Apoptosis News and Research

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Apoptosis is programmed cell death, the body's normal method of disposing of damaged, unwanted, or unneeded cells.

Alternative generic strategy for breast cancer treatment

Maxing out the inherently stressed nature of treatment-resistant breast cancer cells thwarts their adaptive ability to evolve genetic workarounds to treatment, a new study suggests.

27 May 2015

CNIO researchers identify new strategy to combat cancer

Scientists from the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre have discovered a new strategy to fight cancer, which is very different from those described to date. Their work shows for the first time that telomeres -- the structures protecting the ends of the chromosomes -- may represent an effective anti-cancer target: by blocking the TRF1 gene, which is essential for the telomeres, they have shown dramatic improvements in mice with lung cancer.

14 May 2015

Experimental gene therapy holds promise against metastatic prostate cancer

Even with the best available treatments, the median survival of patients with metastatic, hormone-refractory prostate cancer is only two to three years. Driven by the need for more effective therapies for these patients, researchers at VCU Massey Cancer Center and the VCU Institute of Molecular Medicine have developed a unique approach that uses microscopic gas bubbles to deliver directly to the cancer a viral gene therapy in combination with an experimental drug that targets a specific gene driving the cancer's growth.

12 May 2015

Can-Fite receives EMA clearance to begin CF102 Phase II trial for treatment of HCC patients in Europe

Can-Fite BioPharma Ltd., a biotechnology company with a pipeline of proprietary small molecule drugs being developed to treat inflammatory diseases, cancer and sexual dysfunction, today announced it recently received clearance from the European Medicines Agency to commence dosing patients in Europe in its global Phase II trial for CF102 in the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the most common form of liver cancer.

11 May 2015

Experimental cancer drug shows promise against incurable paediatric brain cancer

US-Australian drug discovery company, Novogen Limited, in conjunction with Australian paediatric cancer researchers, released key pre-clinical data on experimental cancer drug-candidate, TRXE-009, confirming its potential to become an important new therapy against an incurable paediatric brain cancer called DIPG (diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma).

8 May 2015

Cardiff scientists develop novel anti-cancer stem cell compound

Cardiff University scientists have developed a novel anti-cancer stem cell agent capable of targeting aggressive tumour forming cells common to breast, pancreas, colon and prostate cancers.

7 May 2015

AbbVie's venetoclax granted FDA Breakthrough Therapy Designation for CLL patients with 17p deletion

AbbVie today announced its investigational medicine venetoclax, an inhibitor of the B-cell lymphoma-2 (BCL-2) protein that is being developed in partnership with Genentech and Roche, has been granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation by the FDA for the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) in previously treated (relapsed/refractory) patients with the 17p deletion genetic mutation.

6 May 2015

Study identifies BLU-554 as potential treatment option for HCC patients

Findings were presented today at The International Liver CongressTM 2015 on a novel therapeutic candidate for a genomically defined subset of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients with an aberrant fibroblast growth factor receptor 4 (FGFR4) pathway.

25 Apr 2015

Oral MCP enhances anti-cancer, anti-metastatic effects of radiation therapy in prostate cancer treatment

Scientists at Tel Aviv Medical Center, Israel, have found that oral modified citrus pectin (MCP) enhances the anti-cancer and anti-metastatic effects of radiation therapy in the treatment of androgen-independent (AI) aggressive prostate cancer cells.

22 Apr 2015

Botanical formula improves effect of tamoxifen drug in ER+ human breast cancer

Researchers at the Cancer Research Laboratory, Methodist Research Institute, Indiana University Health found that a botanical formula for breast health inhibited the growth of estrogen receptor-positive (ER+) human breast cancer cells. More importantly, the researchers also found that the formula enhanced the anti-cancer benefits of the drug tamoxifen in the treatment of breast cancer.

22 Apr 2015

Myc cancer gene allows tumor cells to divide, provokes cell suicide process

Myc cancer gene empowers tumor cells to relentlessly divide but simultaneously, provokes a cell suicide process called apoptosis. Myc controls cells by commanding the expression of every tenth of the genes in the nucleus of a tumor cell. However, in spite of more than two decades of intense research, no Myc motivated killer genes have been found.

21 Apr 2015

Novel treatment strategy targets treatment-resistant CML

Researchers have shown that the coiled-coil mimetic CCmut3 can inhibit cell growth and promote apoptosis in cell lines expressing BCR–ABL1, including those resistant to tyrosine kinase inhibitors.

20 Apr 2015

Can-Fite seeks EMA Orphan Drug Designation for CF102 in HCC

Can-Fite BioPharma Ltd., a biotechnology company with a pipeline of proprietary small molecule drugs that are being developed to treat inflammatory diseases, cancer and sexual dysfunction, announced today it has submitted an application to the European Medicines Agency for Orphan Drug Designation for its drug candidate CF102 in the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the most common form of liver cancer.

20 Apr 2015

Inflammation plays causal role in neurologic changes associated with Lyme disease

About 15% of patients with Lyme disease develop peripheral and central nervous system involvement, often accompanied by debilitating and painful symptoms. New research indicates that inflammation plays a causal role in the array of neurologic changes associated with Lyme disease, according to a study published in The American Journal of Pathology.

17 Apr 2015

New study could hold key to control growth of cancer cells

A new study by researchers at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology could hold a key to control cancer cell growth and development. In a paper published yesterday in CELL, the team reports on the discovery of two cancer-suppressing proteins.

12 Apr 2015

University of York scientists use low temperature plasmas to treat prostate cancer

Scientists at the University of York have discovered a potential new treatment for prostate cancer using low temperature plasmas (LTPs).

9 Apr 2015

Plymouth researchers receive grant to develop effective therapy for Huntington's disease

Huntington's disease is an hereditary disorder of the nervous system caused by a faulty gene on chromosome four. The faulty gene leads to nerve damage in the area of the brain resulting in gradual physical, mental and emotional changes. Those born to a parent with Huntington's disease have a 50:50 chance of developing it, and there is currently no cure.

9 Apr 2015

RNA could be a potential target for new anticancer drugs, say UC Berkeley scientists

Most of today's anticancer drugs target the DNA or proteins in tumor cells, but a new discovery by University of California, Berkeley, scientists unveils a whole new set of potential targets: the RNA intermediaries between DNA and proteins.

7 Apr 2015

Scientists develop new type of carrier that combines photosensitivity and magnetism to fight cancer

By combining, in a liposome, magnetic nanoparticles and photosensitizers that are simultaneously and remotely activated by external physical stimuli (a magnetic field and light), scientists at the Laboratoire Matière et Systèmes Complexes (CNRS/Université Paris Diderot) and the Laboratoire Physicochimie des Electrolytes et Nanosystèmes Interfaciaux (CNRS/UPMC), obtained total tumor regression in mice.

2 Apr 2015

TSRI scientists uncover unique mechanism of natural product with antimicrobial, anti-cancer effects

Scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute have uncovered the unique mechanism of a powerful natural product with wide-ranging antifungal, antibacterial, anti-malaria and anti-cancer effects.

1 Apr 2015