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Scientists identify strong link between beclin 1 gene and triple-negative breast cancer

UT Southwestern Medical Center scientists have identified a strong link between the most aggressive type of breast cancer and a gene that regulates the body's natural cellular recycling process, called autophagy.

30 Jan 2015

Alectinib active against leptomeningeal metastases in ALK-positive NSCLC

Patients with anaplastic lymphoma kinase-rearranged non-small-cell lung cancer who have leptomeningeal metastases may benefit from treatment with the second-generation ALK inhibitor alectinib, a case series suggests.

28 Jan 2015

Plasma EGFR mutation cfDNA predicts advanced lung cancer outcome

Monitoring plasma cell-free DNA levels of epidermal growth factor receptor mutations may indicate prognosis for patients with lung adenocarcinoma after EGFR–tyrosine kinase inhibitor therapy, research suggests.

28 Jan 2015

EGFR–TKI response worse in NSCLC patients with rare EGFR mutations

In patients with non-small-cell lung cancer, rare epidermal growth factor receptor mutations are associated with a poorer response to EGFR–tyrosine kinase inhibitors compared with frequently occurring ones, according to a study published in Lung Cancer.

28 Jan 2015

Inhibiting CDK6 protein prevents leukemic stem cells

Despite enormous progress in cancer therapy, many patients still relapse because their treatment addresses the symptoms of the disease rather than the cause, the so-called stem cells. Work in the group of Veronika Sexl at the University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna has given a tantalizing clue to a solution.

28 Jan 2015

HCI researchers find cell mechanism that may trigger pancreatic cancer

Researchers at Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah have found that defects in how cells are squeezed out of overcrowded tissue to die, a process called extrusion, may be a mechanism by which pancreatic cancer begins. From these findings, they may have identified an effective way to reverse the defective extrusion's effects without destroying normal tissues nearby.

28 Jan 2015

Researchers explore KRAS pathway to find potential target for treating lung cancer

Despite the promise of the gene KRAS as a target for treating lung cancer, finding effective therapies has been challenging. Now researchers are traveling down the pathway to find what makes KRAS cancerous.

28 Jan 2015

TSRI scientists find drug candidates that can prevent degeneration of brain cells in Parkinson's

In a pair of related studies, scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute have shown their drug candidates can target biological pathways involved in the destruction of brain cells in Parkinson's disease.

28 Jan 2015

Listeria poses pregnancy risk

A gut bacterium called Listeria (Listeria monocytogenes), which is often found in soft cheese, is known to present a risk to pregnant women. Listeria uses distinct tactics to breach the intestine and the placenta, using a protein called phosphoinositide-3 kinase (PI3-K), according to a study published in The Journal of Experimental Medicine.

27 Jan 2015

Yale researcher receives 2015 Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Biomedicine

A Spanish foundation has awarded a major scientific prize to Yale researcher Joseph Schlessinger and two colleagues in recognition of their work leading to the first personalized treatments for cancer. The 2015 Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Biomedicine from the Madrid-based BBVA Foundation includes a €400,000 cash prize.

27 Jan 2015

UNC researchers discover how two genes interact to trigger worst form of ovarian cancer

In the battle against ovarian cancer, UNC School of Medicine researchers have created the first mouse model of the worst form of the disease and found a potential route to better treatments and much-needed diagnostic screens.

27 Jan 2015

PKC enzymes categorized as cancer promoters are actually tumor suppressors

Upending decades-old dogma, a team of scientists at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine say enzymes long categorized as promoting cancer are, in fact, tumor suppressors and that current clinical efforts to develop inhibitor-based drugs should instead focus on restoring the enzymes' activities.

23 Jan 2015

Scientists identify new molecular pathway that controls axonal degeneration following injury

Axons connect neurons with each other to form the neural networks that underpin the vital functions of perception, motility, cognition, and memory. In many neurodegenerative disorders, from traumatic injury or toxic damage to diseases such as Alzheimer's or Parkinson's disease, axonal degeneration represents an essential pathological feature.

23 Jan 2015

MET amplified in NSCLC irrespective of type, genetic background

A third of non-small-cell lung cancers show low- to high-level amplification of the MET gene, according to a German study, with no significant difference in frequency across different types of cancer and genetic backgrounds.

20 Jan 2015

Rare, complex EGFR mutations adversely affect EGFR–TKI treatment outcomes

Individuals with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer who have rare or complex epidermal growth factor receptor mutations have inferior outcomes in response to EGFR–tyrosine kinase inhibitor treatment compared with those with common mutations, research indicates.

20 Jan 2015

U-M researchers identify how amlexanox drug improves metabolism of sugar

Researchers at the University of Michigan have identified how a promising drug in clinical trials for the treatment of obesity and related metabolic disorders improves the metabolism of sugar by generating a new signal between fat cells and the liver.

13 Jan 2015

EGFR mutations, ALK translocations not mutually exclusive in NSCLC

Researchers from the Republic of Korea have found that epidermal growth factor receptor mutations and anaplastic lymphoma kinase translocations can occur concomitantly in a proportion of patients with non-small-cell lung cancer.

12 Jan 2015

PF-114 shows promise in therapy-resistant CML, Ph-positive ALL

PF-114, a selective tyrosine kinase inhibitor, is active against native and mutated forms of the BCR–ABL oncogene in Philadelphia chromosome-positive leukaemias, according to preclinical cellular and in vivo results published in Leukemia.

12 Jan 2015

Blast phase characteristics differ in TKI-, non-TKI–treated CML patients

Features of the blast phase, such as blast cell morphology and accompanying cytogenetic changes, vary between chronic myeloid leukaemia patients who received tyrosine kinase inhibitor therapy and those treated in the pre-TKI era, research shows.

12 Jan 2015

QIAGEN's circulating tumor DNA test CE-IVD marked to assess genomic mutation NSCLC patients

QIAGEN announced today the CE-IVD marking of its novel liquid biopsy-based companion diagnostic that analyzes circulating nucleic acids obtained from blood samples to assess an important genomic mutation in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the most common form of this cancer.

From QIAGEN Manchester Limited 12 Jan 2015