Uncovered details of a molecular pathway in cancer cells could lead to improved treatment. Targeting a pathway that controls the movement of mitochondria, the powerhouses of all cells, could reduce cancer invasiveness and resistance to radiotherapy. IMAGE: DISPERSED MITOCHONDRIA (GREEN, LEFT) AGGREGATED WHEN ARF6 WAS DISRUPTED (RIGHT) IN A CANCER CELL, LEADING TO EXCESSIVE PRODUCTION OF...
Category: <span>Cancer</span>
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Study cracks open the secrets of the cancer-causing BRCA1 gene
Lawsuits didn’t do it, public shaming didn’t do it, patients and doctors banding together to “free the data” couldn’t do it: For 22 years Myriad Genetics, one of the oldest genetic testing companies, has refused to make public its proprietary database of BRCA1 variants, which lists more than 17,000 known misspellings in that major “cancer risk” gene, along...
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Pilot study identifies strain of bacteria as chief risk factor for stomach cancer
Researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center have found a specific strain of Helicobacter pylori strongly correlated with stomach cancer. The research, published in the journal PLOS ONE, could eventually be used to shape treatment and screening strategies for patients. Collaborating with researchers at Zhengzhou University, the Fred Hutch team ran tests on 49 patients’...
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Viruses show new promise in treating cancer
Viruses have shown renewed promise in the treatment of cancer after new research has shown they retain their cancer-killing ability even when injected into the bloodstream. This electron microscope image shows white blood cells containing virus particles (shown in red circles). White blood cells can reactivate the virus as it travels to the tumor site, allowing it...
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Researchers testing new brain cancer vaccine
Rush University Medical Center is part of a new clinical trial testing whether an experimental vaccine can help patients’ immune systems stop the spread of glioblastoma—an aggressive form of brain cancer with very few current treatment options. Glioblastoma (histology slide). Credit: Wikipedia/CC BY-SA 3.0 Led by neuro-oncologist Clement Pillainayagam, MD, the phase II clinical trial...
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‘Unprecedented’ 73% Response Rate With Combo in Untreated RCC
SAN FRANCISCO — The combination of an immunotherapy and a vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) inhibitor resulted in a groundbreaking response rate in metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC), according to results of an ongoing phase 1b study. In a cohort of treatment-naive patients, 38 of 52 (73%) achieved an objective response, including 4 complete responses,...
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Can My Primary Care Doctor Treat My Cancer?
Introduction When I was diagnosed with stage IV terminal lung cancer, my primary care doctor gave me the news. His compassion created a pathway of healing that has sustained me for more than seven years. Shortly after my diagnosis, I had a set of scans. One concern was the condition of my lung: had it...
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Hormone therapy can make prostate cancer worse, study finds
CEDARS-SINAI MEDICAL CENTER LOS ANGELES (Sept. 4, 2018) — Scientists at Cedars-Sinai have discovered how prostate cancer can sometimes withstand and outwit a standard hormone therapy, causing cancer to spread. Their findings also point to a simple blood test that may help doctors predict when this type of hormone therapy resistance will occur. Prostate cancer...
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Enhancing immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy using treatment combination
A combination of a novel inhibitor of the protein CK2 (Casein kinase 2) and an immune checkpoint inhibitor has dramatically greater antitumor activity than either inhibitor alone, according to research from The Wistar Institute that was published online in Cancer Research. Credit: The Wistar Institute Immune checkpoint inhibitors have been approved to treat several types...
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Immunotherapy could offer hope for some men with aggressive prostate cancers
A group of men with especially aggressive prostate cancer may respond unusually well to immunotherapy, a major new study reports. Micrograph showing prostatic acinar adenocarcinoma (the most common form of prostate cancer) Credit: Wikipedia The research offers the possibility of effective treatment for men with prostatecancer who currently die from their disease much more rapidly...