus Medical Centre in Rotterdam. The results are published in the online version of the journal European Urology. …

Study sets guidelines for stem cell transplants in older patients with myelodysplastic syndromes

Using mathematical models to analyze hundreds of MDS cases from around the world, the researchers found reduced intensity transplants of donor stem cells are advisable for patients aged 60-70 who have higher-risk forms of MDS that are likely to turn into leukemia in the near future. For patients with lower-risk MDS, non-transplant treatments are preferable, the model indicates…

Evolutionary history of a cancer-related gene

A study published today by scientists from the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO) describes how a genetic duplication that took place in the vertebrate ancestor some 500 million years ago encouraged the evolution of the ASF1b gene; a gene essential for proper cell division and related to some types of cancer such as breast cancer. The results of the study are published in Molecular Biology and Evolution. The conclusions of the study are the result of collaboration between the team led by Alfonso Valencia, Vice-Director of Basic Research and Director of CNIO’s Structural Biology & Biocomputing Programme, and the team led by Genevieve Almouzni, a member of CNIO’s Scientific Advisory Committee, at the Institut Curie in Paris, France. Valencia says that: "When proteins have such a close similarity as the one that exists between the two human copies of the ASF1 gene — ASF1a and ASF1b — it is commonly assumed that they have similar functions in cells; in this case related to fundamental processes such as DNA remodelling and repair, cell division, cell proliferation and genetic transcription or activation." The Genomic Environment, Key to Success in Separating Functions Almouzni’s team discovered several years ago that, despite the similarity in structure, the two copies of ASF1 were not redundant, but rather had divided up their ancestral functions…

France confirms 2nd case of SARS-related virus

PARIS – & The French Health Ministry says a second case of a deadly new respiratory virus related to SARS has been confirmed. A ministry statement issued Sunday said a hospital roommate of the 65-year-old man who initially contracted the virus has tested positive. The two shared a room for a few days in late April at Valenciennes hospital in northern France, and hence were in “prolonged and close contact.” Both are now hospitalized in nearby Lille. Four suspected cases, all people who had contact with the initial patient, were false alarms. The novel coronavirus has killed 18 people since being identified last year in the Middle East, out of 30 confirmed cases reported to the World Health Organization since September 2012. The first France patient had just returned from vacationing in Dubai.source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/05/12/france-confirms-2nd-case-sars-related-virus/