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Mutations signaling poor neuroblastoma prognosis identified

Children with neuroblastoma who have mutations in the ARID1A and ARID1B genes in their tumors have a poor prognosis compared with those without these alterations, show study findings.

4 Dec 2012

Selumetinib plus docetaxel shows KRAS-mutant NSCLC potential

The addition of selumetinib to docetaxel therapy may boost the survival of patients with KRAS-mutant non-small-cell lung cancer, suggest study findings published in The Lancet Oncology.

3 Dec 2012

Scientists identify 15 new genetic regions associated with coronary artery disease

Fifteen new genetic regions associated with coronary artery disease have been identified by a large, international consortium of scientists - including researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine - taking a significant step forward in understanding the root causes of this deadly disease. The new research brings the total number of validated genetic links with heart disease discovered through genome-wide association studies to 46.

3 Dec 2012

Children with changes in bully genes have poor survival

In a genome sequencing study of 74 neuroblastoma tumors in children, scientists at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center and the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) found that patients with changes in two genes, ARID1A and ARID1B, survive only a quarter as long as patients without the changes. The discovery could eventually lead to early identification of patients with aggressive neuroblastomas who may need additional treatments.

3 Dec 2012

Scientists discover how humans and mammals develop intelligence

Scientists have discovered for the first time how humans - and other mammals - have evolved to have intelligence.

3 Dec 2012

Scientists sequence DNA of biopsied tissue from colon polyps

The causes underlying the development of certain types of common cancers have not yet been elucidated. In order to better determine the origin and the sequence of events responsible for the onset of colon cancer, the teams led by Thanos Halazonetis and Stylianos Antonarakis, professors at the University of Geneva (UNIGE), Switzerland, have sequenced the DNA of biopsied tissue from colon polyps.

2 Dec 2012

Researchers uncover molecular structure of master regulator central to melanoma

With the X-ray vision of DESY's light source DORIS, a research team from Hamburg and Iceland has uncovered the molecular structure of a master regulator central to the most deadly form of skin cancer, melanoma.

1 Dec 2012

New genetic study defines biology behind brain developmental disorder in children

This study describes how a combination of sequencing and mouse models were used to identify the gene responsible for a brain developmental disorder seen in four patients.

1 Dec 2012

Membrane-proximal external region of HIV could be used to design vaccines

Beatriz Apellaniz, PhD holder of the UPV/EHU-University of the Basque Country, has studied in her PhD thesis HIV regions that could be used to design a vaccine. The researcher has focussed her research on a specific region of the surface protein of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), which is responsible for the Autoimmune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), one of the diseases with the greatest human morbidity and mortality.

30 Nov 2012

Research examines tumor-initiating events that lead to pancreatic cancer

A diagnosis of pancreatic cancer is particularly devastating since the prognosis for recovery is usually poor, with the cancer most often not detected until late stages.

30 Nov 2012

Combination of chemotherapy and selumetinib shows promise against NSCLC

A new study by an international team of investigators led by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute scientists is the first to demonstrate that chemotherapy and a new, targeted therapy work better in combination than chemotherapy alone in treating patients with the most common genetic subtype of lung cancer.

30 Nov 2012

Fn14 gene plays a role in growth and spread of non-small cell lung cancer tumors

Lung cancer researchers at St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix, Ariz., in collaboration with researchers at the Translational Genomics Research Institute and other institutions, have identified a gene that plays a role in the growth and spread of non-small cell lung cancer tumors, opening the door for potential new treatment options.

30 Nov 2012

UBE3B gene linked to brain development disorder in children

Researchers have defined the gene responsible for a rare developmental disorder in children. The team showed that rare variation in a gene involved in brain development causes the disorder. This is the first time that this gene, UBE3B, has been linked to a disease.

30 Nov 2012

Epizyme to present data from DOT1L and EZH2 inhibitor programs at 54th ASH annual meeting

Epizyme, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company leading the creation of personalized therapeutics to treat patients with genetically defined cancers, today announced the presentation of data evaluating the preclinical safety and efficacy of two of the Company's novel, potent and selective small molecule inhibitors. These inhibitors individually target DOT1L and EZH2, members of a class of epigenic enzymes called histone methyltransferases (HMTs).

30 Nov 2012

AstraZeneca receives FDA approval for Cometriq to treat medullary thyroid cancer

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Cometriq (cabozantinib) to treat medullary thyroid cancer that has spread to other parts of the body (metastasized).

29 Nov 2012

Ponatinib thwarts T315I gene mutation in chronic myeloid leukemia

A previously invincible mutation in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) has been thwarted by an investigational drug in a phase I clinical trial reported in the current edition of The New England Journal of Medicine.

29 Nov 2012

Study shows how PTPN22 variant linked with T1D influences susceptibility to autoimmunity

As part of their ongoing research on the role of genes in the development of type 1 diabetes, Joslin Diabetes Center scientists, in collaboration with scientists at the University of Würzburg, have demonstrated how a genetic variant associated with type 1 diabetes and other autoimmune diseases influences susceptibility to autoimmunity. The findings appear in the upcoming issue of Diabetes.

29 Nov 2012

Childhood obesity risk can be predicted at birth

A simple formula can predict at birth a baby's likelihood of becoming obese in childhood, according to a study published today in the open access journal PLOS ONE.

29 Nov 2012

WellStar Health System implements Xenex’s room disinfection system

WellStar Health System was the first to implement and is the only health system in metro-Atlanta using Xenex Healthcare Services' room disinfection system in its patient and operating rooms. A "green," mercury-free technology, the Xenex system is the fastest, safest and most effective method for the advanced cleaning of hospital rooms, scientifically proven to destroy all major classes of microorganisms that cause hospital acquired infections (HAIs), such as MRSA and Clostridium difficile (C. diff).

29 Nov 2012

Trovagene develops first molecular diagnostic test to detect KRAS mutations from urine samples

Trovagene, Inc. today announced successful development of its first molecular diagnostic test capable of detecting KRAS mutations from a urine specimen. Transfer of the transrenal KRAS test to the company's CLIA lab is expected to be completed in December 2012 with commercial availability expected in January 2013.

28 Nov 2012