#New technology focuses diffuse light inside living tissue In the Jan 5 issue of Nature Communications Wang the Gene K. Beare Professor of Biomedical engineering at Washington University in St louis reveals for the first time a new
Their computational approach could be especially useful for forecasting drug resistance mutations in other diseases such as cancer HIV
Tracheal damage can be caused by tumor endotracheal intubation blunt trauma and other injuries. Narrowing and weakness of the trachea can occur
which will be available commercially later this year so the Feinstein Institute can start investigating how to engineer other kinds of tissue like bone or 3d print custom-made shields for cancer and radiation treatment.
Developed by the National Cancer Institute and the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project, BCRAT is currently the most commonly used model for predicting breast cancer risk in women with BBD.
whereas predictions derived from the new model were calibrated appropriately to observed cancers (P. 247).""Since women with benign breast disease are at higher risk for breast cancer,
Ultimately it will help researchers achieve breakthroughs in a wide variety of areas in the life sciences such as neuroscience diabetes and cancer.
#How cancer turns good cells to the dark side A new computational study by researchers at the Rice-based Center for Theoretical Biological Physics shows how cancer cells take advantage of the system by
and Jos Onuchic the researchers decode how cancer uses a cell-cell interaction mechanism known as notch signaling to promote metastasis. This mechanism plays a crucial role in embryonic development
which the researchers mapped the flow of information through genetic circuits involved in cancer metastasis. At the heart of our new understanding is that the primary agents of metastasis are clusters of hybrid epithelial (nonmobile)
These and not the fully mesenchymal cells are the'bad actors'of cancer progression that pose the highest risk.
The multifaceted mechanism by which notch-delta-jagged signaling promotes cancer progression has been a mystery until now Ben-Jacob said
but recent experimental studies have revealed the jagged ligand plays a critical role in tumor progression.
Cancer takes advantage of jagged proteins'influence to form what are essentially migrating units of hybrid cancer stem cells Ben-Jacob said.
Notch-jagged signaling also helps cells develop resistance to chemotherapy and radiotherapy and facilitates metastasis formation by promoting communications between cancer
and stromal (connective tissue) cells at the new locations he said. Recent findings showed stromal cells in the tumor environment secrete jagged ligands.
The Rice researchers found cancer cells hijack nearby stromal cells and prompt them to boost their production of the ligand reinforcing the cancer's chances of survival.
The researchers suggested cells'internal expression of jagged may also increase the production and maintenance of therapy-resistant cancer stem cells.
Because they have a high likelihood to acquire stem-like properties when arriving at distant organs they utilize this cellular plasticity to differentiate
#New breast exam nearly quadruples detection of invasive breast cancers in women with dense breast tissue Molecular Breast Imaging (MBI) is a supplemental imaging technology designed to find tumors that would otherwise be obscured by surrounding dense breast
Tumors and dense breast tissue can both appear white on a mammogram making tumors indistinguishable from background tissue in women with dense breasts.
MBI uses small semiconductor-based gamma cameras to image the breast following injection of a radiotracer that tumors absorb avidly.
Unlike conventional breast imaging techniques such as mammography and ultrasound MBI exploits the different behavior of tumors relative to background tissue producing a functional image of the breast that can detect tumors
The finding that MBI substantially increases detection rates of invasive cancers in dense breasts without an unacceptably high increase in false positive findings has important implications for breast cancer screening decisions particularly as 20 states now require mammography facilities
and encourage discussion of supplemental screening options says Dr. Rhodes. These findings suggest that MBI has a more favorable balance of additional invasive cancers detected
Recent studies have reported supplemental cancer detection rates of 1. 9 per 1000 women screened with automated whole breast ultrasound
so our finding of an additional 8. 8 cancers per 1000 women makes MBI a very compelling option for women who elect supplemental screening says Dr. Rhodes. Michael O'connor Ph d. a Mayo Clinic scientist
#Key factor discovered in formation of metastases in melanoma Melanoma, the most aggressive of all skin cancer strains, is often fatal for patients due to the pronounced formation of metastases.
Until now, a melanoma's rampant growth was attributed mainly to genetic causes, such as mutations in certain genes.
This opens up new possibilities for future cancer treatments. Patients who visit the doctor because of malignant skin cancer often go too late--the aggressive cancer has formed already numerous metastases in their bodies.
This rapid malignant metastatic formation of melanoma, was previously put down to the high mutation rate that is characteristic of melanoma,
i e. genetic changes that stimulate the growth of cancer cells. Various cancer drugs therefore target the signaling pathways activated in the process, some
and the tumor spreads again. Evidently, the cancer cells have found new ways to grow. A team of researchers headed by Professor Lukas Sommer from the University of Zurich's Institute of Anatomy has now found a possible explanation for this dynamic behavior in cancer cells:
whether epigenetic factors are especially active in melanoma cells --and stumbled across EZH2, an epigenetic control protein found very frequently in malignant melanoma cells compared to normal cells.
Joining forces with dermatologists and oncologists from the University Hospital in Zurich and backed by the University Research Priority Program"Translational Cancer Research,
"Sommer's team was able to demonstrate that, in melanoma cells, the epigenetic factor EZH2 controls genes that govern tumor growth as well as genes that are important for the formation of metastases.
In their study, the researcher exploited this central position of EZH2 to combat the cancer:
They used a pharmacological inhibitor to suppress the activity of EZH2. As a result, the researchers were able to prevent the growth and malignant spread of the cancer in the animal model and human melanoma cells."
"To our astonishment, we were able to use the approach to influence the progression of the disease,
even if tumors had developed already, "explains Sommer. Epigenetic factors like EZH2 therefore appear to be highly promising targets for future cancer treatments,
especially combined with other drugs that are already available e
#New technique for growing high-efficiency perovskite solar cells This week in the journal Science, Los alamos National Laboratory researchers reveal a new solution-based hot-casting technique
some of the genes are implicated in cancer and mental illness. In October 2014, the NIH invested nearly $32 million in its Big data Initiative,
#New cancer-fighting strategy would harden cells to prevent metastasis Existing cancer therapies are geared toward massacring tumor cells
This is a novel approach to cancer therapy that we believe could fight the disease with less potential for side effects
Since changes in cell shape figure into conditions from cancer to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease to degenerative nerve diseases compounds that affect cells shape could turn out to stall disease progress.
tumor into other areas of the body a crucial step in progression of the disease. The research team tested 4-HAP on lab-grown pancreatic cancer cells
#Scientists invent system to improve effectiveness of cancer surgery With the goal of making it easier for surgeons to detect malignant tissue during surgery
and hopefully reduce the rate of cancer recurrence, scientists have invented a new imaging system that causes tumors to ight upwhen a hand-held laser is directed at them. surgeon goal during cancer surgery is to remove the tumor,
as well as enough surrounding tissue to ensure that malignant cells are not left behind, said Aaron Mohs, Ph d,
Mohs and co-authors report on their prototype system that combines a fluorescent dye that localizes in tumors with a real-time imaging system that allows the surgeon to simply view a screen to distinguish between normal tissue and the ightedmalignant tissue.
In both mice and companion dogs with tumors, the scientists found that the fluorescent dye accumulated at higher levels in tumors than in the surrounding tissue
and the system was able to detect a distinct boundary between normal and tumor tissue.
Canine tumors are known to be similar to human tumors in architecture and canines get the same types of tumors as humans.
The scientists are working to further develop the system so it can be evaluated in human patients.
Current technology allows cancer surgeons to scan tumors prior to surgery with magnetic resonance imaging and other systems.
However, to scan the tumor during surgery involves moving the patient from the operating table and into the machinery hich prolongs the surgery. eing able to quickly scan a tumor during surgery to visualize tumor tissue from non-tumor tissue is an unmet clinical need,
said Mohs. athology techniques that examine tumor tissue during surgery can take up to 20 minutes
and they focus on the tissue removed during surgery, not the tissue that remains in the body.
In TBME, the authors noted that the ideal system would find tumor boundaries with high sensitivity,
a surgeon would scan the tumor prior to surgery to determine its boundaries. The tumor would then be removed surgically
and the area would be scanned re to assess for any remaining malignant tissue. If diseased tissue is found,
and nanoparticles that can be targeted to specific tumors. Recently, Mohs was awarded a $1. 37 million research grant from the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging
The research will investigate invasive ductal carcinoma, the most common type of breast cancer. Under the project, the researchers will focus on optimizing the loading of the dye,
#New antibodies for cancer treatment A research team at Aarhus University i Denmark has developed ten new antibodies that can possibly be used in the battle against cancer.
The antibodies we've found prevent a cancer tumour from growing. They appear to work perfectly in the laboratory
The antibodies neutralise the effects of signal substances released by carcinoma cells to get blood vessels to replicate
A cancer tumour deprived of oxygen and nutrients becomes dormant and is made thereby harmless. If it receives a supply from the bloodstream
They are among the world's leading specialists in developing artificial antibodies for cancer treatment
To date they have identified actually ten that appear to be able to impede the development of cancer.
The demand for therapeutic antibodies for cancer treatment is steadily increasing. In 2013 alone worldwide sales amounted to more than DKK 340 billion.
New method improves single-cell genomics analyses Single-cell RNA-sequencing is a relatively new technology that helps scientists understand how genes are expressed in different types of healthy tissue and in cancers.
or understand how cancer cells are organized in a metastasizing tumor or how immune cells are configured in an autoimmune attack you have to look at a large piece of tissue with nanoscale precision he says.
While Boyden's team is focused on the brain other possible applications for this technique include studying tumor metastasis
and angiogenesis (growth of blood vessels to nourish a tumor) or visualizing how immune cells attack specific organs during autoimmune disease e
in order to cope with unpredictable episodes of infection injury and tumor formation. The immune system has to think on its feet said Davis senior author of the new study which will be published Jan 15 in Cell.
The authors also found a possible link to cancer. In mice prone to develop benign skin tumors-papillomas-the activation of Fra-2 reduced skin tumor burden.
The authors demonstrate that Fra-2 induces premature differentiation of keratinocytes. An additional novelty is related to the regulation of the transcriptional activity of Fra-2. The work reveals that the activation of this transcription factor depends on chemical protein modifications
which might give an impact on tyrosine kinase-targeted leukemia therapy, was found to be expressed in a leukemia cell line.
The function of the lncrna CCDC26 is understood not fully; however, researchers at Hiroshima University revealed the mechanisms by
The results provide new insights into leukemia recurrence and may help to develop new leukemia therapies.
Recent transcriptomic studies have revealed the existence of numerous RNAS that are relatively long but not translated into proteins.
therefore cause a variety of diseases such as cancer. However, the molecular functions of lncrnas remain to be elucidated fully.
Leukemia cells in which CCDC26 was knocked down showed enhanced survival periods after serum withdrawal. A KIT-specific inhibitor reversed this increased survival of the cells.
These results are published in a Molecular Cancer article titled""Long noncoding RNA, CCDC26, controls myeloid leukemia cell growth through regulation of KIT expression.""
Leukemia characterized by a mutated copy number of CCDC26 might be treated by KIT-targeted therapy"quoted Dr. Hirano o
including diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. According to Carrie Partch a professor of chemistry and biochemistry at UC Santa cruz and corresponding author of the paper, the connection between clock disruption and cancer is still unclear."
"The clock is disrupted not always in cancer cells, but studies have shown that disrupting circadian rhythms in mice causes tumors to grow faster,
and one of the things the clock does is set restrictions on when cells can divide,
including melanoma, lung cancer, and breast cancer. It belongs to a group of proteins known as"cancer/testis antigens,
"which are expressed normally in the germ line cells that give rise to sperm and eggs, but are also found in some cancer cells.
Cancer researchers have been interested in these proteins as markers for cancer and as potential targets for therapeutic cancer vaccines."
"For very few of these do we understand the roles they might play in driving cancer,
We could potentially find ways to disrupt it in those cancers in which it is expressed."
"Beyond its role in cancer, Partch is interested also in understanding the normal role of PASD1
and we have ongoing studies to explore its role in cancer and other human health problems
Because of its accuracy, it could also better distinguish between benign lung tumors that do not pose a threat
and malignant tumors that have the potential to grow and spread. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in both men and women in the United states. However,
the five-year survival rate increases dramatically if the disease is caught and treated early. According to the American Cancer Society,
if NSCLC is caught in its earliest stage, the five-year survival rate is 49 percent.
associate professor in the Tumor Microenvironment and Metastasis Program at The Wistar Institute and lead author of the study."
we can detect the cancer earlier with a less expensive, less invasive and more accurate blood test.
"In this study, Huang and his colleagues focused on cancer testis antigens (CTAS), since they are often found in tumor cells that circulate in the blood.
After analyzing 116 different CTAS, the researchers identified the protein AKAP4 as a potential biomarker that could effectively distinguish between patients with and without NSCLC.
"said Dario C. Altieri, M d.,President and CEO of The Wistar Institute and director of Wistar's Cancer Center."
carboplatin and oxyplatin, have been used to treat cancer for more than 35 years. While they remain among the most prescribed and most potent chemotherapy drugs,
and accumulate at the tumor site. However, tests of these nanodrugs show that only between one and 10 percent of the drugs are delivered to the tumor site
with the majority of the remainder being diverted to the liver and spleen.''The body's immune system, especially the liver and spleen, has been one of the biggest stumbling blocks in developing nanoscale chemotherapy drug delivery systems,
they become less available to treat the cancer, and can also cause toxicity.''In the past few years, Ho and his colleagues were developing cellular nanotags to help detect organ rejection,
The researchers believe that this increased availability will allow more of the drug to reach the tumor site,
His own lab is also using it to look for antibodies that attack a body's own tissue in certain autoimmune diseases that are associated with cancer.
#Disrupting tumor cell'microenvironment'suggests a new way to treat a prevalent childhood leukemia Researchers at NYU Langone Medical center
and its Laura and Isaac Perlmutter Cancer Center are reporting a potentially important discovery in the battle against one of the most devastating forms of leukemia that accounts for as many as one in five children with a particularly aggressive form of the disease
The experiments also left white blood cells cancer free for more than 30 weeks in live mice. Further, the research team found that in mice bred to develop T-ALL
""Our experiments showed that blocking CXCR4 decimated leukemia cells, "says co-senior study investigator and NYU Langone cell biologist Susan Schwab, Phd.
Schwab says T-ALL is"a particularly devastating cancer "because there are not many treatment options.
Co-senior study investigator and cancer biologist Iannis Aifantis, Phd, says the study offers the first evidence that"drugs targeting
and disrupting leukemia cells'microenvironment--or what goes on around them--could prove effective against the disease."
"Aifantis, the chair of the Department of Pathology at NYU Langone and a member of its Perlmutter Cancer Center,
and an early career scientist at the Howard hughes medical institute, says experiments in his laboratory had shown that leukemia-initiating cells concentrate in the bone marrow near CXCL12-producing blood vessels.
and tumors were smaller than in similar mice that retained CXCL12 production. Deletion of the CXCR4 gene led to sustained T-ALL remission within a month in similar mice,
It's hoped the discovery will inform the development of better treatments for a range of conditions from inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) to certain cancers.
However, when these cells choose the wrong function this can result in severe inflammation leading to conditions such as inflammatory bowel diseases and even cancer.
an important process that when abnormal can promote diabetes, cancer, and rare genetic diseases. The researchers determined that an enzyme called Protein kinase c (PKC) can regulate
'said senior author Dr. Richard Wang, assistant professor of dermatology and a member of UT Southwestern's Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center.'
'This process is defective in a variety of diseases including diabetes and cancer.''Scientists have known how glucose is transported across cells,
and cancer,'said Wang, whose lab focus includes non-melanoma skin cancer, in which GLUT1 is expressed highly d
#First live birth after transplantation of ovarian tissue removed and frozen during childhood Arraythe patient, who was born in the Republic of congo,
blood cancer can result.''In the long run, we anticipate that the ability to drive immune reaction ex vivo at controllable rates grants us the ability to reproduce immunological events with tunable parameters for better mechanistic understanding of B cell development and generation of B cell tumors,
as well as screening and translation of new classes of drugs,'Singh said d
#'Chromosome shattering'seen in plants, cancer Plants can undergo the same extreme'chromosome shattering'seen in some human cancers and developmental syndromes,
UC Davis researchers have found. Chromosome shattering, or'chromothripsis,'has until now only been seen in animal cells.
Although plants don't get cancer it might also allow cancer researchers to use the laboratory plant Arabidopsis as a model to study chromosome behavior in cancer.
Chromothripsis involves slicing chromosomes into apparently random pieces, and reassembling it like a broken vase,
#Scientists find genetic variants key to understanding origins of ovarian cancer New research by an international team including Keck Medicine of USC scientists is bringing the origins of ovarian cancer into sharper focus.
It remains a mystery where these cancers come from, 'said Simon Gayther, Ph d.,professor in preventive medicine, Keck School of medicine of USC, corresponding author of the international genome-wide association study (GWAS).'
This study tells us more about the biology of ovarian cancer from the early development stage than most research has.'
'Ovarian cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer in American women and seventh most common cancer in women throughout the world (World health organization.
In 2015, more than 14,000 American women will die of ovarian cancer, according to the American Cancer Society.
Most ovarian cancers have low survival rates, typically because of the misunderstanding of symptoms and discovery of the cancer in later, less treatable stages.'
'Although MOCS are a less common type of ovarian cancer with generally good prognosis when diagnosed in early stages,
'said Andrew Berchuck, M d.,director of gynecologic oncology at Duke university Cancer Institute, and senior author of the study.'
644 women diagnosed with MOC and more than 21,000 women without ovarian cancer. The research was conducted as part of the Collaborative Oncological Gene-environment Study (COGS),
launched in 2009 with the goal of determining risks of breast, ovarian and prostate cancer.'
which was made possible by pooling data contributed by investigators from over 40 international studies of ovarian cancer within the Ovarian Cancer Association Consortium,
D.,associate professor and researcher at the Hollings Cancer Center at the Medical University of South carolina,
we could identify genetic variants that were significantly more common in women with MOC compared to those without ovarian cancer.'
'Co-first author Kate Lawrenson, Ph d. of Keck Medicine of USC believes the research will lead the way to the development of risk prediction strategies followed by clinical interventions with the potential to prevent ovarian cancer altogether,
'The five year survival rates for ovarian cancer have not changed much in the past 30 years and is partly from viewing ovarian cancer as a single disease,
'she said.''Our results shed light on differences in genetic risk factors for the different ovarian cancers such as MOCS.
I'm hanging my hopes on prevention. My bet is that prevention approaches will be better than finding a cure for a disease that is often diagnosed late
Most importantly, they also found that these stem cells can give rise to colonic tumors and sustain their growth.
Researchers at Lawson Health Research Institute have identified a new stem cell population in the colon linked to cancer growth.
Colon cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in Canada. It is estimated that in 2015 that 25,100 Canadians will be diagnosed with colon cancer representing 13 percent of all new cancer cases.
Dr. Samuel Asfaha, a clinician-scientist at Lawson and an assistant professor of medicine at the Schulich School of medicine & Dentistry, Western University,
they also found that these stem cells can give rise to colonic tumors and sustain their growth.
however, makes them the most likely cell of origin for cancer. In this study, the researchers sought to identify
According to Asfaha, the identification of the cellular origin of cancer, specifically colorectal cancer, is critical to the understanding of how cancer arises
'These findings are exciting as we have identified an important new target for cancer therapy. It is also proof that more than one stem cell can give rise to
and sustain tumors, telling us that our cancer therapy needs to target more than one stem cell pool.'
'Until now, the only stem cell population linked to colon cancer was radiation sensitive, leading physicians to believe that radiation therapy was effective.'
and was the first enzyme to be targeted for chemotherapy cancer treatment. Drugs were designed to bind strongly to DHFR to prevent it from working,
#Beating advanced cancers: New epigenomic block for advanced cancer Array"If you think of late-stage cancer as a runaway car,
most of our drugs take a shot at a tire here and there, but sometimes they miss
"We believe we have identified a mechanism that seizes the cancer's biological engine and could potentially stop it in its tracks."
which could help providers identify more aggressive cancers or find the best drug for the individual patient to further personalize medical care."
and efforts are ongoing to expand this to tumors beyond kidney cancer, "says Dr. Ho.
Similarly, cancers often subvert a cell's normal epigenomic mechanisms to become more aggressive e
"From our previous research, we learned that cancer stem cells reside in the hypoxic zones to maintain self-renewal property,
like cancer, may also have figured out the advantage of hiding in the hypoxic area.""To test this hypothesis, Dr. Das and his collaborators at Jawarharlal Nehru Univeristy (JNU), New delhi,
and its application to global health issues including TB, HIV and oral cancer, all critical problems in the area where Kavikrishna Laboratory is located d
called AIM2 (Absent in Melanoma 2), plays a role in determining the aggressiveness of colon cancer.
'Since reduced AIM2 activity in colorectal cancer patients is associated with poor survival, it might be useful to detect the level of AIM2 expression in polyps taken from colonoscopy and use this as one of the biomarkers for prognosis,
'Kanneganti said. Kanneganti and her team believe that it might be possible to prevent the disease
'In people who already have colorectal cancer, therapies that boost the expression of AIM2, such as interferons, might reduce tumor progression.
Also, transferring healthy microbiota or a group of'good'bacteria to patients with colorectal cancer at the early stage of disease may prolong survival,
'Kanneganti said. Cancer researchers had known that mutations in AIM2 were frequently found in patients with colorectal cancers.
And a study by other researchers had found that more than half of small bowel tumors had AIM2 mutations.
However, AIM2's established function in the cell was not in the machinery of cancer
said one of the paper's first authors Si Ming Man, Ph d.,a postdoctoral fellow in Kanneganti's laboratory.
'This was how we became interested in AIM2 and colorectal cancer.''In their experiments with mice, the scientists used chemicals to trigger the process mimicking the development of colorectal cancer.
They found that the mice showed drastically reduced AIM2 function, confirming the finding in humans with the cancer.
They also found that mice genetically altered to have reduced AIM2 function, when treated with the chemicals,
showed significantly more tumors than normal mice. The scientists'studies also showed that AIM2 played a role independent of its immune role,
because we have found a new role for AIM2 in regulating colorectal cancer, and it does so by inhibiting excessive proliferation of stem cells in the large intestine.'
The scientists found a striking reduction in colon tumors in the AIM2-deficient mice and an increase in tumors in the normal mice.'
'What this might suggest is that transfer of some of the'good'microbiota from wild-type mice to replace the'bad'microbiota from mice lacking AIM2 offers increased protection against colorectal cancer,
or decelerate the progression of colorectal cancer in humans, especially in those who have mutations in the AIM2 gene,
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