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Bringing new life to failed cancer drugs
Frederick News Post
(Posted: 10/16/2012) - Matt Hansen holds a small rounded flask of bubbling gold chloride solution that turns from yellow to crimson. On a table beside him, a similar solution slowly turns from clear to purplish-black. The vials hold potentially billions of gold nanoparticles -- each one thirty-thousandth the width of a strand of hair -- the building blocks in an emerging science that is allowing cancer researchers to break new ground in how they treat the disease... With nanotechnology, researchers in the lab -- which is part of the National Institutes of Health and run by federal contractor SAIC-Frederick -- are harnessing ways to reduce side effects and improve the efficacy of cancer drugs by giving scientists more control in targeting treatments, said Dr. Scott McNeil, lab director.
Harvard study finds folic acid, vitamins B6 and 12 do not affect colorectal adenoma risk
NCI Cancer Center News
(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.
Jonsson Cancer Center researchers discover mechanism of experimental lymphoma treatment
NCI Cancer Center News
(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.
Mayo Clinic study finds surgery or radiation most often sought for low-risk prostate cancer
NCI Cancer Center News
(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.
MIT study identifies adhesion molecules key to cancer’s spread through the body
NCI Cancer Center News
(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.
Gene variant linked to lung cancer risk
NCI News Note
(Posted: 10/09/2012) - A variation of the gene NFKB1, called rs4648127, is associated with an estimated 44 percent reduction in lung cancer risk. When this information, derived from samples obtained as part of a large NCI-sponsored prevention clinical trial, was compared with data on a different sample collection from NCI’s genome-wide association studies (GWAS), lung cancer risk was still estimated to be lower, but only by 21 percent.
HIV drug shows efficacy in treating mouse models of HER2+ breast cancer
NCI Cancer Center News
(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.
HIV infection connected to rising anal cancer rates in men in the U.S.
NCI News Note
(Posted: 10/05/2012) - Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection contributes substantially to the epidemic of anal cancer in men, but not women in the United States, according to new research from NCI. Chart shows overall incidence rates of anal cancers in general population with dashed line showing those with HIV infection.
UCSD study finds blocking tumor-induced inflammation impacts cancer development
NCI Cancer Center News
(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.
UNC scientists find missing link between players in the epigenetic code
NCI Cancer Center News
(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.
Frederick News Post
(Posted: 10/16/2012) - Matt Hansen holds a small rounded flask of bubbling gold chloride solution that turns from yellow to crimson. On a table beside him, a similar solution slowly turns from clear to purplish-black. The vials hold potentially billions of gold nanoparticles -- each one thirty-thousandth the width of a strand of hair -- the building blocks in an emerging science that is allowing cancer researchers to break new ground in how they treat the disease... With nanotechnology, researchers in the lab -- which is part of the National Institutes of Health and run by federal contractor SAIC-Frederick -- are harnessing ways to reduce side effects and improve the efficacy of cancer drugs by giving scientists more control in targeting treatments, said Dr. Scott McNeil, lab director.
Harvard study finds folic acid, vitamins B6 and 12 do not affect colorectal adenoma risk
NCI Cancer Center News
(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.
Jonsson Cancer Center researchers discover mechanism of experimental lymphoma treatment
NCI Cancer Center News
(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.
Mayo Clinic study finds surgery or radiation most often sought for low-risk prostate cancer
NCI Cancer Center News
(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.
MIT study identifies adhesion molecules key to cancer’s spread through the body
NCI Cancer Center News
(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.
Gene variant linked to lung cancer risk
NCI News Note
(Posted: 10/09/2012) - A variation of the gene NFKB1, called rs4648127, is associated with an estimated 44 percent reduction in lung cancer risk. When this information, derived from samples obtained as part of a large NCI-sponsored prevention clinical trial, was compared with data on a different sample collection from NCI’s genome-wide association studies (GWAS), lung cancer risk was still estimated to be lower, but only by 21 percent.
HIV drug shows efficacy in treating mouse models of HER2+ breast cancer
NCI Cancer Center News
(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.
HIV infection connected to rising anal cancer rates in men in the U.S.
NCI News Note
(Posted: 10/05/2012) - Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection contributes substantially to the epidemic of anal cancer in men, but not women in the United States, according to new research from NCI. Chart shows overall incidence rates of anal cancers in general population with dashed line showing those with HIV infection.
UCSD study finds blocking tumor-induced inflammation impacts cancer development
NCI Cancer Center News
(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.
UNC scientists find missing link between players in the epigenetic code
NCI Cancer Center News
(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.
