Tag Archives: united

Drug strategy blocks leading driver of cancer

Using a new strategy, UC San Francisco researchers have succeeded in making small molecules that irreversibly target a mutant form of this protein, called ras, without binding to the normal form. This feature distinguishes the molecules from all other targeted drug treatments in cancer, according to the researchers. When tested on human lung cancer cells grown in culture, the molecules efficiently killed the ras-driven cancer cells. …

Low-intensity therapy for Burkitt lymphoma highly effective

Burkitt lymphoma is the most aggressive type of lymphoma, which is a cancer that begins in cells of the immune system. It is more common in equatorial Africa than in Western countries. In Uganda, for example, the estimated prevalence of Burkitt lymphoma is between 5 and 20 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, whereas in the United States, according to NCI’s statistical database for 2001-2009, prevalence was 0.4 cases per 100,000 inhabitants…

Concurrent therapy not necessary for breast cancer patients with HER-2, study says

The findings, published in the journal Lancet Oncology, investigated the timing of trastuzumab administration with anthracycline and taxane chemotherapy. "In a previous MD Anderson study concurrent administration of trastuzumab with chemotherapy, including anthracyclines, demonstrated high pathologic complete response rates in breast cancer patients with HER-2-positive disease," Buzdar said. …

Common genetic pathway could be conduit to pediatric tumor treatment

In laboratory studies, researchers found that the pathway, called mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), was highly active in pediatric low-grade gliomas, and that mTOR activity could be blocked using an experimental drug, leading to decreased growth of these tumors. "We think mTOR could function as an Achilles heel," says study co-author Eric Raabe, M.D., Ph.D., an assistant professor of pediatrics, oncology and pathology at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center. "It drives cancer growth, but when mTOR is inhibited, the tumor falls apart." The work was described Nov…

Mutations linked to breast cancer treatment resistance

The study appears online in Nature Genetics. The discovery stems from a program at the U-M Comprehensive Cancer Center called Mi-ONCOSEQ in which patients with advanced cancer have their DNA and RNA sequenced to identify all types of genetic mutations that could play a role in the cancer. Researchers use the findings to help direct therapies they think will work best. But they also use the data to find new genetic links. …

Study evaluates early stem cell transplants for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma

But early transplantation does appear to be beneficial among a small group of patients who are at the very highest risk, the study found. Lead author is Patrick Stiff, MD, director of Loyola University Medical Center’s Cardinal Bernardin Cancer Center. The study was developed by the SWOG cancer research cooperative group and funded by the National Cancer Institute. Stiff is chair of the SWOG Bone Marrow and Stem Cell Transplantation Committee. …