Oncogene News and Research

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An oncogene is a gene that, when mutated or expressed at high levels, helps turn a normal cell into a tumor cell.

BRAF mutation associated with other cancers appears to drive papillary craniopharyngiomas

A team led by investigators from Massachusetts General Hospital, Brigham and Women's Hospital and the Broad Institute has found that a gene mutation associated with several types of cancer also may be responsible for a rare but debilitating brain tumor called papillary craniopharyngioma.

13 Jan 2014

Synta initiates three multicenter trials to evaluate ganetespib with chemotherapy for AML and MDS

Synta Pharmaceuticals Corp. today announced the initiation of three multicenter, randomized trials supported by the Leukemia & Lymphoma Research Fund and Cancer Research UK, evaluating ganetespib in combination with chemotherapy in first-line treatment of patients with AML and high risk MDS.

10 Jan 2014

IDMC recommends early stopping of Phase 3 study of ibrutinib in treatment of CLL/SLL

Janssen-Cilag International NV today announced the early stopping of PCYC-1112-CA, the Phase 3 study of ibrutinib in the treatment of Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia and Small Lymphocytic Lymphoma, based on the recommendation of an Independent Data Monitoring Committee, which concluded that the study showed a significant difference in progression-free survival as compared to the control, the primary endpoint of the study.

8 Jan 2014

Study suggests new target for drugs to treat head and neck tumors

The increased activation of a key oncogene in head and neck cancers could be the result of mutation and dysfunction of regulatory proteins that are supposed to keep the gene, which has the potential to cause cancer, in check, according to a new study led by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

7 Jan 2014

Study suggests that ROR1 could be an important therapeutic target for patients with CLL

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine report that an oncogene dubbed ROR1, found on chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) B cells but not normal adult tissues, acts as an accelerant when combined with another oncogene, resulting in a faster-developing, more aggressive form of CLL in mice.

3 Jan 2014

Researchers complete genomic analysis of cervical cancer in two patient populations

Researchers from the Boston area, Mexico, and Norway have completed a comprehensive genomic analysis of cervical cancer in two patient populations. The study identified recurrent genetic mutations not previously found in cervical cancer, including at least one for which targeted treatments have been approved for other forms of cancer.

25 Dec 2013

Researchers investigate how androgen receptors affect prostate cancer progression

Approximately 1 out of every 6 American men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer, and this year alone there are expected to be nearly a quarter of a million new cases diagnosed, making prostate cancer the most common malignancy among men in the United States. Center for Nuclear Receptors & Cell Signaling Assistant Professor Daniel Frigo and his research team recently published a study investigating the processes through which androgen receptors affect prostate cancer progression.

22 Dec 2013

Study reveals that K-Ras gene mutations behave in ways that subvert normal mechanisms of cell death

Cells with a mutation in the gene called K-Ras—found in close to 30 percent of all cancers, but mostly those with worst prognosis, such as pancreatic cancer, colon cancer, and lung cancer—behave in ways that subvert the normal mechanisms of cell death, according to a cell-culture study by researchers from Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) at the University of Utah.

20 Dec 2013

Genetically targeted drugs used for lung cancer may also have applications in colorectal cancer patients

A University of Colorado Cancer Center study published online ahead of print in the journal Molecular Cancer Research shows that ALK and ROS1 gene rearrangements known to drive subsets of lung cancer are also present in some colorectal cancers. These results imply that drugs used to target ALK and ROS1 in lung cancer may also have applications in this subset of colorectal cancer patients.

17 Dec 2013

PKM2 protein controls mitosis, saving cancer cells from death and promoting brain tumor growth

Researchers have caught a protein they previously implicated in a variety of cancer-promoting roles performing a vital function in cell division, survival and development of brain tumors.

8 Dec 2013

Researchers discover biological mechanism that allows brain tumor cells to escape from drugs

Researchers from UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center have discovered a biological mechanism that allows brain tumor cells to escape from the drugs designed to target them, resulting in drug resistance. The study was published in the December 5, 2013 online issue of Science.

6 Dec 2013

Researchers produce erythrocyte progenitor cells by transducing two genes into iPS and ES cells

By transducing two genes (c-MYC and BCL-XL) into iPS cells and ES cells, a Kyoto University research team led by Prof. Koji Eto at CiRA has succeeded in producing erythrocyte progenitor cells with almost unlimited ability to replicate in vitro, which they then differentiated successfully into mature erythrocytes. Although these erythrocytes consisted mostly of fetal-type hemoglobin, they were confirmed to have oxygen-carrying capacity and to have circulatory capacity following transfusion into mice.

6 Dec 2013

Study reveals that brain cancer cells resist therapy by dialing down gene mutation targeted by drugs

A team of scientists, led by principal investigator Paul S. Mischel, MD, a member of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research and professor in the Department of Pathology at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, has found that brain cancer cells resist therapy by dialing down the gene mutation targeted by drugs, then re-amplify that growth-promoting mutation after therapy has stopped.

6 Dec 2013

Researchers take closer look at genetically engineered mouse models and human cancer samples

Researchers from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, WA have taken a closer look at existing mouse models of cancer, specifically comparing them to human cancer samples. These genetically engineered mouse models (which usually either overexpress a cancer-causing gene-or "oncogene"-or carry a deletion for a "tumor suppressor" gene) have been extensively used to understand human cancer biology in studies of drug resistance, early detection, metastasis, and cancer prevention, as well as for the preclinical development of novel targeted therapeutics.

6 Dec 2013

CSHL identifies specific stretch of DNA that helps cancerous blood cells to proliferate in AML

A team of researchers at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) has identified a leukemia-specific stretch of DNA called an enhancer element that enables cancerous blood cells to proliferate in Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML), a devastating cancer that is incurable in 70% of patients.

27 Nov 2013

Researchers reveal why some breast cancer cells are resistant to chemotherapy

Researchers at the UNC School of Medicine, working with cell lines in a lab, have discovered why some of the most aggressive and fatal breast cancer cells are resistant to chemotherapy, and UNC scientists are developing ways to overcome such resistance.

26 Nov 2013

Two separate studies yield key findings for prevention, diagnosis, treatment and cure for AML

26 Nov 2013

Researchers identify potential therapeutic target in treatment of certain AML

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a group of heterogeneous diseases with considerable diversity in terms of genetic abnormalities. Mutations of CEBPA, a tumour suppressor, are found in about 10 per cent of human AML patients. In two separate studies on CEBPA mutations in AML subtypes, researchers successfully identified and validated a gene known as Sox4 as a potential therapeutic target and a class of anti-cancer drugs, histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors, as potential candidates in the treatment of certain AML.

25 Nov 2013

Manipulating PRH protein can help prevent cancer cells from unnecessary migration

Understanding how and why cancer cells move away from their original location is important to find ways to stop the spread of the disease. New findings, published in the Nature journal Oncogene, reveal how a protein, called 'PRH', is normally able to prevent cells from unnecessary migration. It is likely that this protein is less effective in cancer cells allowing the cells to venture away.

19 Nov 2013

Obese women face increased risk of developing aggressive sub-type of breast cancer

Women who are obese face an increased risk of developing an aggressive sub-type of breast cancer known as 'basal-like', according to research conducted at the University of North Carolina.

19 Nov 2013

Oncogene News and Research

Further Reading

BRAF mutation associated with other cancers appears to drive papillary craniopharyngiomas

Synta initiates three multicenter trials to evaluate ganetespib with chemotherapy for AML and MDS

IDMC recommends early stopping of Phase 3 study of ibrutinib in treatment of CLL/SLL

Study suggests new target for drugs to treat head and neck tumors

Study suggests that ROR1 could be an important therapeutic target for patients with CLL

Researchers complete genomic analysis of cervical cancer in two patient populations

Researchers investigate how androgen receptors affect prostate cancer progression

Study reveals that K-Ras gene mutations behave in ways that subvert normal mechanisms of cell death

Genetically targeted drugs used for lung cancer may also have applications in colorectal cancer patients

PKM2 protein controls mitosis, saving cancer cells from death and promoting brain tumor growth

Researchers discover biological mechanism that allows brain tumor cells to escape from drugs

Researchers produce erythrocyte progenitor cells by transducing two genes into iPS and ES cells

Study reveals that brain cancer cells resist therapy by dialing down gene mutation targeted by drugs

Researchers take closer look at genetically engineered mouse models and human cancer samples

CSHL identifies specific stretch of DNA that helps cancerous blood cells to proliferate in AML

Researchers reveal why some breast cancer cells are resistant to chemotherapy

Two separate studies yield key findings for prevention, diagnosis, treatment and cure for AML

Researchers identify potential therapeutic target in treatment of certain AML

Manipulating PRH protein can help prevent cancer cells from unnecessary migration

Obese women face increased risk of developing aggressive sub-type of breast cancer

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