Tag Archives: professor

Leap in leukemia treatment

CLL lives both in the blood in circulation, and in lymph nodes and bone marrow. The former is relatively easy to kill, but the disease recurs because of resistant CLL cells in the lymph nodes and bone marrow. The researchers found an innovative drug combination that targets the stubborn CLL cells. "We have been studying the mechanism in the cancer cells that causes the resistance to treatment," says Alan Eastman, the senior researcher on the team and a professor of pharmacology and toxicology at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, "and that in turn, led us to find drugs that target the resistance." Eastman led the team at Dartmouth-Hitchcock’s Norris Cotton Cancer Center that also included Ryan Soderquist, Darcy Bates, and Alexey Danilov. …

Tumor-activated protein promotes cancer spread

The findings are published in this week’s online Early Edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Roughly 90 percent of all cancer deaths are due to metastasis — the disease spreading from the original tumor site to multiple, distant tissues and finally overwhelming the patient’s body. Lymph vessels are often the path of transmission, with circulating tumor cells lodging in the lymph nodes — organs distributed throughout the body that act as immune system garrisons and traps for pathogens and foreign particles. The researchers, led by principal investigator Judith A. …

Four new genetic risk factors for testicular cancer identified

The discovery of these genetic variations — chromosomal "typos," so to speak — could ultimately help researchers better understand which men are at high risk and allow for early detection or prevention of the disease. "As we continue to cast a wider net, we identify additional genetic risk factors, which point to new mechanisms for disease," said Katherine L. Nathanson, MD, associate professor in the division of Translational Medicine and Human Genetics within the department of Medicine. …

Sex supplements often contain Viagra ingredients

Herbal supplements aimed at improving men’s sexual abilities often contain the active ingredients in erectile dysfunction pills such as Viagra, according to a new study. Additionally, researchers found that some of these over-the-counter herbal remedies contained more of the ingredient than is allowed in prescription-only pharmaceuticals. “It’s pretty scary stuff,” said Neil Campbell, the lead author of the study and a researcher at Pfizer, which sells Viagra…

Link between tumor suppressors and starvation survival suggested

CU-Boulder Professor Min Han said the research team was interested in how a common tumor suppressor gene known as Retinoblastoma 1, or Rb, behaved under conditions of starvation. The question is important, said Han, because it may help researchers understand why many cancer cells are more susceptible to starvation or fasting than ordinary cells. Han and his team studied a popular lab organism called C. elegans, a translucent nematode smaller than an eyelash…

Discovery pinpoints cause of two types of leukemia

The study, published in the May 9 edition of the New England Journal of Medicine, isolated the molecular mutation that causes chronic neutrophilic leukemia (CNL) and atypical chronic myeloid leukemia (aCML) in some patients. That mutation, occurring in a gene called colony stimulating factor 3 receptor (CSF3R), initiates a chain reaction involving other gene families known as SRC, JAK, and TNK2, which subsequently drives these diseases. This discovery is promising for patients as it will aid in diagnosing these cancers, which are currently difficult for physicians to distinguish from other leukemias…

How nerve wiring self-destructs

Now, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found a way the body can remove injured axons, identifying a potential target for new drugs that could prevent the inappropriate loss of axons and maintain nerve function. "Treating axonal degeneration could potentially help a lot of patients because there are so many diseases and conditions where axons are inappropriately lost," says Aaron DiAntonio, MD, PhD, professor of developmental biology. "While this would not be a cure for any of them, the hope is that we could slow the progression of a whole range of diseases by keeping axons healthy." DiAntonio is senior author of the study that appears online May 9 in the journal Cell Reports. …

Focus on STD, not cancer prevention, to promote HPV vaccine use

These results go against the conventional wisdom that scaring women about the possibility of cancer is the best way to get them vaccinated. The failure of that cancer-threat message may be one reason that fewer than 20 percent of adolescent girls in the United States have received the HPV vaccine, said Janice Krieger, lead author of the study and assistant professor of communication at The Ohio State University…