Tag Archives: professor

BROCA sequencing approach evaluates all 24 genes implicated in breast cancer

With the development of modern genomics sequencing tools, the discovery of additional genes implicated in breast cancer and the change in the legal status of genetic testing for BRCA1 and BRCA2, it is now possible to determine how often families in these circumstances actually do carry cancer-predisposing mutations in BRCA1, BRCA2, or another gene implicated in breast cancer, despite the results of their previous genetic tests. This was the challenge addressed by Mary-Claire King, Ph.D., American Cancer Society Professor of Medicine and Genome Sciences, and Tomas Walsh, Ph.D., Associate Research Professor of Medical Genetics, both at the University of Washington, Seattle. They conducted complete genomic sequencing of all genes implicated in breast cancer on DNA samples from breast cancer patients who had normal BRCA1 and BRCA2 commercial test results. …

Metformin for breast cancer less effective at higher glucose concentrations

Metformin, the most common first-line drug in the treatment of type-2 diabetes, has been shown in previous studies to reduce breast cancer risk, improve survival, and increase the effectiveness of chemotherapy. Numerous Phase III clinical trials are currently evaluating the benefits and best uses of metformin in breast cancer patients. "We show that metformin works differently in high- compared to low-glucose conditions. Not only does it require a higher concentration of metformin to be active in high-glucose conditions, but we report that the drug regulates different genes within cancer cells at high as compared to normal glucose levels," says Ann Thor, MD, CU Cancer Center investigator, Todd Professor of Pathology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, and the study’s principal investigator. …

Gene variant that raises risk for colorectal cancer from eating processed meat present in one-in-three people

In addition to identifying a gene that raises risk for colorectal cancer from eating red or processed meat, the study — the first to identify the interactions of genes and diet on a genome-wide scale — also reveals another specific genetic variation that appears to modify whether eating more vegetables, fruits and fiber actually lowers your colorectal cancer risk. …

A simple test may catch early pancreatic cancer

The findings of their research, if confirmed, they say, could be an important step in reducing mortality from the cancer, which has an overall five-year survival rate of less than 5 percent and has seen few improvements in survival over the last three decades. "We have mammograms to screen for breast cancer and colonoscopies for colon cancer but we have had nothing to help us screen for pancreatic cancer," says Nita Ahuja, M.D., an associate professor of surgery, oncology and urology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and leader of the study described online this month in the journal Clinical Cancer Research. …

Value, limitations of patient assistance programs for women with breast cancer

Most breast cancer patients who had information about patient assistance programs used them to learn more about adjuvant therapy, obtain psychosocial support, and overcome practical/financial obstacles to getting treatment, reported researchers from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Researchers found that, in most cases, patients who were referred to assistance programs did contact organizations running programs, such as Cancer Care Inc., SHARE, and the Mount Sinai Breast Health Resources Program. …

Scientist uncovers internal clock able to measure age of most human tissues; Women’s breast tissue ages faster than rest of body

While earlier clocks have been linked to saliva, hormones and telomeres, the new research is the first to identify an internal timepiece able to accurately gauge the age of diverse human organs, tissues and cell types. Unexpectedly, the clock also found that some parts of the anatomy, like a woman’s breast tissue, age faster than the rest of the body. "To fight aging, we first need an objective way of measuring it. …

Female hormones key to breast, ovarian cancer in BRCA gene carriers

The study, carried out by researchers at the UCL Department of Women’s Cancer, found that abnormal levels of female hormones in the bloodstream could be the answer. The findings have already led to more research into novel ways of preventing cancers in women at risk. According to the results of the study, women with BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations are exposed to different levels of the female hormones oestradiol and progesterone, which are already known to be risk-factors for breast and ovarian cancer. …

Can thermodynamics help us better understand human cancers?

In a new study, UCLA researchers analyzed the gene-expression profiles of more than 2,000 patients and were able to identify cancer-specific gene signatures for breast, lung, prostate and ovarian cancers. The study applied an innovative approach to gene-array analysis known as "surprisal analysis," which uses the principles of thermodynamics — the study of the relationship between different forms of energy — to understand cellular processes in cancer. …

Overexpressed protein to be culprit in certain thyroid cancers

The scientists found that over-activation of a certain protein in hormone-secreting cells helps fuel medullary thyroid cancer cells in mice as well as in human cells, making the protein a potentially good target for therapies to inhibit the growth of these cancer cells. The discovery by the multidisciplinary team at UT Southwestern has implications for neuroendocrine cancers that arise in organs farther removed from the brain, including the lung and the pancreas. Although rare, medullary thyroid cancer is often fatal. …