Newsroom
3/28/2011
A study of over 800 prostate cancer patients showed that a short course of anti-androgen therapy was able to boost survival and reduce the spread of locally advanced cancer to distant locations in the body. The research showed that 6 months of therapy was sufficient whereas 3 months did not have… more
3/28/2011
Tamoxifen is hormonal treatment for estrogen responsive breast cancer. Although tamoxifen is an older drug, and newer ways of blocking the activity or production of estrogen have been developed, a new study suggests that the benefits of taking it may go beyond cancer. The study found that taking… more
3/24/2011
Tamoxifen is a drug that blocks the activity of the female hormone, estrogen. It is used to both treat and prevent breast cancer. New research on the use of tamoxifen as a cancer prevention agent in women under the age of 55 showed that it was effective, and for those at high risk of developiong… more
3/24/2011
Researchers looking at a large sample of primary liver cancer samples and liver cancer cell lines were able to identify fibroblast growth factor 19 (FGF19) as a gene that was frequently present in too many copies. Abnormal copying of genes (gene amplification) is common in many cancer types, but… more
3/24/2011
When cancer spreads to other parts of the body from an initial site, the cells have to crawl over/past their neighbors and cut a path through the fibrous proteins surrounding them. To accomplish this, the cells form extensions called invadopodia (from invasion and foot).
Researchers have… more
3/20/2011
Cancer prevention by normal dietary items or dietary supplements is an active area of research. Selenium is an element that is found in the body in trace amounts. It is incorporated into proteins and is involved in the activity of some enzymes. Selenium has previously been examined for its… more
3/20/2011
The removal of unwanted proteins is an important regulator of cell behavior. Some proteins are marked for destruction by being linked to another protein, ubiquitin. Once they are tagged, proteins are fed into an intracellular 'garbage disposal' called a proteasome.
Cop1 is a protein that helps to… more
3/20/2011
The targeted cancer treatment trastuzmab (Herceptin®) is used to treat breast cancer with elevated levels of a growth factor receptor, ErbB2. A major problem with Herceptin® treatment is the development of drug resistanct. New research has identified a major culprit in the development of this… more
3/18/2011
The majority of cancer-related deaths are caused by metastasis, a process in which cancer cells leave the primary tumor site and grow in other parts of the body. The bloodstream functions like a highway for many metastases, and physicians face the difficult task of monitoring the spread of the… more
3/18/2011
Cancer drug candidates may be obtained from one of two sources: naturally occurring compounds or synthetically produced compounds. Researchers at the Scripps Research Institute have utilized the positive effects of both approaches to create dozens of new compounds that may potentially aid in the… more
3/18/2011
Triptolide has long been used as an ingredient in Chinese herbal therapy. The source of the chemical, a plant commonly referred to as lei gong teng or “thunder god vine,” has proven to work both as an anti-inflammatory and as an anti-tumor drug. Precisely how triptolide functions, was unknown, but… more
3/18/2011
The effectiveness of chemotherapy drugs is often limited by their capacity to penetrate their target cells. Unfortunately, tumor cells do not always make this process easy. Many have layers of thick oligosaccharide mucin chains, and these provide a physical barrier to the drugs. A recent study… more
3/12/2011
When cancer metastasizes, or spreads from its original site to other parts of the body, the chances of fatality increase dramatically. Physicians keep this fact in mind when advising patients on the best treatment options. Most head and neck cancer can be treated without operating on the lymph… more
3/12/2011
Many anti-cancer therapies work by using the body's own pathways to trigger programmed cell death (apoptosis). Many cancers, however, become resistant to anti-cancer drugs by modifying downstream events. Researchers of an article presented in Cancer Gene Therapy, however, have created a genetically… more
3/12/2011
During development, the intestinal tract needs to grow asymmetrically. If it cannot, an infant is born with an intestinal birth defect. While studying this phenomenon, researchers at North Carolina State University discovered the compound heterotaxin, which not only causes intestinal birth defects… more
3/10/2011
Oncogenes are genes that have undergone a mutation that allows cells to survive and proliferate beyond the normal restrictions the body has in place. MYC and RAS are two oncogenes common in many types of cancer, but these genes alone are usually not enough to promote the development of cancer. This… more
3/9/2011
Melanoma is the most aggressive form of skin cancer and causes the most deaths. It is especially important to catch the cancer early to ensure effective treatment. Tissue biopsies, which involve the removal of unusual moles and other skin abnormalities, are today's standard method of detection. Out… more
3/9/2011
In order to get good information on who gets cancer and to advance research, it is important that accurate and timely records be kept by physicians. This action ensures accurate dates of diagnosis and referrals, and it is integral for separating accurate diagnoses from false ones. A study in the… more
3/9/2011
The use of information stored in our genes is tightly controlled. The active use of a gene (called gene expression) is involves the production of RNA based on the DNA code (transcription) into messenger RNA (mRNA). This mRNA is then 'read' and used to produce proteins via a four-step process… more
3/8/2011
A phase II study of advanced cancer patients showed that administration of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) lead to improvements in the patients' senses of smell and taste. The treated patients also had increased appetites and reported feeling more relaxed. THC is the active component of… more
Top