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.

Study compares adoptive T-cell therapy with drug-based cancer treatment

In the treatment of large tumors, how effective is adoptive T cell therapy in comparison to drug-based cancer treatment? To answer this question, Dr. Kathleen Anders and Professor Thomas Blankenstein of the Max Delbr-ck Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch and researchers of the Beckman Research Institute of the City of Hope Cancer Center in Duarte, California, USA designed and carried out a study comparing the two methods. Based on a mouse cancer model, the researchers elucidated the mechanisms of the two different treatments.

18 Jan 2012

Scientists identify hepsin protein's role in breast cancer

Cancers rarely are deadly unless they evolve the ability to grow beyond the tissues in which they first arise. Normally, cells -- even early-stage tumor cells -- are tethered to scaffolding that helps to restrain any destructive tendencies. But scientists from the University of Helsinki, Finland, and from UCSF have identified a cleaver-wielding protein that frees some tumor cells, allowing them to further misbehave.

18 Jan 2012

Study shows how Notch gene and PRC2 protein complex work together to cause T-ALL

A new study published in the journal Nature Medicine by NYU Cancer Institute researchers, shows how the cancer causing gene Notch, in combination with a mutated Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 (PRC2) protein complex, work together to cause T- cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

13 Jan 2012

Celldex begins rindopepimut and Avastin Phase 2 combination trial in EGFRvIII-positive GB

Celldex Therapeutics, Inc. today announced that patient screening has initiated in a Phase 2 trial of rindopepimut in combination with Avastin in patients with recurrent epidermal growth factor variant III (EGFRvIII)-positive glioblastoma, called the "ReACT Study."

5 Jan 2012

Scientists discover N-cadherin as promising therapeutic target for pancreatic cancer

Often, and without much warning, pancreatic cancer cells slip through the endothelial cells, head into the blood and out to other parts of the body to metastasize, making it one of the deadliest and hardest to treat cancers today.

22 Dec 2011

Researchers discover miR-520 blocks cancer-promoting signaling pathway

MicroRNAs or miRNAs are tiny RNA molecules that have only about 20 nucleotides and do not code for proteins. They regulate many important processes in cells by binding to target messenger RNAs - the instructions for protein production -, thus blocking production of the respective protein. In cancer, the production of some miRNAs is often reduced or amplified. This particularly affects miRNAs that regulate the activity of cancer-promoting genes.

17 Dec 2011

NYUCI experts present latest research findings about hematologic cancers at 53rd ASH meeting

Experts from the NYU Cancer Institute, an NCI-designated cancer center at NYU Langone Medical Center, presented their latest research findings about hematologic cancers at the 53rd ASH Annual Meeting and Exposition held December 10-13, 2011 in San Diego, California.

14 Dec 2011

Initial results from whole-genome sequencing trial for triple negative breast cancer

Initial results from an ongoing clinical trial, the first designed to examine the utility of whole-genome sequencing for triple negative breast cancer, were reported today during the CRTC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.

9 Dec 2011

Scientists discover clues to the pancreatic cysts' possible origins

Scientists at Johns Hopkins have surveyed the DNA in four common types of pancreatic cysts, and have determined that each type bears a distinct pattern of gene mutations. Pancreatic cysts are present in about two percent of U.S. adults, and can, in some cases, require surgical removal and microscopic analysis to determine their type and likelihood of turning cancerous.

8 Dec 2011

Genetic variation predicts survival chances of ovarian cancer

Yale Cancer Center researchers have shown that a tiny genetic variation predicts chances of survival and response to treatment for patients with ovarian cancer.

5 Dec 2011

Researchers uncover binding pocket of 'functional significance' in Ras oncoprotein

A drug discovery team at Genentech, Inc., has uncovered a chink in the molecular armor of Ras, the most commonly occurring oncogene, which is a gene that when mutated has the potential of causing cancer in humans.

5 Dec 2011

Celldex launches rindopepimut Phase 3 trial in EGFRvIII-positive glioblastoma

Celldex Therapeutics, Inc. today announced that it has launched a pivotal, randomized, double-blind, controlled Phase 3 trial of rindopepimut in patients with surgically resected epidermal growth factor variant III (EGFRvIII)-positive glioblastoma, the "ACT IV Study."

1 Dec 2011

Joslin study uncovers potential targets for soft-tissue sarcomas

Scientists at Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston have uncovered important molecular and genetic keys to the development of soft-tissue sarcomas in skeletal muscle, giving researchers and clinicians additional targets to stop the growth of these often deadly tumors.

30 Nov 2011

Study explores critical role of 14-3-3σ in halting breast cancer progression

New research out of McGill University's Goodman Cancer Research Centre provides compelling new evidence that a gene known as 14-3-3σ plays a critical role in halting breast cancer initiation and progression.

30 Nov 2011

Study reveals PEA-15 protein can enhance cancer cell proliferation

A new study from the University of Hawaii Cancer Center reveals that PEA-15, a protein previously shown to slow ovarian tumor growth and metastasis, can alternatively enhance tumor formation in kidney cells carrying a mutation in a cancer-promoting gene called H-Ras.

22 Nov 2011

Consistent data from three studies support plans for rindopepimut with ACT IV Phase 3 study

Celldex Therapeutics, Inc. today announced the presentation of mature overall survival (OS) data for ACT III, a multi-center, single arm, Phase 2 clinical trial of rindopepimut (CDX-110) in patients with newly diagnosed EGFRvIII-positive glioblastoma (GB).

21 Nov 2011

Aurora kinase inhibitor may treat neuroendocrine prostate cancer

An international team of researchers led by clinicians at Weill Cornell Medical College have discovered a genetic Achilles' heel in an aggressive type of prostate cancer -- a vulnerability they say can be attacked by a targeted drug that is already in clinical trials to treat other types of cancers.

17 Nov 2011

Amplification of ALK gene may drive rapid breast cancer metastasis

Amplification of anaplastic lymphoma kinase, which has been reported in other cancers such as non-small cell lung cancers, may be a primary driver of the rapid metastasis that patients with inflammatory breast cancer experience.

14 Nov 2011

Novel gene mutation may increase risk of inherited and sporadic cases of MM

A major international study has identified a novel gene mutation that appears to increase the risk of both inherited and sporadic cases of malignant melanoma, the most deadly form of skin cancer.

14 Nov 2011

Johns Hopkins researchers unravel how breast cancer metastasizes

The spread of breast cancer is responsible for more than 90 percent of breast cancer deaths. Now, the process by which it spreads—or metastasizes—has been unraveled by researchers at Johns Hopkins. Reporting in two papers, the researchers have discovered the switch that enables breast cancer cells to travel to and be received in the lungs.

9 Nov 2011