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.

Unstable leukemia stem cells may predispose patients to drug resistance

The BCR-ABL gene in chronic myeloid leukemia stem cells has a tendency to quickly mutate, and this may help explain why patients are predisposed to resistance to drugs like imatinib that target that gene, according to a study in the May 2 Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

2 May 2007

New mechanism identified for resistance to targeted lung cancer drugs

An international research team, led by investigators from the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Cancer Center and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI), has found a new way that some lung tumors become resistant to treatment with targeted therapy drugs like Iressa and Tarceva.

27 Apr 2007

Vaccines to prevent or slow the growth of cancerous tumors

Mayo Clinic researchers have designed a new strategy in the promising field of cancer vaccine research that's proven to be successful in boosting T cells - the immune builders akin to a super defense force against cancer cells.

19 Apr 2007

More effective therapies for individual cancers - personalized medicine

Genetic and epigenetic variations ensure that no two people are exactly alike, and the same holds true for any two cancers.

18 Apr 2007

New chemical agent, MCP110, provides synergistic effect to standard drugs

Integrating the use of drugs targeted to specific cancer proteins into current chemotherapy regimens to improve the efficacy of systemic treatment is an important clinical goal at Fox Chase Cancer Center.

16 Apr 2007

KCI investigators present research findings on breast cancer-causing genes

Members from the laboratory of Stephen Ethier, Ph.D., deputy center director and director of basic science for the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute, will present research findings on breast cancer-causing genes and how they operate at the American Association of Cancer Research Annual Meeting, April 13-18, in Los Angeles, CA.

16 Apr 2007

New target for diagnosis and treatment of ovarian cancer

An RNA-binding protein that is overproduced in ovarian cancer may present a new target for diagnosis or treatment of ovarian and other cancers, according to researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

10 Apr 2007

Scientists identify protein key to breast cancer spread

(PHILADELPHIA) Researchers at the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson have identified a protein that they say is key to helping a quarter of all breast cancers spread.

10 Apr 2007

Researchers uncover genetic sequence responsible for rare form of pancreatic cancer

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma is an almost uniformly fatal disease regardless of the stage at time of diagnosis. However, a small percentage of patients develop a form of ductal adenocarcinoma associated with cystic lesions that can be detected earlier, is less aggressive and has a 50 percent long-term survival rate.

14 Mar 2007

Research defines the cancer role for protein Gab-2

A protein known for its ability to "bridge" interactions between other cellular proteins may spur metastasis in breast cancer, the disease's deadliest stage, a study from Burnham Institute for Medical Research has found.

22 Feb 2007

Cancer cells 100 times more likely to genetically mutate

When cells become cancerous, they also become 100 times more likely to genetically mutate than regular cells, researchers have found. The findings may explain why cells in a tumor have so many genetic mutations, but could also be bad news for cancer treatments that target a particular gene controlling cancer malignancy.

20 Feb 2007

New targets in cancer mutation puzzle

University of Rochester scientists, while investigating the two most frequent types of mutations in cancer, discovered a possible new route to treatment that would take advantage of the mutations instead of trying to repair them.

18 Feb 2007

New method of screening tumors for cancer-related gene abnormalities

A study led by researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Broad Institute of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University provides the first demonstration of a practical method of screening tumors for cancer-related gene abnormalities that might be treated with "targeted" drugs.

11 Feb 2007

Peptide vaccine fights off breast tumors with help of bacteria-mimicking agents

With the help of immune system-stimulating molecules that mimic bacterial components, researchers have used a type of cancer vaccine to both delay and prevent breast tumors in mice.

1 Feb 2007

Researchers discover clues to the cause of T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Researchers' discovery of clues to the cause of T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) - a form of pediatric cancer that has a very poor prognosis - could lead to the development of new targeted therapies for this extremely difficult disease.

20 Sep 2006

Leukemia gene changes genetic packaging

A signaling system involved in many forms of leukemia and lymphoma is more powerful than scientists have thought, exerting control over our genes by affecting whole swaths of chromosomes in global fashion.

6 Aug 2006

Researchers identify how molecules of microRNA are responsible for the growth of blood vessels in a model for human colon cancer

The process, called angiogenesis, results in ability of ravenous cancer cells to recruit blood vessels and receive a steady supply of nutrients and oxygen.

4 Aug 2006

Researchers determine why gene therapy treatment caused leukemia in some X-linked severe combined immunodeficiency patients

Scientists at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital have developed a mouse model of a severe disease of the immune system that helps explain why gene therapy used to treat children with this disease at an institution in Europe caused some of them to develop leukemia.

2 Aug 2006

New class of experimental drug that targets master regulator gene called c-Jun

University of New South Wales (UNSW) researchers have announced they are developing a new class of experimental drug that has the potential to treat a diverse range of health problems, from inflammation and cancer through to eye and heart disease.

3 Jul 2006