(Posted: 10/17/2012) - Cold viruses generally get a bad rap—which they've certainly earned—but new findings by a team of scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies suggest that these viruses might also be a valuable ally in the fight against cancer. Adenovirus, a type of cold virus, has developed molecular tools—proteins—that allow it to hijack a cell's molecular machinery, including large cellular machines involved in growth, replication and cancer suppression. The Salk scientists identified the construction of these molecular weapons and found that they bind together into long chains (polymers) to form a three-dimensional web inside cells that traps and overpowers cellular sentries involved in growth and cancer suppression. The findings, published October 11 in Cell, suggest a new avenue for developing cancer therapies by mimicking the strategies employed by the viruses.

(Posted: 10/15/2012) - Combined folic acid, vitamin B6 and vitamin B12 supplements had no statistically significant effect on the risk of colorectal adenoma among women who were at high risk for cardiovascular disease, according to a Harvard Medical School study published October 12 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. The Harvard Medical School is a component of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

(Posted: 10/15/2012) - Researchers at UCLA’s Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center have discovered the mechanism by which an experimental drug, GCS-100, removes a protein from lymphoma cells that prevents the cells from responding to chemotherapy. This discovery revives hope in GCS-100, a drug that had begun in clinical trials years before but had been delayed indefinitely. The researchers hope GCS-100 can be combined with chemotherapy to create an effective treatment for diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL), the most common and aggressive form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a cancer of the immune system.

(Posted: 10/12/2012) - Few physicians recommend active surveillance for low-risk prostate cancer rather than pursuing surgery or radiation, according to a Mayo Clinic study being presented at the North Central Section of the American Urological Association's annual meeting Oct. 10–13 in Chicago. While active surveillance is widely regarded as an effective strategy for managing low-risk prostate cancer, a Mayo Clinic study of 643 urologists and radiation oncologists found that only 21 percent of physicians studied recommended the strategy while 47 percent recommended surgery and 32 percent recommended radiation therapy.

(Posted: 10/10/2012) - Although tumor metastasis causes about 90 percent of cancer deaths, the exact mechanism that allows cancer cells to spread from one part of the body to another is not well understood. One key question is how tumor cells detach from the structural elements that normally hold tissues in place, then reattach themselves in a new site. A new study from MIT cancer researchers reveals some of the cellular adhesion molecules that are critical to this process.

(Posted: 10/09/2012) - The HIV protease inhibitor, Nelfinavir, can be used to treat HER2-positive breast cancer in the same capacity and dosage regimen that it is used to treat HIV, according to a Johns Hopkins School of Medicine study published October 5 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Johns Hopkins University is home to the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center.

(Posted: 10/04/2012) - Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine report the discovery of microbial–dependent mechanisms through which some cancers mount an inflammatory response that fuels their development and growth. The findings are published in the October 3, 2012 Advanced Online Edition of Nature. UCSD is home to the Moores Comprehensive Cancer Center.

(Posted: 10/03/2012) - Over the last two decades, scientists have come to understand that the genetic code held within DNA represents only part of the blueprint of life. The rest comes from specific patterns of chemical tags that overlay the DNA structure, determining how tightly the DNA is packaged and how accessible certain genes are to be switched on or off. Now, research from the University of North Carolina School of Medicine has established the first link between the two most fundamental epigenetic tags -- histone modification and DNA methylation -- in humans. The study, which was published Sept. 30, 2012 by the journal Nature Structural & Molecular Biology, implicates a protein called UHRF1 in the maintenance of these epigenetic tags. Because the protein has been found to be defective in cancer, the finding could help scientists understand not only how microscopic chemical changes can ultimately affect the epigenetic landscape but also give clues to the underlying causes of disease and cancer. UNC is home to the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center.

(Posted: 10/03/2012) - Indoor tanning is already an established risk factor for malignant melanoma, the less common but deadliest form of skin cancer. Now, a new study confirms that indoor tanning significantly increases the risk of non-melanoma skin cancers, the most common human skin cancers. In the most extensive examination of published findings on the subject, the UCSF-led researchers estimate that indoor tanning is responsible for more than 170,000 new cases annually of non-melanoma skin cancers in the United States — and many more worldwide. UCSF is home to the Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center.

(Posted: 10/02/2012) - One year of treatment with the targeted drug trastuzumab is as good as two years of treatment for women with HER2-positive early breast cancer who have already received initial treatment with surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy as needed, researchers have found. The HERA trial, which has been run by the Breast International Group since 2001--and led by researchers from the Harvard Medical School and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute--is an international, multi-center, phase III randomized study involving 5,102 women with early HER2-positive breast cancer. Details of the study were presented at the ESMO 2012 Congress of the European Society for Medical Oncology in Vienna.