Cancer Weekly articles from February 2001

Cancer Weekly archives from February 2001

Fludarine/Cyclophosphamide Immunosuppression Effective.
February 6, 2001... 2001 FEB 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) - by Michael Greer, staff medical writer -- An immunosuppressive regimen that spares bone marrow can facilitate effective stem cell transplantation for the treatment of advanced lymphomas resistant to...

Cancer-Linked BRCA2 Gene Plays Previously Unsuspected Role in Cell Division.
February 6, 2001... 2001 FEB 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The BRCA2 gene, linked to familial breast and ovarian cancers, plays an important and previously unsuspected role in human cell division, according to a study by scientists at The Wistar Institute,...

Survey Suggests Many Physicians Don't Include Patients in Decisions.
February 6, 2001... 2001 FEB 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- To screen or not to screen for prostate and breast cancer may be the doctor's choice alone, a study suggests. A survey of primary care physicians at three urban New York hospitals found upwards of...

MAGE-1 Gene Detected in Liver Cancers of Chinese Study Group.
February 6, 2001... 2001 FEB 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- - by Sonia Nichols, staff medical writer -- Peking University researchers suggest that the MAGE-1 gene is found more often in the tumor tissues of Chinese patients with hepatocellular carcinoma than in...

Angiostatin K(1-3) Gene Transfer is Anti-Angiogenic.
February 6, 2001... 2001 FEB 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- - by Michelle Marble, staff medical writer -- Researchers in the People's Republic of China conducted a study to determine the feasibility of an anti-angiogenesis gene therapy of human glioma. ...

Doctors Should Consider Transplants for HCV-Related Cancer.
February 6, 2001... 2001 FEB 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- - by Sonia Nichols, staff medical writer -- Individuals with hepatitis C virus-related hepatocellular carcinoma have longer disease-free survival rates when given transplants instead of just the removal...

Virology Makes Difference in Development of More Liver Tumors after Treatment.
February 6, 2001... 2001 FEB 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- - by Sonia Nichols, staff medical writer -- A Japanese study reports that virology is a significant factor for tumor recurrence after initial treatments for hepatocellular carcinoma. Individuals...

Cytogenetic Risk Factors Can Predict Therapy Outcome.
February 6, 2001... 2001 FEB 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- - by Michael Greer, staff medical writer -- Oncologists in the United States have presented evidence that the chromosomal structure, or cytogenetics, of patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) can...

DNA Vaccine Effective in Murine Model.
February 6, 2001... 2001 FEB 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- - by Michelle Marble, staff medical writer -- Researchers in Germany have found that a DNA vaccine is effective in a murine model of neuroblastoma. "The disruption of self-tolerance against...

Gene Therapy Approach Enhances Targeted Radiotherapy.
February 6, 2001... 2001 FEB 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- - by Michelle Marble, staff medical writer -- Researchers in Scotland enhanced targeted radiotherapy of neuroblastoma using a gene therapy approach. "The aims of this study were to determine whether...

IL-2-Expressing Allogeneic Cell Vaccine Elicits Anti-Cancer Responses.
February 6, 2001... 2001 FEB 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- - by Michelle Marble, staff medical writer -- Allogeneic tumor cell vaccines were shown to elicit anti-cancer responses in neuroblastoma patients. "Immunotherapy using cytokine-expressing tumor...

Vincristine Selectively Targets Malignant Cells for Apoptosis.
February 13, 2001... 2001 FEB 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- - by Michael Greer, staff medical writer -- Hematologists in Finland have shown that the antitubulin alkaloid vincristine selectively attacks malignant cells in patients with some forms of...

Increased Growth of Lymph Capillaries a Factor in Tumor Progression.
February 13, 2001... 2001 FEB 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- - Sonia Nichols, staff medical writer -- Lymphangiogenesis, or the growth of new lymph capillaries, now joins angiogenesis as a force to be dealt with for fighting tumor progression in certain...

Combination Therapy Approach Induces Long-Term Antitumor Immunity.
February 13, 2001... 2001 FEB 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- - by Michelle Marble, staff medical writer -- A combination of electrochemotherapy with cytokine gene transfer resulted in long-term antitumor immunity in a murine B16 melanoma model, a recent...

Parotid Gland Tumors Due to Lymph Node Metastasis.
February 13, 2001... 2001 FEB 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- - by Maryclaire Lindgren, staff medical writer -- Melanomas involving the parotid gland are due to metastasis from primary head and neck melanomas, pathologists note. While saliva can break...

Enzymatic Compounds are Prognostic for Survival.
February 13, 2001... 2001 FEB 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- - Sonia Nichols, staff medical writer -- Important information about the ratio of two enzymes found in epithelial ovarian cancer tissues could potentially be used to develop new anti-cancer...

Changes in Growth Factors and Receptors Accompany Pre-Cancerous Lesions in Men.
February 13, 2001... 2001 FEB 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- - Sonia Nichols, staff medical writer -- A paracrine process that drives transforming growth factor (TGF) beta and its receptors is probably responsible for prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia,...

Endogenous Enzyme Prevents Disease-Related Angiogenesis and Metastasis.
February 13, 2001... 2001 FEB 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- - Sonia Nichols, staff medical writer -- Surprising research shows that prostate cancer cells produce enzymes that prevent angiogenesis and the spread of cancer cells to other areas of the body....

Hormones, Genes, and Liver Cancer May Have Common Link in Chronic Hepatitis B.
February 13, 2001... 2001 FEB 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- - Sonia Nichols, staff medical writer -- Male sufferers of chronic hepatitis B with higher levels of testosterone and fewer repeats of a particular gene sequence could be at greater risk for...

Oncofetal H19 Gene: Potential Therapeutic Target?
February 13, 2001... 2001 FEB 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- - by Michelle Marble, staff medical writer -- Early recurrence of bladder cancer in humans may be marked by the imprinted oncofetal H19 gene. I. Ariel and colleagues, Hadassah University...

Researchers Diagnosing Cancer at the Molecular Level.
February 13, 2001... 2001 FEB 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers from the Louisiana State University (LSU) School of Veterinary Medicine and the Baton Rouge General Medical Center have recently joined forces to find new ways to fight breast cancer....

DNA Test Might Improve Screening Accuracy.
February 13, 2001... 2001 FEB 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers from the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, are leading a multicenter U.S. clinical trial on a way to detect colon cancer. The test, which requires only a stool sample, detects DNA...

Cancer Epidemic Caused by Cigarette Smoking.
February 13, 2001... 2001 FEB 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The U.S. "cancer epidemic" was caused solely by cigarette smoking and environmental pollution played little role in it, claim University of Alabama at Birmingham researchers. In an analysis of...

No Common Cause Linking Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Colorectal Cancer.
February 13, 2001... 2001 FEB 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Research does not support the theory that there might be a single genetic cause for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and colorectal cancer. The causes of IBD and colorectal cancer (which...

Vascular Receptor Stimulation Brings Chemotherapy to Solid Tumors.
February 13, 2001... 2001 FEB 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- - Sonia Nichols, staff medical writer -- Drug delivery systems that specifically take advantage of increased receptors in the vascular structure of solid tumors may be the next strategy for cancer...

Paclitaxel No More Effective as Sole Therapy than Other Drugs.
February 13, 2001... 2001 FEB 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- - by Maryclaire Lindgren, staff medical writer -- Paclitaxel, used as the sole induction agent against squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck, is active, but no more so than standard...

Alitretinoin Gel Effective for Treating Lesions.
February 13, 2001... 2001 FEB 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- - by Michael Greer, staff medical writer -- A topical gel containing alitretinoin can safely and effectively treat lesions caused by AIDS-related Kaposi's sarcoma, according to dermatologists in...

Larynx Preservation Surgery a Good Alternative for Many Patients.
February 13, 2001... 2001 FEB 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania Cancer Center in Philadelphia have completed a study assessing both the oncologic outcome and quality life implications following a novel surgical...

Autologous T Lymphocytes Specifically Recognize Leukemic B Cells.
February 13, 2001... 2001 FEB 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- - by Michelle Marble, staff medical writer -- According to a study from Sweden, the spontaneous immunity found in some chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) patients could be harnessed in a vaccine....

Interferon-(alpha) Therapy Gets a Boost.
February 13, 2001... 2001 FEB 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- - by Michael Greer, staff medical writer -- The addition of granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) to interferon-(alpha) therapy may augment its effectiveness in some leukemia...

Scientists Uncover How Cancer Metastasizes.
February 13, 2001... 2001 FEB 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers have identified a mechanism by which breast cancer cells metastasize to the lymph nodes and lungs. By blocking this path, the researchers believe it might be possible to prevent...

Killing Cancer Cells By Their Own Sword.
February 13, 2001... 2001 FEB 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) Cancer Center have discovered a way to trick leukemia cells into committing suicide by using the gene that causes the leukemia in the...

Penchant for Developing Drug Resistance is Result of Chromosome Reassortment.
February 13, 2001... 2001 FEB 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A heretical theory about the origins of cancer could explain a longstanding medical mystery: why cancers often become resistant to the drugs used to treat them. The controversial theory, if...

Altered Mental Status in Cancer Patients Reviewed.
February 13, 2001... 2001 FEB 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- - by Maryclaire Lindgren, staff medical writer -- Altered mental status in cancer patients is due to a variety of reasons. R. Tuma, of the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and...

Study Indicates COX-2 Inhibitors Use Curb Cell Proliferation.
February 13, 2001... 2001 FEB 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers have demonstrated that the tumor growth enzyme COX-2 is overexpressed in human pancreatic carcinoma tissue, as they had initially suspected. Furthermore, the study's findings...

Gene Mutations Found that Lead to Cancer in Mice.
February 13, 2001... 2001 FEB 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC), New York, New York, reported that inactivation of just one copy of a gene called PTEN and both copies of a gene called p27 leads to...

Encapsulated Endostatin Shows Promise.(Brief Article)
February 20, 2001... 2001 FEB 20 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, staff medical writer -- Harvard Medical School researchers report that cancer chemotherapies encapsulated in minute microspheres are an effective method for treating some types of...

Targeted Bone Therapy Improves Survival Outcome.(Brief Article)
February 20, 2001... 2001 FEB 20 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Patients responding to chemotherapy for advanced prostate cancer could have increased survival times if specific therapy is targeted at sites of skeletal metastases, oncologists say. Prostate...

Expression of Angiogenesis Inhibitor Suppresses Neuroblastoma Growth.(Brief Article)
February 20, 2001... 2001 FEB 20 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michelle Marble, staff medical writer -- Retrovirus-mediated gene expression of angiogenesis inhibitor flk-1 suppressed neuroblastoma growth in a murine model, researchers from the United States...

Mutation Rate of Epstein-Barr Virus Protein Differs by Ethnicity in NPC Patients.(Brief Article)
February 20, 2001... 2001 FEB 20 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A genetic twist in Epstein-Barr virus-related nasopharyngeal carcinoma has been discovered. University of Toronto researchers found that mutations within the latent membrane protein-1 (LMP1)...

Higher Doses of Chemotherapy in Childhood Increase Chance of Long-Term Infertility.(Brief Article)
February 20, 2001... 2001 FEB 20 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- In a study reflecting the growing interest in the long-term effects of cancer treatment, researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, have found that...

Melphalan/Purine Analog Regimen Can Increase Feasibility.(Brief Article)
February 20, 2001... 2001 FEB 20 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, staff medical writer -- A low-intensity myeloablative regimen involving melphalan and a purine analog can make stem cell transplantation possible for patients otherwise unable to...

Oncogene Spawns Further Mutation in Study.(Brief Article)
February 20, 2001... 2001 FEB 20 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine described how the human myelocytomatosis (MYC) gene can select for spontaneous mutations in other genes - leading to more tumor...

Vitamin C as Cancer Treatment Continues to be Debated.(Brief Article)
February 20, 2001... 2001 FEB 20 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- While it has been known for some time that vitamin C prevents scurvy, just how much of it is necessary for good health remains uncertain. Researchers Sebastian Padayatty and Mark Levine...

Growth-Factor-Based Vaccine Abrogates Angiogenesis and Tumor Formation.(Brief Article)
February 20, 2001... 2001 FEB 20 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michelle Marble, staff medical writer -- Researchers in the United States hope that one day a simple vaccine may help treat certain cancers. "Basic fibroblast growth factor (FGF-2) is an...

Shiga Toxin/Peptide Vaccine Elicits Cytotoxic T-Lymphocyte Responses.(Brief Article)
February 20, 2001... 2001 FEB 20 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michelle Marble, staff medical writer -- Researchers in France have developed a cancer vaccine that works without an adjuvant. "Immunization with peptide or recombinant proteins generally...

Vinegar Plus HPV Test Identifies Women at Risk.(Brief Article)
February 20, 2001... 2001 FEB 20 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A lab test for the human papillomavirus (HPV) combined with a visual inspection of the cervix could identify pre-cancerous lesions and vastly reduce the number of false-positives among women at...

Fatty Liver Blocks Mastastasis.(Brief Article)
February 20, 2001... 2001 FEB 20 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, staff medical writer -- Ironically, a liver condition that is problematic to most individuals can prevent cancer lesions, new research has found. Fatty liver, or hepatic...

Plasminogen Activator System and VEGF Cited in Tumor and Lymphatic Invasion.(Brief Article)
February 20, 2001... 2001 FEB 20 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, staff medical writer -- Scientists now say the plasminogen activator system and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) tend to join forces to increase pathogenicity in...

Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Marks Survival.(Brief Article)
February 20, 2001... 2001 FEB 20 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, staff medical writer -- New research indicates vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is an important marker for survival in patients with endometrial carcinoma. The...

JAK-STAT Signaling Keeps Cancer Cells Alive.(Brief Article)
February 20, 2001... 2001 FEB 20 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Large granular lymphocyte (LGL) leukemia is characterized by the clonal expansion of a T-cell population sharing many similarities with antigen-activated cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs). Unlike...

Phase I Data on Troxacitabine Indicate Therapeutic Activity.(Brief Article)
February 20, 2001... 2001 FEB 20 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- BioChem Pharma Inc. (BCHE; BCH), Laval, Quebec, Canada, announced the publication of a paper regarding Phase I leukemia data on Troxatyl (troxacitabine). Troxatyl is BioChem's investigational...

Progenitor Cells Sensitive to Growth-Factor Induced Maturation.(Brief Article)
February 20, 2001... 2001 FEB 20 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, staff medical writer -- Leukemic stem cells are markedly more sensitive than healthy progenitor cells to the effects of growth factor hormones, according to hematologists in...

Cells Lack Growth Factor Receptors, Escape Inhibitory Signals.(Brief Article)
February 20, 2001... 2001 FEB 20 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, staff medical writer -- Patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are lacking significant levels of a special growth factor receptor on their liver cells. The lack of this...

Radiofrequency Ablation More Effective in Killing Inoperable Tumors.(Brief Article)
February 20, 2001... 2001 FEB 20 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The hottest weapon in the surgeon's arsenal against liver cancer uses heat instead of cold, a shift that could put the freeze on what has been the standard therapy for inoperable tumors. ...

Study Indicates Cytokine Status is Not a Prognostic Indicator.(Brief Article)
February 20, 2001... 2001 FEB 20 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michelle Marble, staff medical writer -- Lung cancer patients have poorer immune profiles than do tuberculosis patients, researchers from Taiwan report. "The present study was designed to...

Toxin Fusion Protein Can Be Effective for Stem Cell Purging.(Brief Article)
February 20, 2001... 2001 FEB 20 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, staff medical writer -- A protein derived from diphtheria toxin is able to effectively and selectively purge bone marrow of leukemic cells in some patients with acute myeloid...

New Generation Vector for BRCA1 Gene Therapy Passes Preclinical Evaluation.(Brief Article)
February 20, 2001... 2001 FEB 20 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michelle Marble, staff medical writer -- A novel vector for ovarian cancer gene therapy deserves serious consideration, researchers in the United States suggest. "The aim of this study was...

High-Dose Chemotherapy Can Impair Hematopoiesis.(Brief Article)
February 20, 2001... 2001 FEB 20 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, staff medical writer -- Cancer patients treated with high-dose chemotherapy may have a reduced ability to replenish blood cells after stem cell transplantation, hematologists in...