Clinical Oncology Week articles from March 2009

Clinical Oncology Week archives from March 2009

Genetic ID of marker in lymph nodes may be linked to colorectal cancer recurrence risk.
March 2, 2009... A preliminary report suggests that genetic testing may help identify a marker in lymph nodes that is associated with an increased risk of colorectal cancer recurrence among patients in whom conventional testing indicates that those lymph nodes...

Tumor suppressor may attenuate fibrotic disease.(Report)
March 2, 2009... New research reveals a critical cellular signaling pathway that is responsible for generating excess connective tissue in multiple organs, similar to what is seen in human patients with scleroderma. The study, published by Cell Press in the...

Researchers find new biomarker for fatal prostate cancer.(Report)
March 2, 2009... New research findings out of Wake Forest University School of Medicine and the University of Wisconsin may help provide some direction for men diagnosed with prostate cancer about whether their cancer is likely to be life-threatening (see also...

A potential molecular target for biotherapy esophageal squamous cell carcinomas.
March 2, 2009... The cadherin superfamily has a correlate relationship with the invasion and metastasis of carcinoma. It has been suggested that, unlike E-cadherin, N-cadherin may promote motility and invasion in carcinoma cells. To explore clinical...

What are the mechanisms of PPAR-gamma-inhibiting pancreatic carcinoma growth?
March 2, 2009... Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPAR-gamma), a member of the family of ligand-activated nuclear receptor transcription factors, is expressed in many human solid tumors. It was reported that activation of PPAR-gamma can inhibit...

Link between unexploded munitions in oceans and cancer-causing toxins determined.
March 2, 2009... During a research trip to Puerto Rico, ecologist James Porter took samples from underwater nuclear bomb target USS Killen, expecting to find evidence of radioactive matter u instead he found a link to cancer. Data revealed that the closer...

Death on film.
March 2, 2009... Death is a subject that is frequently dealt with on film, arousing strong feelings in many viewers. Despite this, film researchers have rarely paid it much attention. Film researcher Andreas Jacobsson at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden...

Patient knowledge of health information influences cancer treatment.
March 9, 2009... A new analysis finds that when colorectal cancer patients seek out health information from the internet and news media, they are more likely to be aware of and receive the latest treatments for their disease. Published in the April 1, 2009...

Enhanced skin cancer risk linked to defects in cellular aging controls.
March 9, 2009... Cell lifespan is limited by telomeres, DNA sequences that cap chromosomes and control the number of times a cell may be copied. A new study reported in Disease Models & Mechanisms (DMM), dmm.biologists.org, describes how telomere dysfunction in...

Crab claws pack strengthening bromide-rich biomaterial.
March 9, 2009... Next time you have an unlucky encounter with a crab's pinchers, consider that the claw tips may be reinforced with bromine-rich biomaterial 1.5 times harder than acrylic glass and extremely fracture resistant, says a University of Oregon...

Non-invasive diagnostic tools for assessment of function and structure of the stomach mucosa.
March 9, 2009... Risks for gastric cancer or peptic ulcer diseases are low in subjects with healthy stomach mucosa but are remarkably high in those with "diseased" stomach mucosa: i.e., in those with H pylori gastritis or atrophic gastritis. Therefore, the...

Research from National Institutes of Health has provided new data on cancer gene therapy.
March 9, 2009... According to recent research from the United States, "The therapeutic use of T cell receptor (TCR)-transduced peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) targeting tumor-associated antigens is emerging as a promising investigational treatment for...

Arsenic and old toenails.
March 9, 2009... Scientists from Leicester and Nottingham have devised a method for identifying levels of exposure to environmental arsenic u by testing toenail clippings (see also University of Leicester). Arsenic occurs naturally in the environment and...

A new soldier in the war on cancer: the blind mole rat.
March 16, 2009... If someone ever calls you a "dirty rat," consider it a compliment. A new discovery published online in the FASEB Journal (http://www.fasebj.org) shows that cellular mechanisms used by the blind mole rat to survive the very low oxygen...

Proepithelin encourages cell growth and migration in prostate cancer.
March 16, 2009... Researchers from Thomas Jefferson University have identified a protein that appears to play a significant role in the growth and migration of prostate cancer cells, especially androgen-independent prostate cancer cells. The study was published...

Breast-Specific Gamma Imaging (BSGI) Offers Greater Sensitivity Over Mammography, Ultrasound and MRI.
March 16, 2009... Breast-Specific Gamma Imaging (BSGI) has been proven to be a highly sensitive imaging technique for the diagnosis of invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC) -- a type of breast cancer that begins in the milk-producing glands (lobules) and then spreads...

Study data from Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Center for Medical Science provide new insights into cancer gene therapy.
March 16, 2009... Scientists discuss in 'Expression of Aurora B and alternative variant forms in hepatocellular carcinoma and adjacent tissue' new findings in cancer gene therapy. According to recent research from Tokyo, Japan, "Surgical resection is the...

University of Alabama, Department of Biology publishes research in cancer gene therapy.(Report)
March 16, 2009... Research findings, 'Strategies targeting telomerase inhibition,' are discussed in a new report. According to a study from the United States, "Telomerase plays a pivotal role in cellular immortality and tumorigenesis. Its activity is normally...

Study: Doctor-patient conversations at end of life associated with lower medical expenses.
March 23, 2009... BOSTON--Few physicians are eager to discuss end-of-life care with their patients. Yet such conversations may result in better quality of life for patients and could lower national healthcare expenditures for cancer care alone by tens of...

Tiny samples could yield big predictive markers for pancreatic cancer.
March 23, 2009... A handful of proteins, detected in incredibly tiny amounts, may one day help doctors distinguish between a harmless lesion in the pancreas and a potentially deadly one, say researchers at Fox Chase Cancer Center (see also Fox Chase Cancer...

Study: Many terminally ill patients feel abandoned by their doctors.
March 23, 2009... Terminally ill patients and their family caregivers often feel abandoned by their doctors and feel a sense of "unfinished business" with them, according to a new study by an oncologist at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance (see also Fred...

Women with BRCA mutation, or worry, most likely to undergo prophylactic mastectomy.
March 23, 2009... HOUSTON Women at increased risk for breast cancer because of the genetic BRCA mutations are more likely to think a prophylactic mastectomy is the best way to reduce their risk for the disease, compared to other women who are at high risk,...

May supplementation of docosahexaenoic acid suppress colon tumor cell growth?
March 23, 2009... Colon cancer is one of the leading causes of death in Western countries. The role of n-3 and n-6 PUFAs in colorectal carcinoma cell growth has not been well studied. It is known that PGE2, generated from AA, is an important factor in the...

Study methods influence estimates of lead time and overdiagnosis in prostate cancer.
March 23, 2009... In prostate cancer, estimates of lead time (how long screening advances diagnosis of cancer) and overdiagnosis (the fraction of cancers detected by screening that would not have been diagnosed during the patient's lifetime without screening)...

What's driving specific patterns of gene expression among cell types?
March 30, 2009... Providing another tool to help to understand gene regulation on a global scale, a nationwide research team has identified and mapped 55,000 enhancers, short regions of DNA that act to enhance or boost the expression of genes. The map, which...

Choices in Cord Blood Banking - Factors Influencing Parental Decision Making Uses End-User Surveys of Expectant Parents and Technology-Derived Data.
March 30, 2009... Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/b86617/choices_in_cord_bl) has announced the addition of the "Choices in Cord Blood Banking - Factors Influencing Parental Decision Making" report to their offering (see also...

New data from J. Altomonte et al illuminate research in stomatitis.
March 30, 2009... "Recombinant oncolytic viruses represent a promising alternative option for the treatment of malignant cancers. We have reported earlier the safety and efficacy of recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) vectors in a rat model of...

New findings in cancer gene therapy described from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.
March 30, 2009... New investigation results, 'Simultaneous haploinsufficiency of Pten and Trp53 tumor suppressor genes accelerates tumorigenesis in a mouse model of prostate cancer,' are detailed in a study published in Differentiation. "Tumor suppressor gene...

Reports from University of Pais Vasco advance knowledge in cancer gene therapy.(Report)
March 30, 2009... Research findings, 'Identification of (1H)-pyrroles as histone deacetylase inhibitors with antitumoral activity,' are discussed in a new report. "Histone deacetylases (HDACs) play a key role in the regulation of gene expression and chromatin...

Preventium is 'where the prevention of breast and prostate cancer begins'.
March 30, 2009... LAS VEGAS --Dr. Ercole Cavalieri and Dr. Eleanor Rogen of the University of Nebraska Medical Center, Eppley Institute for Research in Cancer, located in Omaha, Nebraska, have identified the triggering mechanism by which breast and prostate...