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Study shows CMEs can predict risk of cancer in type 2 diabetes patients

Certain chromosomal abnormalities of the preleukemic type appear to be over-represented in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) who are suffering from vascular complications. This finding may provide a partial explanation for the higher rates of cancer-related mortality observed among patients with this type of diabetes.

18 Jul 2013

TAp73 protein frequently overexpressed in wide range of human tumors

They say you can pick your friends, but not your family. The same may hold true for related proteins. The protein TAp73 is a relative of the well-known, tumor-suppressor protein p53. It shares extensive common gene sequences with p53 and, as suggested by some previous studies, it may function similar to p53 to prevent tumor formation.

17 Jul 2013

Progress made in understanding Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension

The next step has been made into isolating the origin of cells linked to the progressive disorder Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension.

17 Jul 2013

Recent advances put melanoma at the forefront of cancer research

A decade ago there was little doctors could do to help a patient with advanced-stage melanoma. Now it seems each week yields important new discoveries about the deadly skin cancer.

17 Jul 2013

Some strains of avian H7N9 influenza develop resistance to antiviral drugs

Some strains of the avian H7N9 influenza that emerged in China this year have developed resistance to the only antiviral drugs available to treat the infection, but testing for antiviral resistance can give misleading results, helping hasten the spread of resistant strains.

17 Jul 2013

Study identifies new therapeutic targets for Huntington's disease

A scientific study describes that GluN3A subunits of NMDA receptors that interact with glutamate —the main exciting neurotransmitter in the nervous system— are therapeutic targets against Huntington's disease.

16 Jul 2013

Discovery of hybrid cells in human melanoma

The University of Colorado Cancer Center along with Yale University and the Denver Crime Lab report in the journal PLOS ONE the first proof of cancer's ability to fuse with blood cells in a way that gives cancer the ability to travel, allowing previously stationary cancer cells to enter the bloodstream and seed sites of metastasis around the body.

16 Jul 2013

CUMC researchers develop new approach to tailor cancer therapy for individual patient

Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) researchers are developing a new approach to cancer clinical trials, in which therapies are designed and tested one patient at a time.

16 Jul 2013

FDA approves Gilotrif for patients with late stage non-small cell lung cancer

Companion test also approved to identify appropriate patients The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Gilotrif (afatinib) for patients with late stage (metastatic) non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) whose tumors express specific types of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene mutations, as detected by an FDA-approved test. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death among men and women.

16 Jul 2013

Scientists discover how BRCA1 gene mutations predispose women to breast and ovarian cancers

Scientists led by Drs. Mona Gauthier and Tak Mak at The Campbell Family Institute for Breast Cancer Research at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre have solved a key piece in the puzzle of how BRCA1 gene mutations specifically predispose women to breast and ovarian cancers.

16 Jul 2013

Proteins involved in immunity produce cancer-causing DNA mutations, study finds

A set of proteins involved in the body's natural defenses produces a large number of mutations in human DNA, according to a study led by researchers at the National Institutes of Health. The findings suggest that these naturally produced mutations are just as powerful as known cancer-causing agents in producing tumors.

15 Jul 2013

FDA approves QIAGEN’s therascreen EGFR test as companion diagnostic for NSCLC patients

QIAGEN N.V. (NASDAQ: QGEN; Frankfurt Prime Standard: QIA) today announced it has received approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to market the therascreen EGFR test as a companion diagnostic to guide the use of Boehringer Ingelheim's new targeted therapy, GILOTRIF™ (afatinib), for treatment of metastatic NSCLC in patients whose tumors have certain EGFR gene mutations.

From QIAGEN Manchester Limited 15 Jul 2013

Researchers discover that APOBEC3B is important cancer mutagen

Researchers at the University of Minnesota have discovered that a human antiviral enzyme causes DNA mutations that lead to several forms of cancer.

15 Jul 2013

Genetic abnormality linked to cancer four times more common in people with type 2 diabetes

A type of genetic abnormality linked to cancer is more common in people with type 2 diabetes than the rest of the population, a new study has found.

15 Jul 2013

Researchers identify important component for regulating stem cell niches

Proper tissue function and regeneration is supported by stem cells, which reside in so-called niches. New work from Carnegie's Yixian Zheng and Haiyang Chen identifies an important component for regulating stem cell niches, with impacts on tissue building and function. The results could have implications for disease research. It is published by Cell Stem Cell.

15 Jul 2013

Genome sequencing promises to identify rare mutations that give rise to autism

An international consortium, consisting of Autism Speaks, Duke University School of Medicine, The Hospital for Sick Children of Toronto, BGI and other institutes, has investigated the genetic variants in 32 families with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

12 Jul 2013

Novel therapeutic approach prevents dengue virus replication by artificial microRNAs

Mosquito-borne dengue viruses cause an estimated 50 million cases of human dengue fever a year and are a significant public health threat worldwide. A novel therapeutic approach prevents dengue virus from reproducing in humans by targeting and silencing key regions of the dengue genome essential for viral replication.

12 Jul 2013

Alnylam releases positive top-line data from ALN-TTRsc Phase I trial for TTR-mediated amyloidosis

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a leading RNAi therapeutics company, announced today positive top-line results from its ongoing Phase I trial of ALN-TTRsc, a subcutaneously administered RNAi therapeutic targeting the transthyretin gene for the treatment of TTR-mediated amyloidosis.

12 Jul 2013

Researchers identify receptor mutation that blocked estrogen action in young woman

A receptor mutation that essentially blocks estrogen's action has been identified for the first time a female, researchers report.

12 Jul 2013

New discoveries about skin cancer

We've heard the warning many times before: wear sunscreen or cover up before going out into the sun. It's an alert worth paying attention to; the American Cancer Society expects 460 new cases to be diagnosed in 2013 in New Mexico alone. Now Marianne Berwick, PhD, and her international team of melanoma researchers support these warnings with some interesting discoveries about skin cancer.

11 Jul 2013