Tag Archives: study

Possible explanation for link between exercise, improved prostate cancer outcomes

Men who engage in higher levels of physical activity have been reported to have a lower risk of prostate cancer recurrence and mortality compared with men who participate in little or no physical activity. The biological mechanisms underlying this association are not known. "Prior research has shown that men with prostate tumors containing more regularly shaped blood vessels have a more favorable prognosis compared with men with prostate tumors containing mostly irregularly shaped blood vessels," said Erin Van Blarigan, Sc.D., assistant professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the University of California, San Francisco. "In this study, we found that men who reported walking at a brisk pace had more regularly shaped blood vessels in their prostate tumors compared with men who reported walking at a less brisk pace…

‘Molecular scaffolding’ found that maintains skin structure, organization

A study by the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO), featured on the cover of the Journal of Cell Biology, shows how interactions between skin stem cells — the cells responsible for the constant renewal of skin — maintain the architecture of this organ. "We knew that these junctions were important in skin stem cells but the cellular components involved in their structure and function were not yet understood," says Mirna Pérez-Moreno, head of the Epithelial Cellular Biology Group that led the study. Using skin cells derived from mice, researchers have discovered that one of the key elements in the formation and stabilisation of these junctions are microtubules, tubular structures that are part of all cells and that serve as pillars to maintain their form and function. "We have seen for the first time that skin stem-cell microtubules connect with cell-cell junctions to form velcro-like structures that hold the cells together," says Marta Shahbazi, a researcher on Pérez-Moreno’s team and the first author of the study…

Searching for magic bullet against cancer caused by asbestos: One step closer?

In December, the research team of Antonio Giordano, a pathologist, Director and Founder of the Sbarro Health Research Organization in Philadelphia, PA, and Professor of Pathology and Oncology at the University of Siena, Italy, published two separate studies aiming to address the urgent need to identify possible new methods for mesothelioma treatment. In the first study, published in the scientific journal Cell Cycle, Giordano’s researchers tested on mesothelioma cells the effect of two drugs designed to reactivate the p53 protein, one of the most important ‘tumor suppressors’, which is turned off in most human cancers. "In mesothelioma, although p53 is rarely mutated, it is inactivated by alterations in its pathway," says Francesca Pentimalli of the National Cancer Institute of Naples, Italy, lead author of the study. …

Findings bolster fiber’s role in colon health

The finding helps explain why a high-fiber diet reduces the risk of colon problems and indicates that when fiber is lacking, niacin, or vitamin B3, just may help keep the colon healthy as well, said Dr. Vadivel Ganapathy, Chairman of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the Medical College of Georgia at Georgia Regents University and a corresponding study author. The study found that mice lacking the receptor, Gpr109a, were prone to inflammation and cancer of the colon, said Dr. Nagendra Singh, MCG immunologist, member of the Cancer Immunology, Inflammation and Tolerance Program at the GRU Cancer Center, and a corresponding study author. …

Phase II trial of Bevacizumab (Svastin) in locally advanced cervical cancer found ‘promising’

"Cervical cancer is a huge problem worldwide, but isn’t as big a problem in the United States. So in many ways it tends to become a somewhat overlooked and under-studied disease," says Tracey Schefter, MD, investigator at the University of Colorado Cancer Center, director of the Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy program at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, and the study’s lead author…

Patients with MS may be at increased risk of developing cancer

Previous research suggests that some individuals with autoimmune diseases may have an increased risk of developing cancer, but most studies have found no link between cancer and multiple sclerosis, an autoimmune disease that involves the central nervous system. To investigate further, Li-Min Sun, MD, of the Zuoying Branch of Kaohsiung Armed Forces General Hospital in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, and his colleagues assessed data from the National Health Insurance System of Taiwan, including information on 1292 patients who were diagnosed with multiple sclerosis between 1997 and 2010. Each patient was matched with four participants without the condition. "Our study was a nationwide population-based cohort study, and it revealed unexpected findings," said Dr…