Critical Tumor Suppressor Identified For Cancer

dj nunta | dj botez | Birou notarial | Baloane | Aranjamente Baloane | aranjamente florale | flori nunta | flori botez | Pret Aparat Dentar | Aparat Dentar Invizibil | instrumentar | biomateriale | stomatologie
Main Category: Lymphoma / Leukemia / Myeloma
Article Date: 05 Aug 2012 - 0:00 PDT Current ratings for:
Critical Tumor Suppressor Identified For Cancer

Scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute have identified a protein that impairs the development and maintenance of lymphoma (cancer of the lymph nodes), but is repressed during the initial stages of the disease, allowing for rapid tumor growth.

While the study, published in the journal Cell, largely focuses on the role of this new tumor suppressor in lymphoma induced by Myc oncoproteins (the cancer-promoting products of Myc oncogenes), the authors show this circuit is apparently operational in all human tumors with MYC involvement, which is more than half of all human tumor types.

"This opens a new therapeutic avenue to exploit for cancers with Myc involvement - including relapsed metastatic tumors and refractory tumors, those that have not responded to treatment," said John Cleveland, a Scripps Research professor and chair of the Department of Cancer Biology, who led the study.

The Myc family of oncoproteins (c-Myc, N-Myc, and L-Myc) regulate critical pathways that contribute to tumors; c-Myc expression, which is activated in human Burkitt lymphoma, is sufficient to induce the growth of several tumor types in animal models.

In the new study, the scientists focused on precancerous and malignant Myc-expressing B cells, part of the immune system affected in human lymphoma. Using transgenic animal models, Cleveland and his team, led by the efforts of senior postdoctoral fellow Robert Rounbehler, showed that Myc-directed repression of a protein called tristetraprolin (TTP/ZFP36) was important for both the development and maintenance of cancer. The suppression of TTP is a hallmark of human cancers with MYC involvement, Cleveland noted.

The scientists' results showed that overriding this pathway by forced expression of TTP more than doubled the lifespan of Myc transgenic mice. Strikingly, Rounbehler discovered that re-introduction of TTP into Myc-driven lymphoma totally disabled these tumors, indicating an important therapeutic target.

The authors showed that Myc regulates hundreds of genes that contain adenylate-uridylate-rich elements (AU-rich elements), which play an important role in RNA stability and are found in many messenger RNAs (mRNAs) that code for oncogenes, nuclear transcription factors, and cytokines. AU-rich elements direct the mRNA for degradation; they are thought to be vital for controlling expression during cell growth.

"Myc regulates the expression of select AU-binding proteins to control the destruction of certain mRNAs," Cleveland said. "Also, our study strongly suggests that other AU-binding proteins may also, in fact, function as tumor suppressors in other cancers."

Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release. Click 'references' tab above for source.
Visit our lymphoma / leukemia / myeloma section for the latest news on this subject. The first author of the study, "Tristetraprolin is a Tumor Suppressor That Impairs Myc-Induced Lymphoma and Abolishes the Malignant State," is Robert J. Rounbehler of Scripps Research. Other authors include Mohammad Fallahi, Chunying Yang, Meredith A. Steeves, Weimin Li, Joanne R. Doherty, and Franz X. Schaub of Scripps Research; Sandhya Sanduja and Dan A. Dixon of the University of South Carolina; and Perry J. Blackshear of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.
The study was supported by the National Institutes of Health (grant numbers DK44158, CA167093, F32-CA115075, and CA134609), ThinkPink Kids Foundation, the State of Florida, the National City Charitable Contributions Committee, the Glenn W. Bailey Postdoctoral Fellowship, and the PGA National Women’s Cancer Awareness Days.
Scripps Research Institute Please use one of the following formats to cite this article in your essay, paper or report:

MLA

n.p. "Critical Tumor Suppressor Identified For Cancer." Medical News Today. MediLexicon, Intl., 5 Aug. 2012. Web.
5 Aug. 2012. APA

Please note: If no author information is provided, the source is cited instead.

'Critical Tumor Suppressor Identified For Cancer'

Please note that we publish your name, but we do not publish your email address. It is only used to let you know when your message is published. We do not use it for any other purpose. Please see our privacy policy for more information.

If you write about specific medications or operations, please do not name health care professionals by name.

All opinions are moderated before being included (to stop spam)

Contact Our News Editors

For any corrections of factual information, or to contact the editors please use our feedback form.

Please send any medical news or health news press releases to:

Note: Any medical information published on this website is not intended as a substitute for informed medical advice and you should not take any action before consulting with a health care professional. For more information, please read our terms and conditions.

dj nunta | dj botez | Birou notarial | Baloane | Aranjamente Baloane | aranjamente florale | flori nunta | flori botez | Pret Aparat Dentar | Aparat Dentar Invizibil | instrumentar | biomateriale | stomatologie

Brain Tumor Chemotherapy Resistance Prediction

Main Category: Cancer / Oncology
Also Included In: Neurology / Neuroscience;  Radiology / Nuclear Medicine
Article Date: 13 Dec 2011 - 1:00 PST

email to a friend   printer friendly   opinions  

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most common and lethal of all human brain tumors that originate in the brain.

For most patients, treatment involves surgery followed by both radiation therapy and chemotherapy with temozolomide. However, many GBMs are resistant to the effects of temozolomide.

A team of researchers led by Sameer Agnihotri, at the University of Toronto, Toronto, has now determined that the protein APNG can contribute to GBM resistance to the effects of temozolomide. Importantly, high levels of expression of APNG in the nucleus of ressected tumor cells correlated with poorer overall survival compared with patients lacking APNG expression. Agnihotri, and colleagues therefore suggest that monitoring APNG levels could provide insight into whether or not a patient with GBM will respond to temozolomide, although this awaits confirmation in predictive and prospective studies.

TITLE: Alkylpurine-DNA-N-glycosylase confers resistance to temozolomide in xenograft models of glioblastoma multiforme and is associated with poor survival in patients

Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release. Click 'references' tab above for source.
Visit our cancer / oncology section for the latest news on this subject. Please use one of the following formats to cite this article in your essay, paper or report:

MLA

Journal of Clinical Investigation. "Brain Tumor Chemotherapy Resistance Prediction." Medical News Today. MediLexicon, Intl., 13 Dec. 2011. Web.
13 Dec. 2011. APA

Please note: If no author information is provided, the source is cited instead.

Please note that we publish your name, but we do not publish your email address. It is only used to let you know when your message is published. We do not use it for any other purpose. Please see our privacy policy for more information.

If you write about specific medications or operations, please do not name health care professionals by name.

All opinions are moderated before being included (to stop spam)

Contact Our News Editors

For any corrections of factual information, or to contact the editors please use our feedback form.

Please send any medical news or health news press releases to:

Note: Any medical information published on this website is not intended as a substitute for informed medical advice and you should not take any action before consulting with a health care professional. For more information, please read our terms and conditions.

View the original article here

Cancer Vaccine Significantly Reduces Tumor Size

Editor's Choice
Academic Journal
Main Category: Cancer / Oncology
Also Included In: Immune System / Vaccines
Article Date: 13 Dec 2011 - 8:00 PST

email to a friend   printer friendly   opinions  

An experimental cancer vaccine has been found to reduce tumor size by an average of 80%, researchers from the Mayo Clinic and the University of Georgia reported in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. In their animal experiment, mouse models that mimic most human pancreatic and breast cancer cases had dramatic reductions in tumor size - even among those that had not responded to standard treatments.

Tumors that share the same distinct carbohydrate signature may be especially treatable with this new vaccine, say the authors. This includes various cancers such as colorectal, ovarian, breast, pancreatic and some others.

Co-senior author Geert-Jan Boons, wrote:

"This vaccine elicits a very strong immune response. It activates all three components of the immune system to reduce tumor size by an average of 80 percent."

Sugars on the surface proteins of cancerous cells are different from those in healthy cells, the authors explain. For several years, researchers have sought ways of getting the immune system to identify the differences and target the cancer cells only, leaving the healthy ones alone. However, this is not easy, because cancer cells start off in the patient's own body, and his/her immune system does not see them as foreign or pathogenic, and does not attack them.

Study co-author, Sandra Gendler, developed some unique mice for this experiment. Tumors in mice overexpress MUC1, a type of protein, on the surface of their cells. The surface of MUC1 found in tumors has a unique, shorter set of carbohydrates (this is not the case with carbohydrates on the surface of healthy cells).

Gendler said:

"This is the first time that a vaccine has been developed that trains the immune system to distinguish and kill cancer cells based on their different sugar structures on proteins such as MUC1. We are especially excited about the fact that MUC1 was recently recognized by the National Cancer Institute as one of the three most important tumor proteins for vaccine development."

MUC1 was found to exist in over 70% of all lethal cancer, Gendler explained. In ovarian, pancreatic and breast cancers, as well as multiple myeloma, in 90% of cases MUC1 is expressed with the shorter carbohydrate.

When a cell becomes cancerous, its structure alters and MUC1 is overproduced - this promotes tumor formation. Hence, the potential for a vaccine that targets MUC1, either as a preventative (prophylactic) measure for high risk patients, or to reduce the risk of cancer recurrence. The vaccine could also be extremely helpful in cancer cases where surgery is not possible, such as pancreatic cancer, to be used together with chemotherapy.

Some cancer patients do not respond to hormonal therapy, such as aromatase inhibitors, Tamoxifen, or Herceptin. In 90% of these patients, MUC1 is overexpressed. Tripe-negative tumors are very aggressive and hard to treat.

Boons wrote:

"In the U.S. alone, there are 35,000 patients diagnosed every year whose tumors are triple-negative. So we might have a therapy for a large group of patients for which there is currently no drug therapy aside from chemotherapy."

Boons' vaccine is much simpler than other therapeutic ones, such as Provenge (for prostate cancer), because it is fully synthetic and can be manufactured in a laboratory with assembly-line precision.

The vaccine has three components: An adjuvant (an immune system booster)A component that encourages the production of T-helper cells (part of the immune system)A peptide linked to carbohydrate that makes the immune system target those cells that bear the MUC1 proteinsGendler, Boons and team are carrying out tests to see how effective the vaccine is against human cancer cells in culture. They are also planning to see how toxic (safe) it is. If all goes according to plan, Phase I trials to determine safety could be underway before the end of 2013.

Boons said:

"We are beginning to have therapies that can teach our immune system to fight what is uniquely found in cancer cells. When combined with early diagnosis, the hope is that one day cancer will become a manageable disease."

Written by Christian Nordqvist

Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today Visit our cancer / oncology section for the latest news on this subject. Please use one of the following formats to cite this article in your essay, paper or report:

MLA

Christian Nordqvist. "Cancer Vaccine Significantly Reduces Tumor Size." Medical News Today. MediLexicon, Intl., 13 Dec. 2011. Web.
13 Dec. 2011. APA

Please note: If no author information is provided, the source is cited instead.

posted by Mark Reddish on 13 Dec 2011 at 8:54 am

Great to see this article that identifies the potential for MUC1 vaccines. To bad it is 15 years after the first articles describing exactly the same thing. This is not a first, it is not even a second, it is after a long line of vaccine candidates long ago published and moved into clinical trials. Sandy knows better, she worked on some of those a long time ago. Shame on the author for not doing proper diligence. Theratope was a vaccine targeting the sugars on MUC1 and Stimuvax is phase III and is peptide core, exactly the same.

| post followup | alert a moderator |

posted by Carlos Rodriguez on 13 Dec 2011 at 10:12 am

I'm wondering if it would be possible for my dog who has a tumor on her lung could be an candidate for this experiment.

| post followup | alert a moderator |

posted by Jim West on 13 Dec 2011 at 10:15 am

If a cancer patient was willing to take all risks and asked for no guarantees, could he/she try the Boons vaccine?

| post followup | alert a moderator |

posted by Esther on 13 Dec 2011 at 10:34 am

There have been many successful treatments for cancer over the past 100 years..but the PHARMA industry will not allow these to be distributed widely because of the billion dollar industry cancer is. What would happen to oncologist, radiologists, etc. if a vaccine was found? The Susan Komen organization and the American Cancer Society would be out of business.
I pray this vaccine will be distributed soon..so many people have died in this holocaust!!

| post followup | alert a moderator |

Please note that we publish your name, but we do not publish your email address. It is only used to let you know when your message is published. We do not use it for any other purpose. Please see our privacy policy for more information.

If you write about specific medications or operations, please do not name health care professionals by name.

All opinions are moderated before being included (to stop spam)

Contact Our News Editors

For any corrections of factual information, or to contact the editors please use our feedback form.

Please send any medical news or health news press releases to:

Note: Any medical information published on this website is not intended as a substitute for informed medical advice and you should not take any action before consulting with a health care professional. For more information, please read our terms and conditions.

View the original article here

In Newly Diagnosed Inflammatory Breast Cancer, Circulating Tumor Cells Not Linked To Survival

Main Category: Breast Cancer
Also Included In: Medical Devices / Diagnostics
Article Date: 12 Dec 2011 - 1:00 PST

email to a friend   printer friendly   opinions  

The presence of circulating tumor cells in the blood appears to have no relationship to survival in women who have just been diagnosed with inflammatory breast cancer, according to new research from Fox Chase Cancer Center. However, the research shows that these stray tumor cells may signal that the disease has spread to other parts of the body, even before imaging reveals any metastases. The results were presented at the 2011 CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.

If a woman is diagnosed with inflammatory breast cancer, a particularly fast-growing form of the disease, doctors should consider close imaging to monitor and possibly continue aggressive treatment if she also has circulating tumor cells (CTCs), regardless of what imaging shows, recommends study author Massimo Cristofanilli, M.D., F.A.C.P., chair of the department of medical oncology at Fox Chase. "You should be carful before stopping treatment in someone who has evidence of circulating cells, particularly when dealing with a disease like inflammatory breast cancer, which can progress rapidly."

Previous research by Cristofanilli and his colleagues found that the number of stray cancer cells circulating in the blood is the best predictor of both how long a woman with metastatic breast cancer will live and the amount of time until her cancer progresses. But the researchers have also found that the presence or lack of CTCs has little to say about prognosis in women with metastatic inflammatory breast cancer, an aggressive disease with extremely poor outcomes in spite of multidisciplinary modality treatment.

During the current study, Cristofanilli and his team reviewed the records of 84 women who had just learned they have inflammatory breast cancer, either in stage III or stage IV. A total of 64 (76.2%) women had at least 1 CTC and 29 (34.5%) had at least 5. The researchers found that women with no CTCs had comparable survival and spent the same amount of time progression-free as women with one or more CTCs. The results suggest that there is little prognostic value in measuring CTCs in women newly diagnosed with inflammatory breast cancer.

It's not clear why CTCs appear to be linked to prognosis in some forms of cancer but not others, says Cristofanilli. Inflammatory breast cancer is already an aggressive disease, he says, so compared to other forms of breast cancer whether or not cells have broken off and entered the blood may say little more about an otherwise already aggressive disease.

Inflammatory breast tumors are typically fast-growing, and travel quickly to lymph nodes and the brain. During follow-up in the current study, which lasted more than 22 months for half of patients, more than 30% of the entire group had died.

Perhaps "the most important finding from the study," says Cristofanilli, is that more than three-quarters of women who just learned they have inflammatory breast cancer had CTCs that can be detected in the blood. In comparison, he adds, only 15% of women with non-inflammatory breast cancer typically have CTCs. "So there is a huge difference in inflammatory breast cancer and other forms of breast cancer." These stray tumor cells, therefore, may indicate something about inflammatory breast cancer, he reasons, perhaps serving as an early sign that it has already spread. Indeed, only approximately one-third of women with inflammatory breast cancer have detectable metastases at diagnosis, but 60% will eventually develop them.

Currently, says Cristofanilli, doctors primarily measure CTCs in women with metastatic disease, since a decrease in CTCs can signal that treatment is working. But given that most women with inflammatory breast cancer are likely metastatic at the time of diagnosis, this test could serve another purpose - to guide doctors towards more aggressive and prolonged forms of treatment, says Cristofanilli. "If women with inflammatory breast cancer have CTCs, perhaps we should continue to treat them as if they have already established metastatic breast cancer, even if imaging does not show metastases."

Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release. Click 'references' tab above for source.
Visit our breast cancer section for the latest news on this subject. Co-authors include Michal Mego, Antonio Giordano, Ugo De Giorgi, Limin Hsu, Anthony Lucci, Shaheenah Dawood, Wendy A. Woodward, Naoto T. Ueno, Vicente Valero, Eleni Andreopoulou, Gabriel N. Hortobagyi, and James M. Reuben.
Fox Chase Cancer Center Please use one of the following formats to cite this article in your essay, paper or report:

MLA

Fox Chase Cancer Center. "In Newly Diagnosed Inflammatory Breast Cancer, Circulating Tumor Cells Not Linked To Survival." Medical News Today. MediLexicon, Intl., 12 Dec. 2011. Web.
12 Dec. 2011. APA

Please note: If no author information is provided, the source is cited instead.

Please note that we publish your name, but we do not publish your email address. It is only used to let you know when your message is published. We do not use it for any other purpose. Please see our privacy policy for more information.

If you write about specific medications or operations, please do not name health care professionals by name.

All opinions are moderated before being included (to stop spam)

Contact Our News Editors

For any corrections of factual information, or to contact the editors please use our feedback form.

Please send any medical news or health news press releases to:

Note: Any medical information published on this website is not intended as a substitute for informed medical advice and you should not take any action before consulting with a health care professional. For more information, please read our terms and conditions.

View the original article here