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Sox10 gene plays a central role in melanoma

Black skin cancer, also known as melanoma, is particularly aggressive and becoming increasingly common in Switzerland. Despite intensive research, however, there is still no treatment. Researchers from the University of Zurich have now discovered a gene that plays a central role in black skin cancer. Suppressing this gene in mice inhibits the development of melanoma and its proliferation - a discovery that could pave the way for new forms of therapy.

10 Jul 2012

EGF helps prevent inflammation-induced cancer

Epidermal growth factor (EGF) is a protein that normally regulates intestinal healing. However, biological therapies, like EGF, also may pose the risk of increasing the possibility of cancer. Philip Dubé, PhD, and Brent Polk, MD, both of the Saban Research Institute of Children's Hospital Los Angeles have demonstrated that in preclinical models, EGF encourages healing and provides powerful anti-inflammatory properties that prevent inflammation-induced cancer.

10 Jul 2012

BioView, ScreenCell enter collaboration agreement for imaging of CTC

BioView Ltd. and ScreenCell, a privately-held company, today jointly announced the signing of a commercial collaboration agreement for Bioview's Automated Cell Imaging Systems for imaging of CTC's isolated with ScreenCell's Cyto Kit.

9 Jul 2012

PsiOxus closes Series B round of equity financing

PsiOxus Therapeutics, Ltd. announced that it has closed a Series B round of equity financing totaling £22 million ($34 million).

9 Jul 2012

High expression of interleukin-9 in immune cells inhibits melanoma growth

Researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) have made a groundbreaking discovery that will shape the future of melanoma therapy. The team, led by Thomas S. Kupper, MD, chair of the BWH Department of Dermatology, and Rahul Purwar, PhD, found that high expression of a cell-signaling molecule, known as interleukin-9, in immune cells inhibits melanoma growth.

9 Jul 2012

Conference highlights utility of zebrafish for human disorder studies

Zebrafish, popular as aquarium fish, now have an important place in research labs as a model organism for studying human diseases.

8 Jul 2012

Mouse model demonstrates role of AEG-1 in hepatocellular carcinoma

Researchers have created the first mouse model demonstrating the role of a cancer promoting gene, Astrocyte elevated gene-1 (AEG-1), in hepatocellular carcinoma, or liver cancer. The mouse model represents a critical step in understanding the molecular mechanisms of liver cancer progression and could lead to novel therapies for the disease.

8 Jul 2012

NIH awards Clinical and Translational Science Award to three Texas Medical Center institutions

In 2006, three Texas Medical Center institutions were among the first in the nation to receive a Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to accelerate the translation of laboratory discoveries into patient treatments. That grant has been renewed for another 5 years.

7 Jul 2012

FDA approves KRAS gene mutation test for colorectal cancer

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved the first genetic test that can help some colorectal cancer (CRC) patients and their doctors determine if the drug Erbitux (cetuximab) would be an effective treatment based on the absence of a gene mutation. The therascreen KRAS RGQ PCR Kit can provide information about the KRAS gene mutation in patients whose CRC has spread to other parts of their body (metastasized).

7 Jul 2012

New optical microscope identifies rare breast cancer cells

The ability to distinguish and isolate rare cells from among a large population of assorted cells has become increasingly important for the early detection of disease and for monitoring disease treatments.

7 Jul 2012

NewYork-Presbyterian/WCMC first in N.Y. City to offer INTRABEAM radiotherapy

NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center is the first and only hospital in the five boroughs of New York City to offer women with early stage breast cancer INTRABEAM radiotherapy, an innovative radiation treatment delivered in a single dose at the time of surgery.

6 Jul 2012

Bioengineers develop microfluidic platform to mechanically confine cancer cells

It's well known in conventional biology that during the process of mammalian cell division, or mitosis, a mother cell divides equally into two daughter cells. But when it comes to cancer, say UCLA researchers, mother cells may be far more prolific.

6 Jul 2012

First robot-assisted distal pancreatectomy performed at TJUH

Eugene Allen, a retired police officer and teacher from Sicklerville, N.J., had a decision to make in February, after an MRI revealed a precancerous cyst in his pancreas. It had to be removed, but the question was how?

6 Jul 2012

Toxins and cell death: Interview with Professor Denise Montell

There are multiple kinds of cell death. Cells can undergo programmed cell death, which is a series of events that undergoes a predictable order at certain times during development.

6 Jul 2012

Neighboring non-cancer cells may contribute to drug resistance

One of cancer's most frightening characteristics is its ability to return after treatment. In the case of many forms of cancer, including the skin cancer known as melanoma, tailored drugs can eradicate cancer cells in the lab, but often produce only partial, temporary responses in patients. One of the burning questions in the field of cancer research has been and remains: how does cancer evade drug treatment?

5 Jul 2012

Single dose breast cancer treatment helps forego 6-7 week radiation regimen

5 Jul 2012

Anti-cancer activity of HuCAL antibody revealed by new data from OncoMed

MorphoSys AG's (FSE: MOR; Prime Standard Segment, TecDAX) partner OncoMed Pharmaceuticals today announced that Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS) has published online data demonstrating the potent anti-cancer activity of OMP-18R5, a HuCAL antibody targeting the Wnt pathway, in multiple preclinical human tumor models. OMP-18R5 is currently in Phase 1 clinical testing.

5 Jul 2012

Live zoster vaccine associated with reduced risk of HZ in patients with immune-mediated diseases

Although some have suggested that patients receiving medication for immune-mediated diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis or psoriasis may be at increased risk of herpes zoster (HZ; shingles) shortly after receipt of the vaccine, an analysis that included nearly 20,000 vaccinated Medicare beneficiaries finds that the live zoster vaccine is not associated with an increased risk of HZ shortly after vaccination in patients currently treated with biologics, and that it is associated with a significantly reduced longer-term risk of HZ in patients with an immune-mediated disease, according to a study in the July 4 issue of JAMA.

4 Jul 2012

Shingles vaccine may not increase risk of varicella in people with auto-immune diseases

New research from the University of Alabama at Birmingham casts doubt on the long-standing belief that the vaccine for shingles should not be given to patients taking biologics for auto-immune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis.

4 Jul 2012

Tolfenamic acid appears to reduce esophageal tumors

A new study by researchers at MD Anderson Cancer Center Orlando finds that Tolfenamic acid (TA), a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), commonly used to relieve pain, inflammation and migraines has now been found to reduce esophageal tumors.

4 Jul 2012