Retinoblastoma News and Research

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A retinoblastoma is a malignant tumor of the retina, occurring most often in young children below 5 years. In one of three cases it is bilateral i.e., affecting both eyes. About 250-350 new cases occur every year in the USA, in children younger than 15 years.

Discovery of key acute myeloid leukemia gene

A gene called N-Myc leads a double life in certain white blood cells, helping to trigger a cancer called acute myeloid leukemia (AML) under some conditions while triggering apoptosis, or cell suicide, under other conditions, according to results of a mouse study done by investigators at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

27 Nov 2007

Cell response to stress signals predicts tumors in women with common pre-breast cancer

A specific biological response to cellular stress may predict the likelihood of future tumor formation of the most common, non-invasive form of pre-malignant breast cancer-- ductal carcinoma in situ, or DCIS.

13 Nov 2007

How one virus mimicks a normal cellular protein to replicate successfully

Both viruses and cancers subvert the growth-control machinery in a cell to serve their own needs.

1 Nov 2007

Advances in drug screening

With the discovery of suitable molecular targets - cellular molecules along pathways crucial for sustaining the life of cancer cells - comes the perplexing dilemma of where to find the next therapeutics that will bind to and disable those targets.

23 Oct 2007

Researcher identify specific cell that causes eye cancer, disproving long-held theory

Investigators at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital have identified the cell that gives rise to the eye cancer retinoblastoma, disproving a long-standing principle of nerve growth and development.

19 Oct 2007

Customized virus kills brain tumor stem cells that drive lethal cancer

A tailored virus destroys brain tumor stem cells that resist other therapies and cause lethal re-growth of cancer after surgery, a research team led by scientists at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center reports in the Sept. 18 edition of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

12 Sep 2007

Retinoblastoma tumor suppressor may predict chemotherapy effectiveness

A common molecular pathway could help physicians predict which lung cancer patients will benefit from chemotherapy drugs, according to new research from a multidisciplinary team at the University of Cincinnati (UC).

3 Sep 2007

Study challenges conventional wisdom about cancer cells

A team of St. Jude investigators challenged conventional wisdom about the eye cancer retinoblastoma by using a mouse model that allowed them to study the tumors as they develop and grow.

27 May 2007

Retinoblastoma gene may play a critical role in the development of the placenta

An important cancer-related gene may play a critical role in the development of the placenta, the organ that controls nutrient and oxygen exchange between a mother and her fetus during pregnancy, and perhaps in miscarriages.

10 Jan 2007

Retinoblastoma gene may play a critical role in the development of the placenta

9 Jan 2007

Fewer deaths from cancer in the U.S.

According to a new report fewer Americans are dying of cancer even though the rates of new cancers remains the same.

7 Sep 2006

Promising chemo, therapeutic viruses, cutting-edge surgery debut at M. D. Anderson Cancer Center

Brain tumor specialists at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center are poised on the brink of a new era.

10 May 2006

St. Jude step towards cure for retinoblastoma

Investigators at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital have discovered the role of several key genes in the development of the retina, and in the process have taken a significant step toward understanding how to prevent or cure the potentially deadly eye cancer retinoblastoma.

10 May 2006

Researchers have made important progress in regenerating hearing cells

Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers have made important progress in their ongoing effort to regenerate the inner ear's hair cells, which convert sound vibrations to nerve impulses.

3 May 2006

Compensation by tumor suppressor genes during retinal development in mice and humans

Humans are more susceptible to developing the eye cancer retinoblastoma than mice because, unlike humans, mice can compensate for the loss of activity of a gene critical to normal retinal development, according to results of a study by investigators at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

3 May 2006

miRNA emerge as a class of gene regulators

Scientists have discovered that a wide variety of different cancers actually share something in common - a molecular "signature" made up of tiny bits of genetic material called microRNA (miRNA) that target key cancer genes and promote malignant growth.

7 Feb 2006

New treatment for the pediatric eye cancer retinoblastoma

Investigators at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital have demonstrated in laboratory studies a new treatment for the pediatric eye cancer retinoblastoma that appears to be more effective than the current standard therapy, and more likely to prevent the recurrence of this cancer. A report on their work appears in the October 15 issue of Clinical Cancer Research.

17 Oct 2005

Dental problems caused by radiation, chemotherapy should be treated before a child undergoes immunosuppression as part of bone marrow transplantation therapy

Many children who undergo bone marrow transplantation (BMT) as part of cancer treatment already have dental abnormalities that leave them vulnerable to potentially life-threatening bacterial infections, according to investigators at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. A report on this study appears in the prepublication online edition of Bone Marrow Transplantation.

29 Aug 2005

Bio-engineered skin provides clues to melanoma development

When it comes to the deadly skin cancer melanoma, studying functional tissue rather than cell lines may better provide insight into the disease's development, according to new research from a Howard Hughes Medical Institute predoctoral fellow at Stanford University School of Medicine.

12 Jun 2005

Molecule called Smad7 may open doors to future treatments in pancreatic and other forms of cancer

Making new strides in their ongoing effort to understand mechanisms behind the relentless growth of cancer cells, researchers at Dartmouth Medical School have found a promising key that may open doors to future treatments in pancreatic and other forms of cancer.

9 Jun 2005